Max Lucado Daily: Greed Has Many Faces
Our obsession with stuff carries a hefty price tag. We spend 110 percent of our disposable income trying to manage debt. Who can keep up? No one can!
Jesus warns in Luke 12:15, "Be on your guard against every form of greed." Greed comes in many forms. Greed for approval. Greed for applause. Greed for status. Greed has many faces but speaks one language: the language of more. Wise was the one who wrote, "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income."
The only way to feel full is to feel fulfilled. The only way to feel fulfilled is to understand that everything we have comes from God-and he gives us exactly what we need. All of it is on loan! And, someday we'll have to give it all back, checking it at heaven's door!
From Max on Life
Joshua 9
The Gibeonites Deceive Israel
Now all the kings west of the Jordan River heard about what had happened. These were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who lived in the hill country, in the western foothills,[n] and along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea[o] as far north as the Lebanon mountains. 2 These kings combined their armies to fight as one against Joshua and the Israelites.
3 But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched wineskins. 5 They put on worn-out, patched sandals and ragged clothes. And the bread they took with them was dry and moldy. 6 When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us.”
7 The Israelites replied to these Hivites, “How do we know you don’t live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you.”
8 They replied, “We are your servants.”
“But who are you?” Joshua demanded. “Where do you come from?”
9 They answered, “Your servants have come from a very distant country. We have heard of the might of the Lord your God and of all he did in Egypt. 10 We have also heard what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River—King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan (who lived in Ashtaroth). 11 So our elders and all our people instructed us, ‘Take supplies for a long journey. Go meet with the people of Israel and tell them, “We are your servants; please make a treaty with us.”’
12 “This bread was hot from the ovens when we left our homes. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and split open. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”
14 So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord. 15 Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath.
16 Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby! 17 The Israelites set out at once to investigate and reached their towns in three days. The names of these towns were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the Israelites did not attack the towns, for the Israelite leaders had made a vow to them in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
The people of Israel grumbled against their leaders because of the treaty. 19 But the leaders replied, “Since we have sworn an oath in the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel, we cannot touch them. 20 This is what we must do. We must let them live, for divine anger would come upon us if we broke our oath. 21 Let them live.” So they made them woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community, as the Israelite leaders directed.
22 Joshua called together the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you lie to us? Why did you say that you live in a distant land when you live right here among us? 23 May you be cursed! From now on you will always be servants who cut wood and carry water for the house of my God.”
24 They replied, “We did it because we—your servants—were clearly told that the Lord your God commanded his servant Moses to give you this entire land and to destroy all the people living in it. So we feared greatly for our lives because of you. That is why we have done this. 25 Now we are at your mercy—do to us whatever you think is right.”
26 So Joshua did not allow the people of Israel to kill them. 27 But that day he made the Gibeonites the woodcutters and water carriers for the community of Israel and for the altar of the Lord—wherever the Lord would choose to build it. And that is what they do to this day.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Read: Ephesians 2:1-10
Made Alive with Christ
Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.[a] He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Footnotes:
2:2 Greek obeying the commander of the power of the air.
INSIGHT: Here Paul twice says “by grace you have been saved” (vv.5,8). Salvation is God’s gift to us. While we are not saved by good works, they are the result of God’s redemptive work in us (v.10; Col. 1:10; Titus 2:14; 3:14).
Back From The Dead
By Mart De Haan
Even when we were dead . . . [God] made us alive together with Christ. —Ephesians 2:5
Can a man be officially alive after being declared legally dead? That question became international news when a man from Ohio showed up in good health after being reported missing more than 25 years earlier. At the time of his disappearance he had been unemployed, addicted, and hopelessly behind in child support payments. So he decided to go into hiding. On his return, however, he discovered how hard it is to come back from the dead. When the man went to court to reverse the ruling that had declared him legally dead, the judge turned down his request, citing a 3-year time limit for changing a death ruling.
That unusual request of a human court turns out to be a common experience for God. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians tells us that though we were spiritually dead, God “made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:1,5). Yet declaring and making us spiritually alive was a deeply painful matter for God. Our sin and its consequent spiritual death required the suffering, death, and resurrection of God’s Son (vv.4-7).
It’s one thing to show evidence of physical life. Our challenge is to show evidence of spiritual life. Having been declared alive in Christ, we are called to live in gratitude for the immeasurable mercy and life given to us.
Father in heaven, our hearts are full of gratitude for
the way You reached out to us when we were dead
in our sins. May we live joyfully and with unending
appreciation for what You did to give us life.
Jesus died that we might live.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Is Your Mind Stayed on God?
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. —Isaiah 26:3
Is your mind stayed on God or is it starved? Starvation of the mind, caused by neglect, is one of the chief sources of exhaustion and weakness in a servant’s life. If you have never used your mind to place yourself before God, begin to do it now. There is no reason to wait for God to come to you. You must turn your thoughts and your eyes away from the face of idols and look to Him and be saved (see Isaiah 45:22).
Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. You should seek to be “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This will be one of the greatest assets of your faith when a time of trial comes, because then your faith and the Spirit of God will work together. When you have thoughts and ideas that are worthy of credit to God, learn to compare and associate them with all that happens in nature— the rising and the setting of the sun, the shining of the moon and the stars, and the changing of the seasons. You will begin to see that your thoughts are from God as well, and your mind will no longer be at the mercy of your impulsive thinking, but will always be used in service to God.
“We have sinned with our fathers…[and]…did not remember…” (Psalm 106:6-7). Then prod your memory and wake up immediately. Don’t say to yourself, “But God is not talking to me right now.” He ought to be. Remember whose you are and whom you serve. Encourage yourself to remember, and your affection for God will increase tenfold. Your mind will no longer be starved, but will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Four Secrets to Being an Unsinkable Christian - #7328
There's that old country song "Country Roads take me home to the place I..."? Well, you know. Sometimes I think that's my wife's national anthem. She grew up in the Ozarks and boy, she has the memories. Most of them are down some country road, unpaved, rutted, rocky and dusty. With a standard rear-wheel drive vehicle, you'll begin to wonder if you'll ever get back from some of those roads, especially if the weather's been bad.
On one of our drives down those country roads I noticed something. Everyone we met was driving a pickup truck with four-wheel drive. I felt a little out of place. But anybody who lives where there are steep roads, rocky roads, muddy roads, or snowy roads, really should have a four-wheel drive vehicle. Because all four wheels are working to get you over something or out of something so that you can go wherever you couldn't in a rear-wheel drive vehicle. You can drive on all kinds of terrain in all kinds of weather if you've got that four-wheel drive.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Four Secrets to being an Unsinkable Christian."
Our word for today from the Word of God actually comes from my life's verse, Romans 8:37. But before we get to that, here is the context. Paul talks about these things that have gone on in his life: trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword. Man, he just talked about the worst terrain life has to offer. So if you are on a rocky road or a slippery road right now, it's probably in that list somewhere. Or whatever you're going through is nothing worse than what's on that list.
The response of someone who is living on spiritual four-wheel drive on those bad roads, Romans 8:37, "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." This guy's going where I cannot go on all those back roads. I know what they feel like. Conqueror in that truck! Well, the Bible says here that we can live with four-wheel drive, conquering; more than conquering those things that sink most people.
Tell me, how can you be an all-terrain, all-weather Christian, unsinkable especially with the kind of difficulties you're facing right now? Well Romans 8 describes that all-weather faith and gives us four secrets to it. Verse 28 says, "We know that in all these things God works for the good of those who love Him." First of all, you know there's a perfect plan. No matter how the road or the future looks, you embrace the plan. You trust in God believing that this road is part of something bigger than you can see - His great loving plan - and it is a bumpy road that's going to get you to something beautiful.
Secondly, you count on inexhaustible resources. Romans 8:32 says, "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things." The one who loved you enough to send His Son to die for you will not ever abandon you no matter how it may feel right now. Your fuel tank may run out, but His is inexhaustible. When you can't go, His fuel is still coming.
The third secret to this four-wheel drive faith; you hang on to unloseable love. Romans 8:39, "Nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Others may not be willing or able to go with you on this tough road, but you will not travel one mile alone if you've got Jesus. He will never abandon you. He is there!
Last of all, this secret: you belong to an invincible Savior. Invincible. Verse 31, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" We're more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Whatever is bigger than you are, Jesus is bigger than it is. It's time you shift it into four-wheel drive for that bumpy road, that dangerous road ahead of you. There's a perfect plan, there are inexhaustible resources, there's unloseable love, and there's an invincible Savior.
Do you have a personal relationship with this Jesus? Or is He a religion? Is He rituals? Is He just a belief to you? Have you ever reached out to Jesus and said, "Jesus, you're my only hope, my only hope of being forgiven from my sin is your death on the cross for me. My only hope of going to heaven is the eternal life you got when you walked out of your grave under your own power, and I am ready for a Savior like you.
Today begin a relationship with Him by saying, 'Jesus, I'm yours." Go to our website. Let me meet you there and show you how to get started with Him. It's ANewStory.com. Look, is there any road you can't handle, when with Jesus you can be more than a conqueror?
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Joshua 8, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: All Things New ·
People often say, “You can be anything you want to be! Be a butcher, a sales rep if you like. An ambassador if you really care. You can be anything you want to be—if you work hard enough.” But can you? I wonder… if God didn’t pack within you the meat sense of a butcher; the people skills of a salesperson; or the world vision of an ambassador; can you be one? An unhappy, dissatisfied one perhaps. But a fulfilled one? No.
Can an acorn become a rose, or a whale fly like a bird? Absolutely not. You cannot be anything you want to be. But you can be everything God wants you to be!
“I make all things new” He declares in Revelation 21:5. He didn’t hand you your granddad’s bag or your aunt’s life. He personally and deliberately packed you. Live out of the bag God gave you!
From Max on Life
Joshua 8
The Israelites Defeat Ai
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all your fighting men and attack Ai, for I have given you the king of Ai, his people, his town, and his land. 2 You will destroy them as you destroyed Jericho and its king. But this time you may keep the plunder and the livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the town.”
3 So Joshua and all the fighting men set out to attack Ai. Joshua chose 30,000 of his best warriors and sent them out at night 4 with these orders: “Hide in ambush close behind the town and be ready for action. 5 When our main army attacks, the men of Ai will come out to fight as they did before, and we will run away from them. 6 We will let them chase us until we have drawn them away from the town. For they will say, ‘The Israelites are running away from us as they did before.’ Then, while we are running from them, 7 you will jump up from your ambush and take possession of the town, for the Lord your God will give it to you. 8 Set the town on fire, as the Lord has commanded. You have your orders.”
9 So they left and went to the place of ambush between Bethel and the west side of Ai. But Joshua remained among the people in the camp that night. 10 Early the next morning Joshua roused his men and started toward Ai, accompanied by the elders of Israel. 11 All the fighting men who were with Joshua marched in front of the town and camped on the north side of Ai, with a valley between them and the town. 12 That night Joshua sent about 5,000 men to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the town. 13 So they stationed the main army north of the town and the ambush west of the town. Joshua himself spent that night in the valley.
14 When the king of Ai saw the Israelites across the valley, he and all his army hurried out early in the morning and attacked the Israelites at a place overlooking the Jordan Valley.[h] But he didn’t realize there was an ambush behind the town. 15 Joshua and the Israelite army fled toward the wilderness as though they were badly beaten. 16 Then all the men in the town were called out to chase after them. In this way, they were lured away from the town. 17 There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel[i] who did not chase after the Israelites, and the town was left wide open.
