Max Lucado: An Advocate
Not all guilt is bad. God uses appropriate doses of guilt to awaken us to sin!
God’s guilt brings enough regret to change us! Satan’s guilt brings enough regret to enslave us. Don’t let him lock his shackles on you.
Colossians 3:3 reminds us, “your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
When he looks at you, he sees Jesus first. In the Chinese language the word for “righteousness” is a combination of two characters, the figure of a lamb and a person. The lamb is on top, covering the person. Whenever God looks down at you, this is what he sees: The perfect Lamb of God covering you.
It boils down to this choice: Do you trust your Advocate—God or your Accuser—Satan? Give no heed to Satan’s voice. You have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous!
From GRACE
Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses the man of God.
Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4 A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
7 We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
10 Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
12 Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Relent, Lord! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor[a] of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Read: Matthew 18:1-10
The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Causing to Stumble
6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
The Parable of the Wandering Sheep
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
Insight
Jesus’ warning in Matthew 18:6 would have been received with the weight it deserved. The ancient Hebrews viewed the sea as a place of danger and chaos. As a result, there were few things more feared than death by drowning, the picture Jesus painted here.
Gentle Jesus
By David C. McCasland
Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. —Matthew 18:3
Charles Wesley (1707–1788) was a Methodist evangelist who wrote more than 9,000 hymns and sacred poems. Some, like “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” are great, soaring hymns of praise. But his poem “Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild,” first published in 1742, is a child’s quiet prayer that captures the essence of how all of us should seek the Lord in sincere, simple faith.
Loving Jesus, gentle Lamb,
In Thy gracious hands I am;
Make me, Savior, what Thou art,
Live Thyself within my heart.
When some followers of Jesus were jockeying for position in His kingdom, the Lord “called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven’” (Matt. 18:2-3).
Not many children seek position or power. Instead, they want acceptance and security. They cling to the adults who love and care for them. Jesus never turned children away.
The last stanza of Wesley’s poem shows a childlike desire to be just like Jesus: “I shall then show forth Thy praise / Serve Thee all my happy days; / Then the world shall always see / Christ, the holy Child, in me.”
Father, give me the faith of a little child. I want
to know Your love and care, and to rest in Your
embrace. Grant my desire to be like You in all
my ways that I might live for Your honor.
Faith shines brightest in a childlike heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Arguments or Obedience
. . . the simplicity that is in Christ. —2 Corinthians 11:3
Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure, then obey Him in that matter. Bring all your “arguments and . . . every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” regarding the matter, and everything will become as clear as daylight to you (2 Corinthians 10:5). Your reasoning capacity will come later, but reasoning is not how we see. We see like children, and when we try to be wise we see nothing (see Matthew 11:25).
Even the very smallest thing that we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is completely sufficient to account for spiritual confusion, and spending all of our time thinking about it will still never make it clear. Spiritual confusion can only be conquered through obedience. As soon as we obey, we have discernment. This is humiliating, because when we are confused we know that the reason lies in the state of our mind. But when our natural power of sight is devoted and submitted in obedience to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the very power by which we perceive God’s will, and our entire life is kept in simplicity.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Mark 4:21-41, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: God Surrounds Us
God surrounds us like the Pacific surrounds an ocean floor pebble. He is everywhere: above, below, on all sides. We choose our response—rock or sponge? Resist or receive? Everything within you says, harden your heart. Run from God, resist God, blame God.
But be careful. Hard hearts never heal. Spongy ones do! Open every pore of your soul to God’s presence. Here’s how. Lay claim to the nearness of God. He says in Hebrews 13:5, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Grip this promise like the parachute it is. Repeat it over and over until it trumps the voices of fear. The Lord God is with you, and He is mighty to save. Cling to His character. Quarry from your Bible a list of the deep qualities of God and press them into your heart. He is sovereign. You will get through this!
From You’ll Get Through This
Mark 4:21-41
A Lamp on a Stand
21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”
24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
Jesus Calms the Storm
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Read: Isaiah 43:22-28
“Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,
you have not wearied yourselves for[a] me, Israel.
23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,
nor honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with grain offerings
nor wearied you with demands for incense.
24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,
or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your offenses.
25 “I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more.
26 Review the past for me,
let us argue the matter together;
state the case for your innocence.
27 Your first father sinned;
those I sent to teach you rebelled against me.
28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;
I consigned Jacob to destruction[b]
and Israel to scorn.
Footnotes:
Isaiah 43:22 Or Jacob; / surely you have grown weary of
Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Insight
God’s people had been unfaithful and had stubbornly refused to repent and return to God (Isa. 43:22-24). Yet despite their sins and guilt, God in His mercy said He would forgive them (v.25), even though they were undeserving of His favor (v.26). From the time of “your first father and your mediators”—perhaps referring to Abraham and other covenantal leaders such as Moses—they were all sinners (v.27). Although their sins would be forgiven, they would still face the consequences of their actions and be disciplined through the exile (v.28).
Think Of Them No More
By David H. Roper
I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. —Isaiah 43:25
My early years as a believer in Christ were laden with foreboding. I had the impression that when Jesus comes back, all my sins will be portrayed on a giant screen for everyone to see.
I know now that God chooses not to remember against me a single one of my transgressions. Every sin has been buried in the deepest sea, never to be exhumed and examined again.
Amy Carmichael wrote, “A day or two ago I was thinking rather sadly of the past—so many sins and failures and lapses of every kind. I was reading Isaiah 43, and in verse 24 I saw myself: ‘You have wearied me with your iniquities.’ And then for the first time I noticed that there is no space between verse 24 and verse 25: ‘I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.’”
Indeed, when our Lord comes back He will “bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God” (1 Cor. 4:5). On that day our works will be tried and we may suffer loss, but we will not be judged for sin (3:11-15). God will see what Christ has done for us. He “will not remember [our] sins.”
Where no far-reaching tide with its powerful sweep
May stir the dark waves of forgetfulness deep,
I have buried them there where no mortal can see!
I’ve cast all thy sins in the depths of the sea. —Anon.
When God saves us, our sins are forgiven forever.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, September 13, 2014
After Surrender— Then What?
I have finished the work which You have given Me to do —John 17:4
True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.
Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.
Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . . ” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and (Philippians 4:19).
Surrender for Death. “. . . another will gird you . . .” (John 21:18 ; also see John21:19). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.
And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.
God surrounds us like the Pacific surrounds an ocean floor pebble. He is everywhere: above, below, on all sides. We choose our response—rock or sponge? Resist or receive? Everything within you says, harden your heart. Run from God, resist God, blame God.
But be careful. Hard hearts never heal. Spongy ones do! Open every pore of your soul to God’s presence. Here’s how. Lay claim to the nearness of God. He says in Hebrews 13:5, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Grip this promise like the parachute it is. Repeat it over and over until it trumps the voices of fear. The Lord God is with you, and He is mighty to save. Cling to His character. Quarry from your Bible a list of the deep qualities of God and press them into your heart. He is sovereign. You will get through this!
From You’ll Get Through This
Mark 4:21-41
A Lamp on a Stand
21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”
24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
Jesus Calms the Storm
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Read: Isaiah 43:22-28
“Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,
you have not wearied yourselves for[a] me, Israel.
23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,
nor honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with grain offerings
nor wearied you with demands for incense.
24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,
or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your offenses.
25 “I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more.
26 Review the past for me,
let us argue the matter together;
state the case for your innocence.
27 Your first father sinned;
those I sent to teach you rebelled against me.
28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;
I consigned Jacob to destruction[b]
and Israel to scorn.
Footnotes:
Isaiah 43:22 Or Jacob; / surely you have grown weary of
Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Insight
God’s people had been unfaithful and had stubbornly refused to repent and return to God (Isa. 43:22-24). Yet despite their sins and guilt, God in His mercy said He would forgive them (v.25), even though they were undeserving of His favor (v.26). From the time of “your first father and your mediators”—perhaps referring to Abraham and other covenantal leaders such as Moses—they were all sinners (v.27). Although their sins would be forgiven, they would still face the consequences of their actions and be disciplined through the exile (v.28).
Think Of Them No More
By David H. Roper
I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. —Isaiah 43:25
My early years as a believer in Christ were laden with foreboding. I had the impression that when Jesus comes back, all my sins will be portrayed on a giant screen for everyone to see.
I know now that God chooses not to remember against me a single one of my transgressions. Every sin has been buried in the deepest sea, never to be exhumed and examined again.
Amy Carmichael wrote, “A day or two ago I was thinking rather sadly of the past—so many sins and failures and lapses of every kind. I was reading Isaiah 43, and in verse 24 I saw myself: ‘You have wearied me with your iniquities.’ And then for the first time I noticed that there is no space between verse 24 and verse 25: ‘I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.’”
Indeed, when our Lord comes back He will “bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God” (1 Cor. 4:5). On that day our works will be tried and we may suffer loss, but we will not be judged for sin (3:11-15). God will see what Christ has done for us. He “will not remember [our] sins.”
Where no far-reaching tide with its powerful sweep
May stir the dark waves of forgetfulness deep,
I have buried them there where no mortal can see!
I’ve cast all thy sins in the depths of the sea. —Anon.
When God saves us, our sins are forgiven forever.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, September 13, 2014
After Surrender— Then What?
I have finished the work which You have given Me to do —John 17:4
True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.
Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.
Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . . ” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and (Philippians 4:19).
Surrender for Death. “. . . another will gird you . . .” (John 21:18 ; also see John21:19). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.
And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Exodus 40 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: We Don't Know Enough
God is the One who judges. We don't know enough! We condemn a man for stumbling this morning, but we didn't see the blows he took yesterday. We judge a woman for the limp in her walk but cannot see the tack in her shoe. Only one who has followed yesterday's steps can be their judge. Not only are we ignorant about yesterday, we are ignorant about tomorrow. How can you dismiss a soul until God's work is complete? Philippians 1:6 says, "God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again."
Be careful! A stammering shepherd in this generation may be the mighty Moses of the next. Don't call Noah a fool. You may be asking him for a lift. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:5, "Do not judge before the right time; wait until the Lord comes."
From In the Grip of Grace
Exodus 40
Setting Up the Tabernacle
Then the Lord said to Moses: 2 “Set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month. 3 Place the ark of the covenant law in it and shield the ark with the curtain. 4 Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the covenant law and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.
6 “Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; 7 place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. 8 Set up the courtyard around it and put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard.
9 “Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. 10 Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy. 11 Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them.
12 “Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. 13 Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. 14 Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. 15 Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue throughout their generations.” 16 Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him.
17 So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. 18 When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts. 19 Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the Lord commanded him.
20 He took the tablets of the covenant law and placed them in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it. 21 Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the covenant law, as the Lord commanded him.
22 Moses placed the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain 23 and set out the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord commanded him.
24 He placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle 25 and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord commanded him.
26 Moses placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the curtain 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord commanded him.
28 Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. 29 He set the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings, as the Lord commanded him.
30 He placed the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, 31 and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet. 32 They washed whenever they entered the tent of meeting or approached the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses.
33 Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work.
The Glory of the Lord
34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
36 In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, September 12, 2014
Read: 1 Samuel 17:32-37
David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
Insight
David was young at the time he faced Goliath, so his courage in confronting the giant is impressive. His confidence was in God and was based on His actions in the past. David considered the heroic actions of his shepherding days (17:34-35) as victories of the Lord (v.37). His boldness was encouraged by the faithful strength of God.
The Small Giant
By Poh Fang Chia
The Lord . . . will deliver me. —1 Samuel 17:37
The towering enemy strides into the Valley of Elah. He stands 9 feet tall, and his coat of armor, made of many small bronze plates, glimmers in the sunlight. The shaft of his spear is wrapped with cords so it can spin through the air and be thrown with greater distance and accuracy. Goliath looks invincible.
But David knows better. While Goliath may look like a giant and act like a giant, in contrast to the living God he is small. David has a right view of God and therefore a right view of the circumstances. He sees Goliath as one who is defying the armies of the living God (1 Sam. 17:26). He confidently appears before Goliath in his shepherd’s clothes, armed with only his staff, five stones, and a sling. His confidence is not in what he has but in who is with him (v.45).
What “Goliath” are you facing right now? It may be an impossible situation at work, a financial difficulty, or a broken relationship. With God all things are small in comparison. Nothing is too big for Him. The words of the hymnwriter Charles Wesley remind us: “Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, and looks to that alone; laughs at impossibilities, and cries it shall be done.” God is able to deliver you if that’s His desire, and He may do so in ways you don’t expect.
Not to the strong is the battle,
Not to the swift is the race;
Yet to the true and the faithful
Victory is promised through grace. —Crosby
Don’t tell God how big your giants are. Tell your giants how big your God is.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, September 12, 2014
Going Through Spiritual Confusion
Jesus answered and said, ’You do not know what you ask’ —Matthew 20:22
There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.
