Max Lucado Daily: Love Like God
“Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God.” Philippians 2:6 NLT
Need more patience? Drink from the patience of God (2 Peter 3:9). Is generosity an elusive virtue? Then consider how generous God has been with you (Romans 5:8). Having trouble putting up with ungrateful relatives or cranky neighbors? God puts up with you when you act the same. “He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked” (Luke 6:35 NIV).
Can’t we love like this?
John 8:28-59
New International Version (NIV)
28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up[a] the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.
Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.[b]”
39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would[c] do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
Jesus’ Claims About Himself
48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Samuel 12:1-15
Nathan Rebukes David
1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11 “This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the LORD, the son born to you will die.”
15 After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.
Collision Course
January 7, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher
Be sure your sin will find you out. —Numbers 32:23
My wife and I were driving on an expressway when we saw a driver turn left into a median turnaround that was intended for emergency vehicles only. He was planning to make a U-turn and head back the other way.
Looking to his right, the driver waited for an opening in oncoming traffic, so he failed to notice that a police car was backing up toward him on his left. Finally seeing an opening in traffic, the U-turn driver pulled out and rammed into the back of the police car.
It’s not unusual for us to think we can get away with doing something wrong. After King David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he too was focused on “getting away with it.” But he was on a collision course with Nathan. His adultery, deceit, and murder “displeased the Lord” (2 Sam. 11:27), so when Nathan exposed David’s grievous sin, the king was deeply remorseful. He confessed, repented, and received God’s forgiveness. But the consequences of his sin never departed from his household (12:10).
If you’ve been trying to get away with something, remember that “your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23). Turn yourself in to God. Don’t hide. Instead, seek His gracious forgiveness.
God knows all you’ve thought or done—
From Him you cannot hide;
Confess to Him and He’ll forgive
Through Christ the crucified. —Hess
We have to face our sins before we can put them behind us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 07, 2012
Intimate With Jesus
Jesus said to him, ’Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?’ —John 14:9
These words were not spoken as a rebuke, nor even with surprise; Jesus was encouraging Philip to draw closer. Yet the last person we get intimate with is Jesus. Before Pentecost the disciples knew Jesus as the One who gave them power to conquer demons and to bring about a revival (see Luke 10:18-20). It was a wonderful intimacy, but there was a much closer intimacy to come: “. . . I have called you friends . . .” (John 15:15). True friendship is rare on earth. It means identifying with someone in thought, heart, and spirit. The whole experience of life is designed to enable us to enter into this closest relationship with Jesus Christ. We receive His blessings and know His Word, but do we really know Him?
Jesus said, “It is to your advantage that I go away . . .” (John 16:7). He left that relationship to lead them even closer. It is a joy to Jesus when a disciple takes time to walk more intimately with Him. The bearing of fruit is always shown in Scripture to be the visible result of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ (see John 15:1-4).
Once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely and we never lack for understanding or compassion. We can continually pour out our hearts to Him without being perceived as overly emotional or pitiful. The Christian who is truly intimate with Jesus will never draw attention to himself but will only show the evidence of a life where Jesus is completely in control. This is the outcome of allowing Jesus to satisfy every area of life to its depth. The picture resulting from such a life is that of the strong, calm balance that our Lord gives to those who are intimate with Him.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Psalm 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Your Failures
The righteousness of God is revealed through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…Romans 3:22
Perhaps the heaviest burden we try to carry is the burden of mistakes and failures. What do you do with your failures?
Even if you’ve fallen, even if you’ve failed, even if everyone else has rejected you, Christ will not turn away from you.
Psalm 68:19 says, “Praise the Lord, God our Savior, who helps us every day.” Every day!
Christ came first and foremost to those who have not hope. He goes to those no one else would go to and says, “I’ll give you eternity!”
Only you can surrender your concerns to the Father. No one else can take those away and give them to God.
What better way to start the day than by laying your cares at Jesus’ feet?
Psalm 14
For the director of music. Of David.
1 The fool[e] says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 The LORD looks down from heaven
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?
They devour my people as though eating bread;
they never call on the LORD.
5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the righteous.
6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is their refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Philippians 1:21-30
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
Life Worthy of the Gospel
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[a] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Longing For Home
January 6, 2012 — by Bill Crowder
I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. —Philippians 1:23
When our son Stephen was a youngster, he went away for a week at a Christian summer camp. Later that week, we got a letter from him that was addressed to “Mom and Dad Crowder” and simply said, “Please come and take me home today.” What his child’s mind couldn’t comprehend, of course, was that it would be days before we got his letter and more time before we could come for him. All his young heart knew was that he longed for home and for Mom and Dad—and that can be tough for a child.
Sometimes we can be like Stephen as we think about this world. It’s easy to think longingly about being with Jesus and begin to wish we could go to our “eternal home” (Eccl. 12:5) where we will “be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23). As God’s children (John 1:12), we know that this world will never truly be home to us. Like the apostle Paul, we especially feel that way when the struggles of life are hard. While in Rome awaiting trial, Paul wrote, “I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Phil. 1:23). He loved serving Christ, but a part of him longed to be with the Savior.
It’s comforting to know that we can think ahead to being with Jesus—in a home that is far better.
To see His face, this is my goal;
The deepest longing of my soul;
Through storm and stress my path I’ll trace
Till, satisfied, I see His face! —Chisholm
There is no place like home—especially when home is heaven.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 06, 2012
Worship
He moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord —Genesis 12:8
Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love-gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard it for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded (see Exodus 16:20). God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others.
Bethel is the symbol of fellowship with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abram “pitched his tent” between the two. The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time— there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must “pitch our tents” where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life— worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God’s idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
A Hurricane Named Peace - #6520
Friday, January 6, 2012
A few months ago I thought they were talking about my grandmother storming up the East Coast. Actually, it was a hurricane with the same name - Irene. Oh, and I know what that name means. It means peace. How ironic.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Hurricane Named Peace."
Of course, it was in the face of a monster life-hurricane that Jesus gave His disciples one of the greatest promises of peace ever made. Within hours, the Man for whom they have left everything would be arrested, and tortured and crucified like a criminal.
Our word for today from the Word of God, John 14{bible} beginning in verse 27, tells us that as this Category 5 "hurricane" was on the verge of ripping apart their world, Jesus said: "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" ({bible}John 14:27).
Excuse me, but how can a devastating life-storm go hand-in-hand with peace?
I got a hint of how on the day they thought the plane I was on might crash. The hydraulic system had failed and we were being diverted to the nearest airport. The flight attendants were barely concealing their own anxiety, and they were drilling us as fast as they could in how to prepare for a crash landing (of course, they never mentioning that "c" word, but you could tell that's what it was about). Needless to say, it was suddenly very tense, very quiet on our flight.
There was a grandma next to me, and she was I guess pretty much a nervous wreck. She talked about seeing her grandchildren in New Jersey, and I listened and I did my best to be of some comfort to her, and even tried to lighten it up a little bit with a little humor. Then it was time to land on a runway that was flanked with these emergency vehicles; lights flashing everywhere. And thankfully, we landed safely, just a little bumpy.
We were packing up to leave, and grandma said to me, "How could you be so calm when everybody else was so uptight?" And I said, "Well, I had total peace the whole time, actually, because my peace isn't based on what's going on around me. It's based on Who's going on inside me. One day I asked Jesus to come into my life and take over, and He did, and nothing can take Him from me."
Now, that's the secret of hurricane peace. Your response to the tempest is defined by your anchor relationship with Jesus Christ, not the screaming winds of the storm. Or as the Bible says, "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isaiah 26:3). The wind and the water won't determine what happens to me. Jesus will. And whatever may get washed away, I cannot lose the One who is my reason to live, my defining love, my unloseable security.
Of course, the peace that Jesus promised to His followers that dark night would come at an unthinkable price; His horrific death on a cross, because there is no peace for someone who's away from the God who made them. And, according to the Bible, we all are. Having the unshakeable peace of God depends on being at peace with God, and that couldn't happen without my sin being paid for. So the road to peace is paved with the blood of Jesus. Or as the Bible says, "He was crushed for our iniquities (or wrongdoings); the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him" (Isaiah 53:5).
So, for you, peace will begin at the foot of Jesus' cross; the peace place where Jesus died to pay the price to make peace between you and God. And that peace becomes yours, that gift of eternal life becomes yours when you reach out and make it your own; when you personalize it by saying, "Jesus, I give myself to You because You died for me, and You're alive because You walked out of your grave. I want You to walk into my life." Let the peace begin! Let it happen today. Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
Please go visit our website and you can watch, or read, or listen to a presentation there that will help you understand how to begin your relationship with Him.
Hurricane-proof peace is a Person, and He'll be there when the storm is howling, and He'll be there when the storm has passed.
The righteousness of God is revealed through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…Romans 3:22
Perhaps the heaviest burden we try to carry is the burden of mistakes and failures. What do you do with your failures?
Even if you’ve fallen, even if you’ve failed, even if everyone else has rejected you, Christ will not turn away from you.
Psalm 68:19 says, “Praise the Lord, God our Savior, who helps us every day.” Every day!
Christ came first and foremost to those who have not hope. He goes to those no one else would go to and says, “I’ll give you eternity!”
Only you can surrender your concerns to the Father. No one else can take those away and give them to God.
What better way to start the day than by laying your cares at Jesus’ feet?
Psalm 14
For the director of music. Of David.
1 The fool[e] says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 The LORD looks down from heaven
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?
They devour my people as though eating bread;
they never call on the LORD.
5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the righteous.
6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is their refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Philippians 1:21-30
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
Life Worthy of the Gospel
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[a] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Longing For Home
January 6, 2012 — by Bill Crowder
I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. —Philippians 1:23
When our son Stephen was a youngster, he went away for a week at a Christian summer camp. Later that week, we got a letter from him that was addressed to “Mom and Dad Crowder” and simply said, “Please come and take me home today.” What his child’s mind couldn’t comprehend, of course, was that it would be days before we got his letter and more time before we could come for him. All his young heart knew was that he longed for home and for Mom and Dad—and that can be tough for a child.
Sometimes we can be like Stephen as we think about this world. It’s easy to think longingly about being with Jesus and begin to wish we could go to our “eternal home” (Eccl. 12:5) where we will “be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23). As God’s children (John 1:12), we know that this world will never truly be home to us. Like the apostle Paul, we especially feel that way when the struggles of life are hard. While in Rome awaiting trial, Paul wrote, “I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Phil. 1:23). He loved serving Christ, but a part of him longed to be with the Savior.
It’s comforting to know that we can think ahead to being with Jesus—in a home that is far better.
To see His face, this is my goal;
The deepest longing of my soul;
Through storm and stress my path I’ll trace
Till, satisfied, I see His face! —Chisholm
There is no place like home—especially when home is heaven.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 06, 2012
Worship
He moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord —Genesis 12:8
Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love-gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard it for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded (see Exodus 16:20). God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others.
Bethel is the symbol of fellowship with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abram “pitched his tent” between the two. The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time— there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must “pitch our tents” where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life— worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God’s idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
A Hurricane Named Peace - #6520
Friday, January 6, 2012
A few months ago I thought they were talking about my grandmother storming up the East Coast. Actually, it was a hurricane with the same name - Irene. Oh, and I know what that name means. It means peace. How ironic.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Hurricane Named Peace."
Of course, it was in the face of a monster life-hurricane that Jesus gave His disciples one of the greatest promises of peace ever made. Within hours, the Man for whom they have left everything would be arrested, and tortured and crucified like a criminal.
Our word for today from the Word of God, John 14{bible} beginning in verse 27, tells us that as this Category 5 "hurricane" was on the verge of ripping apart their world, Jesus said: "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" ({bible}John 14:27).
Excuse me, but how can a devastating life-storm go hand-in-hand with peace?
I got a hint of how on the day they thought the plane I was on might crash. The hydraulic system had failed and we were being diverted to the nearest airport. The flight attendants were barely concealing their own anxiety, and they were drilling us as fast as they could in how to prepare for a crash landing (of course, they never mentioning that "c" word, but you could tell that's what it was about). Needless to say, it was suddenly very tense, very quiet on our flight.