18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Point the spear in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand the town over to you.” Joshua did as he was commanded. 19 As soon as Joshua gave this signal, all the men in ambush jumped up from their position and poured into the town. They quickly captured it and set it on fire.
20 When the men of Ai looked behind them, smoke from the town was filling the sky, and they had nowhere to go. For the Israelites who had fled in the direction of the wilderness now turned on their pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all the other Israelites saw that the ambush had succeeded and that smoke was rising from the town, they turned and attacked the men of Ai. 22 Meanwhile, the Israelites who were inside the town came out and attacked the enemy from the rear. So the men of Ai were caught in the middle, with Israelite fighters on both sides. Israel attacked them, and not a single person survived or escaped. 23 Only the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua.
24 When the Israelite army finished chasing and killing all the men of Ai in the open fields, they went back and finished off everyone inside. 25 So the entire population of Ai, including men and women, was wiped out that day—12,000 in all. 26 For Joshua kept holding out his spear until everyone who had lived in Ai was completely destroyed.[j] 27 Only the livestock and the treasures of the town were not destroyed, for the Israelites kept these as plunder for themselves, as the Lord had commanded Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned the town of Ai,[k] and it became a permanent mound of ruins, desolate to this very day.
29 Joshua impaled the king of Ai on a sharpened pole and left him there until evening. At sunset the Israelites took down the body, as Joshua commanded, and threw it in front of the town gate. They piled a great heap of stones over him that can still be seen today.
The Lord’s Covenant Renewed
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal. 31 He followed the commands that Moses the Lord’s servant had written in the Book of Instruction: “Make me an altar from stones that are uncut and have not been shaped with iron tools.”[l] Then on the altar they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. 32 And as the Israelites watched, Joshua copied onto the stones of the altar[m] the instructions Moses had given them.
33 Then all the Israelites—foreigners and native-born alike—along with the elders, officers, and judges, were divided into two groups. One group stood in front of Mount Gerizim, the other in front of Mount Ebal. Each group faced the other, and between them stood the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. This was all done according to the commands that Moses, the servant of the Lord, had previously given for blessing the people of Israel.
34 Joshua then read to them all the blessings and curses Moses had written in the Book of Instruction. 35 Every word of every command that Moses had ever given was read to the entire assembly of Israel, including the women and children and the foreigners who lived among them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Read: Matthew 25:31-40
The Final Judgment
“But when the Son of Man[a] comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations[b] will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,[c] you were doing it to me!’
Footnotes:
25:31 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
25:32 Or peoples.
25:40 Greek my brothers.
INSIGHT: In today’s passage, Jesus tells His followers that love for our neighbor is an expression of our love for God. Only a few chapters before this (Matt. 22), He tells them that the greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor.
The Visitor
By David C. McCasland
I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. —Matthew 25:36
A friend asked a newly retired man what he was doing now that he was no longer working full-time. “I describe myself as a visitor,” the man replied. “I go see people in our church and community who are in the hospital or care facilities, living alone, or just need someone to talk and pray with them. And I enjoy doing it!” My friend was impressed by this man’s clear sense of purpose and his care for others.
A few days before Jesus was crucified, He told His followers a story that emphasized the importance of visiting people in need. “The King will say to those on His right hand, ‘. . . I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me’” (Matt. 25:34,36). When asked, “When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” the King will answer, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (vv.39-40).
Our ministry of visiting has two beneficiaries—the person visited and Jesus Himself. To go to a person with help and encouragement is direct service to our Lord.
Is there someone who would be encouraged by your visit today?
Lord Jesus, help me to see others with Your
eyes. Show me what it means to demonstrate
Your love to those around me. Thank You for
the love You give to me that I can share.
Compassion is understanding the troubles of others, coupled with an urgent desire to help.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things… —Isaiah 40:26
The people of God in Isaiah’s time had blinded their minds’ ability to see God by looking on the face of idols. But Isaiah made them look up at the heavens; that is, he made them begin to use their power to think and to visualize correctly. If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades, if we will only begin to use our blinded thinking to visualize it.
The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need. Go beyond yourself and away from the faces of your idols and away from everything else that has been blinding your thinking. Wake up and accept the ridicule that Isaiah gave to his people, and deliberately turn your thoughts and your eyes to God.
One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have lost our power to visualize. We can no longer even imagine putting ourselves deliberately before God. It is actually more important to be broken bread and poured-out wine in the area of intercession than in our personal contact with others. The power of visualization is what God gives a saint so that he can go beyond himself and be firmly placed into relationships he never before experienced
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Avoiding God's Spankings - #7327
My friend, Jack, has a short list of people he totally respects. At the top if his list? His Dad. He told me once, "Don't think that meant that I always did what he said when I was a kid. In fact, the usual script was like this. Dad told me to do something or not to do something, and because I'm stubborn, I'd go ahead and I'd do what I wanted. After which my Dad would spank me. And then I would end up doing it Dad's way."
I began to think, "You know, Jack, the story always ends the same way. You end up doing what your Father said anyway." So he concluded, "Either you do it when he says it, or you do it after you get spanked. But either way, you do it." So he said, "Here's where my scientific mind sets in. Why not skip the middle steps where you get spanked and just do what he says." I do have some brilliant friends!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Avoiding God's Spankings."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews 12:9-11. Here's what God says, "We have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace to all those who have been trained by it."
Now, the day you put your personal trust in Jesus Christ to be your Savior from your sin, you are born into the royal family of God. And God becomes that always loving, always fair, always there-for-you Father that your heart has been hungry for. His love for us is expressed in His gifts to us, care for us, His leadership, and through His discipline. When we're out-of-line, God in His love spanks us. Notice it says here that He does it "For our good." It isn't fun when God spanks you, but it helps shape you into the person He redeemed you to be and you end up with the peace that comes from making no-regrets decisions because of what you learned from the discipline.
Now, about Jack's brilliant conclusion: When you know your Father is going to spank you if you stubbornly do it your way, and you're probably going to end up obeying him in the end, why not skip the spanking? Why not do what your Father is telling you to do now without the painful persuasion?
You may not have considered what's happening to you right now as a spanking from your Heavenly Father. But that might be the reason, especially if you've been resisting Him in some area of your life. It's not just a matter of God having His way. It's that any way but His road is a road to disappointment, regrets and scars, aborted happiness.
So He's bringing some discipline into your life to get your attention and to change your direction. If that's the case, you miss the point of the pain and just keep going your own way you know what's going to happen. God isn't going to give up. He loves you too much for that. He'll just turn up the heat, escalating the pain until you obey your Father.
The ultimate outcome will probably be the same no matter how you respond to the spanking. You'll ultimately submit to God's way sooner or later, after a little pain or a lot of pain.
You know, pain and hurt and dark valleys have been God's tool across the ages to get the attention of some of us who have never really considered making God the God of our life - Jesus, the Savior for our sin, our personal Savior. And it may be that right now He's been knocking on the door of your heart. You know some people who know Jesus. You're all religious. You've got all this Christian stuff, but you've never really given yourself to Jesus; the man who gave His life for your sin, who walked out of His grave under His own power so He could walk into your life.
Today, the reason for the hurt is so He can come in and begin to forgive and heal and make you a brand new person. If you're going to get the pain, get the point. And the point very well being, coming to Jesus Christ. I'd love to help you do that if you go to our website today ANewStory.com.
Why not eliminate any more pain. Why not do what God says to do now, because it's the road you were made for anyway. Is it really worth all this pain?
People often say, “You can be anything you want to be! Be a butcher, a sales rep if you like. An ambassador if you really care. You can be anything you want to be—if you work hard enough.” But can you? I wonder… if God didn’t pack within you the meat sense of a butcher; the people skills of a salesperson; or the world vision of an ambassador; can you be one? An unhappy, dissatisfied one perhaps. But a fulfilled one? No.
Can an acorn become a rose, or a whale fly like a bird? Absolutely not. You cannot be anything you want to be. But you can be everything God wants you to be!
“I make all things new” He declares in Revelation 21:5. He didn’t hand you your granddad’s bag or your aunt’s life. He personally and deliberately packed you. Live out of the bag God gave you!
From Max on Life
Joshua 8
The Israelites Defeat Ai
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all your fighting men and attack Ai, for I have given you the king of Ai, his people, his town, and his land. 2 You will destroy them as you destroyed Jericho and its king. But this time you may keep the plunder and the livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the town.”
3 So Joshua and all the fighting men set out to attack Ai. Joshua chose 30,000 of his best warriors and sent them out at night 4 with these orders: “Hide in ambush close behind the town and be ready for action. 5 When our main army attacks, the men of Ai will come out to fight as they did before, and we will run away from them. 6 We will let them chase us until we have drawn them away from the town. For they will say, ‘The Israelites are running away from us as they did before.’ Then, while we are running from them, 7 you will jump up from your ambush and take possession of the town, for the Lord your God will give it to you. 8 Set the town on fire, as the Lord has commanded. You have your orders.”
9 So they left and went to the place of ambush between Bethel and the west side of Ai. But Joshua remained among the people in the camp that night. 10 Early the next morning Joshua roused his men and started toward Ai, accompanied by the elders of Israel. 11 All the fighting men who were with Joshua marched in front of the town and camped on the north side of Ai, with a valley between them and the town. 12 That night Joshua sent about 5,000 men to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the town. 13 So they stationed the main army north of the town and the ambush west of the town. Joshua himself spent that night in the valley.
14 When the king of Ai saw the Israelites across the valley, he and all his army hurried out early in the morning and attacked the Israelites at a place overlooking the Jordan Valley.[h] But he didn’t realize there was an ambush behind the town. 15 Joshua and the Israelite army fled toward the wilderness as though they were badly beaten. 16 Then all the men in the town were called out to chase after them. In this way, they were lured away from the town. 17 There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel[i] who did not chase after the Israelites, and the town was left wide open.
18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Point the spear in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand the town over to you.” Joshua did as he was commanded. 19 As soon as Joshua gave this signal, all the men in ambush jumped up from their position and poured into the town. They quickly captured it and set it on fire.
20 When the men of Ai looked behind them, smoke from the town was filling the sky, and they had nowhere to go. For the Israelites who had fled in the direction of the wilderness now turned on their pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all the other Israelites saw that the ambush had succeeded and that smoke was rising from the town, they turned and attacked the men of Ai. 22 Meanwhile, the Israelites who were inside the town came out and attacked the enemy from the rear. So the men of Ai were caught in the middle, with Israelite fighters on both sides. Israel attacked them, and not a single person survived or escaped. 23 Only the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua.
24 When the Israelite army finished chasing and killing all the men of Ai in the open fields, they went back and finished off everyone inside. 25 So the entire population of Ai, including men and women, was wiped out that day—12,000 in all. 26 For Joshua kept holding out his spear until everyone who had lived in Ai was completely destroyed.[j] 27 Only the livestock and the treasures of the town were not destroyed, for the Israelites kept these as plunder for themselves, as the Lord had commanded Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned the town of Ai,[k] and it became a permanent mound of ruins, desolate to this very day.
29 Joshua impaled the king of Ai on a sharpened pole and left him there until evening. At sunset the Israelites took down the body, as Joshua commanded, and threw it in front of the town gate. They piled a great heap of stones over him that can still be seen today.
The Lord’s Covenant Renewed
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal. 31 He followed the commands that Moses the Lord’s servant had written in the Book of Instruction: “Make me an altar from stones that are uncut and have not been shaped with iron tools.”[l] Then on the altar they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. 32 And as the Israelites watched, Joshua copied onto the stones of the altar[m] the instructions Moses had given them.
