Max Lucado Daily: We Can Fear Less
In Luke 24:38, Jesus asks, "Why are you frightened? Why are your hearts filled with doubt?" Jesus doesn't want you to live in a state of fear.
Nor do you. You've never made statements like these: Thank God for my pessimism. I've been such a better person since I lost hope. Or, My doctor says if I don't begin fretting, I'll lose my health. We've learned the high cost of fear. If we medicate fear with angry outbursts, drinking binges, sullen withdrawals, or viselike control, we exclude God from the solution and exacerbate the problem.
Hysteria isn't from God. Scripture says, "God has not given us the spirit of fear" (2 Timothy 1:7). Fear may fill our world, but it doesn't have to fill our hearts. It will always knock on the door. Just don't invite it in.
The promise of Christ is simple: we can fear less tomorrow than we do today!
From Fearless
Joshua 10
The Sun Stands Still
Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed[a] it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and had become their allies. 2 He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters. 3 So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon. 4 “Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said, “because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”
5 Then the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon—joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.
6 The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”
7 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”
9 After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on[b] its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!
15 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
Five Amorite Kings Killed
16 Now the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah. 17 When Joshua was told that the five kings had been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah, 18 he said, “Roll large rocks up to the mouth of the cave, and post some men there to guard it. 19 But don’t stop; pursue your enemies! Attack them from the rear and don’t let them reach their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.”
20 So Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely, but a few survivors managed to reach their fortified cities. 21 The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one uttered a word against the Israelites.
22 Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me.” 23 So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. 24 When they had brought these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks.
25 Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.” 26 Then Joshua put the kings to death and exposed their bodies on five poles, and they were left hanging on the poles until evening.
27 At sunset Joshua gave the order and they took them down from the poles and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave they placed large rocks, which are there to this day.
Southern Cities Conquered
28 That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. 30 The Lord also gave that city and its king into Israel’s hand. The city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish; he took up positions against it and attacked it. 32 The Lord gave Lachish into Israel’s hands, and Joshua took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. 33 Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer had come up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army—until no survivors were left.
34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon; they took up positions against it and attacked it. 35 They captured it that same day and put it to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Lachish.
36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it. 37 They took the city and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Eglon, they totally destroyed it and everyone in it.
38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned around and attacked Debir. 39 They took the city, its king and its villages, and put them to the sword. Everyone in it they totally destroyed. They left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king as they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron.
40 So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. 42 All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
43 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
Joshua 10:1 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 28, 35, 37, 39 and 40.
Joshua 10:13 Or nation triumphed over
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, February 13, 2015
Psalm 119:17-24
Gimel
Be good to your servant,
that I may live and obey your word.
18 Open my eyes to see
the wonderful truths in your instructions.
19 I am only a foreigner in the land.
Don’t hide your commands from me!
20 I am always overwhelmed
with a desire for your regulations.
21 You rebuke the arrogant;
those who wander from your commands are cursed.
22 Don’t let them scorn and insult me,
for I have obeyed your laws.
23 Even princes sit and speak against me,
but I will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your laws please me;
they give me wise advice
INSIGHT: Psalm 119 is a celebration of God’s law, broken down into 22 sections that follow the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. When we take a look at the individual sections, we see that the psalmist personally looks to God’s law as a source of life and guidance. In today’s passage, the psalmist celebrates God’s grace as he acknowledges that it is only through Him that he can keep His Word (v.17).
The Word Among Us
By David C. Egner
Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors. —Psalm 119:24
The Word of God comes to us in many forms. Bible-centered preaching, Scripture reading, songs, study groups, and devotional articles bring to us the truths of God from Scripture. But we can’t overlook personal reading and studying either.
My heart has recently been touched by a careful, paragraph-by-paragraph study of Deuteronomy alongside the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7. Both passages contain codes of belief: The Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:6-21) and the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12). Deuteronomy shows us the old covenant—the law God wanted His people to follow. In Matthew, Jesus shows us how He has come to fulfill that law and establish the principles of the new covenant, which frees us from the burden of the law.
The Holy Spirit comes alongside the Word of God to teach, empower, instruct, convict, and purify us. The result is understanding, repentance, renewal, and growth in Jesus. Theologian Philip Jacob Spener wrote: “The more at home the Word of God is among us, the more we will bring about faith and its fruits.” Let’s pray with the psalmist: “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law” so that we might live it out in our lives (Ps. 119:18).