The Shrouding of His Friendship (see Luke 11:5-8).
Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity[a] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
Jesus gave the illustration here of a man who appears not to care for his friend. He was saying, in effect, that is how the heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think that He is an unkind friend, but remember?He is not. The time will come when everything will be explained. There seems to be a cloud on the friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller fellowship and oneness. When God appears to be completely shrouded, will you hang on with confidence in Him?
The Shadow on His Fatherhood (see Luke 11:11-13). Jesus said that there are times when your Father will appear as if He were an unnatural father?as if He were callous and indifferent— but remember, He is not. “Everyone who asks receives . . .” (Luke 11:10). If all you see is a shadow on the face of the Father right now, hang on to the fact that He will ultimately give you clear understanding and will fully justify Himself in everything that He has allowed into your life.
The Strangeness of His Faithfulness (see Luke 18:1-8). “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Will He find the kind of faith that counts on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand firm in faith, believing that what Jesus said is true, although in the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you are asking of Him right now.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, September 12, 2014
There's Only One Way to Portray Jesus - #7220
My friend, Lance, has played a lot of parts on stage, and he has a lot of acting ability. Naturally he was interested when he heard that his church was going to do an outreach drama. It was to be held in a public auditorium and they developed this powerful, original presentation of The Life of Christ. And Lance was stunned by the casting choice they made. They wanted to cast him as Jesus. Well, Lance had been in enough productions to know that you've got to get into the person you're playing. You have to stay in that character all day long if possible. And Lance said he really tried. And he told me, "You know what I discovered? I couldn't play Jesus." Neither can you.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "There's Only One Way to Portray Jesus."
Which leads us to our word for today from the Word of God from the pen of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 2:20. Here's what he says: "I have been crucified with Christ. And I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Now, Lance did end up portraying Christ in that drama. And he said the drama had an incredibly powerful impact in their community. But you know what he told me? "I just couldn't get into the person of Jesus. So I decided that He would have to get into me. I can't be Jesus. No human being can." He said, "Only Jesus could be Jesus. So I concluded that I would have to let Jesus be Jesus through me." Well I said, "Lance, that's the ultimate secret of the Christian life. It's that 2:20 principle from Galatians 2:20. "It is not I but Christ." Those four words sum it all up. "It's not I but Christ." It's not me living the Christian life; it's Him doing it through me. I cannot live this Jesus life. Only one person ever did. Only one person can today.
This is a matter not of striving and trying harder. It's a matter of you surrendering and letting Jesus be Jesus through you. That's why He said, "I am the vine; you are the branch." You're not like this herniated little branch off on its' own going, "I've got to produce some fruit. I've got to produce fruit. I've got to..." No, all the life comes from the vine. It looks like it's coming from the branch, but it's only coming through the branch. We're just Jesus' branches.
This is a liberating discovery of the Christian experience: Jesus through me; not me doing it for Jesus. If you're like most believers, though, you're probably working very hard to be like Christ and you're frustrated. You're tired. You've dedicated, you've re-dedicated, and you've re-re-re-re-re-dedicated. You're having devotions and you're praying and witnessing, going to the right meetings, and you're serving. All good things to do, but you're saying, "Why is this so hard?"
Well you were never meant to play Jesus. What He's asking you to do is to give up all your striving and let Him take over; to trade in your efforts for His strength. Abide in Christ instead of striving for Christ.
You might be all worn out from trying to live the Christian life. You've been trying to play Jesus and you're tired. There's good news. You were never meant to. You can resign from trying right now and say, "Jesus, I just want a total takeover by you. I've been trying to produce your characteristics in my life and I have failed at doing it." Why don't you let Jesus play Himself through your personality. You make this a daily thing; a daily surrender; an hourly surrender of your life. "Jesus, live your life through me."
The results? They're going to be more powerful than anything you have experienced so far. You'll discover that there's only one way to portray Jesus. Let Jesus do it.
God is the One who judges. We don't know enough! We condemn a man for stumbling this morning, but we didn't see the blows he took yesterday. We judge a woman for the limp in her walk but cannot see the tack in her shoe. Only one who has followed yesterday's steps can be their judge. Not only are we ignorant about yesterday, we are ignorant about tomorrow. How can you dismiss a soul until God's work is complete? Philippians 1:6 says, "God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again."
Be careful! A stammering shepherd in this generation may be the mighty Moses of the next. Don't call Noah a fool. You may be asking him for a lift. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:5, "Do not judge before the right time; wait until the Lord comes."
From In the Grip of Grace
Exodus 40
Setting Up the Tabernacle
Then the Lord said to Moses: 2 “Set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month. 3 Place the ark of the covenant law in it and shield the ark with the curtain. 4 Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the covenant law and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.
6 “Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; 7 place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. 8 Set up the courtyard around it and put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard.
9 “Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. 10 Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy. 11 Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them.
12 “Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. 13 Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. 14 Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. 15 Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue throughout their generations.” 16 Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him.
17 So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. 18 When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts. 19 Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the Lord commanded him.
20 He took the tablets of the covenant law and placed them in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it. 21 Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the covenant law, as the Lord commanded him.
22 Moses placed the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain 23 and set out the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord commanded him.
24 He placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle 25 and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord commanded him.
26 Moses placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the curtain 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord commanded him.
28 Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. 29 He set the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings, as the Lord commanded him.
30 He placed the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, 31 and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet. 32 They washed whenever they entered the tent of meeting or approached the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses.
33 Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work.
The Glory of the Lord
34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
36 In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, September 12, 2014
Read: 1 Samuel 17:32-37
David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
Insight
David was young at the time he faced Goliath, so his courage in confronting the giant is impressive. His confidence was in God and was based on His actions in the past. David considered the heroic actions of his shepherding days (17:34-35) as victories of the Lord (v.37). His boldness was encouraged by the faithful strength of God.
The Small Giant
By Poh Fang Chia
The Lord . . . will deliver me. —1 Samuel 17:37
The towering enemy strides into the Valley of Elah. He stands 9 feet tall, and his coat of armor, made of many small bronze plates, glimmers in the sunlight. The shaft of his spear is wrapped with cords so it can spin through the air and be thrown with greater distance and accuracy. Goliath looks invincible.
But David knows better. While Goliath may look like a giant and act like a giant, in contrast to the living God he is small. David has a right view of God and therefore a right view of the circumstances. He sees Goliath as one who is defying the armies of the living God (1 Sam. 17:26). He confidently appears before Goliath in his shepherd’s clothes, armed with only his staff, five stones, and a sling. His confidence is not in what he has but in who is with him (v.45).
What “Goliath” are you facing right now? It may be an impossible situation at work, a financial difficulty, or a broken relationship. With God all things are small in comparison. Nothing is too big for Him. The words of the hymnwriter Charles Wesley remind us: “Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, and looks to that alone; laughs at impossibilities, and cries it shall be done.” God is able to deliver you if that’s His desire, and He may do so in ways you don’t expect.
Not to the strong is the battle,
Not to the swift is the race;
Yet to the true and the faithful
Victory is promised through grace. —Crosby
Don’t tell God how big your giants are. Tell your giants how big your God is.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, September 12, 2014
Going Through Spiritual Confusion
Jesus answered and said, ’You do not know what you ask’ —Matthew 20:22
There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.
The Shrouding of His Friendship (see Luke 11:5-8).
Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity[a] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
Jesus gave the illustration here of a man who appears not to care for his friend. He was saying, in effect, that is how the heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think that He is an unkind friend, but remember?He is not. The time will come when everything will be explained. There seems to be a cloud on the friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller fellowship and oneness. When God appears to be completely shrouded, will you hang on with confidence in Him?
The Shadow on His Fatherhood (see Luke 11:11-13). Jesus said that there are times when your Father will appear as if He were an unnatural father?as if He were callous and indifferent— but remember, He is not. “Everyone who asks receives . . .” (Luke 11:10). If all you see is a shadow on the face of the Father right now, hang on to the fact that He will ultimately give you clear understanding and will fully justify Himself in everything that He has allowed into your life.
The Strangeness of His Faithfulness (see Luke 18:1-8). “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Will He find the kind of faith that counts on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand firm in faith, believing that what Jesus said is true, although in the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you are asking of Him right now.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, September 12, 2014
There's Only One Way to Portray Jesus - #7220
My friend, Lance, has played a lot of parts on stage, and he has a lot of acting ability. Naturally he was interested when he heard that his church was going to do an outreach drama. It was to be held in a public auditorium and they developed this powerful, original presentation of The Life of Christ. And Lance was stunned by the casting choice they made. They wanted to cast him as Jesus. Well, Lance had been in enough productions to know that you've got to get into the person you're playing. You have to stay in that character all day long if possible. And Lance said he really tried. And he told me, "You know what I discovered? I couldn't play Jesus." Neither can you.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "There's Only One Way to Portray Jesus."
Which leads us to our word for today from the Word of God from the pen of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 2:20. Here's what he says: "I have been crucified with Christ. And I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Now, Lance did end up portraying Christ in that drama. And he said the drama had an incredibly powerful impact in their community. But you know what he told me? "I just couldn't get into the person of Jesus. So I decided that He would have to get into me. I can't be Jesus. No human being can." He said, "Only Jesus could be Jesus. So I concluded that I would have to let Jesus be Jesus through me." Well I said, "Lance, that's the ultimate secret of the Christian life. It's that 2:20 principle from Galatians 2:20. "It is not I but Christ." Those four words sum it all up. "It's not I but Christ." It's not me living the Christian life; it's Him doing it through me. I cannot live this Jesus life. Only one person ever did. Only one person can today.
This is a matter not of striving and trying harder. It's a matter of you surrendering and letting Jesus be Jesus through you. That's why He said, "I am the vine; you are the branch." You're not like this herniated little branch off on its' own going, "I've got to produce some fruit. I've got to produce fruit. I've got to..." No, all the life comes from the vine. It looks like it's coming from the branch, but it's only coming through the branch. We're just Jesus' branches.
This is a liberating discovery of the Christian experience: Jesus through me; not me doing it for Jesus. If you're like most believers, though, you're probably working very hard to be like Christ and you're frustrated. You're tired. You've dedicated, you've re-dedicated, and you've re-re-re-re-re-dedicated. You're having devotions and you're praying and witnessing, going to the right meetings, and you're serving. All good things to do, but you're saying, "Why is this so hard?"
Well you were never meant to play Jesus. What He's asking you to do is to give up all your striving and let Him take over; to trade in your efforts for His strength. Abide in Christ instead of striving for Christ.
You might be all worn out from trying to live the Christian life. You've been trying to play Jesus and you're tired. There's good news. You were never meant to. You can resign from trying right now and say, "Jesus, I just want a total takeover by you. I've been trying to produce your characteristics in my life and I have failed at doing it." Why don't you let Jesus play Himself through your personality. You make this a daily thing; a daily surrender; an hourly surrender of your life. "Jesus, live your life through me."
The results? They're going to be more powerful than anything you have experienced so far. You'll discover that there's only one way to portray Jesus. Let Jesus do it.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Exodus 39, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Universal Strategy of Impunity
It's the universal strategy of impunity. Even kids use it. If I can get my dad more angry at my brother than me, I'm off scot-free. So I accuse…I compare. Rather than admit my own faults, I find faults in others. The easiest way to justify the mistakes in my house is to find worse ones in my neighbor's house.
Such scams don't work with God! God isn't so easily diverted. He sees through all smoke screens and holds you to what you've done. Did you think just because he is such a nice God, he would let you off the hook? God is kind, but he's not soft. He takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life change. We aren't good enough to judge. Can the sick mock the ill? Can the blind judge the deaf? Can the sinner condemn the sinner? No. Only One can judge…it is God.
From In the Grip of Grace
Exodus 39
The Priestly Garments
From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary. They also made sacred garments for Aaron, as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Ephod
2 They[a] made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 3 They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen—the work of skilled hands. 4 They made shoulder pieces for the ephod, which were attached to two of its corners, so it could be fastened. 5 Its skillfully woven waistband was like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen, as the Lord commanded Moses.
6 They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings and engraved them like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel. 7 Then they fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Breastpiece
8 They fashioned the breastpiece—the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 9 It was square—a span[b] long and a span wide—and folded double. 10 Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. The first row was carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; 11 the second row was turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 12 the third row was jacinth, agate and amethyst; 13 the fourth row was topaz, onyx and jasper.[c] They were mounted in gold filigree settings. 14 There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
15 For the breastpiece they made braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. 16 They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and fastened the rings to two of the corners of the breastpiece. 17 They fastened the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 18 and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 19 They made two gold rings and attached them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. 20 Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. 21 They tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband so that the breastpiece would not swing out from the ephod—as the Lord commanded Moses.