33 Then all the Israelites—foreigners and native-born alike—along with the elders, officers, and judges, were divided into two groups. One group stood in front of Mount Gerizim, the other in front of Mount Ebal. Each group faced the other, and between them stood the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. This was all done according to the commands that Moses, the servant of the Lord, had previously given for blessing the people of Israel.
34 Joshua then read to them all the blessings and curses Moses had written in the Book of Instruction. 35 Every word of every command that Moses had ever given was read to the entire assembly of Israel, including the women and children and the foreigners who lived among them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Read: Matthew 25:31-40
The Final Judgment
“But when the Son of Man[a] comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations[b] will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,[c] you were doing it to me!’
Footnotes:
25:31 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
25:32 Or peoples.
25:40 Greek my brothers.
INSIGHT: In today’s passage, Jesus tells His followers that love for our neighbor is an expression of our love for God. Only a few chapters before this (Matt. 22), He tells them that the greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor.
The Visitor
By David C. McCasland
I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. —Matthew 25:36
A friend asked a newly retired man what he was doing now that he was no longer working full-time. “I describe myself as a visitor,” the man replied. “I go see people in our church and community who are in the hospital or care facilities, living alone, or just need someone to talk and pray with them. And I enjoy doing it!” My friend was impressed by this man’s clear sense of purpose and his care for others.
A few days before Jesus was crucified, He told His followers a story that emphasized the importance of visiting people in need. “The King will say to those on His right hand, ‘. . . I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me’” (Matt. 25:34,36). When asked, “When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” the King will answer, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (vv.39-40).
Our ministry of visiting has two beneficiaries—the person visited and Jesus Himself. To go to a person with help and encouragement is direct service to our Lord.
Is there someone who would be encouraged by your visit today?
Lord Jesus, help me to see others with Your
eyes. Show me what it means to demonstrate
Your love to those around me. Thank You for
the love You give to me that I can share.
Compassion is understanding the troubles of others, coupled with an urgent desire to help.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things… —Isaiah 40:26
The people of God in Isaiah’s time had blinded their minds’ ability to see God by looking on the face of idols. But Isaiah made them look up at the heavens; that is, he made them begin to use their power to think and to visualize correctly. If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades, if we will only begin to use our blinded thinking to visualize it.
The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need. Go beyond yourself and away from the faces of your idols and away from everything else that has been blinding your thinking. Wake up and accept the ridicule that Isaiah gave to his people, and deliberately turn your thoughts and your eyes to God.
One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have lost our power to visualize. We can no longer even imagine putting ourselves deliberately before God. It is actually more important to be broken bread and poured-out wine in the area of intercession than in our personal contact with others. The power of visualization is what God gives a saint so that he can go beyond himself and be firmly placed into relationships he never before experienced
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Avoiding God's Spankings - #7327
My friend, Jack, has a short list of people he totally respects. At the top if his list? His Dad. He told me once, "Don't think that meant that I always did what he said when I was a kid. In fact, the usual script was like this. Dad told me to do something or not to do something, and because I'm stubborn, I'd go ahead and I'd do what I wanted. After which my Dad would spank me. And then I would end up doing it Dad's way."
I began to think, "You know, Jack, the story always ends the same way. You end up doing what your Father said anyway." So he concluded, "Either you do it when he says it, or you do it after you get spanked. But either way, you do it." So he said, "Here's where my scientific mind sets in. Why not skip the middle steps where you get spanked and just do what he says." I do have some brilliant friends!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Avoiding God's Spankings."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews 12:9-11. Here's what God says, "We have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace to all those who have been trained by it."
Now, the day you put your personal trust in Jesus Christ to be your Savior from your sin, you are born into the royal family of God. And God becomes that always loving, always fair, always there-for-you Father that your heart has been hungry for. His love for us is expressed in His gifts to us, care for us, His leadership, and through His discipline. When we're out-of-line, God in His love spanks us. Notice it says here that He does it "For our good." It isn't fun when God spanks you, but it helps shape you into the person He redeemed you to be and you end up with the peace that comes from making no-regrets decisions because of what you learned from the discipline.
Now, about Jack's brilliant conclusion: When you know your Father is going to spank you if you stubbornly do it your way, and you're probably going to end up obeying him in the end, why not skip the spanking? Why not do what your Father is telling you to do now without the painful persuasion?
You may not have considered what's happening to you right now as a spanking from your Heavenly Father. But that might be the reason, especially if you've been resisting Him in some area of your life. It's not just a matter of God having His way. It's that any way but His road is a road to disappointment, regrets and scars, aborted happiness.
So He's bringing some discipline into your life to get your attention and to change your direction. If that's the case, you miss the point of the pain and just keep going your own way you know what's going to happen. God isn't going to give up. He loves you too much for that. He'll just turn up the heat, escalating the pain until you obey your Father.
The ultimate outcome will probably be the same no matter how you respond to the spanking. You'll ultimately submit to God's way sooner or later, after a little pain or a lot of pain.
You know, pain and hurt and dark valleys have been God's tool across the ages to get the attention of some of us who have never really considered making God the God of our life - Jesus, the Savior for our sin, our personal Savior. And it may be that right now He's been knocking on the door of your heart. You know some people who know Jesus. You're all religious. You've got all this Christian stuff, but you've never really given yourself to Jesus; the man who gave His life for your sin, who walked out of His grave under His own power so He could walk into your life.
Today, the reason for the hurt is so He can come in and begin to forgive and heal and make you a brand new person. If you're going to get the pain, get the point. And the point very well being, coming to Jesus Christ. I'd love to help you do that if you go to our website today ANewStory.com.
Why not eliminate any more pain. Why not do what God says to do now, because it's the road you were made for anyway. Is it really worth all this pain?
Monday, February 9, 2015
Joshua 7, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Thought Prevention
We are not a victim of our thoughts. We have a vote. We have a voice. We can exercise thought prevention!
"Don't talk to me," we say. "I'm in a bad mood." As if a mood were a place to which we were assigned, rather than an emotion we permit. Or we say, "Don't mess with her. She has a bad disposition." Is a bad disposition something we have like a cold or the flu? Or do we have a choice? Paul says we do. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 he says, "We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ."
Capture every thought-you get the impression we're the soldiers and the thoughts are our enemies. The minute they appear we go into action. Selfishness, step back! Envy, get lost! Find another home, Anger…you aren't allowed on this turf!
Capturing thoughts is serious business! But, you can do it!
From Max on Life
Joshua 7
Ai Defeats the Israelites
But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord.[a] A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the Lord was very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, a descendant of Zimri[b] son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah.
2 Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai, east of Bethel, near Beth-aven. 3 When they returned, they told Joshua, “There’s no need for all of us to go up there; it won’t take more than two or three thousand men to attack Ai. Since there are so few of them, don’t make all our people struggle to go up there.”
4 So approximately 3,000 warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated. The men of Ai 5 chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the quarries,[c] and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope. The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away.
6 Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on their heads, and bowed face down to the ground before the Ark of the Lord until evening. 7 Then Joshua cried out, “Oh, Sovereign Lord, why did you bring us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side! 8 Lord, what can I say now that Israel has fled from its enemies? 9 For when the Canaanites and all the other people living in the land hear about it, they will surround us and wipe our name off the face of the earth. And then what will happen to the honor of your great name?”
10 But the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? 11 Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. 12 That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction.
13 “Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.
14 “In the morning you must present yourselves by tribes, and the Lord will point out the tribe to which the guilty man belongs. That tribe must come forward with its clans, and the Lord will point out the guilty clan. That clan will then come forward, and the Lord will point out the guilty family. Finally, each member of the guilty family must come forward one by one. 15 The one who has stolen what was set apart for destruction will himself be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has broken the covenant of the Lord and has done a horrible thing in Israel.”
Achan’s Sin
16 Early the next morning Joshua brought the tribes of Israel before the Lord, and the tribe of Judah was singled out. 17 Then the clans of Judah came forward, and the clan of Zerah was singled out. Then the families of Zerah came forward, and the family of Zimri was singled out. 18 Every member of Zimri’s family was brought forward person by person, and Achan was singled out.
19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, by telling the truth. Make your confession and tell me what you have done. Don’t hide it from me.”
20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 Among the plunder I saw a beautiful robe from Babylon,[d] 200 silver coins,[e] and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound.[f] I wanted them so much that I took them. They are hidden in the ground beneath my tent, with the silver buried deeper than the rest.”
22 So Joshua sent some men to make a search. They ran to the tent and found the stolen goods hidden there, just as Achan had said, with the silver buried beneath the rest. 23 They took the things from the tent and brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites. Then they laid them on the ground in the presence of the Lord.
24 Then Joshua and all the Israelites took Achan, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, tent, and everything he had, and they brought them to the valley of Achor. 25 Then Joshua said to Achan, “Why have you brought trouble on us? The Lord will now bring trouble on you.” And all the Israelites stoned Achan and his family and burned their bodies. 26 They piled a great heap of stones over Achan, which remains to this day. That is why the place has been called the Valley of Trouble[g] ever since. So the Lord was no longer angry.
7:1a The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; similarly in 7:11, 12, 13, 15.
7:1b As in parallel text at 1 Chr 2:6; Hebrew reads Zabdi. Also in 7:17, 18.
7:5 Or as far as Shebarim.
7:21a Hebrew Shinar.
7:21b Hebrew 200 shekels of silver, about 5 pounds or 2.3 kilograms in weight.
7:21c Hebrew 50 shekels, about 20 ounces or 570 grams in weight.
7:26 Hebrew valley of Achor.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, February 09, 2015
Read: Genesis 2:18-25
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” 19 So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man[a] to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. 20 He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs[b] and closed up the opening. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.
“This one is bone from my bone,
and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
because she was taken from ‘man.’”
24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
25 Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
Footnotes:
2:19 Or Adam, and so throughout the chapter.
2:21 Or took a part of the man’s side.
INSIGHT: In Genesis 1–2 we see two tellings of the same story. Genesis 1 gives a sweeping overview of the creation of the universe, including the creation of the first human beings (Gen. 1:26-28). Genesis 2, however, describes more specifically the distinctive relationship the man and woman have with their Creator and their roles in His world.
The Girl In The Yellow Coat
By Dave Branon
A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. — Genesis 2:24
It was her yellow raincoat that caught my attention, and quickly I became increasingly interested in this cute freshman with long, brown hair. Soon I worked up my courage, interrupted Sue as she walked along reading a letter from a guy back home, and awkwardly asked her for a date. To my surprise, she said yes.
More than 4 decades later, Sue and I look back and laugh at our first uncomfortable meeting on that college campus—and marvel how God put a shy guy from Ohio together with a shy girl from Michigan. Through the years, we have faced innumerable crises together as we raised our family. We’ve negotiated parenting four kids, and we’ve struggled mightily with losing one of them. Problems big and small have tested our faith, yet we’ve stuck together. It took commitment from both of us and the grace of God. Today we rejoice in God’s design, spelled out in Genesis 2:24—to leave our parents, to be unified as man and wife, and to become united as one flesh. We cherish this amazing plan that has given us such a wonderful life together.
God’s design for marriage is beautiful. So we pray for married couples to sense how awesome it is to enjoy life together under the blessing of God’s loving guidance.
Lord, the first thing You organized during society’s
earliest days was marriage. Thank You for how You
designed this amazing institution. Show me how to
help strengthen others in their marriage relationship.
Marriage thrives in a climate of love, honor, and respect.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 09, 2015
Are You Exhausted Spiritually?