There was a grandma next to me, and she was I guess pretty much a nervous wreck. She talked about seeing her grandchildren in New Jersey, and I listened and I did my best to be of some comfort to her, and even tried to lighten it up a little bit with a little humor. Then it was time to land on a runway that was flanked with these emergency vehicles; lights flashing everywhere. And thankfully, we landed safely, just a little bumpy.
We were packing up to leave, and grandma said to me, "How could you be so calm when everybody else was so uptight?" And I said, "Well, I had total peace the whole time, actually, because my peace isn't based on what's going on around me. It's based on Who's going on inside me. One day I asked Jesus to come into my life and take over, and He did, and nothing can take Him from me."
Now, that's the secret of hurricane peace. Your response to the tempest is defined by your anchor relationship with Jesus Christ, not the screaming winds of the storm. Or as the Bible says, "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isaiah 26:3). The wind and the water won't determine what happens to me. Jesus will. And whatever may get washed away, I cannot lose the One who is my reason to live, my defining love, my unloseable security.
Of course, the peace that Jesus promised to His followers that dark night would come at an unthinkable price; His horrific death on a cross, because there is no peace for someone who's away from the God who made them. And, according to the Bible, we all are. Having the unshakeable peace of God depends on being at peace with God, and that couldn't happen without my sin being paid for. So the road to peace is paved with the blood of Jesus. Or as the Bible says, "He was crushed for our iniquities (or wrongdoings); the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him" (Isaiah 53:5).
So, for you, peace will begin at the foot of Jesus' cross; the peace place where Jesus died to pay the price to make peace between you and God. And that peace becomes yours, that gift of eternal life becomes yours when you reach out and make it your own; when you personalize it by saying, "Jesus, I give myself to You because You died for me, and You're alive because You walked out of your grave. I want You to walk into my life." Let the peace begin! Let it happen today. Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
Please go visit our website and you can watch, or read, or listen to a presentation there that will help you understand how to begin your relationship with Him.
Hurricane-proof peace is a Person, and He'll be there when the storm is howling, and He'll be there when the storm has passed.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Psalm 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Doubt—An Unwanted Visitor
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
Doubt. He’s a lousy neighbor. An unwanted visitor. An obnoxious guest. And he’ll pester you. He’ll irritate you. He’ll criticize your judgment.
His aim is not to convince you, but to confuse you. He doesn’t offer solutions. Doubt only raises questions.
Had any visit from this fellow lately? If you find yourself going to church in order to be saved and not because you’re saved, then you’ve been listening to him.
If you find yourself doubting that God could forgive you again for that, you’ve been sold some snake oil.
If you’re more cynical about Christians than sincere about Christ, then guess who came to dinner?
I suggest you put a lock on your gate. I suggest you post a “Do not enter” sign on your door! Say no to doubt.
Psalm 13[d]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: James 4:13-17
Boasting About Tomorrow
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
Facing The Future
January 5, 2012 — by David C. McCasland
If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that. —James 4:15
While going through some old files, I came across a 1992 special issue of TIME magazine titled “Beyond the Year 2000: What To Expect in the New Millennium.” It was fascinating to read the predictions made 2 decades ago about what the future would hold. Some general observations were on target, but no one foresaw many of the events and innovations that have radically changed our lives. The most telling statement to me was, “The first rule of forecasting should be that the unforeseen keeps making the future unforeseeable.”
James reminds us that any view of the future that omits God is foolish and proud. “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. . . . Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’” (James 4:13-15).
Many people used to begin their statement of plans with, “Lord willing.” The phrase may have become trite, but the acknowledgment of God’s overruling hand is not.
As we look ahead with God firmly in view, we can face the future with confidence in His loving plan.
God holds the future in His hands
With grace sufficient day by day,
Through good or ill He gently leads,
If we but let Him have His way. —Rohrs
Those who know Christ as Savior can face the future with joy.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 05, 2012
The Life of Power to Follow
Jesus answered him, ’Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward’ —John 13:36
“And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ’Follow Me’ ” (John 21:19). Three years earlier Jesus had said, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19), and Peter followed with no hesitation. The irresistible attraction of Jesus was upon him and he did not need the Holy Spirit to help him do it. Later he came to the place where he denied Jesus, and his heart broke. Then he received the Holy Spirit and Jesus said again, “Follow Me” (John 21:19). Now no one is in front of Peter except the Lord Jesus Christ. The first “Follow Me” was nothing mysterious; it was an external following. Jesus is now asking for an internal sacrifice and yielding (see John 21:18).
Between these two times Peter denied Jesus with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75). But then he came completely to the end of himself and all of his self-sufficiency. There was no part of himself he would ever rely on again. In his state of destitution, he was finally ready to receive all that the risen Lord had for him. “. . . He breathed on them, and said to them, ’Receive the Holy Spirit’ ” (John 20:22). No matter what changes God has performed in you, never rely on them. Build only on a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives.
All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them. When we come to the end of ourselves, not just mentally but completely, we are able to “receive the Holy Spirit.” “Receive the Holy Spirit “— the idea is that of invasion. There is now only One who directs the course of your life, the Lord Jesus Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Within My Reach - #6519
Thursday, January 5, 2012
I've frequently visited the beaches on the East coast with my family. Oh, we love them! One visit, it wasn't just another day with the family at the beach. No. No, see, the lifeguards at Ocean City, N.J. suddenly made everyone get out of the water - fast! And you know what I'm thinking. I'm thinking "Jaws"! So I was really cooperative. I got out real fast! Well, instead, it was all about these two children, and they had to plunge in and rescue them because they were in trouble out by a jetty there.
And then there are those times when you just can't wait for the big guys to get there. That's what happened with 12-year-old Nicole Kissel who was boogie boarding about five months ago on Washington's Long Beach. And suddenly she heard somebody screaming near her, "Help! Help!" It turned out it was another 12-year-old. It was 7th grader Dale Ostrander. He was there that day with his youth group, and suddenly he was in deadly trouble in the surf.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Within My Reach."
Nicole actually was able to maneuver over to the drowning boy; she pulled him onto her board and started paddling toward shore. Then this huge wave came along, threw them both off the board and carried the board away. Nicole managed to resurface, but there was no trace of Dale. It took the surf rescue team about ten minutes to get to the scene and a few more minutes to find Dale and bring him to shore. Honestly, the rescuers didn't think he'd make it. I remember seeing them bringing him ashore just as limp as a dish rag. But miraculously, he was revived and began recovering.
Now, I'm grateful for courageous guys like those trained rescuers at Ocean City or the guys who were there at Long Beach that day. But it's young Nicole who's my hero in this story. The professionals were doing what it's their job to do. Nicole didn't have to risk her life to save someone else's, but she did. And they believe now that she kept him out of the water just long enough to have made the life-or-death difference.
She took the risk for one simple reason. That person who was in danger was within her reach. Now, if she had said, "Oh, I'm not a rescuer...I'll just wait for the guys who do this for a living," Dale would almost surely have been lost. Which is causing me to ask myself, "Who is there within my reach who may die if I don't do something?" That's "die" as in the words of the Bible, a person who "will be taken away because of his sin"...who "will die for his sin."
Our word for today from the Word of God, Ezekiel 33:8 tells us "I will hold you accountable for his blood." Sobering words! Why will I be held accountable? Because I knew that as the Bible says, "whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
When you let Jesus help you see the people in your personal world through His eyes, you'll see them as more than just coworkers or neighbors or fellow students or customers. You'll see that person as an eternity person, a future inhabitant of eternity in heaven or in hell; someone whose eternity can be changed, if only I'll reach out and tell them what I know about Jesus.
Each of us who knows Christ has someone within our reach who doesn't. And we can't just wait for that "professional rescuer" or "someone who has the gift of evangelism" to attempt the rescue. The rescue responsibility rests with the believer who is there. There's nothing random about where we work or where we live or recreate or go to school. You've been divinely positioned to be God's designated "lifeguard" for your stretch of beach.
And why don't we reach out? Why don't we try to rescue? Fear: fear of being rejected, fear of losing, fear of messing it up. Fears that have one thing in common: they're all about me. Young Nicole was scared that day. She said, "I actually said out loud, 'I'm going to die.'" But her fear didn't decide what she did. Her bottom line in her own words, "No matter who it is, if they need help, I will risk my life. I will do it."
Well, that is just like Jesus.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
Doubt. He’s a lousy neighbor. An unwanted visitor. An obnoxious guest. And he’ll pester you. He’ll irritate you. He’ll criticize your judgment.
His aim is not to convince you, but to confuse you. He doesn’t offer solutions. Doubt only raises questions.
Had any visit from this fellow lately? If you find yourself going to church in order to be saved and not because you’re saved, then you’ve been listening to him.
If you find yourself doubting that God could forgive you again for that, you’ve been sold some snake oil.
If you’re more cynical about Christians than sincere about Christ, then guess who came to dinner?
I suggest you put a lock on your gate. I suggest you post a “Do not enter” sign on your door! Say no to doubt.
Psalm 13[d]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: James 4:13-17
Boasting About Tomorrow
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
Facing The Future
January 5, 2012 — by David C. McCasland
If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that. —James 4:15
While going through some old files, I came across a 1992 special issue of TIME magazine titled “Beyond the Year 2000: What To Expect in the New Millennium.” It was fascinating to read the predictions made 2 decades ago about what the future would hold. Some general observations were on target, but no one foresaw many of the events and innovations that have radically changed our lives. The most telling statement to me was, “The first rule of forecasting should be that the unforeseen keeps making the future unforeseeable.”
James reminds us that any view of the future that omits God is foolish and proud. “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. . . . Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’” (James 4:13-15).
Many people used to begin their statement of plans with, “Lord willing.” The phrase may have become trite, but the acknowledgment of God’s overruling hand is not.
As we look ahead with God firmly in view, we can face the future with confidence in His loving plan.
God holds the future in His hands
With grace sufficient day by day,
Through good or ill He gently leads,
If we but let Him have His way. —Rohrs
Those who know Christ as Savior can face the future with joy.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 05, 2012
The Life of Power to Follow
Jesus answered him, ’Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward’ —John 13:36
“And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ’Follow Me’ ” (John 21:19). Three years earlier Jesus had said, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19), and Peter followed with no hesitation. The irresistible attraction of Jesus was upon him and he did not need the Holy Spirit to help him do it. Later he came to the place where he denied Jesus, and his heart broke. Then he received the Holy Spirit and Jesus said again, “Follow Me” (John 21:19). Now no one is in front of Peter except the Lord Jesus Christ. The first “Follow Me” was nothing mysterious; it was an external following. Jesus is now asking for an internal sacrifice and yielding (see John 21:18).
Between these two times Peter denied Jesus with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75). But then he came completely to the end of himself and all of his self-sufficiency. There was no part of himself he would ever rely on again. In his state of destitution, he was finally ready to receive all that the risen Lord had for him. “. . . He breathed on them, and said to them, ’Receive the Holy Spirit’ ” (John 20:22). No matter what changes God has performed in you, never rely on them. Build only on a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives.
All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them. When we come to the end of ourselves, not just mentally but completely, we are able to “receive the Holy Spirit.” “Receive the Holy Spirit “— the idea is that of invasion. There is now only One who directs the course of your life, the Lord Jesus Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Within My Reach - #6519
Thursday, January 5, 2012
I've frequently visited the beaches on the East coast with my family. Oh, we love them! One visit, it wasn't just another day with the family at the beach. No. No, see, the lifeguards at Ocean City, N.J. suddenly made everyone get out of the water - fast! And you know what I'm thinking. I'm thinking "Jaws"! So I was really cooperative. I got out real fast! Well, instead, it was all about these two children, and they had to plunge in and rescue them because they were in trouble out by a jetty there.