Other Priestly Garments
22 They made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth—the work of a weaver— 23 with an opening in the center of the robe like the opening of a collar,[d] and a band around this opening, so that it would not tear. 24 They made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen around the hem of the robe. 25 And they made bells of pure gold and attached them around the hem between the pomegranates. 26 The bells and pomegranates alternated around the hem of the robe to be worn for ministering, as the Lord commanded Moses.
27 For Aaron and his sons, they made tunics of fine linen—the work of a weaver— 28 and the turban of fine linen, the linen caps and the undergarments of finely twisted linen. 29 The sash was made of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn—the work of an embroiderer—as the Lord commanded Moses.
30 They made the plate, the sacred emblem, out of pure gold and engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: holy to the Lord. 31 Then they fastened a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Moses Inspects the Tabernacle
32 So all the work on the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses. 33 Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent and all its furnishings, its clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 34 the covering of ram skins dyed red and the covering of another durable leather[e] and the shielding curtain; 35 the ark of the covenant law with its poles and the atonement cover; 36 the table with all its articles and the bread of the Presence; 37 the pure gold lampstand with its row of lamps and all its accessories, and the olive oil for the light; 38 the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the curtain for the entrance to the tent; 39 the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the basin with its stand; 40 the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; the ropes and tent pegs for the courtyard; all the furnishings for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; 41 and the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when serving as priests.
42 The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 43 Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.
Exodus 39:2 Or He; also in verses 7, 8 and 22
Exodus 39:9 That is, about 9 inches or about 23 centimeters
Exodus 39:13 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.
Exodus 39:23 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Exodus 39:34 Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Read: Mark 10:35-45
The Request of James and John
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Insight
James and John’s request to be allowed to sit on Jesus’ right and left hand in the kingdom, followed by their audacious claim that they could indeed “drink the cup” that awaited Jesus (Mark 10:38), reveals that they failed to fully understand the gravity of what that cup entailed—Christ’s upcoming crucifixion.
Born To Rescue
By Dennis Fisher
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. —Mark 10:45
After the terrorist attack and the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York City on September 11, 2001, Cynthia Otto took care of the search-and-rescue dogs. Years later she established a Working Dog Center where young pups are put through specialized training to prepare them to help victims of disaster.
Otto made this comment about these rescue animals: “There are so many jobs now that dogs are being used for . . . and they can save lives.” Otto said that these puppies will one day give vital aid to people in life-threatening circumstances. They are “born” to rescue others.
The Bible tells us of the Messiah who was born to rescue humanity from the penalty of sin. What He did rises above all earthly comparison. Two thousand years ago, God Himself became human in order to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. When Jesus became a man, He understood and proclaimed that He was born to rescue (John 12:27). “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Let us praise our wonderful Savior—Jesus Christ—who was born to save all who will accept His offer of salvation.
Use us, Lord, and make us humble,
Rescue us from foolish pride;
And when we begin to stumble,
Turn our thoughts to Christ who died. —Sper
Christ came to seek and to save the lost.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Missionary Weapons (2)
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet —John 13:14
Ministering in Everyday Opportunities. Ministering in everyday opportunities that surround us does not mean that we select our own surroundings— it means being God’s very special choice to be available for use in any of the seemingly random surroundings which He has engineered for us. The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings.
The things Jesus did were the most menial of everyday tasks, and this is an indication that it takes all of God’s power in me to accomplish even the most common tasks in His way. Can I use a towel as He did? Towels, dishes, sandals, and all the other ordinary things in our lives reveal what we are made of more quickly than anything else. It takes God Almighty Incarnate in us to do the most menial duty as it ought to be done.
Jesus said, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (13:15). Notice the kind of people that God brings around you, and you will be humiliated once you realize that this is actually His way of revealing to you the kind of person you have been to Him. Now He says we should exhibit to those around us exactly what He has exhibited to us.
Do you find yourself responding by saying, “Oh, I will do all that once I’m out on the mission field”? Talking in this way is like trying to produce the weapons of war while in the trenches of the battlefield–you will be killed while trying to do it.
We have to go the “second mile” with God (see Matthew 5:41). Yet some of us become worn out in the first ten steps. Then we say, “Well, I’ll just wait until I get closer to the next big crisis in my life.” But if we do not steadily minister in everyday opportunities, we will do nothing when the crisis comes.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, September 11, 2014
A Tower They Can't Blow Up - #7219
I was flying into another city one early Saturday morning, and as I'm getting off in the lounge I see the TV crew. I thought, "Oh, somebody important must be on the plane." I looked around and wondered who I'd missed in first class as I went through. And suddenly there was a microphone in my face. Obviously it had nothing to do with somebody important, so why are they talking to me?
This happened to be the day after the first World Trade Center bombing. I lived in the New York area. I was a passenger on a flight from the New York area the morning after, so they wanted a comment on the evening news from somebody who was from there, and we were the first flight in. Well, a man who was picking me up told them that I was a speaker. I was coming to town to speak, and I would be a good one to talk to. Thank you very much, sir.
They stuck this microphone in my face and they said, "Well, how does this explosion right in the heart of New York City make New Yorkers feel?" As a matter of fact, I've been in that parking lot where that bomb actually went off a number of times. And so I gave them the first word that came to my mind-vulnerable. We feel vulnerable all of a sudden. That's how a lot of people feel these days. Because a lot of things we've counted on are blowing up.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Tower They Can't Blow Up."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 18:10. Here is some big-time security. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe." Maybe you're one of those people who say, "You know, I'm going to get with the Lord some day, and I really mean to settle things with Him some day." Well, this says, "Run to the Lord." "The name of the Lord is a strong tower." You don't wait. You don't postpone. You run to it when you've got the opportunity.
And the more unstable things become, the more urgent it seems to be to get into right relationship with God doesn't it? To be depending on some power that can't be blown up, that can't be affected by a recession, or a depression, or the rise and fall of the Stock Market, or terrorism, or a layoff, or a takeover, politics, an illness. See, a lot of us feel vulnerable these days because of what's been happening to the towers that have always been there for us.
You can't be sure if your company's going to be there, or your job, or your retirement. The property you own, what's happening to its value? Is your medical care going to be there? Is your family going to be there? Maybe you've been in a relationship that once looked like a strong tower for you, and it's gone. See, this is no time to be running your own life; no time to be depending on some earth stuff for security; some earth tower. This is run to the Lord time.
There is an example I use with young people. I give them four 3x5 cards and ask them to write on those the most important things in their life. And then one by one I say, "Now, you need to drop one of those. There's a tragedy that hits your life and you have to lose one of the most important things in your life. Which one is it going to be?" And painfully they throw a card to the ground.
Then they're down to three. And I ask them to drop one more. Finally, when they're down to two, they look at me like, "I can't drop either of these." But I say, "You can keep one, but only one." Finally, with great reluctance, they drop the second most important thing in their life to the ground. I say, "Now, look. You've got that one card; it's the most important thing in your life. You're holding it in your hand. Now, I just want to ask you one question about it. Is it something you can lose?"
I think I'd ask you the same question. Maybe this is the day you finally face what God's been trying to tell you, that you're away from Him. Isaiah 59:2 says, "Your sin (the running of your own life) has separated you from God." But Romans 10:13 says, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Remember we read, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower." Well, that is Jesus. When He was named, "We will call him Jesus, (it says) because He will save His people from their sins."
That's what you need; someone to save you from the wall between you and God; to get you to Him so you could be anchored to Him in these unstable times. Surrender your life to Jesus and that indestructible power of God is open to you day or night. If you've never begun that relationship, or you want to be sure you belong to Him, then we're here for you. Would you go to our website as soon as you can - AnewStory.com.
Go to the one place where you can be safe no matter what else blows up.
It's the universal strategy of impunity. Even kids use it. If I can get my dad more angry at my brother than me, I'm off scot-free. So I accuse…I compare. Rather than admit my own faults, I find faults in others. The easiest way to justify the mistakes in my house is to find worse ones in my neighbor's house.
Such scams don't work with God! God isn't so easily diverted. He sees through all smoke screens and holds you to what you've done. Did you think just because he is such a nice God, he would let you off the hook? God is kind, but he's not soft. He takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life change. We aren't good enough to judge. Can the sick mock the ill? Can the blind judge the deaf? Can the sinner condemn the sinner? No. Only One can judge…it is God.
From In the Grip of Grace
Exodus 39
The Priestly Garments
From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary. They also made sacred garments for Aaron, as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Ephod
2 They[a] made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 3 They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen—the work of skilled hands. 4 They made shoulder pieces for the ephod, which were attached to two of its corners, so it could be fastened. 5 Its skillfully woven waistband was like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen, as the Lord commanded Moses.
6 They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings and engraved them like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel. 7 Then they fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Breastpiece
8 They fashioned the breastpiece—the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 9 It was square—a span[b] long and a span wide—and folded double. 10 Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. The first row was carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; 11 the second row was turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 12 the third row was jacinth, agate and amethyst; 13 the fourth row was topaz, onyx and jasper.[c] They were mounted in gold filigree settings. 14 There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
15 For the breastpiece they made braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. 16 They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and fastened the rings to two of the corners of the breastpiece. 17 They fastened the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 18 and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 19 They made two gold rings and attached them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. 20 Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. 21 They tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband so that the breastpiece would not swing out from the ephod—as the Lord commanded Moses.
Other Priestly Garments
22 They made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth—the work of a weaver— 23 with an opening in the center of the robe like the opening of a collar,[d] and a band around this opening, so that it would not tear. 24 They made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen around the hem of the robe. 25 And they made bells of pure gold and attached them around the hem between the pomegranates. 26 The bells and pomegranates alternated around the hem of the robe to be worn for ministering, as the Lord commanded Moses.
27 For Aaron and his sons, they made tunics of fine linen—the work of a weaver— 28 and the turban of fine linen, the linen caps and the undergarments of finely twisted linen. 29 The sash was made of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn—the work of an embroiderer—as the Lord commanded Moses.
30 They made the plate, the sacred emblem, out of pure gold and engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: holy to the Lord. 31 Then they fastened a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Moses Inspects the Tabernacle
32 So all the work on the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses. 33 Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent and all its furnishings, its clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 34 the covering of ram skins dyed red and the covering of another durable leather[e] and the shielding curtain; 35 the ark of the covenant law with its poles and the atonement cover; 36 the table with all its articles and the bread of the Presence; 37 the pure gold lampstand with its row of lamps and all its accessories, and the olive oil for the light; 38 the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the curtain for the entrance to the tent; 39 the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the basin with its stand; 40 the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; the ropes and tent pegs for the courtyard; all the furnishings for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; 41 and the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when serving as priests.
42 The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 43 Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.
Exodus 39:2 Or He; also in verses 7, 8 and 22
Exodus 39:9 That is, about 9 inches or about 23 centimeters
Exodus 39:13 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.
Exodus 39:23 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Exodus 39:34 Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Read: Mark 10:35-45
The Request of James and John
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Insight
James and John’s request to be allowed to sit on Jesus’ right and left hand in the kingdom, followed by their audacious claim that they could indeed “drink the cup” that awaited Jesus (Mark 10:38), reveals that they failed to fully understand the gravity of what that cup entailed—Christ’s upcoming crucifixion.
Born To Rescue
By Dennis Fisher
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. —Mark 10:45
After the terrorist attack and the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York City on September 11, 2001, Cynthia Otto took care of the search-and-rescue dogs. Years later she established a Working Dog Center where young pups are put through specialized training to prepare them to help victims of disaster.
Otto made this comment about these rescue animals: “There are so many jobs now that dogs are being used for . . . and they can save lives.” Otto said that these puppies will one day give vital aid to people in life-threatening circumstances. They are “born” to rescue others.
The Bible tells us of the Messiah who was born to rescue humanity from the penalty of sin. What He did rises above all earthly comparison. Two thousand years ago, God Himself became human in order to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. When Jesus became a man, He understood and proclaimed that He was born to rescue (John 12:27). “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Let us praise our wonderful Savior—Jesus Christ—who was born to save all who will accept His offer of salvation.
Use us, Lord, and make us humble,
Rescue us from foolish pride;
And when we begin to stumble,
Turn our thoughts to Christ who died. —Sper
Christ came to seek and to save the lost.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Missionary Weapons (2)
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet —John 13:14
Ministering in Everyday Opportunities. Ministering in everyday opportunities that surround us does not mean that we select our own surroundings— it means being God’s very special choice to be available for use in any of the seemingly random surroundings which He has engineered for us. The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings.