The everlasting God…neither faints nor is weary. —Isaiah 40:28
Exhaustion means that our vital energies are completely worn out and spent. Spiritual exhaustion is never the result of sin, but of service. Whether or not you experience exhaustion will depend on where you get your supplies. Jesus said to Peter, “Feed My sheep,” but He gave him nothing with which to feed them (John 21:17). The process of being made broken bread and poured-out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other people’s souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you completely— to the very last drop. But be careful to replenish your supply, or you will quickly be utterly exhausted. Until others learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus directly, they will have to draw on His life through you. You must literally be their source of supply, until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and sheep, as well as for Him.
Have you delivered yourself over to exhaustion because of the way you have been serving God? If so, then renew and rekindle your desires and affections. Examine your reasons for service. Is your source based on your own understanding or is it grounded on the redemption of Jesus Christ? Continually look back to the foundation of your love and affection and remember where your Source of power lies. You have no right to complain, “O Lord, I am so exhausted.” He saved and sanctified you to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that He is your supply. “All my springs are in you” (Psalm 87:7).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, February 09, 2015
How Freedom Can Leave You Stuck - #7326
It wasn't my idea to get a dog. But, I did get attached pretty quickly to little Missy. She was cute. She was with us for quite awhile, she became a part of the family; a little shiatsu dog. Now, I never called her Missy Hutchcraft. I mean, I didn't make her a member of the family, but she was cute.
Getting a dog was my youngest son's idea. He really wanted a dog and he was our youngest. (His older brother and sister had gone away to school.) I explained we couldn't afford a dog. And he said the magic words, "She's free!" to which I responded, "Okay, there goes my last argument." And I succumbed.
Now, my son kept Missy in the kitchen most of the time, and when she was being housebroken, he would put a gate on the door of the kitchen so she couldn't get into the hallway and the rest of the house. It was a big help to my wife and to me, because he was gone most of the day. We didn't have to check on her as much.
Of course she didn't want to stay in the kitchen. No, she wanted out, as any dog would. Four times this dog chewed through the plastic mesh on the gate. So we'd come in and we'd find her loose in the house doing things she shouldn't do. Then we got some strong electrical tape and put it over the hole. Well, she chewed and chewed. She finally chewed the tape until she got a piece loose. We found her running across the kitchen but slightly slowed down. See, she had a piece of tape stretched from one paw to the other, affectively handcuffing... or paw-cuffing that little dog until we could do a little tape removal surgery.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Freedom Can Leave You Stuck."
Our word for today from the Word of God, John 8:4, the words of Jesus, "I tell you the truth. Everyone who sins is a slave to sin." Well, that's the ironic consequences of not living God's way, like our dog when she was a puppy. See, we see the gates that God has put up as confinement. "You know, it's really hard to stay married in my situation." "It's really hard to keep sex inside the fence of marriage." "It's hard to tell the truth if you only knew my situation." So we want to get outside the gate, because it's going to cost too much to do the right thing. "It's going to be hard not to be unequally yoked. I really love this girl/I really love this guy." "It's hard to honor my parents right now. I don't know if I can stay in the gate."
Maybe you've looked at God's boundaries and you've decided there's something beyond the gate that you want. Now, Missy thought she'd get free and she got stuck. So will you, or so have you. There's something enslaving about sin. Oh, that voice says, "Oh, you could have just a little. Do it just once. Just a little compromise won't hurt." But soon you're in deeper than you ever imagined you would be. You didn't realize the scars this would cause. You didn't realize the guilt, the consequences, the darkness that would start to grow inside of you. You didn't realize how you were going to lose self-respect and you lose your closeness to God and maybe even some of your reputation. You didn't realize the difficulty of trying to stop it when you started it. Where are the brakes? It was easy to find the accelerator.
Jesus said, "Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin." If you haven't crossed that boundary, would you run back from the edge? Freedom is never found in sin; only bondage. Don't be conned by the Devil. You say, "Well, I've gone beyond the boundary. I have gone beyond the gate. I've disobeyed God, and I'm paying for it." Maybe you're stuck.
There's such good news two verses later in John 8:36. "If the Son of God sets you free, you will be free indeed." That's what a Savior means. Jesus wants to lovingly hold you in His arms and cut loose the things that have tied you up. It may hurt, but it is worth it.
There is a cross where Jesus paid for every wrong choice you've ever made, every person you've ever hurt. Bring that garbage to His cross where millions of people have been forgiven and set free. You say, "I don't belong to this Savior. I've never experienced clean inside. This is your day! I hope you'll meet me at our website ANewStory.com. Let me show you how to get forgiven, get free, and get Jesus.
There's nothing good outside the gate. Remember, when you sin to break free, you don't end up free. You end up stuck!
We are not a victim of our thoughts. We have a vote. We have a voice. We can exercise thought prevention!
"Don't talk to me," we say. "I'm in a bad mood." As if a mood were a place to which we were assigned, rather than an emotion we permit. Or we say, "Don't mess with her. She has a bad disposition." Is a bad disposition something we have like a cold or the flu? Or do we have a choice? Paul says we do. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 he says, "We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ."
Capture every thought-you get the impression we're the soldiers and the thoughts are our enemies. The minute they appear we go into action. Selfishness, step back! Envy, get lost! Find another home, Anger…you aren't allowed on this turf!
Capturing thoughts is serious business! But, you can do it!
From Max on Life
Joshua 7
Ai Defeats the Israelites
But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord.[a] A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the Lord was very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, a descendant of Zimri[b] son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah.
2 Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai, east of Bethel, near Beth-aven. 3 When they returned, they told Joshua, “There’s no need for all of us to go up there; it won’t take more than two or three thousand men to attack Ai. Since there are so few of them, don’t make all our people struggle to go up there.”
4 So approximately 3,000 warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated. The men of Ai 5 chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the quarries,[c] and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope. The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away.
6 Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on their heads, and bowed face down to the ground before the Ark of the Lord until evening. 7 Then Joshua cried out, “Oh, Sovereign Lord, why did you bring us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side! 8 Lord, what can I say now that Israel has fled from its enemies? 9 For when the Canaanites and all the other people living in the land hear about it, they will surround us and wipe our name off the face of the earth. And then what will happen to the honor of your great name?”
10 But the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? 11 Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. 12 That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction.
13 “Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.
14 “In the morning you must present yourselves by tribes, and the Lord will point out the tribe to which the guilty man belongs. That tribe must come forward with its clans, and the Lord will point out the guilty clan. That clan will then come forward, and the Lord will point out the guilty family. Finally, each member of the guilty family must come forward one by one. 15 The one who has stolen what was set apart for destruction will himself be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has broken the covenant of the Lord and has done a horrible thing in Israel.”
Achan’s Sin
16 Early the next morning Joshua brought the tribes of Israel before the Lord, and the tribe of Judah was singled out. 17 Then the clans of Judah came forward, and the clan of Zerah was singled out. Then the families of Zerah came forward, and the family of Zimri was singled out. 18 Every member of Zimri’s family was brought forward person by person, and Achan was singled out.
19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, by telling the truth. Make your confession and tell me what you have done. Don’t hide it from me.”
20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 Among the plunder I saw a beautiful robe from Babylon,[d] 200 silver coins,[e] and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound.[f] I wanted them so much that I took them. They are hidden in the ground beneath my tent, with the silver buried deeper than the rest.”
22 So Joshua sent some men to make a search. They ran to the tent and found the stolen goods hidden there, just as Achan had said, with the silver buried beneath the rest. 23 They took the things from the tent and brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites. Then they laid them on the ground in the presence of the Lord.
24 Then Joshua and all the Israelites took Achan, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, tent, and everything he had, and they brought them to the valley of Achor. 25 Then Joshua said to Achan, “Why have you brought trouble on us? The Lord will now bring trouble on you.” And all the Israelites stoned Achan and his family and burned their bodies. 26 They piled a great heap of stones over Achan, which remains to this day. That is why the place has been called the Valley of Trouble[g] ever since. So the Lord was no longer angry.
7:1a The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; similarly in 7:11, 12, 13, 15.
7:1b As in parallel text at 1 Chr 2:6; Hebrew reads Zabdi. Also in 7:17, 18.
7:5 Or as far as Shebarim.
7:21a Hebrew Shinar.
7:21b Hebrew 200 shekels of silver, about 5 pounds or 2.3 kilograms in weight.
7:21c Hebrew 50 shekels, about 20 ounces or 570 grams in weight.
7:26 Hebrew valley of Achor.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, February 09, 2015
Read: Genesis 2:18-25
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” 19 So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man[a] to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. 20 He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs[b] and closed up the opening. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.
“This one is bone from my bone,
and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
because she was taken from ‘man.’”
24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
25 Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
Footnotes:
2:19 Or Adam, and so throughout the chapter.
2:21 Or took a part of the man’s side.
INSIGHT: In Genesis 1–2 we see two tellings of the same story. Genesis 1 gives a sweeping overview of the creation of the universe, including the creation of the first human beings (Gen. 1:26-28). Genesis 2, however, describes more specifically the distinctive relationship the man and woman have with their Creator and their roles in His world.
The Girl In The Yellow Coat
By Dave Branon
A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. — Genesis 2:24
It was her yellow raincoat that caught my attention, and quickly I became increasingly interested in this cute freshman with long, brown hair. Soon I worked up my courage, interrupted Sue as she walked along reading a letter from a guy back home, and awkwardly asked her for a date. To my surprise, she said yes.
More than 4 decades later, Sue and I look back and laugh at our first uncomfortable meeting on that college campus—and marvel how God put a shy guy from Ohio together with a shy girl from Michigan. Through the years, we have faced innumerable crises together as we raised our family. We’ve negotiated parenting four kids, and we’ve struggled mightily with losing one of them. Problems big and small have tested our faith, yet we’ve stuck together. It took commitment from both of us and the grace of God. Today we rejoice in God’s design, spelled out in Genesis 2:24—to leave our parents, to be unified as man and wife, and to become united as one flesh. We cherish this amazing plan that has given us such a wonderful life together.
God’s design for marriage is beautiful. So we pray for married couples to sense how awesome it is to enjoy life together under the blessing of God’s loving guidance.
Lord, the first thing You organized during society’s
earliest days was marriage. Thank You for how You
designed this amazing institution. Show me how to
help strengthen others in their marriage relationship.
Marriage thrives in a climate of love, honor, and respect.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 09, 2015
Are You Exhausted Spiritually?
The everlasting God…neither faints nor is weary. —Isaiah 40:28
Exhaustion means that our vital energies are completely worn out and spent. Spiritual exhaustion is never the result of sin, but of service. Whether or not you experience exhaustion will depend on where you get your supplies. Jesus said to Peter, “Feed My sheep,” but He gave him nothing with which to feed them (John 21:17). The process of being made broken bread and poured-out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other people’s souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you completely— to the very last drop. But be careful to replenish your supply, or you will quickly be utterly exhausted. Until others learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus directly, they will have to draw on His life through you. You must literally be their source of supply, until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and sheep, as well as for Him.
Have you delivered yourself over to exhaustion because of the way you have been serving God? If so, then renew and rekindle your desires and affections. Examine your reasons for service. Is your source based on your own understanding or is it grounded on the redemption of Jesus Christ? Continually look back to the foundation of your love and affection and remember where your Source of power lies. You have no right to complain, “O Lord, I am so exhausted.” He saved and sanctified you to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that He is your supply. “All my springs are in you” (Psalm 87:7).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, February 09, 2015
How Freedom Can Leave You Stuck - #7326
It wasn't my idea to get a dog. But, I did get attached pretty quickly to little Missy. She was cute. She was with us for quite awhile, she became a part of the family; a little shiatsu dog. Now, I never called her Missy Hutchcraft. I mean, I didn't make her a member of the family, but she was cute.