And then there are those times when you just can't wait for the big guys to get there. That's what happened with 12-year-old Nicole Kissel who was boogie boarding about five months ago on Washington's Long Beach. And suddenly she heard somebody screaming near her, "Help! Help!" It turned out it was another 12-year-old. It was 7th grader Dale Ostrander. He was there that day with his youth group, and suddenly he was in deadly trouble in the surf.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Within My Reach."
Nicole actually was able to maneuver over to the drowning boy; she pulled him onto her board and started paddling toward shore. Then this huge wave came along, threw them both off the board and carried the board away. Nicole managed to resurface, but there was no trace of Dale. It took the surf rescue team about ten minutes to get to the scene and a few more minutes to find Dale and bring him to shore. Honestly, the rescuers didn't think he'd make it. I remember seeing them bringing him ashore just as limp as a dish rag. But miraculously, he was revived and began recovering.
Now, I'm grateful for courageous guys like those trained rescuers at Ocean City or the guys who were there at Long Beach that day. But it's young Nicole who's my hero in this story. The professionals were doing what it's their job to do. Nicole didn't have to risk her life to save someone else's, but she did. And they believe now that she kept him out of the water just long enough to have made the life-or-death difference.
She took the risk for one simple reason. That person who was in danger was within her reach. Now, if she had said, "Oh, I'm not a rescuer...I'll just wait for the guys who do this for a living," Dale would almost surely have been lost. Which is causing me to ask myself, "Who is there within my reach who may die if I don't do something?" That's "die" as in the words of the Bible, a person who "will be taken away because of his sin"...who "will die for his sin."
Our word for today from the Word of God, Ezekiel 33:8 tells us "I will hold you accountable for his blood." Sobering words! Why will I be held accountable? Because I knew that as the Bible says, "whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
When you let Jesus help you see the people in your personal world through His eyes, you'll see them as more than just coworkers or neighbors or fellow students or customers. You'll see that person as an eternity person, a future inhabitant of eternity in heaven or in hell; someone whose eternity can be changed, if only I'll reach out and tell them what I know about Jesus.
Each of us who knows Christ has someone within our reach who doesn't. And we can't just wait for that "professional rescuer" or "someone who has the gift of evangelism" to attempt the rescue. The rescue responsibility rests with the believer who is there. There's nothing random about where we work or where we live or recreate or go to school. You've been divinely positioned to be God's designated "lifeguard" for your stretch of beach.
And why don't we reach out? Why don't we try to rescue? Fear: fear of being rejected, fear of losing, fear of messing it up. Fears that have one thing in common: they're all about me. Young Nicole was scared that day. She said, "I actually said out loud, 'I'm going to die.'" But her fear didn't decide what she did. Her bottom line in her own words, "No matter who it is, if they need help, I will risk my life. I will do it."
Well, that is just like Jesus.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Psalm 12, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: He’s Faithful
If we are not faithful, God will still be faithful, because he cannot be false to himself. 2 Timothy 2:13”
We don’t get it!
Because God’s blessings are dispensed according to the riches of his grace, not according to the depth of our faith.
Why’s that important to know? So you won’t get cynical. Look around you. Aren’t there more mouths than bread? More wounds than physicians? More who need the truth than those who tell it?
So what do we do? Throw up our hands and walk away? Tell the world we can’t help them? No, we don’t give up!
We look up. We trust. We believe.
Christ has proven worthy. He never fails!
That’s what makes God—God.
Psalm 12[a]
For the director of music. According to sheminith.[b] A psalm of David.
1 Help, LORD, for no one is faithful anymore;
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
2 Everyone lies to their neighbor;
they flatter with their lips
but harbor deception in their hearts.
3 May the LORD silence all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue—
4 those who say,
“By our tongues we will prevail;
our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the LORD.
“I will protect them from those who malign them.”
6 And the words of the LORD are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold[c] refined seven times.
7 You, LORD, will keep the needy safe
and will protect us forever from the wicked,
8 who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the human race.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Timothy 4:6-11
6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters,[a] you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
11 Command and teach these things.
An Exercise In Godliness
January 4, 2012 — by David H. Roper
Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things. —1 Timothy 4:8
The New Year is often the time when we resolve to take better care of ourselves—to exercise, eat right, and perhaps shed some of the pounds we gained over the holidays. Paul says, “Exercise profits a little” (1 Tim. 4:8), so I struggle to be as fit as I can be. I try to eat right, more or less, though I do love fried chicken. I lift weights and walk, but I know that my body is not long for this world. Its strength is fading.
It’s better to concentrate on godliness, because it holds promise for this life and the life to come (v.8). Contrary to the old adage, we can take something with us after all.
Godliness may sound dull, scary, and unattainable, but the essence of godliness is simply self-giving love—caring more for others than we care for ourselves. This kind of love is hard to come by, but it’s one that grows in the presence of love. We grow loving and more lovely by sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him, talking things over—gaining in likeness to the One who is love (1 John 4:8).
Life is a journey into love, it seems to me, and there’s nothing so beautiful as a godly soul. Physical exercise is good, no doubt, but there is something far, far better: It is to love.
That I may love Him is my soul’s ambition—
Love Him with all my mind and strength and heart,
Seek out His will and choose it, in submission,
And with the joy He only can impart. —Anon.
Love is godliness in action.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Why Can I Not Follow You Now?
Peter said to Him, ’Lord, why can I not follow You now?’ —John 13:37
There are times when you can’t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait.
At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move.
Peter did not wait for God. He predicted in his own mind where the test would come, and it came where he did not expect it. “I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Peter’s statement was honest but ignorant. “Jesus answered him, ’ . . . the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times’ ” (John 13:38). This was said with a deeper knowledge of Peter than Peter had of himself. He could not follow Jesus because he did not know himself or his own capabilities well enough. Natural devotion may be enough to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel His irresistible charm, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will deny Jesus, always falling short of what it means to truly follow Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Running Ahead of Your Supply Lines - #6518
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Americans are a medical basket case. I mean, if you look at the statistics about ulcers, and blood pressure, and heart disease, you begin to realize that we're like unraveling as a people. And I'm sure that some kind of stress-related illness like that has to affect either you, or a member of your family, or someone close to you. It's almost impossible to live in a vacuum and not be affected by it.
In fact, the American Academy of Family Physicians says that most of the illnesses they treat are stress related. And it says that the six major causes of death in America all find stress as a contributing factor. Our bodies, our personalities are screaming at us about a sin that we seldom talk about, but we often commit.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Running Ahead of Your Supply Lines."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is in Matthew 6:34. Jesus is speaking, and here He names what I guess we could call the stress sin. Here it is: "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Did you catch it? Yeah, the stress sin - worry.
Now, it's not on our list of the big five sins usually, or the big ten sins that we as Christians are against, the "thou shalt nots," and yet worry may in fact be one of the most common and most damaging sins in our Christian experience. Jesus, in this particular passage in the Sermon on the Mount, gives us the reasons why worry is a waste of time.
First of all in verse 27, it says, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Okay, worry is a waste of time because it doesn't change anything. I don't think I've ever known anybody who has ever been able to change their health by worrying about it. Okay, let's go to verses 28-30. "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They don't labor or spin. Did I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these? If that is how God clothes the grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, oh you of little faith?"
The second reason we shouldn't be worrying is that your Father is looking out for you. You know what? He doesn't need the bird's help for them to be taken care of. He doesn't need any help from the lilies, those gorgeous flowers, to be what they are in the springtime. And He certainly doesn't need your help to meet your needs. Because your Father is looking out for you, you really have no need to worry.
The third reason Jesus gives for not worrying is in verse 32. It says, "The pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." So, thirdly when you worry, you insult God. It's like saying to your Dad, "Dad, you don't provide for me." It's insulting His fatherhood to worry, as if somehow He's going to mess this one up and leave you stranded.
And then in verse 33, there's one more reason not to worry. It says this: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." The fourth reason? Worry distracts you from the real concerns; the things that really matter. Get busy with making things like Jesus wants them here on earth. Bring in His Kingdom; at least be a taste of it in the world around you.
Jesus said, "Each day has enough trouble of its own." We're made only to handle today. Don't waste energy on tomorrow and get the old ulcer juices flowing about things that haven't even happened yet. "Your strength will equal your days." That's what the Bible promises. So, handle only this 24-hour period, because that's as much strength as God will give you. His supply lines come through on a 24-hour basis.
When worry comes, get the hook, get it off center stage, and don't run ahead of your supply lines by worrying into tomorrow. Remember, your Father has everything under control!
If we are not faithful, God will still be faithful, because he cannot be false to himself. 2 Timothy 2:13”
We don’t get it!
Because God’s blessings are dispensed according to the riches of his grace, not according to the depth of our faith.
Why’s that important to know? So you won’t get cynical. Look around you. Aren’t there more mouths than bread? More wounds than physicians? More who need the truth than those who tell it?
So what do we do? Throw up our hands and walk away? Tell the world we can’t help them? No, we don’t give up!
We look up. We trust. We believe.
Christ has proven worthy. He never fails!
That’s what makes God—God.
Psalm 12[a]
For the director of music. According to sheminith.[b] A psalm of David.
1 Help, LORD, for no one is faithful anymore;
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
2 Everyone lies to their neighbor;
they flatter with their lips
but harbor deception in their hearts.
3 May the LORD silence all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue—
4 those who say,
“By our tongues we will prevail;
our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the LORD.
“I will protect them from those who malign them.”
6 And the words of the LORD are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold[c] refined seven times.
7 You, LORD, will keep the needy safe
and will protect us forever from the wicked,
8 who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the human race.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Timothy 4:6-11
6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters,[a] you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
11 Command and teach these things.
An Exercise In Godliness
January 4, 2012 — by David H. Roper
Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things. —1 Timothy 4:8
The New Year is often the time when we resolve to take better care of ourselves—to exercise, eat right, and perhaps shed some of the pounds we gained over the holidays. Paul says, “Exercise profits a little” (1 Tim. 4:8), so I struggle to be as fit as I can be. I try to eat right, more or less, though I do love fried chicken. I lift weights and walk, but I know that my body is not long for this world. Its strength is fading.
It’s better to concentrate on godliness, because it holds promise for this life and the life to come (v.8). Contrary to the old adage, we can take something with us after all.
Godliness may sound dull, scary, and unattainable, but the essence of godliness is simply self-giving love—caring more for others than we care for ourselves. This kind of love is hard to come by, but it’s one that grows in the presence of love. We grow loving and more lovely by sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him, talking things over—gaining in likeness to the One who is love (1 John 4:8).
Life is a journey into love, it seems to me, and there’s nothing so beautiful as a godly soul. Physical exercise is good, no doubt, but there is something far, far better: It is to love.
That I may love Him is my soul’s ambition—
Love Him with all my mind and strength and heart,
Seek out His will and choose it, in submission,
And with the joy He only can impart. —Anon.
Love is godliness in action.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Why Can I Not Follow You Now?
Peter said to Him, ’Lord, why can I not follow You now?’ —John 13:37
There are times when you can’t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait.
At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move.
Peter did not wait for God. He predicted in his own mind where the test would come, and it came where he did not expect it. “I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Peter’s statement was honest but ignorant. “Jesus answered him, ’ . . . the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times’ ” (John 13:38). This was said with a deeper knowledge of Peter than Peter had of himself. He could not follow Jesus because he did not know himself or his own capabilities well enough. Natural devotion may be enough to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel His irresistible charm, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will deny Jesus, always falling short of what it means to truly follow Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Running Ahead of Your Supply Lines - #6518
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Americans are a medical basket case. I mean, if you look at the statistics about ulcers, and blood pressure, and heart disease, you begin to realize that we're like unraveling as a people. And I'm sure that some kind of stress-related illness like that has to affect either you, or a member of your family, or someone close to you. It's almost impossible to live in a vacuum and not be affected by it.
In fact, the American Academy of Family Physicians says that most of the illnesses they treat are stress related. And it says that the six major causes of death in America all find stress as a contributing factor. Our bodies, our personalities are screaming at us about a sin that we seldom talk about, but we often commit.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Running Ahead of Your Supply Lines."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is in Matthew 6:34. Jesus is speaking, and here He names what I guess we could call the stress sin. Here it is: "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Did you catch it? Yeah, the stress sin - worry.