The things Jesus did were the most menial of everyday tasks, and this is an indication that it takes all of God’s power in me to accomplish even the most common tasks in His way. Can I use a towel as He did? Towels, dishes, sandals, and all the other ordinary things in our lives reveal what we are made of more quickly than anything else. It takes God Almighty Incarnate in us to do the most menial duty as it ought to be done.
Jesus said, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (13:15). Notice the kind of people that God brings around you, and you will be humiliated once you realize that this is actually His way of revealing to you the kind of person you have been to Him. Now He says we should exhibit to those around us exactly what He has exhibited to us.
Do you find yourself responding by saying, “Oh, I will do all that once I’m out on the mission field”? Talking in this way is like trying to produce the weapons of war while in the trenches of the battlefield–you will be killed while trying to do it.
We have to go the “second mile” with God (see Matthew 5:41). Yet some of us become worn out in the first ten steps. Then we say, “Well, I’ll just wait until I get closer to the next big crisis in my life.” But if we do not steadily minister in everyday opportunities, we will do nothing when the crisis comes.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, September 11, 2014
A Tower They Can't Blow Up - #7219
I was flying into another city one early Saturday morning, and as I'm getting off in the lounge I see the TV crew. I thought, "Oh, somebody important must be on the plane." I looked around and wondered who I'd missed in first class as I went through. And suddenly there was a microphone in my face. Obviously it had nothing to do with somebody important, so why are they talking to me?
This happened to be the day after the first World Trade Center bombing. I lived in the New York area. I was a passenger on a flight from the New York area the morning after, so they wanted a comment on the evening news from somebody who was from there, and we were the first flight in. Well, a man who was picking me up told them that I was a speaker. I was coming to town to speak, and I would be a good one to talk to. Thank you very much, sir.
They stuck this microphone in my face and they said, "Well, how does this explosion right in the heart of New York City make New Yorkers feel?" As a matter of fact, I've been in that parking lot where that bomb actually went off a number of times. And so I gave them the first word that came to my mind-vulnerable. We feel vulnerable all of a sudden. That's how a lot of people feel these days. Because a lot of things we've counted on are blowing up.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Tower They Can't Blow Up."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 18:10. Here is some big-time security. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe." Maybe you're one of those people who say, "You know, I'm going to get with the Lord some day, and I really mean to settle things with Him some day." Well, this says, "Run to the Lord." "The name of the Lord is a strong tower." You don't wait. You don't postpone. You run to it when you've got the opportunity.
And the more unstable things become, the more urgent it seems to be to get into right relationship with God doesn't it? To be depending on some power that can't be blown up, that can't be affected by a recession, or a depression, or the rise and fall of the Stock Market, or terrorism, or a layoff, or a takeover, politics, an illness. See, a lot of us feel vulnerable these days because of what's been happening to the towers that have always been there for us.
You can't be sure if your company's going to be there, or your job, or your retirement. The property you own, what's happening to its value? Is your medical care going to be there? Is your family going to be there? Maybe you've been in a relationship that once looked like a strong tower for you, and it's gone. See, this is no time to be running your own life; no time to be depending on some earth stuff for security; some earth tower. This is run to the Lord time.
There is an example I use with young people. I give them four 3x5 cards and ask them to write on those the most important things in their life. And then one by one I say, "Now, you need to drop one of those. There's a tragedy that hits your life and you have to lose one of the most important things in your life. Which one is it going to be?" And painfully they throw a card to the ground.
Then they're down to three. And I ask them to drop one more. Finally, when they're down to two, they look at me like, "I can't drop either of these." But I say, "You can keep one, but only one." Finally, with great reluctance, they drop the second most important thing in their life to the ground. I say, "Now, look. You've got that one card; it's the most important thing in your life. You're holding it in your hand. Now, I just want to ask you one question about it. Is it something you can lose?"
I think I'd ask you the same question. Maybe this is the day you finally face what God's been trying to tell you, that you're away from Him. Isaiah 59:2 says, "Your sin (the running of your own life) has separated you from God." But Romans 10:13 says, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Remember we read, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower." Well, that is Jesus. When He was named, "We will call him Jesus, (it says) because He will save His people from their sins."
That's what you need; someone to save you from the wall between you and God; to get you to Him so you could be anchored to Him in these unstable times. Surrender your life to Jesus and that indestructible power of God is open to you day or night. If you've never begun that relationship, or you want to be sure you belong to Him, then we're here for you. Would you go to our website as soon as you can - AnewStory.com.
Go to the one place where you can be safe no matter what else blows up.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Mark 4:1-20, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Judging Others
It is one thing to have a conviction; it's another to convict the person. Paul said in Romans 2:1, "If you think you can judge others" here is a stern reminder for you, "God judges those who do wrong things, and we know that his judging is right."
It is our job to hate the sin. But it is God's job to deal with the sinner. God has called us to despise evil, but he has never called us to despise the evildoer. But oh, how we would like to! Is there any act more delightful than judging others? There's something smug and self-satisfying about slamming down the gavel…"Guilty!" Judging others is a quick and easy way to feel good about ourselves. But that's the problem. God doesn't compare us to them. They are not the standard. God is. And compared to him, Paul argues in Romans 3:12, "There is no one who does anything good."
From In the Grip of Grace
Mark 4:1-20
New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Sower
4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
Footnotes:
Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Read: Psalm 119:9-16
How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, Lord;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
Insight
Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and chapter in the Bible. The focus of its 176 verses is God and His Word. God is mentioned in every verse of this psalm, and the entire psalm speaks of the primacy, authority, sufficiency, and efficacy of God’s Word in the life of the believer. It is a personal prayer for help. Oppressed and persecuted by powerful enemies who scorned and ridiculed his beliefs in God (vv.23,157,161), the unnamed psalmist found great strength and much comfort by trusting, keeping, and meditating on the Word of God. In this passage (vv.9-16), we see that victory over sin comes about only when we hide, meditate, contemplate, and delight in God’s Word.
One Amazing Letter
By Dave Branon
I will not forget Your word. —Psalm 119:16
Once in a while my wife and I open the mail to find a letter with no words on it. When we take the “letter” out of the envelope, we see a piece of paper with nothing more on it than a colorful mark made with a felt pen. Those “letters” warm our hearts because they’re from our preschool granddaughter Katie, who lives in another state. Even without words, these letters tell us that she loves us and is thinking about us.
We all cherish letters from those we love and those who love us. That’s why there is so much encouragement in the fact that our heavenly Father has given us a letter called the Bible. The value of Scripture goes beyond its words of power, challenge, and wisdom. Amid all of the stories, teaching, and guidance this Book provides, the overriding idea is that God loves us and has planned our rescue. It tells us of His love in overseeing our existence (Ps. 139), meeting our needs (Matt. 6:31-34), comforting us (2 Cor. 1:3-4), and saving us through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus (Rom. 1:16-17).
You are loved beyond imagination. God says so in His inspired and inspiring message to you. No wonder the psalmist wrote, “I will not forget Your word” (Ps. 119:16). It is one amazing letter!
Lord, help me to examine the Bible’s pages,
understand its truths, and apply its teachings to my
life. May I be as excited about Your letter to me as I
am about a letter, email, or Facebook posting by a friend.
The love of God for us is revealed in His letter to us—the Bible.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Missionary Weapons (1)
When you were under the fig tree, I saw you —John 1:48
Worshiping in Everyday Occasions. We presume that we would be ready for battle if confronted with a great crisis, but it is not the crisis that builds something within us— it simply reveals what we are made of already. Do you find yourself saying, “If God calls me to battle, of course I will rise to the occasion”? Yet you won’t rise to the occasion unless you have done so on God’s training ground. If you are not doing the task that is closest to you now, which God has engineered into your life, when the crisis comes, instead of being fit for battle, you will be revealed as being unfit. Crises always reveal a person’s true character.
A private relationship of worshiping God is the greatest essential element of spiritual fitness. The time will come, as Nathanael experienced in this passage, that a private “fig-tree” life will no longer be possible. Everything will be out in the open, and you will find yourself to be of no value there if you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions in your own home. If your worship is right in your private relationship with God, then when He sets you free, you will be ready. It is in the unseen life, which only God saw, that you have become perfectly fit. And when the strain of the crisis comes, you can be relied upon by God.
Are you saying, “But I can’t be expected to live a sanctified life in my present circumstances; I have no time for prayer or Bible study right now; besides, my opportunity for battle hasn’t come yet, but when it does, of course I will be ready”? No, you will not. If you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions, when you get involved in God’s work, you will not only be useless yourself but also a hindrance to those around you.
God’s training ground, where the missionary weapons are found, is the hidden, personal, worshiping life of the saint.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Not Enough Time to Win - #7218
There was a stretch in the life of the Buffalo Bills football team where they had to live down three straight losses in the Super Bowl. Now, there were some memorable victories, but people tend to forget the victories. In fact, they did have this one amazing victory. It was January 3, 1993. It was one of the most amazing games I can remember! It was the wild card game against the team known then as the Houston Oilers. Now, the winner of that game would be in the playoffs, and as things turned out, ultimately in the Super Bowl.
For a while it looked as if the Bills should have stayed in bed that morning. By early in the third quarter, Houston was leading them 35 to 3. It's over, right? I mean, they don't have time to make it up. And their star quarterback was injured on top of everything else. They've got their backup quarterback in. Virtually every commentator and every viewer had given up any hope of the Bills winning. It was a done deal. There just wasn't enough time to come back from that far down. Wrong! Touchdown! Bills, touchdown! Bills, touchdown! And then a thrilling tie finish to the game. They went into overtime. Final score: 41 to 38 - a Bills victory!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Not Enough Time to Win."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Mark 5, and we're beginning at verse 24. "A large crowd followed Jesus and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors, had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak. Because she thought, 'If I could just touch His clothes I will be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering."
This is Jesus, the Lord of the hopeless situation, and maybe that's exactly the kind of Christ you need right now. This lady has had 12 years. She's seen every doctor, exhausted every possibility. Spent every dollar and she's got nothing to show for all of that. But she recognized one fact, and she acted on it in faith. Jesus can do in a moment what man cannot do in 12 years, or 20 years or 50 years. It says here that "immediately her problem stopped" after she touched Jesus.
See, sometimes we look at the game clock and we look at how far down we are. And we think there just isn't enough time to win this one. It's over! Well that's what Mary and Martha thought when their brother, Lazarus, got sick and Jesus didn't come in time to heal him. And then he died, and they said, "It's over!" They had no idea Jesus purposely waited until things got worse so He could do an even greater miracle. He raised the dead.
Maybe you're tempted right now to panic or give up or take matters into your own hands. I mean, if God was going to do something, He would have done it by now, right? That's probably what the ancient Jews thought. They were supposed to be getting out of the centuries of slavery in Egypt, but there had been plagues and Pharaoh refused to let them go over and over again. And then he softened, and then he hardened his heart again and they thought, "We'll never win this one."
But the night God delivered the Jews from slavery He told them to sleep in their clothes and not to bother putting yeast in their bread. There wouldn't be time for it to rise. And in one night He took an entire nation out with the Egyptians basically chasing them saying, "Please, take my money, take my jewels. Get out of here!" Incredible!
The point? When God is ready to move, stand back. He pours it on in the last minute and scores more points in less time than we could ever imagine. He gets the solution ready for us. He gets us ready for the solution. And then He moves so fast you can hardly keep up with Him.
The score might look hopeless right now. You may not even want to show up for the fourth quarter. And God may wait until there's less than a minute left. But do not give up. You keep trusting this God who doesn't need much time at all to win a miraculous victory.
It is one thing to have a conviction; it's another to convict the person. Paul said in Romans 2:1, "If you think you can judge others" here is a stern reminder for you, "God judges those who do wrong things, and we know that his judging is right."
It is our job to hate the sin. But it is God's job to deal with the sinner. God has called us to despise evil, but he has never called us to despise the evildoer. But oh, how we would like to! Is there any act more delightful than judging others? There's something smug and self-satisfying about slamming down the gavel…"Guilty!" Judging others is a quick and easy way to feel good about ourselves. But that's the problem. God doesn't compare us to them. They are not the standard. God is. And compared to him, Paul argues in Romans 3:12, "There is no one who does anything good."
From In the Grip of Grace
Mark 4:1-20
New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Sower
4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
Footnotes:
Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Read: Psalm 119:9-16
How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, Lord;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
Insight
Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and chapter in the Bible. The focus of its 176 verses is God and His Word. God is mentioned in every verse of this psalm, and the entire psalm speaks of the primacy, authority, sufficiency, and efficacy of God’s Word in the life of the believer. It is a personal prayer for help. Oppressed and persecuted by powerful enemies who scorned and ridiculed his beliefs in God (vv.23,157,161), the unnamed psalmist found great strength and much comfort by trusting, keeping, and meditating on the Word of God. In this passage (vv.9-16), we see that victory over sin comes about only when we hide, meditate, contemplate, and delight in God’s Word.