Getting a dog was my youngest son's idea. He really wanted a dog and he was our youngest. (His older brother and sister had gone away to school.) I explained we couldn't afford a dog. And he said the magic words, "She's free!" to which I responded, "Okay, there goes my last argument." And I succumbed.
Now, my son kept Missy in the kitchen most of the time, and when she was being housebroken, he would put a gate on the door of the kitchen so she couldn't get into the hallway and the rest of the house. It was a big help to my wife and to me, because he was gone most of the day. We didn't have to check on her as much.
Of course she didn't want to stay in the kitchen. No, she wanted out, as any dog would. Four times this dog chewed through the plastic mesh on the gate. So we'd come in and we'd find her loose in the house doing things she shouldn't do. Then we got some strong electrical tape and put it over the hole. Well, she chewed and chewed. She finally chewed the tape until she got a piece loose. We found her running across the kitchen but slightly slowed down. See, she had a piece of tape stretched from one paw to the other, affectively handcuffing... or paw-cuffing that little dog until we could do a little tape removal surgery.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Freedom Can Leave You Stuck."
Our word for today from the Word of God, John 8:4, the words of Jesus, "I tell you the truth. Everyone who sins is a slave to sin." Well, that's the ironic consequences of not living God's way, like our dog when she was a puppy. See, we see the gates that God has put up as confinement. "You know, it's really hard to stay married in my situation." "It's really hard to keep sex inside the fence of marriage." "It's hard to tell the truth if you only knew my situation." So we want to get outside the gate, because it's going to cost too much to do the right thing. "It's going to be hard not to be unequally yoked. I really love this girl/I really love this guy." "It's hard to honor my parents right now. I don't know if I can stay in the gate."
Maybe you've looked at God's boundaries and you've decided there's something beyond the gate that you want. Now, Missy thought she'd get free and she got stuck. So will you, or so have you. There's something enslaving about sin. Oh, that voice says, "Oh, you could have just a little. Do it just once. Just a little compromise won't hurt." But soon you're in deeper than you ever imagined you would be. You didn't realize the scars this would cause. You didn't realize the guilt, the consequences, the darkness that would start to grow inside of you. You didn't realize how you were going to lose self-respect and you lose your closeness to God and maybe even some of your reputation. You didn't realize the difficulty of trying to stop it when you started it. Where are the brakes? It was easy to find the accelerator.
Jesus said, "Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin." If you haven't crossed that boundary, would you run back from the edge? Freedom is never found in sin; only bondage. Don't be conned by the Devil. You say, "Well, I've gone beyond the boundary. I have gone beyond the gate. I've disobeyed God, and I'm paying for it." Maybe you're stuck.
There's such good news two verses later in John 8:36. "If the Son of God sets you free, you will be free indeed." That's what a Savior means. Jesus wants to lovingly hold you in His arms and cut loose the things that have tied you up. It may hurt, but it is worth it.
There is a cross where Jesus paid for every wrong choice you've ever made, every person you've ever hurt. Bring that garbage to His cross where millions of people have been forgiven and set free. You say, "I don't belong to this Savior. I've never experienced clean inside. This is your day! I hope you'll meet me at our website ANewStory.com. Let me show you how to get forgiven, get free, and get Jesus.
There's nothing good outside the gate. Remember, when you sin to break free, you don't end up free. You end up stuck!
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Luke 9:18-36 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Connected But Not Altered
When you give your life to Christ, He moves in, unpacks his bags and is ready to change you into His likeness. So why do I still have the hang-ups of Max?
Part of the answer is in the story of a wealthy but frugal lady living in a small house at the turn of the century. Friends were surprised when she had electricity put in her home. Weeks afterward, a meter reader appeared. “Your meter shows scarcely any usage,” he said. “Are you using your power?” “Certainly,” she answered. “Each evening I turn on my lights long enough to light my candles; then I turn them off.”
She’s tapped into the power but doesn’t use it. Her house is connected but not altered. Don’t we make the same mistake? God is willing to change us into the likeness of the Savior. Shall we accept His offer?
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:18-19a).
From Just Like Jesus
Luke 9:18-36
Peter’s Declaration about Jesus
One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
19 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.”
20 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter replied, “You are the Messiah[a] sent from God!”
Jesus Predicts His Death
21 Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. 22 “The Son of Man[b] must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. 27 I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God.”
The Transfiguration
28 About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. 31 They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.
32 Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials[c]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 34 But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them.
35 Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One.[d] Listen to him.” 36 When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone. They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen.
Footnotes:
9:20 Or the Christ. Messiah (a Hebrew term) and Christ (a Greek term) both mean “anointed one.”
9:22 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
9:33 Greek three tabernacles.
9:35 Some manuscripts read This is my dearly loved Son.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, February 08, 2015
Read: Romans 6:1-14
Sin’s Power Is Broken
Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
12 Do not let sin control the way you live;[a] do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
Footnotes:
6:12 Or Do not let sin reign in your body, which is subject to death.
INSIGHT: Previously in Romans, Paul has been teaching about our redemption and justification—how through faith in Jesus Christ, God made us right with Him (3:21–4:25). Paul now deals with another aspect of our salvation—sanctification (Rom. 6:1–8:39). Because we have been given a new life and a new relationship with God (6:4-14), He expects us to live differently and to mature in holiness.
Who’s The Boss?
By Bill Crowder
Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. —Romans 6:14
As my wife was babysitting our two young grandsons, they began to argue over a toy. Suddenly, the younger (by 3 years) forcefully ordered his older brother, “Cameron, go to your room!” Shoulders slumped under the weight of the reprimand, the dejected older brother began to slink off to his room when my wife said, “Cameron, you don’t have to go to your room. Nathan’s not the boss of you!” That realization changed everything, and Cam, smiling, sat back down to play.
As followers of Christ, the reality of our brokenness and our inclination to sin can assume a false authority much like that younger brother. Sin noisily threatens to dominate our hearts and minds, and the joy drains from our relationship with the Savior.
But through the death and resurrection of Christ, that threat is an empty one. Sin has no authority over us. That is why Paul wrote, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).
While our brokenness is very real, Christ’s grace enables us to live in a way that pleases God and expresses His transforming power to the world. Sin is no longer our boss. We now live in the grace and presence of Jesus. His dominion in our lives releases us from the bondage of sin.
Thank You for Your grace, Lord, that
cleanses us inside. Your grace is greater
than all our sin. We know we can’t live without
it. And we’re grateful that we don’t have to.
God pursues us in our restlessness, receives us in our sinfulness, holds us in our brokenness. —Scotty Smith
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, February 08, 2015
The Cost of Sanctification
May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely… —1 Thessalonians 5:23
When we pray, asking God to sanctify us, are we prepared to measure up to what that really means? We take the word sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared to pay the cost of sanctification? The cost will be a deep restriction of all our earthly concerns, and an extensive cultivation of all our godly concerns. Sanctification means to be intensely focused on God’s point of view. It means to secure and to keep all the strength of our body, soul, and spirit for God’s purpose alone. Are we really prepared for God to perform in us everything for which He separated us? And after He has done His work, are we then prepared to separate ourselves to God just as Jesus did? “For their sakes I sanctify Myself…” (John 17:19). The reason some of us have not entered into the experience of sanctification is that we have not realized the meaning of sanctification from God’s perspective. Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God.
Are we prepared to be caught up into the full meaning of Paul’s prayer in this verse? Are we prepared to say, “Lord, make me, a sinner saved by grace, as holy as You can”? Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him, just as He is one with the Father (see John 17:21-23). The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything which is not like Him. Are we prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirit’s work in us?
When you give your life to Christ, He moves in, unpacks his bags and is ready to change you into His likeness. So why do I still have the hang-ups of Max?
Part of the answer is in the story of a wealthy but frugal lady living in a small house at the turn of the century. Friends were surprised when she had electricity put in her home. Weeks afterward, a meter reader appeared. “Your meter shows scarcely any usage,” he said. “Are you using your power?” “Certainly,” she answered. “Each evening I turn on my lights long enough to light my candles; then I turn them off.”
She’s tapped into the power but doesn’t use it. Her house is connected but not altered. Don’t we make the same mistake? God is willing to change us into the likeness of the Savior. Shall we accept His offer?
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:18-19a).
From Just Like Jesus
Luke 9:18-36
Peter’s Declaration about Jesus
One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
19 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.”
20 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter replied, “You are the Messiah[a] sent from God!”
Jesus Predicts His Death
21 Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. 22 “The Son of Man[b] must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. 27 I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God.”
The Transfiguration
28 About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. 31 They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.
32 Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials[c]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 34 But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them.
35 Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One.[d] Listen to him.” 36 When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone. They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen.
Footnotes:
9:20 Or the Christ. Messiah (a Hebrew term) and Christ (a Greek term) both mean “anointed one.”
9:22 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
9:33 Greek three tabernacles.
9:35 Some manuscripts read This is my dearly loved Son.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, February 08, 2015
Read: Romans 6:1-14
Sin’s Power Is Broken
Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
12 Do not let sin control the way you live;[a] do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
Footnotes:
6:12 Or Do not let sin reign in your body, which is subject to death.
INSIGHT: Previously in Romans, Paul has been teaching about our redemption and justification—how through faith in Jesus Christ, God made us right with Him (3:21–4:25). Paul now deals with another aspect of our salvation—sanctification (Rom. 6:1–8:39). Because we have been given a new life and a new relationship with God (6:4-14), He expects us to live differently and to mature in holiness.
Who’s The Boss?
By Bill Crowder
Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. —Romans 6:14
As my wife was babysitting our two young grandsons, they began to argue over a toy. Suddenly, the younger (by 3 years) forcefully ordered his older brother, “Cameron, go to your room!” Shoulders slumped under the weight of the reprimand, the dejected older brother began to slink off to his room when my wife said, “Cameron, you don’t have to go to your room. Nathan’s not the boss of you!” That realization changed everything, and Cam, smiling, sat back down to play.
As followers of Christ, the reality of our brokenness and our inclination to sin can assume a false authority much like that younger brother. Sin noisily threatens to dominate our hearts and minds, and the joy drains from our relationship with the Savior.
But through the death and resurrection of Christ, that threat is an empty one. Sin has no authority over us. That is why Paul wrote, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).
While our brokenness is very real, Christ’s grace enables us to live in a way that pleases God and expresses His transforming power to the world. Sin is no longer our boss. We now live in the grace and presence of Jesus. His dominion in our lives releases us from the bondage of sin.
Thank You for Your grace, Lord, that
cleanses us inside. Your grace is greater
than all our sin. We know we can’t live without
it. And we’re grateful that we don’t have to.
God pursues us in our restlessness, receives us in our sinfulness, holds us in our brokenness. —Scotty Smith
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, February 08, 2015
The Cost of Sanctification
May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely… —1 Thessalonians 5:23
When we pray, asking God to sanctify us, are we prepared to measure up to what that really means? We take the word sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared to pay the cost of sanctification? The cost will be a deep restriction of all our earthly concerns, and an extensive cultivation of all our godly concerns. Sanctification means to be intensely focused on God’s point of view. It means to secure and to keep all the strength of our body, soul, and spirit for God’s purpose alone. Are we really prepared for God to perform in us everything for which He separated us? And after He has done His work, are we then prepared to separate ourselves to God just as Jesus did? “For their sakes I sanctify Myself…” (John 17:19). The reason some of us have not entered into the experience of sanctification is that we have not realized the meaning of sanctification from God’s perspective. Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God.