Now, it's not on our list of the big five sins usually, or the big ten sins that we as Christians are against, the "thou shalt nots," and yet worry may in fact be one of the most common and most damaging sins in our Christian experience. Jesus, in this particular passage in the Sermon on the Mount, gives us the reasons why worry is a waste of time.
First of all in verse 27, it says, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Okay, worry is a waste of time because it doesn't change anything. I don't think I've ever known anybody who has ever been able to change their health by worrying about it. Okay, let's go to verses 28-30. "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They don't labor or spin. Did I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these? If that is how God clothes the grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, oh you of little faith?"
The second reason we shouldn't be worrying is that your Father is looking out for you. You know what? He doesn't need the bird's help for them to be taken care of. He doesn't need any help from the lilies, those gorgeous flowers, to be what they are in the springtime. And He certainly doesn't need your help to meet your needs. Because your Father is looking out for you, you really have no need to worry.
The third reason Jesus gives for not worrying is in verse 32. It says, "The pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." So, thirdly when you worry, you insult God. It's like saying to your Dad, "Dad, you don't provide for me." It's insulting His fatherhood to worry, as if somehow He's going to mess this one up and leave you stranded.
And then in verse 33, there's one more reason not to worry. It says this: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." The fourth reason? Worry distracts you from the real concerns; the things that really matter. Get busy with making things like Jesus wants them here on earth. Bring in His Kingdom; at least be a taste of it in the world around you.
Jesus said, "Each day has enough trouble of its own." We're made only to handle today. Don't waste energy on tomorrow and get the old ulcer juices flowing about things that haven't even happened yet. "Your strength will equal your days." That's what the Bible promises. So, handle only this 24-hour period, because that's as much strength as God will give you. His supply lines come through on a 24-hour basis.
When worry comes, get the hook, get it off center stage, and don't run ahead of your supply lines by worrying into tomorrow. Remember, your Father has everything under control!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
John 8, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Why Did He Do It?
He himself likewise shared in flesh and blood, that through death he might destroy the one who had the power of death, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were in bondage. Hebrews 3:15
Why do we do it? Endure the airports, cram the trunks of our cars and SUV’s? You know the answer. We love to be with the ones we love!
It’s the four-year-old running up the sidewalk into the arms of grandpa. The cup of coffee with mom before the rest of the house awakes. That moment when, for a moment, everyone is quiet as we hold hands around the table and thank God for family and friends and pumpkin pie!
We love to be with the ones we love.
May I remind you? So does God. He loves to be with the ones He loves. How else do you explain what He did? Between him and us there was a distance—a great span. And he couldn’t bear it. So he did something about it.
He gave up his place—and made himself—nothing! He did it for you and me.
John 8
1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.
Dispute Over Who Jesus Is
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Proverbs 2:1-9
Moral Benefits of Wisdom
1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
The Pursuit
January 3, 2012 — by Anne Cetas
. . . seek [wisdom] as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures. —Proverbs 2:4
When my husband, Carl, pursued a relationship with me while we were dating, he was serious about it. He called. He wrote notes. He asked thoughtful questions. He bought me flowers, candy, books, dinner, and other gifts. He spent a lot of time and effort in his pursuit of me.
Way back in the 10th century bc, Solomon recommended that kind of serious commitment when pursuing something else—wisdom. A dictionary definition of wisdom, “understanding what is true, right, or lasting,” sounds crucial if we want a life that glorifies our holy God.
Maybe that’s why Solomon used so many active verbs in Proverbs 2 to describe our needed efforts to gain wisdom. He said, “incline your ear,” “apply your heart,” “cry out,” “lift up your voice,” “seek her,” “search for her” (vv.2-4).
Seeking wisdom takes effort, and Scripture tells us where it can be found: “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” He isn’t storing up wisdom for Himself; “He stores up sound wisdom for the upright” (vv.6-7).
Seek God with all your heart. He is the source of all wisdom for your life.
What will it profit when life here is o’er,
Though great worldly wisdom I gain,
If seeking knowledge I utterly fail
The wisdom of God to obtain? —Nelson
You can acquire much knowledge,
but true wisdom comes only from God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Clouds and Darkness
Clouds and darkness surround Him . . . —Psalm 97:2
A person who has not been born again by the Spirit of God will tell you that the teachings of Jesus are simple. But when he is baptized by the Holy Spirit, he finds that “clouds and darkness surround Him . . . .” When we come into close contact with the teachings of Jesus Christ we have our first realization of this. The only possible way to have full understanding of the teachings of Jesus is through the light of the Spirit of God shining inside us. If we have never had the experience of taking our casual, religious shoes off our casual, religious feet— getting rid of all the excessive informality with which we approach God— it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence. The people who are flippant and disrespectful in their approach to God are those who have never been introduced to Jesus Christ. Only after the amazing delight and liberty of realizing what Jesus Christ does, comes the impenetrable “darkness” of realizing who He is.
Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Once, the Bible was just so many words to us — “clouds and darkness”— then, suddenly, the words become spirit and life because Jesus re-speaks them to us when our circumstances make the words new. That is the way God speaks to us; not by visions and dreams, but by words. When a man gets to God, it is by the most simple way— words.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Swallowing What You Eat - #6517
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
I was speaking at a youth conference, and we all had breakfast in the cafeteria together. And then when we got together for our morning session I said, "Now, I want you guys to imagine that somebody who was at breakfast with us comes in the room and his cheeks are all puffy and you ask him what's wrong, and he just goes, "uh...uh... uh..." And you go, "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Here's a piece of paper." And you give him a piece of paper and he writes down, "I'm starved." Now I ask him, "Did you eat breakfast?" "Uh-huh." "And you're still hungry?" "Uh-huh." And then I would ask him, "Did you swallow it?" "Huh-uh." "Oh, maybe that's why you're still hungry." See, it isn't enough just to ingest your food; you've got to swallow it for it to do anything for you.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Swallowing What You Eat."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is in Joshua 1:8. And you might say it's about spiritual eating and spiritual digestion, because ingestion is not enough to satisfy your appetite. Ingesting food is not enough to nourish you. Joshua 1:8 puts it this way in the biblical formula for personal success. It says this, "Do not let this book of the law (the Bible) depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night."
In other words, be saturated with the Bible. Take a Bible bath. You should be in it day and night, really knowing what it's saying. But listen, it says, "So that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."
Did you catch those words "careful to do"? It doesn't say, "I want you to read the Bible to just know what it says." I want you to read the Bible to do what it says. The purpose of being in God's Word is to memorize it, meditate on it, but then to do what you read. In other words, until the Bible gets into your real life; until you've found a change you're going to make because of what you've read, all you've done is sort of take it in, kind of hold it in your mouth spiritually, but it's not in your system.
So when you study the Bible, if you're going to read it to do something, that means before you close the Bible each morning when you're with the Lord, you say, "Lord, help me make a connection to something I'm going to face today." Always make that connection between what you're reading and what your life is doing right now. So, if you're reading about loving your brother, you say, "Okay, which brother am I having a hard time loving?" Okay, "Love your Ralph." Or whoever's the hard guy to love.
If it's talking about patience, you say, "Let's see, who do I need to be more patient with right now? Okay, Lord, help me be more patient with my Mom, or my wife." If it's talking about temptation, then you say, "Which temptation am I facing right now?" And you put that temptation into the verse. So if it says, "Do not let sin control your body." Then which sin? Okay, so you put in there, "Do not let gossip control your body (the one you struggle with, whatever it is)."
For example, in James 1. Let's try this. You're reading the book of James, and it says, "Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds." Now if you're just ingesting, you'd kind of go, "Today I read about trials." Now, wait a minute. No, no! Which trial are you facing right now?" You go, "Oh, man, my boss!" Or you might say if you're married, "My in-laws." Okay, then make it in the verse, "Whenever you face trials of many kinds (with your boss), (with your in-laws) because you know that the testing of your faith (by your boss), (your in-laws) develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
Now, that verse could just be about trials in general, or it could be about someone or something you're facing today. When you make that connection, you begin to swallow what you're eating. God's got a lot of fat children who've never put into use what they're reading.
Every day ask yourself the question, "What am I going to do because of what I read?" And once you do that and start to make those changes, you are well on your way to an exciting new you; one day, one change at a time.
Hey, don't be content to just ingest the Bible, digest it. That's the only way you grow.
He himself likewise shared in flesh and blood, that through death he might destroy the one who had the power of death, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were in bondage. Hebrews 3:15
Why do we do it? Endure the airports, cram the trunks of our cars and SUV’s? You know the answer. We love to be with the ones we love!
It’s the four-year-old running up the sidewalk into the arms of grandpa. The cup of coffee with mom before the rest of the house awakes. That moment when, for a moment, everyone is quiet as we hold hands around the table and thank God for family and friends and pumpkin pie!
We love to be with the ones we love.
May I remind you? So does God. He loves to be with the ones He loves. How else do you explain what He did? Between him and us there was a distance—a great span. And he couldn’t bear it. So he did something about it.
He gave up his place—and made himself—nothing! He did it for you and me.
John 8
1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.
Dispute Over Who Jesus Is
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Proverbs 2:1-9
Moral Benefits of Wisdom
1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
The Pursuit
January 3, 2012 — by Anne Cetas
. . . seek [wisdom] as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures. —Proverbs 2:4
When my husband, Carl, pursued a relationship with me while we were dating, he was serious about it. He called. He wrote notes. He asked thoughtful questions. He bought me flowers, candy, books, dinner, and other gifts. He spent a lot of time and effort in his pursuit of me.
Way back in the 10th century bc, Solomon recommended that kind of serious commitment when pursuing something else—wisdom. A dictionary definition of wisdom, “understanding what is true, right, or lasting,” sounds crucial if we want a life that glorifies our holy God.
Maybe that’s why Solomon used so many active verbs in Proverbs 2 to describe our needed efforts to gain wisdom. He said, “incline your ear,” “apply your heart,” “cry out,” “lift up your voice,” “seek her,” “search for her” (vv.2-4).
Seeking wisdom takes effort, and Scripture tells us where it can be found: “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” He isn’t storing up wisdom for Himself; “He stores up sound wisdom for the upright” (vv.6-7).
Seek God with all your heart. He is the source of all wisdom for your life.
What will it profit when life here is o’er,
Though great worldly wisdom I gain,
If seeking knowledge I utterly fail
The wisdom of God to obtain? —Nelson
You can acquire much knowledge,
but true wisdom comes only from God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Clouds and Darkness
Clouds and darkness surround Him . . . —Psalm 97:2
A person who has not been born again by the Spirit of God will tell you that the teachings of Jesus are simple. But when he is baptized by the Holy Spirit, he finds that “clouds and darkness surround Him . . . .” When we come into close contact with the teachings of Jesus Christ we have our first realization of this. The only possible way to have full understanding of the teachings of Jesus is through the light of the Spirit of God shining inside us. If we have never had the experience of taking our casual, religious shoes off our casual, religious feet— getting rid of all the excessive informality with which we approach God— it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence. The people who are flippant and disrespectful in their approach to God are those who have never been introduced to Jesus Christ. Only after the amazing delight and liberty of realizing what Jesus Christ does, comes the impenetrable “darkness” of realizing who He is.
Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Once, the Bible was just so many words to us — “clouds and darkness”— then, suddenly, the words become spirit and life because Jesus re-speaks them to us when our circumstances make the words new. That is the way God speaks to us; not by visions and dreams, but by words. When a man gets to God, it is by the most simple way— words.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Swallowing What You Eat - #6517
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
I was speaking at a youth conference, and we all had breakfast in the cafeteria together. And then when we got together for our morning session I said, "Now, I want you guys to imagine that somebody who was at breakfast with us comes in the room and his cheeks are all puffy and you ask him what's wrong, and he just goes, "uh...uh... uh..." And you go, "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Here's a piece of paper." And you give him a piece of paper and he writes down, "I'm starved." Now I ask him, "Did you eat breakfast?" "Uh-huh." "And you're still hungry?" "Uh-huh." And then I would ask him, "Did you swallow it?" "Huh-uh." "Oh, maybe that's why you're still hungry." See, it isn't enough just to ingest your food; you've got to swallow it for it to do anything for you.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Swallowing What You Eat."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is in Joshua 1:8. And you might say it's about spiritual eating and spiritual digestion, because ingestion is not enough to satisfy your appetite. Ingesting food is not enough to nourish you. Joshua 1:8 puts it this way in the biblical formula for personal success. It says this, "Do not let this book of the law (the Bible) depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night."
In other words, be saturated with the Bible. Take a Bible bath. You should be in it day and night, really knowing what it's saying. But listen, it says, "So that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."
Did you catch those words "careful to do"? It doesn't say, "I want you to read the Bible to just know what it says." I want you to read the Bible to do what it says. The purpose of being in God's Word is to memorize it, meditate on it, but then to do what you read. In other words, until the Bible gets into your real life; until you've found a change you're going to make because of what you've read, all you've done is sort of take it in, kind of hold it in your mouth spiritually, but it's not in your system.
So when you study the Bible, if you're going to read it to do something, that means before you close the Bible each morning when you're with the Lord, you say, "Lord, help me make a connection to something I'm going to face today." Always make that connection between what you're reading and what your life is doing right now. So, if you're reading about loving your brother, you say, "Okay, which brother am I having a hard time loving?" Okay, "Love your Ralph." Or whoever's the hard guy to love.
If it's talking about patience, you say, "Let's see, who do I need to be more patient with right now? Okay, Lord, help me be more patient with my Mom, or my wife." If it's talking about temptation, then you say, "Which temptation am I facing right now?" And you put that temptation into the verse. So if it says, "Do not let sin control your body." Then which sin? Okay, so you put in there, "Do not let gossip control your body (the one you struggle with, whatever it is)."
For example, in James 1. Let's try this. You're reading the book of James, and it says, "Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds." Now if you're just ingesting, you'd kind of go, "Today I read about trials." Now, wait a minute. No, no! Which trial are you facing right now?" You go, "Oh, man, my boss!" Or you might say if you're married, "My in-laws." Okay, then make it in the verse, "Whenever you face trials of many kinds (with your boss), (with your in-laws) because you know that the testing of your faith (by your boss), (your in-laws) develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
Now, that verse could just be about trials in general, or it could be about someone or something you're facing today. When you make that connection, you begin to swallow what you're eating. God's got a lot of fat children who've never put into use what they're reading.
Every day ask yourself the question, "What am I going to do because of what I read?" And once you do that and start to make those changes, you are well on your way to an exciting new you; one day, one change at a time.
Hey, don't be content to just ingest the Bible, digest it. That's the only way you grow.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Psalm 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: It’s a Choice
Be happy with those who are happy, and be sad with those who are sad. Romans 12:15
I often find it easier to “weep with those who weep” than I do to “rejoice with those who rejoice!”
The summer before my 8th grade year, I made friends with Larry. He was new, so I encouraged him to go out for our school football team. It was one of those good news—bad news things. The good news? He made the cut. The bad news? He won my position!
A few
weeks into the season Larry broke a finger. I remember the day he stood at my front door holding up his bandaged hand. “Looks like you’re going to have to play,” he said. I tried to feel sorry for him, but … “weep with those who weep” was a lot easier for Paul to write than for me to practice!
Psalm 11
For the director of music. Of David.
1 In the LORD I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:
“Flee like a bird to your mountain.
2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.
3 When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
4 The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.
5 The LORD examines the righteous,
but the wicked, those who love violence,
he hates with a passion.
6 On the wicked he will rain
fiery coals and burning sulfur;
a scorching wind will be their lot.
7 For the LORD is righteous,
he loves justice;
the upright will see his face.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 6:27-36
Love for Enemies
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Don’t Laugh It Off
January 2, 2012 — by Dave Branon
Love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return. —Luke 6:35
Driving a huge truck over the icy roads of northern Alaska would seem to be a task that requires a sense of humor. But when one driver heard another driver named Alex laugh often and rather loudly over the truck-to-truck communication system, he grew irritated. So he made some disparaging remarks about Alex and his good-natured guffaws.
Not long after that, the critical driver lost control of his big rig and ended up in a ditch—up to his axles in snow. And guess who came along the isolated road and saw his predicament? That’s right. Alex.
So, what would you do? Keep on trucking right past with a hearty laugh at the other guy’s trouble? That’s not what Alex did. He stopped and spent several hours helping dig his critic out. When he was done, he simply said, “Any opportunity I can have to make amends, I’m happy to do it.” And then, of course, he laughed.
What a lesson for all of us. Isn’t that what Christ commanded us to do in Luke 6—to help out even those who seem to be our enemies? The next time someone says something about you that you don’t like, think of Alex—and don’t just laugh it off. Do something positive for that person, and in so doing, you may make a friend.
Doing good to those who hate us,
Lord, is difficult to do;
Help us by Your grace to love them,
Praying they will turn to You. —Sper
A good example is the best sermon.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 02, 2012
Will You Go Out Without Knowing?
He went out, not knowing where he was going —Hebrews 11:8
Have you ever “gone out” in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?”You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in constant wonder, because you don’t know what God is going to do next. Each morning as you wake, there is a new opportunity to “go out,” building your confidence in God. “. . . do not worry about your life . . . nor about the body . . .” (Luke 12:22). In other words, don’t worry about the things that concerned you before you did “go out.”
Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is. Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you “go out” in complete surrender to Him until you are not surprised one iota by anything He does?
Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to “go out” in dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus. You must learn to “go out” through your convictions, creeds, or experiences until you come to the point in your faith where there is nothing between yourself and God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Man With "What's Next?" - #6516
Monday, January 2, 2012
The image of a burning candle on an iPad. That's actually the way that many people paid tribute and honored Steve Jobs' death and life. How appropriate. I mean, he was that inventive genius; the innovative marketer who brought the communications revolution from the "geekosphere" to something you could hold in your hand.
Bill Gates described Steve Jobs' impact as "profound." News anchors were quick to say he "changed the world." And yes, he did. He was always a newsmaker when he walked on that Apple stage to introduce technology's "what's next?"
But now with Steve Jobs' passing, I find myself asking "what's next?" on a much deeper level. What's next on the other side of our last heartbeat, when the obituaries and the tributes are for us?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Man With 'What's Next?'"
Speaking at a Stanford University commencement, Steve Jobs said, "Death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it." He's so right. A personal expiration date that God alone knows. And God's Book reveals in our word for today from the Word of God in Hebrews 9:27 that "man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." So it's not only death that's inescapable. It's that personal appointment with the God who made us.
And at that point, as Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). Not even all the religion in the world will be enough because, well, being right with God is according to the Bible, "not by works of righteousness which we have done" (Titus 3:5).
I'm feeling a certain sadness. Not just because of one man's death, but because of so many lives that are more wired than ever, but more weary of life than ever. No technology, no amount of Facebook "friends," no exciting new experience or relationship can ever satisfy that relentless thirst of our empty hearts, and there's a reason. The Bible says, "God has set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We are forever searching for something that's "ever lasting" in a world where it's all so, you know, "never lasting."
When Jesus was talking at a well to a woman whose life was littered with disappointing relationships, He used the well as an example to tell us all how to fill that "eternity" hole in our hearts. He said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again (and, sure enough, we are). But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:13).
See, Jesus can promise life that's "eternal" because, well, He proved He's got it to give. Because His obituary quickly became old news when He walked out of His grave and conquered what no one could conquer - He conquered death. But it was His death that made our "what's next?" nothing to fear. The Bible says, "Christ died for our sins" (Romans 5:8). And when He did that, He tore down the wall that would otherwise keep us out of God's heaven. And if that wall is there when you die, then the last heartbeat you have is not the gateway to an awesome eternity, but to an awful eternity.
And that's why Jesus died, to take all of that punishment for us. He stepped out of heaven and onto the stage of earth to introduce what only He could and that's eternal life. He offers this amazing peace and fulfillment of knowing that you're ready to live and you're ready to die, whenever and however it comes. So what we do with Him - whether we give ourselves to Him or stubbornly insist on being our god for our life - is immeasurably decisive. Eternally decisive.
So, what you decide to do with Jesus even this very day could be eternally decisive. I urge you, if you're not sure you've begun your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, make this the day you get that done and to say, "Jesus, I'm Yours." Go to our website. There's a lot of information that will help you make that choice. It's YoursForLife.net.
I accepted Jesus' invitation to "believe in Him" and as it says, "have eternal life" (John 3:16). So my obituary will not be the end. No, it's only the beginning.
Be happy with those who are happy, and be sad with those who are sad. Romans 12:15
I often find it easier to “weep with those who weep” than I do to “rejoice with those who rejoice!”
The summer before my 8th grade year, I made friends with Larry. He was new, so I encouraged him to go out for our school football team. It was one of those good news—bad news things. The good news? He made the cut. The bad news? He won my position!
A few
weeks into the season Larry broke a finger. I remember the day he stood at my front door holding up his bandaged hand. “Looks like you’re going to have to play,” he said. I tried to feel sorry for him, but … “weep with those who weep” was a lot easier for Paul to write than for me to practice!
Psalm 11
For the director of music. Of David.
1 In the LORD I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:
“Flee like a bird to your mountain.
2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.
3 When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
4 The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.
5 The LORD examines the righteous,
but the wicked, those who love violence,
he hates with a passion.
6 On the wicked he will rain
fiery coals and burning sulfur;
a scorching wind will be their lot.
7 For the LORD is righteous,
he loves justice;
the upright will see his face.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 6:27-36
Love for Enemies
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Don’t Laugh It Off
January 2, 2012 — by Dave Branon
Love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return. —Luke 6:35
Driving a huge truck over the icy roads of northern Alaska would seem to be a task that requires a sense of humor. But when one driver heard another driver named Alex laugh often and rather loudly over the truck-to-truck communication system, he grew irritated. So he made some disparaging remarks about Alex and his good-natured guffaws.
Not long after that, the critical driver lost control of his big rig and ended up in a ditch—up to his axles in snow. And guess who came along the isolated road and saw his predicament? That’s right. Alex.
So, what would you do? Keep on trucking right past with a hearty laugh at the other guy’s trouble? That’s not what Alex did. He stopped and spent several hours helping dig his critic out. When he was done, he simply said, “Any opportunity I can have to make amends, I’m happy to do it.” And then, of course, he laughed.
What a lesson for all of us. Isn’t that what Christ commanded us to do in Luke 6—to help out even those who seem to be our enemies? The next time someone says something about you that you don’t like, think of Alex—and don’t just laugh it off. Do something positive for that person, and in so doing, you may make a friend.
Doing good to those who hate us,
Lord, is difficult to do;
Help us by Your grace to love them,
Praying they will turn to You. —Sper
A good example is the best sermon.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 02, 2012
Will You Go Out Without Knowing?
He went out, not knowing where he was going —Hebrews 11:8
Have you ever “gone out” in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?”You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in constant wonder, because you don’t know what God is going to do next. Each morning as you wake, there is a new opportunity to “go out,” building your confidence in God. “. . . do not worry about your life . . . nor about the body . . .” (Luke 12:22). In other words, don’t worry about the things that concerned you before you did “go out.”
Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is. Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you “go out” in complete surrender to Him until you are not surprised one iota by anything He does?
Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to “go out” in dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus. You must learn to “go out” through your convictions, creeds, or experiences until you come to the point in your faith where there is nothing between yourself and God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Man With "What's Next?" - #6516
Monday, January 2, 2012
The image of a burning candle on an iPad. That's actually the way that many people paid tribute and honored Steve Jobs' death and life. How appropriate. I mean, he was that inventive genius; the innovative marketer who brought the communications revolution from the "geekosphere" to something you could hold in your hand.