One Amazing Letter
By Dave Branon
I will not forget Your word. —Psalm 119:16
Once in a while my wife and I open the mail to find a letter with no words on it. When we take the “letter” out of the envelope, we see a piece of paper with nothing more on it than a colorful mark made with a felt pen. Those “letters” warm our hearts because they’re from our preschool granddaughter Katie, who lives in another state. Even without words, these letters tell us that she loves us and is thinking about us.
We all cherish letters from those we love and those who love us. That’s why there is so much encouragement in the fact that our heavenly Father has given us a letter called the Bible. The value of Scripture goes beyond its words of power, challenge, and wisdom. Amid all of the stories, teaching, and guidance this Book provides, the overriding idea is that God loves us and has planned our rescue. It tells us of His love in overseeing our existence (Ps. 139), meeting our needs (Matt. 6:31-34), comforting us (2 Cor. 1:3-4), and saving us through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus (Rom. 1:16-17).
You are loved beyond imagination. God says so in His inspired and inspiring message to you. No wonder the psalmist wrote, “I will not forget Your word” (Ps. 119:16). It is one amazing letter!
Lord, help me to examine the Bible’s pages,
understand its truths, and apply its teachings to my
life. May I be as excited about Your letter to me as I
am about a letter, email, or Facebook posting by a friend.
The love of God for us is revealed in His letter to us—the Bible.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Missionary Weapons (1)
When you were under the fig tree, I saw you —John 1:48
Worshiping in Everyday Occasions. We presume that we would be ready for battle if confronted with a great crisis, but it is not the crisis that builds something within us— it simply reveals what we are made of already. Do you find yourself saying, “If God calls me to battle, of course I will rise to the occasion”? Yet you won’t rise to the occasion unless you have done so on God’s training ground. If you are not doing the task that is closest to you now, which God has engineered into your life, when the crisis comes, instead of being fit for battle, you will be revealed as being unfit. Crises always reveal a person’s true character.
A private relationship of worshiping God is the greatest essential element of spiritual fitness. The time will come, as Nathanael experienced in this passage, that a private “fig-tree” life will no longer be possible. Everything will be out in the open, and you will find yourself to be of no value there if you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions in your own home. If your worship is right in your private relationship with God, then when He sets you free, you will be ready. It is in the unseen life, which only God saw, that you have become perfectly fit. And when the strain of the crisis comes, you can be relied upon by God.
Are you saying, “But I can’t be expected to live a sanctified life in my present circumstances; I have no time for prayer or Bible study right now; besides, my opportunity for battle hasn’t come yet, but when it does, of course I will be ready”? No, you will not. If you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions, when you get involved in God’s work, you will not only be useless yourself but also a hindrance to those around you.
God’s training ground, where the missionary weapons are found, is the hidden, personal, worshiping life of the saint.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Not Enough Time to Win - #7218
There was a stretch in the life of the Buffalo Bills football team where they had to live down three straight losses in the Super Bowl. Now, there were some memorable victories, but people tend to forget the victories. In fact, they did have this one amazing victory. It was January 3, 1993. It was one of the most amazing games I can remember! It was the wild card game against the team known then as the Houston Oilers. Now, the winner of that game would be in the playoffs, and as things turned out, ultimately in the Super Bowl.
For a while it looked as if the Bills should have stayed in bed that morning. By early in the third quarter, Houston was leading them 35 to 3. It's over, right? I mean, they don't have time to make it up. And their star quarterback was injured on top of everything else. They've got their backup quarterback in. Virtually every commentator and every viewer had given up any hope of the Bills winning. It was a done deal. There just wasn't enough time to come back from that far down. Wrong! Touchdown! Bills, touchdown! Bills, touchdown! And then a thrilling tie finish to the game. They went into overtime. Final score: 41 to 38 - a Bills victory!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Not Enough Time to Win."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Mark 5, and we're beginning at verse 24. "A large crowd followed Jesus and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors, had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak. Because she thought, 'If I could just touch His clothes I will be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering."
This is Jesus, the Lord of the hopeless situation, and maybe that's exactly the kind of Christ you need right now. This lady has had 12 years. She's seen every doctor, exhausted every possibility. Spent every dollar and she's got nothing to show for all of that. But she recognized one fact, and she acted on it in faith. Jesus can do in a moment what man cannot do in 12 years, or 20 years or 50 years. It says here that "immediately her problem stopped" after she touched Jesus.
See, sometimes we look at the game clock and we look at how far down we are. And we think there just isn't enough time to win this one. It's over! Well that's what Mary and Martha thought when their brother, Lazarus, got sick and Jesus didn't come in time to heal him. And then he died, and they said, "It's over!" They had no idea Jesus purposely waited until things got worse so He could do an even greater miracle. He raised the dead.
Maybe you're tempted right now to panic or give up or take matters into your own hands. I mean, if God was going to do something, He would have done it by now, right? That's probably what the ancient Jews thought. They were supposed to be getting out of the centuries of slavery in Egypt, but there had been plagues and Pharaoh refused to let them go over and over again. And then he softened, and then he hardened his heart again and they thought, "We'll never win this one."
But the night God delivered the Jews from slavery He told them to sleep in their clothes and not to bother putting yeast in their bread. There wouldn't be time for it to rise. And in one night He took an entire nation out with the Egyptians basically chasing them saying, "Please, take my money, take my jewels. Get out of here!" Incredible!
The point? When God is ready to move, stand back. He pours it on in the last minute and scores more points in less time than we could ever imagine. He gets the solution ready for us. He gets us ready for the solution. And then He moves so fast you can hardly keep up with Him.
The score might look hopeless right now. You may not even want to show up for the fourth quarter. And God may wait until there's less than a minute left. But do not give up. You keep trusting this God who doesn't need much time at all to win a miraculous victory.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Exodus 38, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Settling for Crumbs
Rather than worship the Creator, we worship the creation! No wonder there is no wonder. We have figured it all out. Ever wonder why people sleep in on Sunday mornings, whether in bed or in the sanctuary? They've seen it all. Why get excited? They know it all! There's nothing sacred. The holy becomes humdrum.
Can you see why Paul says in Romans 1:24 that people became full of sexual sin, using their bodies wrongly with each other? You've got to get excitement somewhere. If there's no purpose to this life, nothing sacred about this life, what's to keep us from doing whatever we want? How does God feel about such a view of life? Well, let me give you a hint. How would you feel if you saw your children settling for crumbs when you had prepared for them a feast?…Exactly!
From In the Grip of Grace
Exodus 38
The Altar of Burnt Offering
They[k] built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits[l] high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.[m] 2 They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze. 3 They made all its utensils of bronze—its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. 4 They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, to be under its ledge, halfway up the altar. 5 They cast bronze rings to hold the poles for the four corners of the bronze grating. 6 They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. 7 They inserted the poles into the rings so they would be on the sides of the altar for carrying it. They made it hollow, out of boards.
The Basin for Washing
8 They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
The Courtyard
9 Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits[n] long and had curtains of finely twisted linen, 10 with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 11 The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
12 The west end was fifty cubits[o] wide and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 13 The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide. 14 Curtains fifteen cubits[p] long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, 15 and curtains fifteen cubits long were on the other side of the entrance to the courtyard, with three posts and three bases. 16 All the curtains around the courtyard were of finely twisted linen. 17 The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver; so all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.
18 The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was made of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer. It was twenty cubits[q] long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits[r] high, 19 with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. 20 All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze.
The Materials Used
21 These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant law, which were recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest. 22 (Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses; 23 with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan—an engraver and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.) 24 The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary was 29 talents and 730 shekels,[s] according to the sanctuary shekel.
25 The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census was 100 talents[t] and 1,775 shekels,[u] according to the sanctuary shekel— 26 one beka per person, that is, half a shekel,[v] according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more, a total of 603,550 men. 27 The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases for the sanctuary and for the curtain—100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base. 28 They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands.
29 The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.[w] 30 They used it to make the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all its utensils, 31 the bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard.
Exodus 38:1 Or He; also in verses 2-9
Exodus 38:1 That is, about 4 1/2 feet or about 1.4 meters
Exodus 38:1 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters long and wide
Exodus 38:9 That is, about 150 feet or about 45 meters
Exodus 38:12 That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters
Exodus 38:14 That is, about 22 feet or about 6.8 meters
Exodus 38:18 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters
Exodus 38:18 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters
Exodus 38:24 The weight of the gold was a little over a ton or about 1 metric ton.
Exodus 38:25 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons; also in verse 27
Exodus 38:25 That is, about 44 pounds or about 20 kilograms; also in verse 28
Exodus 38:26 That is, about 1/5 ounce or about 5.7 grams
Exodus 38:29 The weight of the bronze was about 2 1/2 tons or about 2.4 metric tons.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
Read: 1 Samuel 28:5-6, 15-20
5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. 6 He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
1 Samuel 28:15-20New International Version (NIV)
15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”
16 Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”
20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and all that night.
A Possum’s Pose
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
[The Lord] neither faints nor is weary. —Isaiah 40:28
Possums are known for their ability to play dead. When this happens, the possum’s body wilts, its tongue flops out, and its heart rate declines. After about 15 minutes, the animal revives. Interestingly, animal experts do not believe that possums purposefully play dead to evade predators. They faint involuntarily when they become overwhelmed and anxious!
King Saul had a similar response to danger at the end of his reign. Saul “fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid . . . . And there was no strength in him” (1 Sam. 28:20). He responded this way when the prophet Samuel told him that the Philistines would attack Israel on the next day, and that the Lord was not going to help him. Because Saul’s life had been characterized by disobedience, rashness, and jealousy, God was no longer guiding him (v.16), and his efforts to defend himself and the Israelites would be futile (v.19).
We may be in a place of weakness and despair because of our rebellion or because of the difficulties of life. Although anxiety can steal our strength, God can renew it as we lean on Him (Isa. 40:31). He “neither faints nor is weary” (v.28), and He is willing to reach down and revive us when we can’t take another step.
Jesus, You mean the world to me. You
are my life and my all. I’m thankful for
the strength that You give from day to day.
I know that without You I am nothing.
The secret of peace is to give every anxious care to God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
Do It Yourself (2)
. . . bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ . . . —2 Corinthians 10:5
Determinedly Discipline Other Things. This is another difficult aspect of the strenuous nature of sainthood. Paul said, according to the Moffatt translation of this verse, “. . . I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ . . . .” So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse! In our Lord’s life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father. There was never the slightest tendency to follow the impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father’s will— “the Son can do nothing of Himself . . . ” (John 5:19). Then compare this with what we do— we take “every thought” or project that comes to us by impulse and jump into action immediately, instead of imprisoning and disciplining ourselves to obey Christ.
Practical work for Christians is greatly overemphasized today, and the saints who are “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity” are criticized and told that they are not determined, and that they lack zeal for God or zeal for the souls of others. But true determination and zeal are found in obeying God, not in the inclination to serve Him that arises from our own undisciplined human nature. It is inconceivable, but true nevertheless, that saints are not “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity,” but are simply doing work for God that has been instigated by their own human nature, and has not been made spiritual through determined discipline.
We have a tendency to forget that a person is not only committed to Jesus Christ for salvation, but is also committed, responsible, and accountable to Jesus Christ’s view of God, the world, and of sin and the devil. This means that each person must recognize the responsibility to “be transformed by the renewing of [his] mind. . . .” (Romans 12:2).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
Breathe It Yourself First - #7217
If a flight attendant ever faints during a safety briefing on a flight that I'm on, I think I could take over. I've heard about the seat belt, and the seat and the tray being in the right position. Now, there's one thing that they mention that I have never experienced, and that's fine with me-the oxygen mask. It goes something like this, "In the event of a sudden change in cabin pressure, an oxygen mask will drop down from the compartment above your head." They even have this video that shows a low-tech guy like me how to use the mask. And then they explain this, "If you're traveling with a child, please make sure you put your mask on first, and then put it on your child." That's a good idea. Make sure you can breathe, and then take care of your child.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Breathe It Yourself First."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Deuteronomy 6. I guess I'd call it flight instructions for parents. It's addressed to parents who are raising kids in a culture that is more pagan than the one they grew up in, where their kids are going to be handed what their parents had to work for. That's pretty true of the generation this was written to, and it sure is true today.
Deuteronomy 6:5, the flight instructions begin this way. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. These commandments that I give to you today are to be upon your heart. Then impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the road, and when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your foreheads and hands, and write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."