Are we prepared to be caught up into the full meaning of Paul’s prayer in this verse? Are we prepared to say, “Lord, make me, a sinner saved by grace, as holy as You can”? Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him, just as He is one with the Father (see John 17:21-23). The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything which is not like Him. Are we prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirit’s work in us?
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Joshua 6, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Remember the Sabbath Day
Could you use a reminder on how to slow your life down? One of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:8 says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day to the Lord your God.”
What did Jesus do on that last Sabbath of his life? Look in the Gospel of Matthew. Find anything? Try Mark. Nothing there? What about Luke? Hmm…it looks like Jesus was quiet that day.
Do you mean that with one week left to live, Jesus observed the Sabbath? Are you telling me that Jesus thought worship was more important than work? That’s exactly what I’m telling you. If Jesus found time in the midst of a racing agenda to stop the rush and sit in the silence, do you think we could, too?
From And The Angels Were Silent
Joshua 6
The Fall of Jericho
Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. 2 But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. 3 You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. 4 Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. 5 When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.”
6 So Joshua called together the priests and said, “Take up the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, and assign seven priests to walk in front of it, each carrying a ram’s horn.” 7 Then he gave orders to the people: “March around the town, and the armed men will lead the way in front of the Ark of the Lord.”
8 After Joshua spoke to the people, the seven priests with the rams’ horns started marching in the presence of the Lord, blowing the horns as they marched. And the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant followed behind them. 9 Some of the armed men marched in front of the priests with the horns and some behind the Ark, with the priests continually blowing the horns. 10 “Do not shout; do not even talk,” Joshua commanded. “Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout. Then shout!” 11 So the Ark of the Lord was carried around the town once that day, and then everyone returned to spend the night in the camp.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests again carried the Ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests with the rams’ horns marched in front of the Ark of the Lord, blowing their horns. Again the armed men marched both in front of the priests with the horns and behind the Ark of the Lord. All this time the priests were blowing their horns. 14 On the second day they again marched around the town once and returned to the camp. They followed this pattern for six days.
15 On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. 16 The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town! 17 Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed[i] as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies.
18 “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. 19 Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.”
20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. 21 They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.
22 Meanwhile, Joshua said to the two spies, “Keep your promise. Go to the prostitute’s house and bring her out, along with all her family.”
23 The men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all the other relatives who were with her. They moved her whole family to a safe place near the camp of Israel.
24 Then the Israelites burned the town and everything in it. Only the things made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron were kept for the treasury of the Lord’s house. 25 So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day.
26 At that time Joshua invoked this curse:
“May the curse of the Lord fall on anyone
who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho.
At the cost of his firstborn son,
he will lay its foundation.
At the cost of his youngest son,
he will set up its gates.”
27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his reputation spread throughout the land.
6:17 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; similarly in 6:18, 21.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, February 07, 2015
Read: Psalm 71:5-18
O Lord, you alone are my hope.
I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from childhood.
6 Yes, you have been with me from birth;
from my mother’s womb you have cared for me.
No wonder I am always praising you!
7 My life is an example to many,
because you have been my strength and protection.
8 That is why I can never stop praising you;
I declare your glory all day long.
9 And now, in my old age, don’t set me aside.
Don’t abandon me when my strength is failing.
10 For my enemies are whispering against me.
They are plotting together to kill me.
11 They say, “God has abandoned him.
Let’s go and get him,
for no one will help him now.”
12 O God, don’t stay away.
My God, please hurry to help me.
13 Bring disgrace and destruction on my accusers.
Humiliate and shame those who want to harm me.
14 But I will keep on hoping for your help;
I will praise you more and more.
15 I will tell everyone about your righteousness.
All day long I will proclaim your saving power,
though I am not skilled with words.[a]
16 I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign Lord.
I will tell everyone that you alone are just.
17 O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood,
and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.
18 Now that I am old and gray,
do not abandon me, O God.
Let me proclaim your power to this new generation,
your mighty miracles to all who come after me.
Footnotes:
71:15 Or though I cannot count it.
INSIGHT: God’s faithfulness is cause for praise. The psalmist says, “By You I have been upheld from birth” (Ps. 71:6). It is His faithfulness that inspires our confidence in Him: “I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more” (v.14).
Birthday Celebration
By Joe Stowell
By You I have been upheld from birth . . . . My praise shall be continually of You. —Psalm 71:6
I used to love birthdays. I can still remember standing excitedly on our front porch waiting for my friends to show up for my 5th birthday party. I wasn’t just excited about the balloons, the gifts, and the cake. I was happy that I was no longer only 4! I was growing up.
As I’ve gotten older, however, birthdays have sometimes been more discouraging than exciting. Last year when I celebrated a birthday that marked me by decades more than by years, my wife, Martie, cheered me up with the reminder that I should be grateful to be growing older. She pointed me to Psalm 71, where the psalmist talks about God’s presence throughout his life. He remembers that God “took me out of my mother’s womb” (71:6), and he proclaims with thankfulness, “O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works” (v.17). And now, when the psalmist is older, he has the honor to proclaim: “[God’s] strength to this generation, [His] power to everyone who is to come” (v.18). God had blessed the psalmist with His presence through every year of his life.
Birthdays now remind me of God’s faithfulness. And they bring me closer to being in the presence of the One who has been with me all these years!
Lord, remind me often that growing older means
I am growing nearer to You! Keep my heart
filled with gratitude for Your many blessings,
and keep my mind fixed on the joy of heaven.
Count your many blessings—birthday by birthday!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, February 07, 2015
Spiritual Dejection
We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. —Luke 24:21
Every fact that the disciples stated was right, but the conclusions they drew from those facts were wrong. Anything that has even a hint of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If I am depressed or burdened, I am to blame, not God or anyone else. Dejection stems from one of two sources— I have either satisfied a lust or I have not had it satisfied. In either case, dejection is the result. Lust means “I must have it at once.” Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer. What have I been hoping or trusting God would do? Is today “the third day” and He has still not done what I expected? Am I therefore justified in being dejected and in blaming God? Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer. It is impossible to be well physically and to be dejected, because dejection is a sign of sickness. This is also true spiritually. Dejection spiritually is wrong, and we are always to blame for it.
We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God’s power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.
Could you use a reminder on how to slow your life down? One of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:8 says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day to the Lord your God.”
What did Jesus do on that last Sabbath of his life? Look in the Gospel of Matthew. Find anything? Try Mark. Nothing there? What about Luke? Hmm…it looks like Jesus was quiet that day.
Do you mean that with one week left to live, Jesus observed the Sabbath? Are you telling me that Jesus thought worship was more important than work? That’s exactly what I’m telling you. If Jesus found time in the midst of a racing agenda to stop the rush and sit in the silence, do you think we could, too?
From And The Angels Were Silent
Joshua 6
The Fall of Jericho
Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. 2 But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. 3 You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. 4 Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. 5 When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.”
6 So Joshua called together the priests and said, “Take up the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, and assign seven priests to walk in front of it, each carrying a ram’s horn.” 7 Then he gave orders to the people: “March around the town, and the armed men will lead the way in front of the Ark of the Lord.”
8 After Joshua spoke to the people, the seven priests with the rams’ horns started marching in the presence of the Lord, blowing the horns as they marched. And the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant followed behind them. 9 Some of the armed men marched in front of the priests with the horns and some behind the Ark, with the priests continually blowing the horns. 10 “Do not shout; do not even talk,” Joshua commanded. “Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout. Then shout!” 11 So the Ark of the Lord was carried around the town once that day, and then everyone returned to spend the night in the camp.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests again carried the Ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests with the rams’ horns marched in front of the Ark of the Lord, blowing their horns. Again the armed men marched both in front of the priests with the horns and behind the Ark of the Lord. All this time the priests were blowing their horns. 14 On the second day they again marched around the town once and returned to the camp. They followed this pattern for six days.
15 On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. 16 The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town! 17 Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed[i] as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies.
18 “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. 19 Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.”
20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. 21 They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.
22 Meanwhile, Joshua said to the two spies, “Keep your promise. Go to the prostitute’s house and bring her out, along with all her family.”
23 The men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all the other relatives who were with her. They moved her whole family to a safe place near the camp of Israel.
24 Then the Israelites burned the town and everything in it. Only the things made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron were kept for the treasury of the Lord’s house. 25 So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day.
26 At that time Joshua invoked this curse:
“May the curse of the Lord fall on anyone
who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho.
At the cost of his firstborn son,
he will lay its foundation.
At the cost of his youngest son,
he will set up its gates.”
27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his reputation spread throughout the land.
6:17 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; similarly in 6:18, 21.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, February 07, 2015
Read: Psalm 71:5-18
O Lord, you alone are my hope.
I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from childhood.
6 Yes, you have been with me from birth;
from my mother’s womb you have cared for me.
No wonder I am always praising you!
7 My life is an example to many,
because you have been my strength and protection.
8 That is why I can never stop praising you;
I declare your glory all day long.
9 And now, in my old age, don’t set me aside.
Don’t abandon me when my strength is failing.
10 For my enemies are whispering against me.
They are plotting together to kill me.
11 They say, “God has abandoned him.
Let’s go and get him,
for no one will help him now.”
12 O God, don’t stay away.
My God, please hurry to help me.
13 Bring disgrace and destruction on my accusers.
Humiliate and shame those who want to harm me.
14 But I will keep on hoping for your help;
I will praise you more and more.
15 I will tell everyone about your righteousness.
All day long I will proclaim your saving power,
though I am not skilled with words.[a]
16 I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign Lord.
I will tell everyone that you alone are just.
17 O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood,
and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.
18 Now that I am old and gray,
do not abandon me, O God.
Let me proclaim your power to this new generation,
your mighty miracles to all who come after me.
Footnotes:
71:15 Or though I cannot count it.
INSIGHT: God’s faithfulness is cause for praise. The psalmist says, “By You I have been upheld from birth” (Ps. 71:6). It is His faithfulness that inspires our confidence in Him: “I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more” (v.14).
Birthday Celebration
By Joe Stowell
By You I have been upheld from birth . . . . My praise shall be continually of You. —Psalm 71:6
I used to love birthdays. I can still remember standing excitedly on our front porch waiting for my friends to show up for my 5th birthday party. I wasn’t just excited about the balloons, the gifts, and the cake. I was happy that I was no longer only 4! I was growing up.
As I’ve gotten older, however, birthdays have sometimes been more discouraging than exciting. Last year when I celebrated a birthday that marked me by decades more than by years, my wife, Martie, cheered me up with the reminder that I should be grateful to be growing older. She pointed me to Psalm 71, where the psalmist talks about God’s presence throughout his life. He remembers that God “took me out of my mother’s womb” (71:6), and he proclaims with thankfulness, “O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works” (v.17). And now, when the psalmist is older, he has the honor to proclaim: “[God’s] strength to this generation, [His] power to everyone who is to come” (v.18). God had blessed the psalmist with His presence through every year of his life.
Birthdays now remind me of God’s faithfulness. And they bring me closer to being in the presence of the One who has been with me all these years!
Lord, remind me often that growing older means
I am growing nearer to You! Keep my heart
filled with gratitude for Your many blessings,
and keep my mind fixed on the joy of heaven.