Bill Gates described Steve Jobs' impact as "profound." News anchors were quick to say he "changed the world." And yes, he did. He was always a newsmaker when he walked on that Apple stage to introduce technology's "what's next?"
But now with Steve Jobs' passing, I find myself asking "what's next?" on a much deeper level. What's next on the other side of our last heartbeat, when the obituaries and the tributes are for us?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Man With 'What's Next?'"
Speaking at a Stanford University commencement, Steve Jobs said, "Death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it." He's so right. A personal expiration date that God alone knows. And God's Book reveals in our word for today from the Word of God in Hebrews 9:27 that "man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." So it's not only death that's inescapable. It's that personal appointment with the God who made us.
And at that point, as Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). Not even all the religion in the world will be enough because, well, being right with God is according to the Bible, "not by works of righteousness which we have done" (Titus 3:5).
I'm feeling a certain sadness. Not just because of one man's death, but because of so many lives that are more wired than ever, but more weary of life than ever. No technology, no amount of Facebook "friends," no exciting new experience or relationship can ever satisfy that relentless thirst of our empty hearts, and there's a reason. The Bible says, "God has set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We are forever searching for something that's "ever lasting" in a world where it's all so, you know, "never lasting."
When Jesus was talking at a well to a woman whose life was littered with disappointing relationships, He used the well as an example to tell us all how to fill that "eternity" hole in our hearts. He said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again (and, sure enough, we are). But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:13).
See, Jesus can promise life that's "eternal" because, well, He proved He's got it to give. Because His obituary quickly became old news when He walked out of His grave and conquered what no one could conquer - He conquered death. But it was His death that made our "what's next?" nothing to fear. The Bible says, "Christ died for our sins" (Romans 5:8). And when He did that, He tore down the wall that would otherwise keep us out of God's heaven. And if that wall is there when you die, then the last heartbeat you have is not the gateway to an awesome eternity, but to an awful eternity.
And that's why Jesus died, to take all of that punishment for us. He stepped out of heaven and onto the stage of earth to introduce what only He could and that's eternal life. He offers this amazing peace and fulfillment of knowing that you're ready to live and you're ready to die, whenever and however it comes. So what we do with Him - whether we give ourselves to Him or stubbornly insist on being our god for our life - is immeasurably decisive. Eternally decisive.
So, what you decide to do with Jesus even this very day could be eternally decisive. I urge you, if you're not sure you've begun your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, make this the day you get that done and to say, "Jesus, I'm Yours." Go to our website. There's a lot of information that will help you make that choice. It's YoursForLife.net.
I accepted Jesus' invitation to "believe in Him" and as it says, "have eternal life" (John 3:16). So my obituary will not be the end. No, it's only the beginning.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Psalm 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen)
Max Lucado Daily: Go to Him
“God is our protection and our strength. He always helps in times of trouble.” Psalm 46:1-2
Ever feel as if you need to get away? So did Jesus. (Mark 1:35)
Ever have so many demands that you can’t stop for lunch? He can relate. (Mark 6:31) . . .
Do your friends ever let you down? When Christ needed help, his friends dozed off. (Matthew 26:40) . . .
When you turn to him for help, he runs to you to help. Why? He knows how you feel. He’s been there . . .
So go to him.
Psalm 9[a][b]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.
1 I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my right and my cause,
sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.
7 The LORD reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
8 He rules the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing the praises of the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
12 For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.
13 LORD, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may declare your praises
in the gates of Daughter Zion,
and there rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16 The LORD is known by his acts of justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.[c]
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,
all the nations that forget God.
18 But God will never forget the needy;
the hope of the afflicted will never perish.
19 Arise, LORD, do not let mortals triumph;
let the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror, LORD;
let the nations know they are only mortal.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 John 2:28–3:3
God’s Children and Sin
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
1 John 3
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Let’s Be Ready
January 1, 2012 — by Joe Stowell
Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself. —1 John 3:3
Happy New Year! Looking forward to what this new year might bring, I can’t help but wonder if 2012 will be the year when Jesus comes back. But then I also wonder if I’m ready.
All of my life I’ve had to “be ready.” As a child, I had to be ready for dinner by washing my hands. As an adult, being ready for important responsibilities continues to be an ongoing reality. But I’ve come to realize that nothing is more important than being ready for our reunion with Jesus.
Speaking of Christ’s return, John tells us that “everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself” (1 John 3:3). Looking forward to Jesus’ return fills us with hope—not a wish-list kind of hope, but a solid expectation that motivates us to keep our hearts from sinful distractions and rivets our attention on becoming more like Him. If we really believe that this might be the year of His return, we will be more ready to forgive, to seek forgiveness, and to share God’s unconditional love with others.
As we consider the possibility that Jesus could return this year, let’s be sure that we are ready. Let’s strive to be pure as He is pure, anticipating the day when tears and sorrow, pain and death will all be replaced with the everlasting joy of His presence.
Expecting Jesus’ soon return
Will help us live a life that’s pure;
For if we’re ready when He comes,
We will not be ashamed but sure. —Sper
Wanting to be ready for Christ’s return will make a difference in the way we live.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Let Us Keep to the Point
". . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death" —Philippians 1:20
My Utmost for His Highest. “. . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed . . . .” We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point— He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.
My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness. “Whether it means life or death-it makes no difference!” (see Philippians 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide— for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.
“God is our protection and our strength. He always helps in times of trouble.” Psalm 46:1-2
Ever feel as if you need to get away? So did Jesus. (Mark 1:35)
Ever have so many demands that you can’t stop for lunch? He can relate. (Mark 6:31) . . .
Do your friends ever let you down? When Christ needed help, his friends dozed off. (Matthew 26:40) . . .
When you turn to him for help, he runs to you to help. Why? He knows how you feel. He’s been there . . .
So go to him.
Psalm 9[a][b]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.
1 I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my right and my cause,
sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.
7 The LORD reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
8 He rules the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing the praises of the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
12 For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.
13 LORD, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may declare your praises
in the gates of Daughter Zion,
and there rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16 The LORD is known by his acts of justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.[c]
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,
all the nations that forget God.
18 But God will never forget the needy;
the hope of the afflicted will never perish.
19 Arise, LORD, do not let mortals triumph;
let the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror, LORD;
let the nations know they are only mortal.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 John 2:28–3:3
God’s Children and Sin
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
1 John 3
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Let’s Be Ready
January 1, 2012 — by Joe Stowell
Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself. —1 John 3:3
Happy New Year! Looking forward to what this new year might bring, I can’t help but wonder if 2012 will be the year when Jesus comes back. But then I also wonder if I’m ready.
All of my life I’ve had to “be ready.” As a child, I had to be ready for dinner by washing my hands. As an adult, being ready for important responsibilities continues to be an ongoing reality. But I’ve come to realize that nothing is more important than being ready for our reunion with Jesus.
Speaking of Christ’s return, John tells us that “everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself” (1 John 3:3). Looking forward to Jesus’ return fills us with hope—not a wish-list kind of hope, but a solid expectation that motivates us to keep our hearts from sinful distractions and rivets our attention on becoming more like Him. If we really believe that this might be the year of His return, we will be more ready to forgive, to seek forgiveness, and to share God’s unconditional love with others.
As we consider the possibility that Jesus could return this year, let’s be sure that we are ready. Let’s strive to be pure as He is pure, anticipating the day when tears and sorrow, pain and death will all be replaced with the everlasting joy of His presence.
Expecting Jesus’ soon return
Will help us live a life that’s pure;
For if we’re ready when He comes,
We will not be ashamed but sure. —Sper
Wanting to be ready for Christ’s return will make a difference in the way we live.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Let Us Keep to the Point
". . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death" —Philippians 1:20
My Utmost for His Highest. “. . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed . . . .” We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point— He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.
My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness. “Whether it means life or death-it makes no difference!” (see Philippians 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide— for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
John 7, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: He Leads Us
Your word is like a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105
God isn’t going to let you see the distant scene. So you might as well quit looking for it. He promises a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future. We do not need to know what will happen tomorrow. We only need to know He leads us and we will find grace to help us when we need it.
John 7:28-53
New International Version (NIV)
28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[a] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders
45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.
47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”
50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”
[The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53—8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.]
53 Then they all went home,
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 40:1-5
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
and put their trust in him.
4 Blessed is the one
who trusts in the LORD,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.[b]
5 Many, LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.
Reflections
December 31, 2011 — by Dennis Fisher
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit . . . and set my feet upon a rock. —Psalm 40:2
Not long ago, I passed a milestone marking 20 years since I began keeping a spiritual journal. As I reread my first few entries, I was amazed I ever kept it up. But now you couldn’t pay me to stop!
Here are some benefits I have received from journaling: From life experiences, I see that progress and failure are both part of the journey. I’m reminded of God’s grace when I read how He helped me to find a solution to a major problem. I gain insight from past struggles that help with issues I am currently facing. And, most important, journaling shows me how God has been faithfully working in my life.
Many of the psalms are like a spiritual journal. They often record how God has helped in times of testing. In Psalm 40, David writes: “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps” (vv.1-2). Later, David needed only to read that psalm to be reminded of God’s faithful deliverance.
Journaling may be useful to you too. It can help you see more clearly what God is teaching you on life’s journey and cause you to reflect on God’s faithfulness.
For Further Thought
To begin a journal: Record your struggles, reflect on a
verse that is especially comforting or challenging, or
write a prayer of thankfulness for God’s faithfulness.
Reflecting on God’s faithfulness in the past
brings hope for the future.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, December 30, 2011
Yesterday
You shall not go out with haste, . . . for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard —Isaiah 52:12
Security from Yesterday. “. . . God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.
Security for Tomorrow. “. . . the Lord will go before you . . . .” This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our “rear guard.” And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.
Security for Today. “You shall not go out with haste . . . .” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.
Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.
Your word is like a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105
God isn’t going to let you see the distant scene. So you might as well quit looking for it. He promises a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future. We do not need to know what will happen tomorrow. We only need to know He leads us and we will find grace to help us when we need it.
John 7:28-53
New International Version (NIV)
28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[a] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders
45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.
47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”
50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”
[The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53—8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.]
53 Then they all went home,
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 40:1-5
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
and put their trust in him.
4 Blessed is the one
who trusts in the LORD,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.[b]
5 Many, LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.
Reflections
December 31, 2011 — by Dennis Fisher
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit . . . and set my feet upon a rock. —Psalm 40:2
Not long ago, I passed a milestone marking 20 years since I began keeping a spiritual journal. As I reread my first few entries, I was amazed I ever kept it up. But now you couldn’t pay me to stop!
Here are some benefits I have received from journaling: From life experiences, I see that progress and failure are both part of the journey. I’m reminded of God’s grace when I read how He helped me to find a solution to a major problem. I gain insight from past struggles that help with issues I am currently facing. And, most important, journaling shows me how God has been faithfully working in my life.
Many of the psalms are like a spiritual journal. They often record how God has helped in times of testing. In Psalm 40, David writes: “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps” (vv.1-2). Later, David needed only to read that psalm to be reminded of God’s faithful deliverance.
Journaling may be useful to you too. It can help you see more clearly what God is teaching you on life’s journey and cause you to reflect on God’s faithfulness.
For Further Thought
To begin a journal: Record your struggles, reflect on a
verse that is especially comforting or challenging, or
write a prayer of thankfulness for God’s faithfulness.
Reflecting on God’s faithfulness in the past
brings hope for the future.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, December 30, 2011
Yesterday
You shall not go out with haste, . . . for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard —Isaiah 52:12
Security from Yesterday. “. . . God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.
Security for Tomorrow. “. . . the Lord will go before you . . . .” This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our “rear guard.” And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.
Security for Today. “You shall not go out with haste . . . .” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.
Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Psalm 8, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: A Better Family
Now we do not live
following our sinful selves,
but we live following the Spirit.