“Heavenly Father, we bow in Your presence. Let Your
Word be our rule and guide, Your Spirit our teacher,
and Your greater glory be our supreme concern,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” —John R. W. Stott
When the Word of God is within us, it flows out from our life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 13, 2015
The Devotion of Hearing
Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears." —1 Samuel 3:10
Just because I have listened carefully and intently to one thing from God does not mean that I will listen to everything He says. I show God my lack of love and respect for Him by the insensitivity of my heart and mind toward what He says. If I love my friend, I will instinctively understand what he wants. And Jesus said, “You are My friends…” (John 15:14). Have I disobeyed some command of my Lord’s this week? If I had realized that it was a command of Jesus, I would not have deliberately disobeyed it. But most of us show incredible disrespect to God because we don’t even hear Him. He might as well never have spoken to us.
The goal of my spiritual life is such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will always hear God and know that God always hears me (see John 11:41). If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God all the time through the devotion of hearing. A flower, a tree, or a servant of God may convey God’s message to me. What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things. It is not that I don’t want to hear God, but I am not devoted in the right areas of my life. I am devoted to things and even to service and my own convictions. God may say whatever He wants, but I just don’t hear Him. The attitude of a child of God should always be, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” If I have not developed and nurtured this devotion of hearing, I can only hear God’s voice at certain times. At other times I become deaf to Him because my attention is to other things— things which I think I must do. This is not living the life of a child of God. Have you heard God’s voice today?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, February 13, 2015
How People Miss Heaven - #7330
I've had a number of young women complain to me about a condition they find rampant in young men these days. You could call it "commitment phobia." Or as one author did, "Peter Pan syndrome; I don't want to grow up." A guy's willing to show interest, he's willing to court you, charm you, agree with you, spend money on you, and you reach this level of mutual compatibility. That's good. And then you're on the edge of commitment and he's gone. That's pretty frustrating.
I met this beautiful woman many years ago, and we spent a lot of time together. We found out that we agreed on all the important things, so we reached the place of affection for each other and agreement with each other. I say, "I love you and I agree with you on a lot of stuff." So that meant we were married, right? Uh, no. There's something missing there.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How People Miss Heaven."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 7, beginning at verse 21. I think these are some of the most unsettling words Jesus ever spoke. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drove out demons and performed many miracles?' And then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me.'"
Wow! So near and yet so far. That's a warning for religious people - church folks - people who know the verses, people who are busy in Christian things, maybe even in Christian leadership. Because these chilling words are going to be spoken to some of those people, "I never knew you. Everyone else thought you did, but I never knew you." It's like the guy who knows about a girl. He's compatible with that girl, he agrees with the girl, but he somehow never made a lifetime commitment to her.
I had to say to my then future wife, "I give my life to you." There was a day I did that. I knew I did it. That's the commitment that made us married, that began the life-long relationship. Actually there are five things you can do with Jesus. One is you can reject Him and say, "I don't care what He did." Another thing you can do is you can ignore Him. Some people just simply have no time for Jesus. The third thing you can do with Jesus is you can postpone Him. "Lord, I'll get around to you some day. I know that you're the answer. I still want to do some living though. I'll get to you sometime."
The fourth thing is to agree with Him. Yeah, agree with Him on all His teachings. You can say, "I think it's all right. I totally agree with it. I believe it." There's a fifth thing you can do and that is to surrender yourself and give yourself totally to Him. The first four, they all end up the same place. In a Christless eternity called hell. See, there's a big difference in rejecting Christ and agreeing with Him, of course, but they all end up with hearing the words of Jesus, "I never knew you" because agreement is not commitment.
I agreed with my future wife on things, but we weren't married by that agreement. Because you agree with all of Jesus' teachings, you really like him, you believe it all. Does that make you really His? No. Not until the day you make your own personal visit to that hill where there is a cross where Jesus is paying for every sin you've ever done. And you go to that cross where God's Son is paying for those sins and you will hear him saying, "Father, forgive them." He's forgiving you. And you pin all your hopes on that Jesus and you change your way for His way from that day on.
Has there ever been a day like that? You may have never had a time when you actually gave yourself to Him. He's in your head, but He's not in your heart. Isn't it time to move Him to your heart? Don't you want to be sure you belong to Him?
I'm going to invite you if you've never done this to say, "Jesus, beginning this day, this hour, I am yours. " I would love to help you do that. I think you'll find some real encouragement and help if you go to our website. I'll meet you there - AnewStory.com.