But Verse 12 warns, "Be careful that you do not forget the Lord." Well, the Bible says here that your children are going to need a love relationship with the Lord if they're going to make it, where they love the Lord their God with everything they've got. That is an inner guidance system that you can plant in a child that keeps them from crashing when you're not with them. It's that internal spiritual strength that keeps them from collapsing when the external pressure on them is intense. They need this deep, real, personal relationship with the God who made them, who is the key to their purpose for living.
But you've got to breathe that spiritual oxygen before you can give it to them. That's why it says this has got to be impressed on your heart before it can be impressed on theirs. You've got to love Him first. Frankly, there's nothing like the needs of our kids' lives to expose the needs of our own lives. Look in your son's or daughter's eyes, and you're face-to-face with your own inadequacies, your needs, your pain, your failures; parts of you that you may want to deny or excuse. When we look at our kids those things stare at us in the mirror right there in the lives of our children. And their spiritual needs? Well, they're the mirror of your own. We can't lead them where we haven't been.
Maybe it's time for you to experience for yourself as a Mom or Dad this love relationship with God. First, we have to recognize why we don't have one. Because of this monster called sin, it's the self-rule of our life really. Secondly, we need to recognize how we can have that relationship. And the Bible makes it clear it's by visiting the cross where God's Son took the rap for our sin and made it possible for the sin wall between us and God to come down. And then thirdly, we need to pin all our hopes on that Savior; telling Jesus that He's in charge from this day on and then beyond that commitment.
We can't settle for a relationship that's mostly rules and rituals and religion and meetings, and beliefs. They're not going to sign up for that. The only Christianity that our kids will breathe themselves is one that is lived out before them in the real stuff of everyday life. Our children and our grandchildren need the oxygen of God's love as never before.
It's a stifling world, and they're meant to get that love from Mom and Dad. But if you've never experienced Jesus for yourself, you can have Him change your family by changing a Mom, by changing a Dad. By saying, "Jesus, I bring you all of my needs and my failures, my mistakes, my sin, my inadequacies and I lay them at your cross where you died for me. Beginning this day I'm Yours."
I'd love to help you nail down that relationship with Jesus for sure. Would you meet me at our website? It's ANewStory.com. It will be a new story for you and for your family.
Rather than worship the Creator, we worship the creation! No wonder there is no wonder. We have figured it all out. Ever wonder why people sleep in on Sunday mornings, whether in bed or in the sanctuary? They've seen it all. Why get excited? They know it all! There's nothing sacred. The holy becomes humdrum.
Can you see why Paul says in Romans 1:24 that people became full of sexual sin, using their bodies wrongly with each other? You've got to get excitement somewhere. If there's no purpose to this life, nothing sacred about this life, what's to keep us from doing whatever we want? How does God feel about such a view of life? Well, let me give you a hint. How would you feel if you saw your children settling for crumbs when you had prepared for them a feast?…Exactly!
From In the Grip of Grace
Exodus 38
The Altar of Burnt Offering
They[k] built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits[l] high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.[m] 2 They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze. 3 They made all its utensils of bronze—its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. 4 They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, to be under its ledge, halfway up the altar. 5 They cast bronze rings to hold the poles for the four corners of the bronze grating. 6 They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. 7 They inserted the poles into the rings so they would be on the sides of the altar for carrying it. They made it hollow, out of boards.
The Basin for Washing
8 They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
The Courtyard
9 Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits[n] long and had curtains of finely twisted linen, 10 with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 11 The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
12 The west end was fifty cubits[o] wide and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 13 The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide. 14 Curtains fifteen cubits[p] long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, 15 and curtains fifteen cubits long were on the other side of the entrance to the courtyard, with three posts and three bases. 16 All the curtains around the courtyard were of finely twisted linen. 17 The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver; so all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.
18 The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was made of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer. It was twenty cubits[q] long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits[r] high, 19 with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. 20 All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze.
The Materials Used
21 These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant law, which were recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest. 22 (Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses; 23 with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan—an engraver and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.) 24 The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary was 29 talents and 730 shekels,[s] according to the sanctuary shekel.
25 The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census was 100 talents[t] and 1,775 shekels,[u] according to the sanctuary shekel— 26 one beka per person, that is, half a shekel,[v] according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more, a total of 603,550 men. 27 The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases for the sanctuary and for the curtain—100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base. 28 They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands.
29 The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.[w] 30 They used it to make the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all its utensils, 31 the bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard.
Exodus 38:1 Or He; also in verses 2-9
Exodus 38:1 That is, about 4 1/2 feet or about 1.4 meters
Exodus 38:1 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters long and wide
Exodus 38:9 That is, about 150 feet or about 45 meters
Exodus 38:12 That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters
Exodus 38:14 That is, about 22 feet or about 6.8 meters
Exodus 38:18 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters
Exodus 38:18 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters
Exodus 38:24 The weight of the gold was a little over a ton or about 1 metric ton.
Exodus 38:25 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons; also in verse 27
Exodus 38:25 That is, about 44 pounds or about 20 kilograms; also in verse 28
Exodus 38:26 That is, about 1/5 ounce or about 5.7 grams
Exodus 38:29 The weight of the bronze was about 2 1/2 tons or about 2.4 metric tons.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
Read: 1 Samuel 28:5-6, 15-20
5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. 6 He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
1 Samuel 28:15-20New International Version (NIV)
15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”
16 Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”
20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and all that night.
A Possum’s Pose
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
[The Lord] neither faints nor is weary. —Isaiah 40:28
Possums are known for their ability to play dead. When this happens, the possum’s body wilts, its tongue flops out, and its heart rate declines. After about 15 minutes, the animal revives. Interestingly, animal experts do not believe that possums purposefully play dead to evade predators. They faint involuntarily when they become overwhelmed and anxious!
King Saul had a similar response to danger at the end of his reign. Saul “fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid . . . . And there was no strength in him” (1 Sam. 28:20). He responded this way when the prophet Samuel told him that the Philistines would attack Israel on the next day, and that the Lord was not going to help him. Because Saul’s life had been characterized by disobedience, rashness, and jealousy, God was no longer guiding him (v.16), and his efforts to defend himself and the Israelites would be futile (v.19).
We may be in a place of weakness and despair because of our rebellion or because of the difficulties of life. Although anxiety can steal our strength, God can renew it as we lean on Him (Isa. 40:31). He “neither faints nor is weary” (v.28), and He is willing to reach down and revive us when we can’t take another step.
Jesus, You mean the world to me. You
are my life and my all. I’m thankful for
the strength that You give from day to day.
I know that without You I am nothing.
The secret of peace is to give every anxious care to God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
Do It Yourself (2)
. . . bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ . . . —2 Corinthians 10:5
Determinedly Discipline Other Things. This is another difficult aspect of the strenuous nature of sainthood. Paul said, according to the Moffatt translation of this verse, “. . . I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ . . . .” So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse! In our Lord’s life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father. There was never the slightest tendency to follow the impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father’s will— “the Son can do nothing of Himself . . . ” (John 5:19). Then compare this with what we do— we take “every thought” or project that comes to us by impulse and jump into action immediately, instead of imprisoning and disciplining ourselves to obey Christ.
Practical work for Christians is greatly overemphasized today, and the saints who are “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity” are criticized and told that they are not determined, and that they lack zeal for God or zeal for the souls of others. But true determination and zeal are found in obeying God, not in the inclination to serve Him that arises from our own undisciplined human nature. It is inconceivable, but true nevertheless, that saints are not “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity,” but are simply doing work for God that has been instigated by their own human nature, and has not been made spiritual through determined discipline.
We have a tendency to forget that a person is not only committed to Jesus Christ for salvation, but is also committed, responsible, and accountable to Jesus Christ’s view of God, the world, and of sin and the devil. This means that each person must recognize the responsibility to “be transformed by the renewing of [his] mind. . . .” (Romans 12:2).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
Breathe It Yourself First - #7217
If a flight attendant ever faints during a safety briefing on a flight that I'm on, I think I could take over. I've heard about the seat belt, and the seat and the tray being in the right position. Now, there's one thing that they mention that I have never experienced, and that's fine with me-the oxygen mask. It goes something like this, "In the event of a sudden change in cabin pressure, an oxygen mask will drop down from the compartment above your head." They even have this video that shows a low-tech guy like me how to use the mask. And then they explain this, "If you're traveling with a child, please make sure you put your mask on first, and then put it on your child." That's a good idea. Make sure you can breathe, and then take care of your child.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Breathe It Yourself First."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Deuteronomy 6. I guess I'd call it flight instructions for parents. It's addressed to parents who are raising kids in a culture that is more pagan than the one they grew up in, where their kids are going to be handed what their parents had to work for. That's pretty true of the generation this was written to, and it sure is true today.
Deuteronomy 6:5, the flight instructions begin this way. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. These commandments that I give to you today are to be upon your heart. Then impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the road, and when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your foreheads and hands, and write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."
But Verse 12 warns, "Be careful that you do not forget the Lord." Well, the Bible says here that your children are going to need a love relationship with the Lord if they're going to make it, where they love the Lord their God with everything they've got. That is an inner guidance system that you can plant in a child that keeps them from crashing when you're not with them. It's that internal spiritual strength that keeps them from collapsing when the external pressure on them is intense. They need this deep, real, personal relationship with the God who made them, who is the key to their purpose for living.
But you've got to breathe that spiritual oxygen before you can give it to them. That's why it says this has got to be impressed on your heart before it can be impressed on theirs. You've got to love Him first. Frankly, there's nothing like the needs of our kids' lives to expose the needs of our own lives. Look in your son's or daughter's eyes, and you're face-to-face with your own inadequacies, your needs, your pain, your failures; parts of you that you may want to deny or excuse. When we look at our kids those things stare at us in the mirror right there in the lives of our children. And their spiritual needs? Well, they're the mirror of your own. We can't lead them where we haven't been.
Maybe it's time for you to experience for yourself as a Mom or Dad this love relationship with God. First, we have to recognize why we don't have one. Because of this monster called sin, it's the self-rule of our life really. Secondly, we need to recognize how we can have that relationship. And the Bible makes it clear it's by visiting the cross where God's Son took the rap for our sin and made it possible for the sin wall between us and God to come down. And then thirdly, we need to pin all our hopes on that Savior; telling Jesus that He's in charge from this day on and then beyond that commitment.
We can't settle for a relationship that's mostly rules and rituals and religion and meetings, and beliefs. They're not going to sign up for that. The only Christianity that our kids will breathe themselves is one that is lived out before them in the real stuff of everyday life. Our children and our grandchildren need the oxygen of God's love as never before.
It's a stifling world, and they're meant to get that love from Mom and Dad. But if you've never experienced Jesus for yourself, you can have Him change your family by changing a Mom, by changing a Dad. By saying, "Jesus, I bring you all of my needs and my failures, my mistakes, my sin, my inadequacies and I lay them at your cross where you died for me. Beginning this day I'm Yours."
I'd love to help you nail down that relationship with Jesus for sure. Would you meet me at our website? It's ANewStory.com. It will be a new story for you and for your family.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Exodus 37 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: The Purpose of Life
As surely as a child breathes, he will someday wonder, "What is the purpose of my life?" Some search for meaning in a career. My purpose is to be a dentist. Fine vocation but hardly a justification for existence. They opt to be a human doing rather than a human being. They work many hours, because if they don't, they have no identify. For others, who they are is what they have. They find meaning in a new car, a new house, new clothes. They are great for the economy because they're always seeking meaning in something they own. Sports, entertainment, cults, sex, you name it. Paul says in Romans 1:22, "Claiming themselves to be wise without God, they became utter fools instead." Contrast that to God's vision of life when he said, "We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to devote ourselves to the good deeds for which God has designed us!" (Ephesians 2:10).
From In the Grip of Grace
Exodus 37
The Ark
Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.[e] 2 He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it. 3 He cast four gold rings for it and fastened them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 4 Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 5 And he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it.
6 He made the atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 7 Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 8 He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover. 9 The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.
The Table
10 They[f] made the table of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high.[g] 11 Then they overlaid it with pure gold and made a gold molding around it. 12 They also made around it a rim a handbreadth[h] wide and put a gold molding on the rim. 13 They cast four gold rings for the table and fastened them to the four corners, where the four legs were. 14 The rings were put close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. 15 The poles for carrying the table were made of acacia wood and were overlaid with gold. 16 And they made from pure gold the articles for the table—its plates and dishes and bowls and its pitchers for the pouring out of drink offerings.
The Lampstand
17 They made the lampstand of pure gold. They hammered out its base and shaft, and made its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them. 18 Six branches extended from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. 19 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on one branch, three on the next branch and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. 20 And on the lampstand were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. 21 One bud was under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. 22 The buds and the branches were all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.