Count your many blessings—birthday by birthday!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, February 07, 2015
Spiritual Dejection
We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. —Luke 24:21
Every fact that the disciples stated was right, but the conclusions they drew from those facts were wrong. Anything that has even a hint of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If I am depressed or burdened, I am to blame, not God or anyone else. Dejection stems from one of two sources— I have either satisfied a lust or I have not had it satisfied. In either case, dejection is the result. Lust means “I must have it at once.” Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer. What have I been hoping or trusting God would do? Is today “the third day” and He has still not done what I expected? Am I therefore justified in being dejected and in blaming God? Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer. It is impossible to be well physically and to be dejected, because dejection is a sign of sickness. This is also true spiritually. Dejection spiritually is wrong, and we are always to blame for it.
We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God’s power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Joshua 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Worry is Anti-Trust
What would parents do without worry? It almost seems as if it's in the job description. "Parents Wanted. Must be able to perform sleepless nights and meaningless pacing, wringing their hands and biting their nails."
In Matthew 6:27, Jesus asked, "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" Worry has no positive side effects. In fact, it subtracts moments from your life in heart stress and rising blood pressure.
Worry is anti-trust. If you're worried, you don't trust something: your kids, their friends, strangers, the church, even God. Can He take care of your children? Certainly. Jesus says, "I tell you, stop being anxious and worried about your life." Pretty blunt. Stop it! Easier said than done, huh? Worry tests your trust, so hand your children to God and let him babysit your babies when you're not around. He's pretty good at it!
From Max on Life
Joshua 5
When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings who lived along the Mediterranean coast[d] heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so the people of Israel could cross, they lost heart and were paralyzed with fear because of them.
Israel Reestablishes Covenant Ceremonies
2 At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise this second generation of Israelites.[e]” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the entire male population of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.[f]
4 Joshua had to circumcise them because all the men who were old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had died in the wilderness. 5 Those who left Egypt had all been circumcised, but none of those born after the Exodus, during the years in the wilderness, had been circumcised. 6 The Israelites had traveled in the wilderness for forty years until all the men who were old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had died. For they had disobeyed the Lord, and the Lord vowed he would not let them enter the land he had sworn to give us—a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So Joshua circumcised their sons—those who had grown up to take their fathers’ places—for they had not been circumcised on the way to the Promised Land. 8 After all the males had been circumcised, they rested in the camp until they were healed.
9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt.” So that place has been called Gilgal[g] to this day.
10 While the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month.[h] 11 The very next day they began to eat unleavened bread and roasted grain harvested from the land. 12 No manna appeared on the day they first ate from the crops of the land, and it was never seen again. So from that time on the Israelites ate from the crops of Canaan.
The Lord’s Commander Confronts Joshua
13 When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
14 “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.”
At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, February 06, 2015
Read: Genesis 45:4-8
“Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. 5 But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. 6 This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.[a] 8 So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser[b] to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.
Footnotes:
45:7 Or and to save you with an extraordinary rescue. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
45:8 Hebrew a father.
INSIGHT: Because of severe and widespread famine, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy grain to take home to feed their families (Gen. 42–45). Though Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. It seems that from this point forward he set out to bring reconciliation to his broken family. Eventually, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers (45:4-8), forgives them, and promises to care for them (50:16-21). Joseph’s story is one of the great reconciliation stories of all time.
In Disguise
By Cindy Hess Kasper
Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You. —Psalm 31:19
In the weeks after my husband survived a heart attack, we often thanked God for sparing his life. I was asked many times during the next few months how I was doing. My answer was often a simple one: “Blessed. I feel blessed.”
Blessings, however, come in different sizes and shapes. In fact, we don’t always recognize them. Even when we are doing everything we think God wants us to do, we may still experience suffering. We are sometimes surprised that God does not answer the way we want or that His timing appears to be tardy.
We see this in Joseph’s life. From a human perspective, we would think that God had forgotten all about him. For more than a decade, Joseph experienced suffering. He was tossed in a pit, sold into slavery, falsely accused, unjustly put in prison. Finally, however, God’s faithfulness to him became evident to all as he was lifted up as a ruler of Egypt and saved many people from famine (Gen. 37–46). C. S. Lewis wrote: “When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place.”
God had always had His hand of blessing on Joseph, as He does for all who trust Him. “Oh, how great is Your goodness” (Ps. 31:19).
Lord, You love us with an extravagant love,
but so often we don’t trust You in the crisis.
Help us to learn and appreciate that You have
everything we need—and so much more.
True happiness is knowing that God is good.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 06, 2015
Are You Ready To Be Poured Out As an Offering? (2)
I am already being poured out as a drink offering… —2 Timothy 4:6
Are you ready to be poured out as an offering? It is an act of your will, not your emotions. Tell God you are ready to be offered as a sacrifice for Him. Then accept the consequences as they come, without any complaints, in spite of what God may send your way. God sends you through a crisis in private, where no other person can help you. From the outside your life may appear to be the same, but the difference is taking place in your will. Once you have experienced the crisis in your will, you will take no thought of the cost when it begins to affect you externally. If you don’t deal with God on the level of your will first, the result will be only to arouse sympathy for yourself.
“Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar” (Psalm 118:27). You must be willing to be placed on the altar and go through the fire; willing to experience what the altar represents— burning, purification, and separation for only one purpose— the elimination of every desire and affection not grounded in or directed toward God. But you don’t eliminate it, God does. You “bind the sacrifice…to the horns of the altar” and see to it that you don’t wallow in self-pity once the fire begins. After you have gone through the fire, there will be nothing that will be able to trouble or depress you. When another crisis arises, you will realize that things cannot touch you as they used to do. What fire lies ahead in your life?
Tell God you are ready to be poured out as an offering, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, February 06, 2015
How to Move From Jesus-Highs to a Jesus-Life - #7325
My wife and I have some hummingbird feeders. Because those busy little guys, they're fascinating to watch! You know, they come as back porch visitors. You've probably seen them. Their wings go so fast you can hardly see the wings. They're virtually like God's little helicopters. They hover, they fly backwards, and then they fly away. I love to watch them. And do they like sugar! My wife mixes up this concoction that's basically sugar-water and they flock to it. Then they'll fly off in this burst of acrobatic energy, only to return a few minutes later for a refill.
Now, I've been told that if they go very long without some sugar, whether it's the natural kind they get from flowers or from our backyard potion, they become sort of catatonic or whatever...maybe "birdatonic" is a better word! If only birds could talk human talk, you might hear them say as they come back for their forty-seventh consecutive drink, "Must have sugar! Must have sugar!" See, God has got a lot of spiritual hummingbirds in His family. Here comes one now, "Must have sugar!" Spiritual sugar that is; the kind too many of us Christians actually depend on to keep us flying.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Move From Jesus-Highs to a Jesus-Life."
Our word today from the Word of God comes from Luke 6:47-49. Jesus is describing here two different kinds of believers. "I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice. He's like a man building a house who digs down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears My words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
All right, two believers; one whom the storm cannot shake because his faith is "well built"; another one who falls apart because he is without a foundation-collapsed. What's the difference? What does it say here? You hear, you study the Bible, and then you do what you read. That's the only way to have a storm-proof durable relationship with Jesus Christ. It all has to do, not just with hearing His words. The difference is putting them into practice in these verses. If you're not strong in His Word, you are not going to be an all-weather follower of Christ. And just when you need to be the closest to Jesus - in a storm - you're going to be falling apart.
I guess we could call the Bible God's spiritual protein; the diet that gives you consistent energy and commitment. But a lot of us are like those hummingbirds. We're addicted to sugar; the major fuel for our relationship with Jesus is that next spiritual high. "Must have a retreat! When's the conference! When's the next spiritual speaker? I need the feeling. I need a sign from God."
For some of God's birds, or children, church is a weekly sugar fix where you feel good and you feel God for a little while only to return to the same old spiritually catatonic state the rest of the week. Maybe you're getting tired, maybe even disillusioned with this spiritual roller coaster. Are you tired of that roller coaster?
I've often said to young people, "You don't need to get another high. You need to get a life." That applies to believers of all ages. You're ready for some spiritual consistency aren't you? Some reality? You ready for a life with Jesus? Well, then, it's graduation time! It's time to step up to the discipline that makes the difference: meeting your Lord Jesus one-on-one each new day in His book; getting up early to get into His Word. To anchor your day to a personal "word with you" from the living God, and not just trying to resurrect some faded spiritual high back there.
You've tried the sugar diets, the bursts of energy followed by the collapse. Aren't you ready for the real food? Well, that's a regular time with Jesus. That's the fuel that's going to keep you flying all the time.
What would parents do without worry? It almost seems as if it's in the job description. "Parents Wanted. Must be able to perform sleepless nights and meaningless pacing, wringing their hands and biting their nails."
In Matthew 6:27, Jesus asked, "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" Worry has no positive side effects. In fact, it subtracts moments from your life in heart stress and rising blood pressure.
Worry is anti-trust. If you're worried, you don't trust something: your kids, their friends, strangers, the church, even God. Can He take care of your children? Certainly. Jesus says, "I tell you, stop being anxious and worried about your life." Pretty blunt. Stop it! Easier said than done, huh? Worry tests your trust, so hand your children to God and let him babysit your babies when you're not around. He's pretty good at it!
From Max on Life
Joshua 5
When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings who lived along the Mediterranean coast[d] heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so the people of Israel could cross, they lost heart and were paralyzed with fear because of them.
Israel Reestablishes Covenant Ceremonies
2 At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise this second generation of Israelites.[e]” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the entire male population of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.[f]
4 Joshua had to circumcise them because all the men who were old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had died in the wilderness. 5 Those who left Egypt had all been circumcised, but none of those born after the Exodus, during the years in the wilderness, had been circumcised. 6 The Israelites had traveled in the wilderness for forty years until all the men who were old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had died. For they had disobeyed the Lord, and the Lord vowed he would not let them enter the land he had sworn to give us—a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So Joshua circumcised their sons—those who had grown up to take their fathers’ places—for they had not been circumcised on the way to the Promised Land. 8 After all the males had been circumcised, they rested in the camp until they were healed.
9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt.” So that place has been called Gilgal[g] to this day.
10 While the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month.[h] 11 The very next day they began to eat unleavened bread and roasted grain harvested from the land. 12 No manna appeared on the day they first ate from the crops of the land, and it was never seen again. So from that time on the Israelites ate from the crops of Canaan.
The Lord’s Commander Confronts Joshua
13 When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
14 “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.”
At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, February 06, 2015
Read: Genesis 45:4-8
“Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. 5 But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. 6 This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.[a] 8 So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser[b] to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.
Footnotes:
45:7 Or and to save you with an extraordinary rescue. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
45:8 Hebrew a father.
INSIGHT: Because of severe and widespread famine, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy grain to take home to feed their families (Gen. 42–45). Though Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. It seems that from this point forward he set out to bring reconciliation to his broken family. Eventually, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers (45:4-8), forgives them, and promises to care for them (50:16-21). Joseph’s story is one of the great reconciliation stories of all time.
In Disguise
By Cindy Hess Kasper
Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You. —Psalm 31:19
In the weeks after my husband survived a heart attack, we often thanked God for sparing his life. I was asked many times during the next few months how I was doing. My answer was often a simple one: “Blessed. I feel blessed.”
Blessings, however, come in different sizes and shapes. In fact, we don’t always recognize them. Even when we are doing everything we think God wants us to do, we may still experience suffering. We are sometimes surprised that God does not answer the way we want or that His timing appears to be tardy.
We see this in Joseph’s life. From a human perspective, we would think that God had forgotten all about him. For more than a decade, Joseph experienced suffering. He was tossed in a pit, sold into slavery, falsely accused, unjustly put in prison. Finally, however, God’s faithfulness to him became evident to all as he was lifted up as a ruler of Egypt and saved many people from famine (Gen. 37–46). C. S. Lewis wrote: “When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place.”