Romans 8:4
Perhaps your childhood memories bring more hurt than inspiration. The voices of your past cursed you, belittled you, ignored you. At the time, you thought such treatment was typical. Now you see it isn’t.
Now you find yourself trying to explain your past. Do you rise above the past and make a difference? Or do you remain controlled by the past and make excuses?
Think about this. Your parents may have given you genes, but God gives you grace. Your parents may be responsible for your body, but God has taken charge of your soul. You may get your looks from your mother, but you get eternity from your Father, your heavenly Father. God will give you what your family could never give you!
Psalm 8[f]
For the director of music. According to gittith.[g] A psalm of David.
1 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?[h]
5 You have made them[i] a little lower than the angels[j]
and crowned them[k] with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their[l] feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 12:1-8
A Living Sacrifice
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Humble Service in the Body of Christ
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Playing Your Part
December 30, 2011 — by Cindy Hess Kasper
We have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function. —Romans 12:4
For the past several years, my daughter Rosie has been the director of drama at a local middle school. Students come to audition and a few are selected to play the lead roles. But there are still many other important supporting roles that must be cast—roles that are vital to the production.
There are other young people who want to be a part of the show but don’t relish being in the spotlight. They are the ones who will change scenery, open and close the curtains, run the lights, and assist with makeup and costume changes. Then there are the parents from the community who provide pizza and cookies for rehearsals, donate goods, build sets, sew costumes, make signs, and hand out programs.
The success of the performances are the culmination of an intense 4- to 5-month process that is dependent on the hard work of a wide range of dedicated volunteers.
Similarly, for the body of Christ to function fully, each of us must play a part. Every believer is uniquely gifted for service. When these gifts are combined in a cooperative relationship, “every part does its share” (Eph. 4:16), and the separate parts make up the whole (Rom. 12:5).
We need each other. What part are you playing in the life of the church?
For the church to function fully,
We must all fulfill our role;
While the Spirit’s gifts are many,
They combine to serve the whole. —Sper
For a church to be healthy,
its members must exercise their spiritual gifts.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, December 30, 2011
"And Every Virtue We Possess"
. . . All my springs are in you —Psalm 87:7
Our Lord never “patches up” our natural virtues, that is, our natural traits, qualities, or characteristics. He completely remakes a person on the inside— “. . . put on the new man . . .” (Ephesians 4:24). In other words, see that your natural human life is putting on all that is in keeping with the new life. The life God places within us develops its own new virtues, not the virtues of the seed of Adam, but of Jesus Christ. Once God has begun the process of sanctification in your life, watch and see how God causes your confidence in your own natural virtues and power to wither away. He will continue until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through this drying-up experience!
The sign that God is at work in us is that He is destroying our confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but only a wasted reminder of what God created man to be. We want to cling to our natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us in contact with the life of Jesus Christ— a life that can never be described in terms of natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people who are trying to serve God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them. They are depending solely on what they have by virtue of heredity. God does not take our natural virtues and transform them, because our natural virtues could never even come close to what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every part of our natural bodily life into harmony with the new life God has placed within us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.
And every virtue we possess
Is His alone.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Going Not Knowing - #6515
Friday, December 30, 2011
Mystery rides were part of growing up at our house. Usually it was a Sunday afternoon, and I'd pile our three kids, who were little then and never will be again, into our car for a ride. I think we explored every corner of our area. And as we did, we discovered over the years, a lot of great things. But I've got one son who's a lot like me. He wants to know the plan before we leave.
"Hey, Dad, where are we going? Where are we going to eat? What are we going to eat? What are we going to do while we're there? How long will we be there? What time are we going to get home?" He would pump me with questions; I felt like I was being interrogated by a police sergeant. Sometimes I knew it was better not to explain where we were going. Oh, we've done things that would have sounded boring if I had told about them, but they turned out to be exciting and I knew they would. Plus surprises are fun anyway. So, my kids got used to hearing two words when we were about to begin a mystery trip, "Trust me." I don't think I let them down. It was good training for journeys with their other Father.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Going Not Knowing."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the life of the Apostle Paul; he's still Saul of Tarsus here. Acts 9 - he's on his way to wipe out Christians. He missed some in Jerusalem. So he said, "I'll get them in Damascus. They all went there; I'll find them in Syria." We begin in verse 3: "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?' 'Well, who are you, Lord?' Saul asked. 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 'Now, get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'"
Now, it's interesting that Saul's training for his whole life in Christ began immediately with a mystery trip. Yeah, did you notice that? He has just opened up to Jesus, and the Lord says, "Go into the city and you will be told." "Lord, what do you want me to do there? Who am I going to meet there? How am I even going to be able to see; I'm blind right now?" The Lord says, "Go and you will be told." Well, he spent the rest of his life living like that.
In Acts 20, when he was on his way to Jerusalem as the great Apostle Paul and his friends were trying to discourage him, he said, "Compelled by the Spirit, I am going not knowing." See, you have a heavenly Father who often takes His children on mystery trips. Maybe you're on one of His mystery trips right now. There's a good destination He's got in mind, but right now He's telling you just the next step. In essence, He's saying to you as He did to Saul, "Go, and you will be told as you are on the way."
It may well be that you're in the middle of one of those times right now, and the tendency is to say, "Now, Lord, if you'll just give me all the information, give me all the facts, I'll start going that direction." And the Lord says, "No, you start moving in that direction I've told you to go, and you'll get more information as you go."
Now, maybe you're waiting to have all your questions answered before you move, and right now there are more question marks than there are periods or exclamation points for sure. Can you almost hear your Father saying as He bundles you into His car, "Trust Me, let's start traveling together."
Hey, He died for you. Is He ever going to do you wrong? God's mystery trips always lead to a destination that is selected with you in mind for your good. So, why not settle back, enjoy the trip, and let Him drive. Trust your Father and don't be afraid of going not knowing.
Now we do not live
following our sinful selves,
but we live following the Spirit.
Romans 8:4
Perhaps your childhood memories bring more hurt than inspiration. The voices of your past cursed you, belittled you, ignored you. At the time, you thought such treatment was typical. Now you see it isn’t.
Now you find yourself trying to explain your past. Do you rise above the past and make a difference? Or do you remain controlled by the past and make excuses?
Think about this. Your parents may have given you genes, but God gives you grace. Your parents may be responsible for your body, but God has taken charge of your soul. You may get your looks from your mother, but you get eternity from your Father, your heavenly Father. God will give you what your family could never give you!
Psalm 8[f]
For the director of music. According to gittith.[g] A psalm of David.
1 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?[h]
5 You have made them[i] a little lower than the angels[j]
and crowned them[k] with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their[l] feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 12:1-8
A Living Sacrifice
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Humble Service in the Body of Christ
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Playing Your Part
December 30, 2011 — by Cindy Hess Kasper
We have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function. —Romans 12:4
For the past several years, my daughter Rosie has been the director of drama at a local middle school. Students come to audition and a few are selected to play the lead roles. But there are still many other important supporting roles that must be cast—roles that are vital to the production.
There are other young people who want to be a part of the show but don’t relish being in the spotlight. They are the ones who will change scenery, open and close the curtains, run the lights, and assist with makeup and costume changes. Then there are the parents from the community who provide pizza and cookies for rehearsals, donate goods, build sets, sew costumes, make signs, and hand out programs.
The success of the performances are the culmination of an intense 4- to 5-month process that is dependent on the hard work of a wide range of dedicated volunteers.
Similarly, for the body of Christ to function fully, each of us must play a part. Every believer is uniquely gifted for service. When these gifts are combined in a cooperative relationship, “every part does its share” (Eph. 4:16), and the separate parts make up the whole (Rom. 12:5).
We need each other. What part are you playing in the life of the church?
For the church to function fully,
We must all fulfill our role;
While the Spirit’s gifts are many,
They combine to serve the whole. —Sper
For a church to be healthy,
its members must exercise their spiritual gifts.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, December 30, 2011
"And Every Virtue We Possess"
. . . All my springs are in you —Psalm 87:7
Our Lord never “patches up” our natural virtues, that is, our natural traits, qualities, or characteristics. He completely remakes a person on the inside— “. . . put on the new man . . .” (Ephesians 4:24). In other words, see that your natural human life is putting on all that is in keeping with the new life. The life God places within us develops its own new virtues, not the virtues of the seed of Adam, but of Jesus Christ. Once God has begun the process of sanctification in your life, watch and see how God causes your confidence in your own natural virtues and power to wither away. He will continue until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through this drying-up experience!
The sign that God is at work in us is that He is destroying our confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but only a wasted reminder of what God created man to be. We want to cling to our natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us in contact with the life of Jesus Christ— a life that can never be described in terms of natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people who are trying to serve God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them. They are depending solely on what they have by virtue of heredity. God does not take our natural virtues and transform them, because our natural virtues could never even come close to what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every part of our natural bodily life into harmony with the new life God has placed within us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.
And every virtue we possess
Is His alone.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Going Not Knowing - #6515
Friday, December 30, 2011
Mystery rides were part of growing up at our house. Usually it was a Sunday afternoon, and I'd pile our three kids, who were little then and never will be again, into our car for a ride. I think we explored every corner of our area. And as we did, we discovered over the years, a lot of great things. But I've got one son who's a lot like me. He wants to know the plan before we leave.
"Hey, Dad, where are we going? Where are we going to eat? What are we going to eat? What are we going to do while we're there? How long will we be there? What time are we going to get home?" He would pump me with questions; I felt like I was being interrogated by a police sergeant. Sometimes I knew it was better not to explain where we were going. Oh, we've done things that would have sounded boring if I had told about them, but they turned out to be exciting and I knew they would. Plus surprises are fun anyway. So, my kids got used to hearing two words when we were about to begin a mystery trip, "Trust me." I don't think I let them down. It was good training for journeys with their other Father.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Going Not Knowing."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the life of the Apostle Paul; he's still Saul of Tarsus here. Acts 9 - he's on his way to wipe out Christians. He missed some in Jerusalem. So he said, "I'll get them in Damascus. They all went there; I'll find them in Syria." We begin in verse 3: "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?' 'Well, who are you, Lord?' Saul asked. 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 'Now, get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'"
Now, it's interesting that Saul's training for his whole life in Christ began immediately with a mystery trip. Yeah, did you notice that? He has just opened up to Jesus, and the Lord says, "Go into the city and you will be told." "Lord, what do you want me to do there? Who am I going to meet there? How am I even going to be able to see; I'm blind right now?" The Lord says, "Go and you will be told." Well, he spent the rest of his life living like that.
In Acts 20, when he was on his way to Jerusalem as the great Apostle Paul and his friends were trying to discourage him, he said, "Compelled by the Spirit, I am going not knowing." See, you have a heavenly Father who often takes His children on mystery trips. Maybe you're on one of His mystery trips right now. There's a good destination He's got in mind, but right now He's telling you just the next step. In essence, He's saying to you as He did to Saul, "Go, and you will be told as you are on the way."
It may well be that you're in the middle of one of those times right now, and the tendency is to say, "Now, Lord, if you'll just give me all the information, give me all the facts, I'll start going that direction." And the Lord says, "No, you start moving in that direction I've told you to go, and you'll get more information as you go."
Now, maybe you're waiting to have all your questions answered before you move, and right now there are more question marks than there are periods or exclamation points for sure. Can you almost hear your Father saying as He bundles you into His car, "Trust Me, let's start traveling together."
Hey, He died for you. Is He ever going to do you wrong? God's mystery trips always lead to a destination that is selected with you in mind for your good. So, why not settle back, enjoy the trip, and let Him drive. Trust your Father and don't be afraid of going not knowing.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Psalm 7, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Majority Rules?
May the Lord lead your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s patience. 2 Thessalonians 3:5
Where do we get these ideas? The majority is not always right. In fact, it’s rarely right.
If the majority had ruled, the children of Israel never would have left Egypt. They would have voted to stay in bondage. If the majority had ruled, David never would have fought Goliath. His brothers would have voted for him to stay with the sheep. What’s the point?
You must listen to your own heart.