23 They made its seven lamps, as well as its wick trimmers and trays, of pure gold. 24 They made the lampstand and all its accessories from one talent[i] of pure gold.
The Altar of Incense
25 They made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It was square, a cubit long and a cubit wide and two cubits high[j]—its horns of one piece with it. 26 They overlaid the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and made a gold molding around it. 27 They made two gold rings below the molding—two on each of the opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. 28 They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
29 They also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense—the work of a perfumer.
Exodus 37:1 That is, about 3 3/4 feet long and 2 1/4 feet wide and high or about 1.1 meters long and 68 centimeters wide and high; similarly in verse 6
Exodus 37:10 Or He; also in verses 11-29
Exodus 37:10 That is, about 3 feet long, 1 1/2 feet wide and 2 1/4 feet high or about 90 centimeters long, 45 centimeters wide and 68 centimeters high
Exodus 37:12 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
Exodus 37:24 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
Exodus 37:25 That is, about 1 1/2 feet long and wide and 3 feet high or about 45 centimeters long and wide and 90 centimeters high
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, September 08, 2014
Read: Mark 4:1-20
The Parable of the Sower
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
Footnotes: Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10
Sow What?
By Julie Ackerman Link
He who sows righteousness will have a sure reward. —Proverbs 11:18
On the clock tower of my alma mater is an Art Deco bas-relief sculpture titled The Sower. The inscription beneath it is from Galatians 6:7, “Whatsoever a man soweth.” Michigan State University remains a leader in agricultural research, but despite many improvements in farming techniques and crop production, this fact remains: Seeds of corn will not produce a crop of beans.
Jesus used many farming metaphors to explain the kingdom of God. In the parable of the sower (Mark 4), He compared the Word of God to seeds sown in different types of soil. As the parable indicates, the sower sows indiscriminately, knowing that some seed will fall in places where it will not grow.
Like Jesus, we are to sow good seed in all places at all times. God is responsible for where it lands and how it grows. The important thing is that we sow. God does not want us to reap destruction, so He wants us to sow what is good and right (Prov. 11:18). The apostle Paul elaborated on the metaphor when he warned believers not to sow seeds of corruption. Instead, we are to sow seeds that will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:8).
The answer to the question, “Sow what?” is “Sow what you want to reap.” To reap a good harvest in your life, start sowing seeds of goodness.
Sow a thought, reap an act;
Sow an act, reap a habit;
Sow a habit, reap a character;
Sow a character, reap a destiny. —Anon.
A buried seed brings fruit; a selfless life reaps an eternal harvest.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, September 08, 2014
Do It Yourself (1)
. . . casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God . . . —2 Corinthians 10:5
Determinedly Demolish Some Things. Deliverance from sin is not the same as deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, that the saint can only destroy through sheer neglect. But there are other things that have to be destroyed through violence, that is, through God’s divine strength imparted by His Spirit. There are some things over which we are not to fight, but only to “stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord . . .” (see Exodus 14:13). But every theory or thought that raises itself up as a fortified barrier “against the knowledge of God” is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God’s power, not through human effort or by compromise (see 2 Corinthians 10:4).
It is only when God has transformed our nature and we have entered into the experience of sanctification that the fight begins. The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin— Jesus Christ conquered that in His redemption of us. The conflict is waged over turning our natural life into a spiritual life. This is never done easily, nor does God intend that it be so. It is accomplished only through a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense that He makes our character holy. He makes us holy in the sense that He has made us innocent before Him. And then we have to turn that innocence into holy character through the moral choices we make. These choices are continually opposed and hostile to the things of our natural life which have become so deeply entrenched— the very things that raise themselves up as fortified barriers “against the knowledge of God.” We can either turn back, making ourselves of no value to the kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things, allowing Jesus to bring another son to glory (see Hebrews 2:10).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, September 08, 2014
Resetting from the 'Me' Zone - #7216
Life on the road is so glamorous! Yeah, I can pack, unpack and repack my suitcase blindfolded. I have learned the survival skills of living in airports. And one of the most important things to remember, although it is hard sometimes, remember what time zone you're in. You can really get that messed up if you forget that. A lot of things are going to be wrong. I know! You miss planes, you miss meals, you miss appointments, you miss sleep. So I must faithfully reset my watch as I cross in and out of time zones or everything else is going to get messed up.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Resetting from the 'Me' Zone."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 10. I'm going to give you a little background here. Daniel is trying to understand what God's plan is, and he needs some special wisdom from the Lord. He doesn't understand what he's feeling. He's receiving a messenger from heaven, though, who tells him that he is highly esteemed by God, and then reveals what has impressed God about Daniel's praying.
Daniel 10:12 from the Word of God. The messenger said, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard and I have come in response to them." These words really leaped out at me as I read this. You set your mind to humble yourself.
Now, this business of us humbling ourselves; it's apparently pretty important to God. He keeps talking about it. 1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you in due time." This humbling yourself? It's not something that comes naturally. You have to set your mind. I was really hit with that "setting your mind" to humble yourself. It's like me resetting my watch. It's concentrating on a different zone from the zone we're used to living in in this selfie world.
Now, what is humility? It's not denying your created worth and saying, "I'm no good." No, that's an insult to God. Maybe it's best understood by its opposite-self-focus. That's the 'me' zone we live in most of the time. How will this help me? How can I look good? How can I get the edge? My comfort, my story, my need, my feelings, my advancement, my attention. Humility, then, is self-forgetfulness; setting your mind to forget about yourself.
In Philippians 2 we're told to "have the same attitude Jesus had." And then it says, "He humbled himself." And then it describes how He later denied His comfort in heaven, His safety, His rights, all of His interests. Ultimately, He denied himself His life. And that's why God exalted Him, and that's why He will exalt you if you humble yourself.
I'm beginning to see this business of humbling myself as pretty practical stuff. Look, each new day I have to reset my inner watch, because it keeps resetting to the 'me' zone. And I have to set it to live in the 'God and others' zone. I need to pray, and maybe you do too, "Lord, by nature I'm self-centered. I'm going to live for my stuff today unless I set my mind to humble myself. I want to do that; I want to lay aside my self-agenda today. I just want to be available for Your agenda. Help me forget about myself. Help me focus on You. Help me focus on the people around me. Help me seek to give attention, not try to get it. Help me to bring credit to You, not to me. Help me to focus on the needs of other people, not on my own. Help me to let other people tell their story before I tell mine; to prefer other people ahead of me." See, that's resetting yourself for another day of walking humbly before your God.
And in the strangely upside-down ways of God you'll find your life by giving it away. You'll be promoted by God, who could do a much better job of it than you can by promoting yourself. Take it from a veteran of crossing time zones, things are not right until you've reset for a different zone. And things won't be right for you unless you reset each morning from the 'me' zone to the 'God and others' zone. It's called humility.
As surely as a child breathes, he will someday wonder, "What is the purpose of my life?" Some search for meaning in a career. My purpose is to be a dentist. Fine vocation but hardly a justification for existence. They opt to be a human doing rather than a human being. They work many hours, because if they don't, they have no identify. For others, who they are is what they have. They find meaning in a new car, a new house, new clothes. They are great for the economy because they're always seeking meaning in something they own. Sports, entertainment, cults, sex, you name it. Paul says in Romans 1:22, "Claiming themselves to be wise without God, they became utter fools instead." Contrast that to God's vision of life when he said, "We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to devote ourselves to the good deeds for which God has designed us!" (Ephesians 2:10).
From In the Grip of Grace
Exodus 37
The Ark
Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.[e] 2 He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it. 3 He cast four gold rings for it and fastened them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 4 Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 5 And he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it.
6 He made the atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 7 Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 8 He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover. 9 The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.
The Table
10 They[f] made the table of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high.[g] 11 Then they overlaid it with pure gold and made a gold molding around it. 12 They also made around it a rim a handbreadth[h] wide and put a gold molding on the rim. 13 They cast four gold rings for the table and fastened them to the four corners, where the four legs were. 14 The rings were put close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. 15 The poles for carrying the table were made of acacia wood and were overlaid with gold. 16 And they made from pure gold the articles for the table—its plates and dishes and bowls and its pitchers for the pouring out of drink offerings.
The Lampstand
17 They made the lampstand of pure gold. They hammered out its base and shaft, and made its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them. 18 Six branches extended from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. 19 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on one branch, three on the next branch and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. 20 And on the lampstand were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. 21 One bud was under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. 22 The buds and the branches were all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.
23 They made its seven lamps, as well as its wick trimmers and trays, of pure gold. 24 They made the lampstand and all its accessories from one talent[i] of pure gold.
The Altar of Incense
25 They made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It was square, a cubit long and a cubit wide and two cubits high[j]—its horns of one piece with it. 26 They overlaid the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and made a gold molding around it. 27 They made two gold rings below the molding—two on each of the opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. 28 They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
29 They also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense—the work of a perfumer.
Exodus 37:1 That is, about 3 3/4 feet long and 2 1/4 feet wide and high or about 1.1 meters long and 68 centimeters wide and high; similarly in verse 6
Exodus 37:10 Or He; also in verses 11-29
Exodus 37:10 That is, about 3 feet long, 1 1/2 feet wide and 2 1/4 feet high or about 90 centimeters long, 45 centimeters wide and 68 centimeters high
Exodus 37:12 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
Exodus 37:24 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
Exodus 37:25 That is, about 1 1/2 feet long and wide and 3 feet high or about 45 centimeters long and wide and 90 centimeters high
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, September 08, 2014
Read: Mark 4:1-20
The Parable of the Sower
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
Footnotes: Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10
Sow What?
By Julie Ackerman Link
He who sows righteousness will have a sure reward. —Proverbs 11:18
On the clock tower of my alma mater is an Art Deco bas-relief sculpture titled The Sower. The inscription beneath it is from Galatians 6:7, “Whatsoever a man soweth.” Michigan State University remains a leader in agricultural research, but despite many improvements in farming techniques and crop production, this fact remains: Seeds of corn will not produce a crop of beans.
Jesus used many farming metaphors to explain the kingdom of God. In the parable of the sower (Mark 4), He compared the Word of God to seeds sown in different types of soil. As the parable indicates, the sower sows indiscriminately, knowing that some seed will fall in places where it will not grow.
Like Jesus, we are to sow good seed in all places at all times. God is responsible for where it lands and how it grows. The important thing is that we sow. God does not want us to reap destruction, so He wants us to sow what is good and right (Prov. 11:18). The apostle Paul elaborated on the metaphor when he warned believers not to sow seeds of corruption. Instead, we are to sow seeds that will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:8).
The answer to the question, “Sow what?” is “Sow what you want to reap.” To reap a good harvest in your life, start sowing seeds of goodness.
Sow a thought, reap an act;
Sow an act, reap a habit;
Sow a habit, reap a character;
Sow a character, reap a destiny. —Anon.
A buried seed brings fruit; a selfless life reaps an eternal harvest.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, September 08, 2014
Do It Yourself (1)
. . . casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God . . . —2 Corinthians 10:5
Determinedly Demolish Some Things. Deliverance from sin is not the same as deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, that the saint can only destroy through sheer neglect. But there are other things that have to be destroyed through violence, that is, through God’s divine strength imparted by His Spirit. There are some things over which we are not to fight, but only to “stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord . . .” (see Exodus 14:13). But every theory or thought that raises itself up as a fortified barrier “against the knowledge of God” is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God’s power, not through human effort or by compromise (see 2 Corinthians 10:4).
It is only when God has transformed our nature and we have entered into the experience of sanctification that the fight begins. The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin— Jesus Christ conquered that in His redemption of us. The conflict is waged over turning our natural life into a spiritual life. This is never done easily, nor does God intend that it be so. It is accomplished only through a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense that He makes our character holy. He makes us holy in the sense that He has made us innocent before Him. And then we have to turn that innocence into holy character through the moral choices we make. These choices are continually opposed and hostile to the things of our natural life which have become so deeply entrenched— the very things that raise themselves up as fortified barriers “against the knowledge of God.” We can either turn back, making ourselves of no value to the kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things, allowing Jesus to bring another son to glory (see Hebrews 2:10).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, September 08, 2014
Resetting from the 'Me' Zone - #7216
Life on the road is so glamorous! Yeah, I can pack, unpack and repack my suitcase blindfolded. I have learned the survival skills of living in airports. And one of the most important things to remember, although it is hard sometimes, remember what time zone you're in. You can really get that messed up if you forget that. A lot of things are going to be wrong. I know! You miss planes, you miss meals, you miss appointments, you miss sleep. So I must faithfully reset my watch as I cross in and out of time zones or everything else is going to get messed up.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Resetting from the 'Me' Zone."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 10. I'm going to give you a little background here. Daniel is trying to understand what God's plan is, and he needs some special wisdom from the Lord. He doesn't understand what he's feeling. He's receiving a messenger from heaven, though, who tells him that he is highly esteemed by God, and then reveals what has impressed God about Daniel's praying.