His Holy Spirit inside of you may be saying right now, "You're near but so far still. You agree with Him. You work for Him. Maybe you sing about it, but you're missing Jesus. You've got Christianity but you don't got Christ." Today, get this settled finally, because it's only your commitment that will make you His.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Luke 9:37-62, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Everything is God's
Here's a healthy exercise. Put a sticky note on everything in your life that's going to be destroyed when Christ comes. Your car, your desk, your house, office, yard, garage…your savings account. What's left? Your spouse. Your kids. Your friends. Your church. The Word of God. Most notably, your soul.
Jesus asked in Matthew 16:26, "And who do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?
All that stuff you have now? You don't get to keep it. In fact, you never had it. You're simply a steward of what God has given you. Psalm 24:1 reminds us, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it." Your stuff is not yours. Ever since you grabbed that toy and yelled, "Mine!" you've been lying. Everything is God's!
From Max on Life
Luke 9:37-62
Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon
On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he[a] shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
Jesus Again Foretells His Death
While everyone was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.” 45 But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
True Greatness
46 An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, 48 and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.”
Another Exorcist
49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.”
A Samaritan Village Refuses to Receive Jesus
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”[b] 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 Then[c] they went on to another village.
Would-Be Followers of Jesus
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus[d] said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Footnotes:
Luke 9:39 Or it
Luke 9:54 Other ancient authorities add as Elijah did
Luke 9:56 Other ancient authorities read rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what spirit you are of, 56 for the Son of Man has not come to destroy the lives of human beings but to save them.” Then
Luke 9:60 Gk he
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Read: Jeremiah 17:1-8
Judah’s Sin and Punishment
The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen; with a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts, and on the horns of their altars, 2 while their children remember their altars and their sacred poles,[a] beside every green tree, and on the high hills, 3 on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your sin[b] throughout all your territory. 4 By your own act you shall lose the heritage that I gave you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled[c] that shall burn forever.
5 Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
and make mere flesh their strength,
whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
6 They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
7 Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
8 They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
Footnotes:
Jeremiah 17:2 Heb Asherim
Jeremiah 17:3 Cn: Heb spoil your high places for sin
Jeremiah 17:4 Two Mss Theodotion: you kindled
INSIGHT: The words of Jeremiah 17:7-8 echo those of Psalm 1:2-3: Blessed are those who “delight in the law of the Lord . . . . They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do” (nlt).
The Well-Watered Life
By Joe Stowell
He shall be like a tree planted by the waters . . . ; its leaf will be green. —Jeremiah 17:8
I have a friend who lives on a ranch in the wide-open spaces of Montana. The road to his home is a long trail that winds through the parched and barren landscape of the wilderness. As you drive toward his home, you can’t help but notice the contrasting strip of green trees and vibrant vegetation meandering through the ranch. One of the finest trout rivers in North America cuts through the property, and anything that grows near its banks gets the benefit of an unending source of vital water.
This is the picture Jeremiah paints when he says that those who trust in the Lord are “like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river” (Jer. 17:8). Many may choose the wilting heat and choking drought of life apart from God, but those who trust in God will be vibrant and fruitful. Depending on Him is like putting our roots into the refreshing water of His goodness. We are strengthened with the confidence that His steadfast love for us will never fail.
God will ultimately make all things right. Trusting that He will turn our pain to gain and use suffering to mature us empowers us to become fruit-bearers in a dry and thirsty land.
Lord, thank You for not leaving me alone
in the withering heat of life. I will put the
roots of my trust into the river of Your
unfailing promises and steadfast love!
Put your roots down by the river of God’s goodness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Are You Listening to God?
They said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." —Exodus 20:19
We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God— we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them— not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.
“You speak with us,…but let not God speak with us….” We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, “Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth.”
Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, “Lord, why was I so insensitive and obstinate?” This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 12, 2015
The Power To Really Change Things - #7329
My friend was an executive at a Bible distribution society, and he told me about one of their workers in Zimbabwe. His name was Gabriel. What a great name for a man distributing Bibles, huh? Their policy was to sell their Bibles for a small price so people would value them. The problem they encountered was that some people were actually using the thin paper of those Bibles to make cigarettes! In fact, one potential customer actually said to Gabriel, "I'll take one of your Bibles, but if I do, I'll smoke it."
Gabriel gave an angelic response. He said, "That's OK, if you promise to read it before you smoke it." The man promised. When Gabriel saw the man several months later, he asked him about the Bible. The man said, "Well, I read Matthew, and I smoked it. I read Mark - smoked it. I read Luke, and I smoked it. And then I read John 3:16, and I haven't smoked since!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Power to Really Change Things."