God says you’re on your way to becoming a disciple when you can keep a clear head and a pure heart.
Do you ever try to do something right and yet nothing seems to turn out like you planned?
Take heart. When you do what is right—God remembers.
Psalm 7
Psalm 7[a]
A shiggaion[b] of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
1 LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me apart like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3 LORD my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands—
4 if I have repaid my ally with evil
or without cause have robbed my foe—
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust.[c]
6 Arise, LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
while you sit enthroned over them on high.
8 Let the LORD judge the peoples.
Vindicate me, LORD, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
9 Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure—
you, the righteous God
who probes minds and hearts.
10 My shield[d] is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who displays his wrath every day.
12 If he does not relent,
he[e] will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.
14 Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit they have made.
16 The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads.
17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Habakkuk 3:11-19
11 Sun and moon stood still in the heavens
at the glint of your flying arrows,
at the lightning of your flashing spear.
12 In wrath you strode through the earth
and in anger you threshed the nations.
13 You came out to deliver your people,
to save your anointed one.
You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness,
you stripped him from head to foot.
14 With his own spear you pierced his head
when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,
gloating as though about to devour
the wretched who were in hiding.
15 You trampled the sea with your horses,
churning the great waters.
16 I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
Yet I Will Rejoice
December 29, 2011 — by Marvin Williams
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. —Habakkuk 3:18
Life in our world can be difficult. At some point, most of us have wondered, Where is God in my trouble? And we may have thought, It seems like injustice is winning and God is silent. We have a choice as to how we respond to our troubles. The prophet Habakkuk had an attitude worth following: He made the choice to rejoice.
Habakkuk saw the rapid increase in Judah’s moral and spiritual failings, and this disturbed him deeply. But God’s response troubled him even more. God would use the wicked nation of Babylon to punish Judah. Habakkuk did not fully understand this, but he could rejoice because he had learned to rely on the wisdom, justice, and sovereignty of God. He concluded his book with a wonderful affirmation: “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (3:18). Though it was not clear how Judah would survive, Habakkuk had learned to trust God amid injustice, suffering, and loss. He would live by his faith in God alone. With this kind of faith came joy in God, despite the circumstances surrounding him.
We too can rejoice in our trials, have surefooted confidence in God, and live on the heights of His sovereignty.
Be this the purpose of my soul
My solemn, my determined choice:
To yield to God’s supreme control,
And in my every trial rejoice. —Anon.
Praising God in our trials turns burdens into blessings.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Deserter or Disciple?
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more —John 6:66
When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must “walk in the light” of that vision (1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don’t “walk in the light” of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don’t look at someone else and say, “Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?” You have to “walk in the light” of the vision that has been given to you. Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them— that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the “heavenly vision,” do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you— things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself— “. . . for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). If we don’t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord’s teaching.
Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don’t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tomorrow's Weather - #6514
Thursday, December 29, 2011
There was a time in my life when I had once a month responsibilities in Chicago, and I was living in New Jersey. So it gave me an opportunity to see what weather was headed for my home in New Jersey. Of course, you know the weather in our country moves from West to East. So, usually, in New Jersey we got Chicago's yesterday - today.
Now, one spectacular, warm and sunny day I left Chicago. I mean, it was a "10" on the scale of beautiful days. When I got home, it was kind of a cool, rainy day, and it had been that way for about three days straight; just kind of everything just gray. I got home and the family's I guess biorhythms were all kind of acting like it had been three rainy days. "It's just been raining and cool." Well, I was a bearer of good news. I said, "Hey, don't be discouraged! I've seen tomorrow's weather."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Tomorrow's Weather."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Psalm 30:6. A short statement that says this: "Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." David, with a sigh here, talks about tears, and weeping, and long nights of grief. He's seen the grief of the moment, but he has also seen tomorrow's weather. And he says, "Rejoicing is coming."
For a Christian, the forecast is always joy in the morning. You see, it isn't the absence of hurt that makes life in Christ unique, because we have as much hurt as everyone else. It's the presence of hope. You may know very personally that being in Christ is no guarantee against grief and pain. You may have just experienced an awful loss. Maybe you're facing physical pain or some frightening medical prospects. Maybe your agony is over the wrong road that a loved one of yours has chosen. For some deeply personal reason right now there are tears; maybe almost unbearable struggle at times. And God cares about those tears.
In fact, Psalm 56:8 says, "He gathers up your tears in a bottle." He feels your pain, but this isn't the end. I don't know why God wants me to talk about this today, but I just feel that someone needs to hear this simple truth today, "This is not the end. There will be joy in the morning. It won't rain forever." I don't know what form that joy's going to take. God may send a person that He has prepared to fill the hole in your life that you're grieving over now. Or maybe He will use your tragedy in such a glorious way that you'll be amazed at the lives that He's going to touch. They'll listen to you because of the trail you have walked.
Or maybe He'll remind you of the heavenly reunion that's going to last so much longer than the separation. He may send you a miracle that will be a miracle that will deliver you from this. Or maybe God will open up to you a depth of knowing Him that you would have never experienced without this loss. And you will be a friend of God as few people around you are, because you have touched Him at a moment of desperation and deep need and found out that when Jesus is all you've got, Jesus is all you need.
Look, I don't know how, but I do know that joy is coming. In the moments of grief, and agony, and insecurity, and when the world collapses around you and everything you've depended on is shaking, I just wonder how people do that without Jesus? Maybe you've been trying to walk through a dark valley without Him. You know, the Bible says, "He bore our sorrows. He was a man of sorrows. He was crushed for our sins. He died so you would never have to walk through life alone again.
This could be the day when you reach out to Him and say, "Jesus, you loved me. You died for me, for my sin. I want to belong to You." The Bible says, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil because You are with me."
You can stand this stormy season if you know it won't rain forever. Oh, you have hurt, but because of Jesus you have hope. So don't be discouraged. I have seen tomorrow's weather.
May the Lord lead your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s patience. 2 Thessalonians 3:5
Where do we get these ideas? The majority is not always right. In fact, it’s rarely right.
If the majority had ruled, the children of Israel never would have left Egypt. They would have voted to stay in bondage. If the majority had ruled, David never would have fought Goliath. His brothers would have voted for him to stay with the sheep. What’s the point?
You must listen to your own heart.
God says you’re on your way to becoming a disciple when you can keep a clear head and a pure heart.
Do you ever try to do something right and yet nothing seems to turn out like you planned?
Take heart. When you do what is right—God remembers.
Psalm 7
Psalm 7[a]
A shiggaion[b] of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
1 LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me apart like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3 LORD my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands—
4 if I have repaid my ally with evil
or without cause have robbed my foe—
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust.[c]
6 Arise, LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
while you sit enthroned over them on high.
8 Let the LORD judge the peoples.
Vindicate me, LORD, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
9 Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure—
you, the righteous God
who probes minds and hearts.
10 My shield[d] is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who displays his wrath every day.
12 If he does not relent,
he[e] will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.
14 Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit they have made.
16 The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads.
17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Habakkuk 3:11-19
11 Sun and moon stood still in the heavens
at the glint of your flying arrows,
at the lightning of your flashing spear.
12 In wrath you strode through the earth
and in anger you threshed the nations.
13 You came out to deliver your people,
to save your anointed one.
You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness,
you stripped him from head to foot.
14 With his own spear you pierced his head
when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,
gloating as though about to devour
the wretched who were in hiding.
15 You trampled the sea with your horses,
churning the great waters.
16 I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
Yet I Will Rejoice
December 29, 2011 — by Marvin Williams
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. —Habakkuk 3:18
Life in our world can be difficult. At some point, most of us have wondered, Where is God in my trouble? And we may have thought, It seems like injustice is winning and God is silent. We have a choice as to how we respond to our troubles. The prophet Habakkuk had an attitude worth following: He made the choice to rejoice.
Habakkuk saw the rapid increase in Judah’s moral and spiritual failings, and this disturbed him deeply. But God’s response troubled him even more. God would use the wicked nation of Babylon to punish Judah. Habakkuk did not fully understand this, but he could rejoice because he had learned to rely on the wisdom, justice, and sovereignty of God. He concluded his book with a wonderful affirmation: “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (3:18). Though it was not clear how Judah would survive, Habakkuk had learned to trust God amid injustice, suffering, and loss. He would live by his faith in God alone. With this kind of faith came joy in God, despite the circumstances surrounding him.
We too can rejoice in our trials, have surefooted confidence in God, and live on the heights of His sovereignty.
Be this the purpose of my soul
My solemn, my determined choice:
To yield to God’s supreme control,
And in my every trial rejoice. —Anon.
Praising God in our trials turns burdens into blessings.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Deserter or Disciple?
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more —John 6:66
When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must “walk in the light” of that vision (1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don’t “walk in the light” of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don’t look at someone else and say, “Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?” You have to “walk in the light” of the vision that has been given to you. Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them— that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the “heavenly vision,” do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you— things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself— “. . . for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). If we don’t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord’s teaching.
Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don’t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tomorrow's Weather - #6514
Thursday, December 29, 2011
There was a time in my life when I had once a month responsibilities in Chicago, and I was living in New Jersey. So it gave me an opportunity to see what weather was headed for my home in New Jersey. Of course, you know the weather in our country moves from West to East. So, usually, in New Jersey we got Chicago's yesterday - today.
Now, one spectacular, warm and sunny day I left Chicago. I mean, it was a "10" on the scale of beautiful days. When I got home, it was kind of a cool, rainy day, and it had been that way for about three days straight; just kind of everything just gray. I got home and the family's I guess biorhythms were all kind of acting like it had been three rainy days. "It's just been raining and cool." Well, I was a bearer of good news. I said, "Hey, don't be discouraged! I've seen tomorrow's weather."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Tomorrow's Weather."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Psalm 30:6. A short statement that says this: "Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." David, with a sigh here, talks about tears, and weeping, and long nights of grief. He's seen the grief of the moment, but he has also seen tomorrow's weather. And he says, "Rejoicing is coming."
For a Christian, the forecast is always joy in the morning. You see, it isn't the absence of hurt that makes life in Christ unique, because we have as much hurt as everyone else. It's the presence of hope. You may know very personally that being in Christ is no guarantee against grief and pain. You may have just experienced an awful loss. Maybe you're facing physical pain or some frightening medical prospects. Maybe your agony is over the wrong road that a loved one of yours has chosen. For some deeply personal reason right now there are tears; maybe almost unbearable struggle at times. And God cares about those tears.
In fact, Psalm 56:8 says, "He gathers up your tears in a bottle." He feels your pain, but this isn't the end. I don't know why God wants me to talk about this today, but I just feel that someone needs to hear this simple truth today, "This is not the end. There will be joy in the morning. It won't rain forever." I don't know what form that joy's going to take. God may send a person that He has prepared to fill the hole in your life that you're grieving over now. Or maybe He will use your tragedy in such a glorious way that you'll be amazed at the lives that He's going to touch. They'll listen to you because of the trail you have walked.
Or maybe He'll remind you of the heavenly reunion that's going to last so much longer than the separation. He may send you a miracle that will be a miracle that will deliver you from this. Or maybe God will open up to you a depth of knowing Him that you would have never experienced without this loss. And you will be a friend of God as few people around you are, because you have touched Him at a moment of desperation and deep need and found out that when Jesus is all you've got, Jesus is all you need.
Look, I don't know how, but I do know that joy is coming. In the moments of grief, and agony, and insecurity, and when the world collapses around you and everything you've depended on is shaking, I just wonder how people do that without Jesus? Maybe you've been trying to walk through a dark valley without Him. You know, the Bible says, "He bore our sorrows. He was a man of sorrows. He was crushed for our sins. He died so you would never have to walk through life alone again.
This could be the day when you reach out to Him and say, "Jesus, you loved me. You died for me, for my sin. I want to belong to You." The Bible says, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil because You are with me."
You can stand this stormy season if you know it won't rain forever. Oh, you have hurt, but because of Jesus you have hope. So don't be discouraged. I have seen tomorrow's weather.
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