Daniel 10:12 from the Word of God. The messenger said, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard and I have come in response to them." These words really leaped out at me as I read this. You set your mind to humble yourself.
Now, this business of us humbling ourselves; it's apparently pretty important to God. He keeps talking about it. 1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you in due time." This humbling yourself? It's not something that comes naturally. You have to set your mind. I was really hit with that "setting your mind" to humble yourself. It's like me resetting my watch. It's concentrating on a different zone from the zone we're used to living in in this selfie world.
Now, what is humility? It's not denying your created worth and saying, "I'm no good." No, that's an insult to God. Maybe it's best understood by its opposite-self-focus. That's the 'me' zone we live in most of the time. How will this help me? How can I look good? How can I get the edge? My comfort, my story, my need, my feelings, my advancement, my attention. Humility, then, is self-forgetfulness; setting your mind to forget about yourself.
In Philippians 2 we're told to "have the same attitude Jesus had." And then it says, "He humbled himself." And then it describes how He later denied His comfort in heaven, His safety, His rights, all of His interests. Ultimately, He denied himself His life. And that's why God exalted Him, and that's why He will exalt you if you humble yourself.
I'm beginning to see this business of humbling myself as pretty practical stuff. Look, each new day I have to reset my inner watch, because it keeps resetting to the 'me' zone. And I have to set it to live in the 'God and others' zone. I need to pray, and maybe you do too, "Lord, by nature I'm self-centered. I'm going to live for my stuff today unless I set my mind to humble myself. I want to do that; I want to lay aside my self-agenda today. I just want to be available for Your agenda. Help me forget about myself. Help me focus on You. Help me focus on the people around me. Help me seek to give attention, not try to get it. Help me to bring credit to You, not to me. Help me to focus on the needs of other people, not on my own. Help me to let other people tell their story before I tell mine; to prefer other people ahead of me." See, that's resetting yourself for another day of walking humbly before your God.
And in the strangely upside-down ways of God you'll find your life by giving it away. You'll be promoted by God, who could do a much better job of it than you can by promoting yourself. Take it from a veteran of crossing time zones, things are not right until you've reset for a different zone. And things won't be right for you unless you reset each morning from the 'me' zone to the 'God and others' zone. It's called humility.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Exodus 36, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
MaxLucado.com: Grace is God as heart surgeon!
Grace is God cracking open your chest, removing your heart, poisoned as it is with pride and pain, and replacing it with his own.
God’s dream isn’t just to get you into heaven, but to get heaven into you. Grace lives because Jesus does, works because he works, and matters because he matters.
To be saved by grace is to be saved by Jesus—not by an idea, doctrine, creed, or church membership, but by Jesus himself, who will sweep into heaven anyone who so much as gives him the nod.
Grace won’t be stage-managed. I have no tips on how to get grace. Truth is, we don’t get grace. But it can sure get us.
If you wonder whether God can do something with the mess of your life, then grace is what you need!
Let’s make certain it happens to you!
Ezekiel 36:26b- “I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
From GRACE
Exodus 36
So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.”
2 Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. 3 They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4 So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing 5 and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.”
6 Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, 7 because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.
The Tabernacle
8 All those who were skilled among the workers made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by expert hands. 9 All the curtains were the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.[a] 10 They joined five of the curtains together and did the same with the other five. 11 Then they made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and the same was done with the end curtain in the other set. 12 They also made fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. 13 Then they made fifty gold clasps and used them to fasten the two sets of curtains together so that the tabernacle was a unit.
14 They made curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether. 15 All eleven curtains were the same size—thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.[b] 16 They joined five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another set. 17 Then they made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. 18 They made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the tent together as a unit. 19 Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather.[c]
20 They made upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 21 Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,[d] 22 with two projections set parallel to each other. They made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 23 They made twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle 24 and made forty silver bases to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection. 25 For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, they made twenty frames 26 and forty silver bases—two under each frame. 27 They made six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, 28 and two frames were made for the corners of the tabernacle at the far end. 29 At these two corners the frames were double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both were made alike. 30 So there were eight frames and sixteen silver bases—two under each frame.
31 They also made crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, 32 five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. 33 They made the center crossbar so that it extended from end to end at the middle of the frames. 34 They overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also overlaid the crossbars with gold.
35 They made the curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker. 36 They made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold. They made gold hooks for them and cast their four silver bases. 37 For the entrance to the tent they made a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer; 38 and they made five posts with hooks for them. They overlaid the tops of the posts and their bands with gold and made their five bases of bronze.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, September 07, 2014
Read: Philippians 3:1-11
No Confidence in the Flesh
Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Footnotes:
Philippians 3:9 Or through the faithfulness of
Insight
In Philippians 3:4-6, Paul details the things that showed his significance in ancient Judaism. What he discovered, however, was that true significance can only be found in knowing Christ (vv.8-9).
More Of Him, Less Of Me
By Joe Stowell
I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. —Philippians 3:8
While I was pastoring a church early in my ministry, my daughter Libby asked me, “Dad, are we famous?” To which I replied, “No, Libby, we’re not famous.” She thought for a moment and then said rather indignantly, “Well, we would be if more people knew about us!”
Poor Libby! Only 7 years old and already struggling with what many of us struggle with throughout life: Who recognizes us, and are we getting the recognition we think we deserve?
Our desire for recognition wouldn’t be such a problem if it didn’t tend to replace Jesus as the focus of our attention. But being absorbed with ourselves crowds Him out of the picture.
Life cannot be all about us and all about Jesus at the same time. This makes Paul’s statement that he counted “everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ” (Phil. 3:8 esv) strategically important. Faced with a choice between himself and Jesus, Paul intentionally discarded the things that would draw attention to himself so he could concentrate on knowing and experiencing Jesus (vv.7-8,10).
For us, the decision is the same. Will we live to draw attention to ourselves? Or will we focus on the privilege of knowing and experiencing Jesus more intimately?
Lord, thank You for reminding me of the
value of knowing You more intimately.
Help me to keep myself out of the way as
I pursue a deeper walk with You.
Do our choices bring honor to God or to us?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, September 07, 2014
Fountains of Blessings
The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life —John 4:14
The picture our Lord described here is not that of a simple stream of water, but an overflowing fountain. Continue to “be filled” (Ephesians 5:18) and the sweetness of your vital relationship to Jesus will flow as generously out of you as it has been given to you. If you find that His life is not springing up as it should, you are to blame— something is obstructing the flow. Was Jesus saying to stay focused on the Source so that you may be blessed personally? No, you are to focus on the Source so that out of you “will flow rivers of living water”— irrepressible life (John 7:38).
We are to be fountains through which Jesus can flow as “rivers of living water” in blessing to everyone. Yet some of us are like the Dead Sea, always receiving but never giving, because our relationship is not right with the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive blessings from Him, He will pour out blessings through us. But whenever the blessings are not being poured out in the same measure they are received, there is a defect in our relationship with Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything hindering your faith in Him? If not, then Jesus says that out of you “will flow rivers of living water.” It is not a blessing that you pass on, or an experience that you share with others, but a river that continually flows through you. Stay at the Source, closely guarding your faith in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow into the lives of others with no dryness or deadness whatsoever.
Is it excessive to say that rivers will flow out of one individual believer? Do you look at yourself and say, “But I don’t see the rivers”? Through the history of God’s work you will usually find that He has started with the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but those who have been steadfastly true to Jesus Christ.
Grace is God cracking open your chest, removing your heart, poisoned as it is with pride and pain, and replacing it with his own.
God’s dream isn’t just to get you into heaven, but to get heaven into you. Grace lives because Jesus does, works because he works, and matters because he matters.
To be saved by grace is to be saved by Jesus—not by an idea, doctrine, creed, or church membership, but by Jesus himself, who will sweep into heaven anyone who so much as gives him the nod.
Grace won’t be stage-managed. I have no tips on how to get grace. Truth is, we don’t get grace. But it can sure get us.
If you wonder whether God can do something with the mess of your life, then grace is what you need!
Let’s make certain it happens to you!
Ezekiel 36:26b- “I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
From GRACE
Exodus 36
So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.”
2 Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. 3 They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4 So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing 5 and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.”
6 Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, 7 because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.
The Tabernacle
8 All those who were skilled among the workers made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by expert hands. 9 All the curtains were the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.[a] 10 They joined five of the curtains together and did the same with the other five. 11 Then they made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and the same was done with the end curtain in the other set. 12 They also made fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. 13 Then they made fifty gold clasps and used them to fasten the two sets of curtains together so that the tabernacle was a unit.
14 They made curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether. 15 All eleven curtains were the same size—thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.[b] 16 They joined five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another set. 17 Then they made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. 18 They made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the tent together as a unit. 19 Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather.[c]
20 They made upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 21 Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,[d] 22 with two projections set parallel to each other. They made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 23 They made twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle 24 and made forty silver bases to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection. 25 For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, they made twenty frames 26 and forty silver bases—two under each frame. 27 They made six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, 28 and two frames were made for the corners of the tabernacle at the far end. 29 At these two corners the frames were double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both were made alike. 30 So there were eight frames and sixteen silver bases—two under each frame.
31 They also made crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, 32 five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. 33 They made the center crossbar so that it extended from end to end at the middle of the frames. 34 They overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also overlaid the crossbars with gold.
35 They made the curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker. 36 They made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold. They made gold hooks for them and cast their four silver bases. 37 For the entrance to the tent they made a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer; 38 and they made five posts with hooks for them. They overlaid the tops of the posts and their bands with gold and made their five bases of bronze.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, September 07, 2014
Read: Philippians 3:1-11
No Confidence in the Flesh
Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Footnotes:
Philippians 3:9 Or through the faithfulness of
Insight
In Philippians 3:4-6, Paul details the things that showed his significance in ancient Judaism. What he discovered, however, was that true significance can only be found in knowing Christ (vv.8-9).
More Of Him, Less Of Me
By Joe Stowell
I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. —Philippians 3:8
While I was pastoring a church early in my ministry, my daughter Libby asked me, “Dad, are we famous?” To which I replied, “No, Libby, we’re not famous.” She thought for a moment and then said rather indignantly, “Well, we would be if more people knew about us!”
Poor Libby! Only 7 years old and already struggling with what many of us struggle with throughout life: Who recognizes us, and are we getting the recognition we think we deserve?
Our desire for recognition wouldn’t be such a problem if it didn’t tend to replace Jesus as the focus of our attention. But being absorbed with ourselves crowds Him out of the picture.
Life cannot be all about us and all about Jesus at the same time. This makes Paul’s statement that he counted “everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ” (Phil. 3:8 esv) strategically important. Faced with a choice between himself and Jesus, Paul intentionally discarded the things that would draw attention to himself so he could concentrate on knowing and experiencing Jesus (vv.7-8,10).
For us, the decision is the same. Will we live to draw attention to ourselves? Or will we focus on the privilege of knowing and experiencing Jesus more intimately?
Lord, thank You for reminding me of the
value of knowing You more intimately.
Help me to keep myself out of the way as
I pursue a deeper walk with You.
Do our choices bring honor to God or to us?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, September 07, 2014
Fountains of Blessings
The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life —John 4:14
The picture our Lord described here is not that of a simple stream of water, but an overflowing fountain. Continue to “be filled” (Ephesians 5:18) and the sweetness of your vital relationship to Jesus will flow as generously out of you as it has been given to you. If you find that His life is not springing up as it should, you are to blame— something is obstructing the flow. Was Jesus saying to stay focused on the Source so that you may be blessed personally? No, you are to focus on the Source so that out of you “will flow rivers of living water”— irrepressible life (John 7:38).
We are to be fountains through which Jesus can flow as “rivers of living water” in blessing to everyone. Yet some of us are like the Dead Sea, always receiving but never giving, because our relationship is not right with the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive blessings from Him, He will pour out blessings through us. But whenever the blessings are not being poured out in the same measure they are received, there is a defect in our relationship with Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything hindering your faith in Him? If not, then Jesus says that out of you “will flow rivers of living water.” It is not a blessing that you pass on, or an experience that you share with others, but a river that continually flows through you. Stay at the Source, closely guarding your faith in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow into the lives of others with no dryness or deadness whatsoever.
Is it excessive to say that rivers will flow out of one individual believer? Do you look at yourself and say, “But I don’t see the rivers”? Through the history of God’s work you will usually find that He has started with the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but those who have been steadfastly true to Jesus Christ.
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