John 3:16, of course, is that wonderful revelation that "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son so that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." And that simple Gospel of God's love and the sacrifice of His Son for our sins has transformed so many people's lives over the years, including mine; including that man in Africa.
By the way, if you've never experienced that love for yourself, that life-changing power of Jesus, that's why our website is there. And I would encourage you to just... You don't even have to listen to the rest of the program. Go there and meet me there and let me explain to you how this could happen for you; this dramatic change from the inside out. That's ANewStory.com.
You and I are living at a time and in a world where there are a lot of battles to fight: pornography, abortion, media violence, racism, false religions and spiritualities, things that threaten the family, all kinds of sinful lifestyles. The list goes on and on. And it's important to stand for God's standards, God's values, and God's boundaries no matter what the culture is saying. But it's important to do it lovingly.
We need to remember, though, that there is only one weapon that really changes things, that changes people, that changes a culture. God talks about it in our word for today from the Word of God from Romans 1, in some verses that begin in verse 9. Paul talks about "God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the Gospel of His Son... I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation
of everyone who believes... for in the Gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith. "
Now, God says His salvation, His righteousness - the only transformers that really change things - come through "the preaching of the Gospel." Just look at Gabriel's African friend. He didn't stop smoking because of a campaign against smoking; he was changed by coming face-to-face with Jesus Christ! That Gospel is still, along with prayer, the most powerful life-changing, family-changing, marriage-changing, world-changing force on earth! Because it changes people from the inside out!
The early Christians knew the power was in the Gospel. Their culture was more depraved than ours, and their weapon of choice was not politics or programs or protests. It was presenting Jesus' cross and His empty tomb! Dictators across the centuries have known the power that's in the Gospel. That's why they have done everything in their power to shut it down. They understand its power to undermine the most powerful forces of darkness on earth.
Now, complacency in an ever-darkening world is unacceptable. We need to take a stand in love. But we need to lead with the only weapon that really has the power to change things - the explosive story of Jesus Christ and His cross and His resurrection. That's where the power is. That's where the change will come from. It's the only weapon of which the Bible says, "It is the power of God." The Gospel of Jesus Christ! And it's yours to share with people you love.
Spend yourself; spend what you have to get that life-giving message into the hearts of the dying men and women you know!
Here's a healthy exercise. Put a sticky note on everything in your life that's going to be destroyed when Christ comes. Your car, your desk, your house, office, yard, garage…your savings account. What's left? Your spouse. Your kids. Your friends. Your church. The Word of God. Most notably, your soul.
Jesus asked in Matthew 16:26, "And who do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?
All that stuff you have now? You don't get to keep it. In fact, you never had it. You're simply a steward of what God has given you. Psalm 24:1 reminds us, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it." Your stuff is not yours. Ever since you grabbed that toy and yelled, "Mine!" you've been lying. Everything is God's!
From Max on Life
Luke 9:37-62
Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon
On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he[a] shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
Jesus Again Foretells His Death
While everyone was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.” 45 But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
True Greatness
46 An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, 48 and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.”
Another Exorcist
49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.”
A Samaritan Village Refuses to Receive Jesus
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”[b] 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 Then[c] they went on to another village.
Would-Be Followers of Jesus
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus[d] said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Footnotes:
Luke 9:39 Or it
Luke 9:54 Other ancient authorities add as Elijah did
Luke 9:56 Other ancient authorities read rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what spirit you are of, 56 for the Son of Man has not come to destroy the lives of human beings but to save them.” Then
Luke 9:60 Gk he
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Read: Jeremiah 17:1-8
Judah’s Sin and Punishment
The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen; with a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts, and on the horns of their altars, 2 while their children remember their altars and their sacred poles,[a] beside every green tree, and on the high hills, 3 on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your sin[b] throughout all your territory. 4 By your own act you shall lose the heritage that I gave you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled[c] that shall burn forever.
5 Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
and make mere flesh their strength,
whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
6 They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
7 Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
8 They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
Footnotes:
Jeremiah 17:2 Heb Asherim
Jeremiah 17:3 Cn: Heb spoil your high places for sin
Jeremiah 17:4 Two Mss Theodotion: you kindled
INSIGHT: The words of Jeremiah 17:7-8 echo those of Psalm 1:2-3: Blessed are those who “delight in the law of the Lord . . . . They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do” (nlt).