God had always had His hand of blessing on Joseph, as He does for all who trust Him. “Oh, how great is Your goodness” (Ps. 31:19).
Lord, You love us with an extravagant love,
but so often we don’t trust You in the crisis.
Help us to learn and appreciate that You have
everything we need—and so much more.
True happiness is knowing that God is good.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 06, 2015
Are You Ready To Be Poured Out As an Offering? (2)
I am already being poured out as a drink offering… —2 Timothy 4:6
Are you ready to be poured out as an offering? It is an act of your will, not your emotions. Tell God you are ready to be offered as a sacrifice for Him. Then accept the consequences as they come, without any complaints, in spite of what God may send your way. God sends you through a crisis in private, where no other person can help you. From the outside your life may appear to be the same, but the difference is taking place in your will. Once you have experienced the crisis in your will, you will take no thought of the cost when it begins to affect you externally. If you don’t deal with God on the level of your will first, the result will be only to arouse sympathy for yourself.
“Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar” (Psalm 118:27). You must be willing to be placed on the altar and go through the fire; willing to experience what the altar represents— burning, purification, and separation for only one purpose— the elimination of every desire and affection not grounded in or directed toward God. But you don’t eliminate it, God does. You “bind the sacrifice…to the horns of the altar” and see to it that you don’t wallow in self-pity once the fire begins. After you have gone through the fire, there will be nothing that will be able to trouble or depress you. When another crisis arises, you will realize that things cannot touch you as they used to do. What fire lies ahead in your life?
Tell God you are ready to be poured out as an offering, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, February 06, 2015
How to Move From Jesus-Highs to a Jesus-Life - #7325
My wife and I have some hummingbird feeders. Because those busy little guys, they're fascinating to watch! You know, they come as back porch visitors. You've probably seen them. Their wings go so fast you can hardly see the wings. They're virtually like God's little helicopters. They hover, they fly backwards, and then they fly away. I love to watch them. And do they like sugar! My wife mixes up this concoction that's basically sugar-water and they flock to it. Then they'll fly off in this burst of acrobatic energy, only to return a few minutes later for a refill.
Now, I've been told that if they go very long without some sugar, whether it's the natural kind they get from flowers or from our backyard potion, they become sort of catatonic or whatever...maybe "birdatonic" is a better word! If only birds could talk human talk, you might hear them say as they come back for their forty-seventh consecutive drink, "Must have sugar! Must have sugar!" See, God has got a lot of spiritual hummingbirds in His family. Here comes one now, "Must have sugar!" Spiritual sugar that is; the kind too many of us Christians actually depend on to keep us flying.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Move From Jesus-Highs to a Jesus-Life."
Our word today from the Word of God comes from Luke 6:47-49. Jesus is describing here two different kinds of believers. "I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice. He's like a man building a house who digs down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears My words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
All right, two believers; one whom the storm cannot shake because his faith is "well built"; another one who falls apart because he is without a foundation-collapsed. What's the difference? What does it say here? You hear, you study the Bible, and then you do what you read. That's the only way to have a storm-proof durable relationship with Jesus Christ. It all has to do, not just with hearing His words. The difference is putting them into practice in these verses. If you're not strong in His Word, you are not going to be an all-weather follower of Christ. And just when you need to be the closest to Jesus - in a storm - you're going to be falling apart.
I guess we could call the Bible God's spiritual protein; the diet that gives you consistent energy and commitment. But a lot of us are like those hummingbirds. We're addicted to sugar; the major fuel for our relationship with Jesus is that next spiritual high. "Must have a retreat! When's the conference! When's the next spiritual speaker? I need the feeling. I need a sign from God."
For some of God's birds, or children, church is a weekly sugar fix where you feel good and you feel God for a little while only to return to the same old spiritually catatonic state the rest of the week. Maybe you're getting tired, maybe even disillusioned with this spiritual roller coaster. Are you tired of that roller coaster?
I've often said to young people, "You don't need to get another high. You need to get a life." That applies to believers of all ages. You're ready for some spiritual consistency aren't you? Some reality? You ready for a life with Jesus? Well, then, it's graduation time! It's time to step up to the discipline that makes the difference: meeting your Lord Jesus one-on-one each new day in His book; getting up early to get into His Word. To anchor your day to a personal "word with you" from the living God, and not just trying to resurrect some faded spiritual high back there.
You've tried the sugar diets, the bursts of energy followed by the collapse. Aren't you ready for the real food? Well, that's a regular time with Jesus. That's the fuel that's going to keep you flying all the time.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Joshua 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
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Joshua 4
Memorials to the Jordan Crossing
When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. 3 Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’”
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. 5 He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 6 We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”
8 So the men did as Joshua had commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, one for each tribe, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped for the night and constructed the memorial there.
9 Joshua also set up another pile of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. And they are there to this day.
10 The priests who were carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the river until all of the Lord’s commands that Moses had given to Joshua were carried out. Meanwhile, the people hurried across the riverbed. 11 And when everyone was safely on the other side, the priests crossed over with the Ark of the Lord as the people watched.
12 The armed warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh led the Israelites across the Jordan, just as Moses had directed. 13 These armed men—about 40,000 strong—were ready for battle, and the Lord was with them as they crossed over to the plains of Jericho.
14 That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.
15 The Lord had said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant[a] to come up out of the riverbed.” 17 So Joshua gave the command. 18 As soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant came up out of the riverbed and their feet were on high ground, the water of the Jordan returned and overflowed its banks as before.
19 The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month.[b] Then they camped at Gilgal, just east of Jericho. 20 It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River.
21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea[c] when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. 24 He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, February 05, 2015
Read: Psalm 37:1-8
A psalm of David.
Don’t worry about the wicked
or envy those who do wrong.
2 For like grass, they soon fade away.
Like spring flowers, they soon wither.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.
5 Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
7 Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.
8 Stop being angry!
Turn from your rage!
Do not lose your temper—
it only leads to harm.
Footnotes:
37 This psalm is a Hebrew acrostic poem; each stanza begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
INSIGHT: Psalm 37 is one of the many “wisdom psalms”—psalms that give instructions on how to live wisely. In this psalm, David deals with the perennial perplexity of the injustice of life—the wicked go unpunished while the righteous suffer. He tells the righteous not to fret, be envious, or be angry, for God will ultimately bring justice (vv.1-2,9-10,20,35-36,38). Instead, they are to be patient, to trust, to delight, to rest fully in God, and to continue to live godly lives (vv.3-8). For the “Lord upholds the righteous” (v.17), takes delight in them (v.23), and will not forsake them (vv.28-29).
Habits Of A Healthy Mind
By David C. McCasland
Trust in the Lord, and do good. —Psalm 37:3
There is much said today about improving our health by developing habits of optimism, whether facing a difficult medical diagnosis or a pile of dirty laundry. Barbara Fredrickson, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of North Carolina, says we should try activities that build joy, gratitude, love, and other positive feelings. We know, however, that more is required than a general wish for good feelings. We need a strong conviction that there is a source of joy, peace, and love upon which we can depend.
Psalm 37:1-8 gives positive actions we can take as an antidote to pessimism and discouragement. Consider these mood boosters: Trust in the Lord, do good, dwell in the land, feed on His faithfulness (v.3); delight in the Lord (v.4); commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him (v.5); rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him, do not fret (v.7); cease from anger, forsake wrath (v.8).
Because they are connected to the phrase “in the Lord,” those directives are more than wishful thinking or unrealistic suggestions. It’s because of Jesus, and in His strength, that they become possible.
Our one true source for optimism is the redemption that is in Jesus. He is our reason for hope!
Lord, we can’t manufacture hope, and even if
we tried it wouldn’t be real. Help us to find
hope in You because of what Jesus has done
for us. We know You are walking beside us.
When there’s bad news, our hope is the good news of Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 05, 2015
Are You Ready To Be Poured Out As an Offering? (1)
If I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. —Philippians 2:17
Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the work of another believer—to pour out your life sacrificially for the ministry and faith of others? Or do you say, “I am not willing to be poured out right now, and I don’t want God to tell me how to serve Him. I want to choose the place of my own sacrifice. And I want to have certain people watching me and saying, ‘Well done.’ ”
It is one thing to follow God’s way of service if you are regarded as a hero, but quite another thing if the road marked out for you by God requires becoming a “doormat” under other people’s feet. God’s purpose may be to teach you to say, “I know how to be abased…” (Philippians 4:12). Are you ready to be sacrificed like that? Are you ready to be less than a mere drop in the bucket— to be so totally insignificant that no one remembers you even if they think of those you served? Are you willing to give and be poured out until you are used up and exhausted— not seeking to be ministered to, but to minister? Some saints cannot do menial work while maintaining a saintly attitude, because they feel such service is beneath their dignity.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 05, 2015
Verbal Vomit and How Your Words Can Hurt - #7324
I'll tell you what kind of airline passenger makes an interesting neighbor; someone who has never flown before. Flight attendants refer to them as "white knuckle" fliers from the way they hang on. Well, my friend, John, was on his way to speak somewhere. And since it was just a one-day meeting, he was dressed in the suit that he was going to speak in. And he had the joy that day of sitting next to a lady who was on her rookie flight. She was as nervous, as they used to say, as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Whenever there was a noise, like the landing gear retracting, she would say, "What was that?" And John would patiently explain.
After they had been airborne a few minutes, Mrs. Rookie suddenly muttered, "I feel sick." My friend suddenly found that little discomfort bag in the pouch in front of her; the one they give you when your stomach doesn't want to keep what it has. Wouldn't you know it? A few minutes later John's head was turned and she unloaded her lunch all over his only suit. Oh she did say something after that, though, after she redecorated my friend. She just said, "I feel so much better now." Great! And how was he feeling?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Verbal Vomit and How Your Words Can Hurt."
That's strong language, I know. But it might be what some of us need to get us thinking about the hurting talk that comes out of our mouth. And it certainly isn't any stronger than the words God himself uses to describe how we sound too much of the time. These are some of the most revealing, convicting words in the Bible.
James 3, beginning with verse 2, our word for today from the Word of God. Think about some of your recent conversations. "If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person; sets the whole course of his life on fire and is set itself on fire by hell. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the same mouth we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who've been made in God's likeness. This should not be." Now this is what God's Word says.
God's been pretty clear here hasn't He? The way to see how godly you really are is to listen to your talk. And that's not just talking about spiritual talk. No sin could do as much damage as verbal sins. Like a forest fire; like deadly poison. Some of our most damaging trash talk takes place, of course, when we're angry or we feel attacked. That's when we dump all the garbage all over the other person. Like, excuse me, verbal vomit. It's that disgusting. It's that repulsive. It's that unacceptable.
And like that woman on the plane, we say to ourselves, "Well, I feel better now. I told them! I put them in their place! I won this one! I had the last word!" You did not put them in their place. What you succeeded in doing was showing them what a miserable place you're in. You didn't win. You lost. You feel better, but look what you did to them. The people we hurt the most are often the ones we claim to love the most.
God says in Proverbs 12:18, "Reckless words pierce like a sword." I wonder how many deep wounds you may have left today, or in the last few weeks. If people bled physically every time we wounded them verbally, I wonder what kind of trail some of us would leave.
I guess it's time we listen to ourselves, and face the hypocrisy between our spiritual image and our private trash talk, and to go to the people we've hurt and to seek their forgiveness, and to make our mouth - our talk - a new frontier for the lordship of Jesus Christ. Maybe then what comes out of your mouth will not only make you feel better, but it will make them feel better too.
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