The Well-Watered Life
By Joe Stowell
He shall be like a tree planted by the waters . . . ; its leaf will be green. —Jeremiah 17:8
I have a friend who lives on a ranch in the wide-open spaces of Montana. The road to his home is a long trail that winds through the parched and barren landscape of the wilderness. As you drive toward his home, you can’t help but notice the contrasting strip of green trees and vibrant vegetation meandering through the ranch. One of the finest trout rivers in North America cuts through the property, and anything that grows near its banks gets the benefit of an unending source of vital water.
This is the picture Jeremiah paints when he says that those who trust in the Lord are “like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river” (Jer. 17:8). Many may choose the wilting heat and choking drought of life apart from God, but those who trust in God will be vibrant and fruitful. Depending on Him is like putting our roots into the refreshing water of His goodness. We are strengthened with the confidence that His steadfast love for us will never fail.
God will ultimately make all things right. Trusting that He will turn our pain to gain and use suffering to mature us empowers us to become fruit-bearers in a dry and thirsty land.
Lord, thank You for not leaving me alone
in the withering heat of life. I will put the
roots of my trust into the river of Your
unfailing promises and steadfast love!
Put your roots down by the river of God’s goodness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Are You Listening to God?
They said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." —Exodus 20:19
We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God— we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them— not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.
“You speak with us,…but let not God speak with us….” We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, “Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth.”
Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, “Lord, why was I so insensitive and obstinate?” This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 12, 2015
The Power To Really Change Things - #7329
My friend was an executive at a Bible distribution society, and he told me about one of their workers in Zimbabwe. His name was Gabriel. What a great name for a man distributing Bibles, huh? Their policy was to sell their Bibles for a small price so people would value them. The problem they encountered was that some people were actually using the thin paper of those Bibles to make cigarettes! In fact, one potential customer actually said to Gabriel, "I'll take one of your Bibles, but if I do, I'll smoke it."
Gabriel gave an angelic response. He said, "That's OK, if you promise to read it before you smoke it." The man promised. When Gabriel saw the man several months later, he asked him about the Bible. The man said, "Well, I read Matthew, and I smoked it. I read Mark - smoked it. I read Luke, and I smoked it. And then I read John 3:16, and I haven't smoked since!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Power to Really Change Things."
John 3:16, of course, is that wonderful revelation that "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son so that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." And that simple Gospel of God's love and the sacrifice of His Son for our sins has transformed so many people's lives over the years, including mine; including that man in Africa.
By the way, if you've never experienced that love for yourself, that life-changing power of Jesus, that's why our website is there. And I would encourage you to just... You don't even have to listen to the rest of the program. Go there and meet me there and let me explain to you how this could happen for you; this dramatic change from the inside out. That's ANewStory.com.
You and I are living at a time and in a world where there are a lot of battles to fight: pornography, abortion, media violence, racism, false religions and spiritualities, things that threaten the family, all kinds of sinful lifestyles. The list goes on and on. And it's important to stand for God's standards, God's values, and God's boundaries no matter what the culture is saying. But it's important to do it lovingly.
We need to remember, though, that there is only one weapon that really changes things, that changes people, that changes a culture. God talks about it in our word for today from the Word of God from Romans 1, in some verses that begin in verse 9. Paul talks about "God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the Gospel of His Son... I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation
of everyone who believes... for in the Gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith. "
Now, God says His salvation, His righteousness - the only transformers that really change things - come through "the preaching of the Gospel." Just look at Gabriel's African friend. He didn't stop smoking because of a campaign against smoking; he was changed by coming face-to-face with Jesus Christ! That Gospel is still, along with prayer, the most powerful life-changing, family-changing, marriage-changing, world-changing force on earth! Because it changes people from the inside out!
The early Christians knew the power was in the Gospel. Their culture was more depraved than ours, and their weapon of choice was not politics or programs or protests. It was presenting Jesus' cross and His empty tomb! Dictators across the centuries have known the power that's in the Gospel. That's why they have done everything in their power to shut it down. They understand its power to undermine the most powerful forces of darkness on earth.
Now, complacency in an ever-darkening world is unacceptable. We need to take a stand in love. But we need to lead with the only weapon that really has the power to change things - the explosive story of Jesus Christ and His cross and His resurrection. That's where the power is. That's where the change will come from. It's the only weapon of which the Bible says, "It is the power of God." The Gospel of Jesus Christ! And it's yours to share with people you love.
Spend yourself; spend what you have to get that life-giving message into the hearts of the dying men and women you know!
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Joshua 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
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?
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?
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.
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