Max Lucado Daily: Faith is Trusting
Faith is trusting what the eye cannot see! Eyes see storms. Faith sees Noah's rainbow. Your eyes see your faults. Your faith sees your Savior. Your eyes see your guilt. Your faith sees His blood. Your eyes look in the mirror and see a sinner, a failure. But by faith you look in the mirror and see a robed prodigal bearing the ring of grace on your finger and the kiss of your Father on your face.
How do I know this is true? someone might ask. It's nice prose, but give me the facts. "God's power is very great for those who believe," Paul taught. Ephesians 1:19-20 says, "That power is the same as the great strength God used to raise Christ from the dead."
Next time you wonder if God can forgive you, read that verse. The very hands that were nailed to the cross are open for you!
From When God Whispers Your Name
Joshua 20
Asylum-Cities
Then God spoke to Joshua: “Tell the People of Israel: Designate the asylum-cities, as I instructed you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally—that is, unintentionally—may flee there as a safe place of asylum from the avenger of blood.
4 “A person shall escape for refuge to one of these cities, stand at the entrance to the city gate, and lay out his case before the city’s leaders. The leaders must then take him into the city among them and give him a place to live with them.
5-6 “If the avenger of blood chases after him, they must not give him up—he didn’t intend to kill the person; there was no history of ill-feeling. He may stay in that city until he has stood trial before the congregation and until the death of the current high priest. Then he may go back to his own home in his hometown from which he fled.”
7 They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hills of Naphtali, Shechem in the hills of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hills of Judah.
8-9 On the other side of the Jordan, east of Jericho, they designated Bezer on the desert plateau from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. These were the designated cities for the People of Israel and any resident foreigner living among them, so that anyone who killed someone unintentionally could flee there and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood without a fair trial before the congregation.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Read: Luke 11:9–13
And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for[a] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Footnotes:
Luke 11:11 Some manuscripts insert bread, will give him a stone; or if he asks for
INSIGHT
While mentioned all throughout the New Testament, the mission and work of the Holy Spirit is a particular focus of two key biblical texts: John 14–16 and Romans 8. In John 14–16, we find Jesus’s last teaching time with His followers before going to the cross. There He explained the ministry of the Spirit to the disciples who were reeling from the news that Jesus was going away—and they could not follow. After the Master’s departure, the gift of the Spirit would be to them a helper (14:16), teacher (14:26), and guide (16:13). In a very different setting, Paul tells Christ-followers in Rome that the Holy Spirit has a comprehensive ministry in the life of God’s child. The Spirit empowers (Romans 8:5), leads (v. 14), assures (v. 16), and assists in our prayers (vv. 26–27). The gift of the Spirit is the amazing spiritual resource that God has given to us to enable us to live for Him.
For more on the work of the Spirit, check out Free in the Spirit at discoveryseries.org/q0307. - Bill Crowder
The Best Gift
By Amy Boucher Pye
Seek and you will find. Luke 11:9
When I was packing up to go home to London, my mother approached me with a gift—one of her rings I had long admired. Surprised, I asked, “What’s this for?” She replied, “I think you should enjoy it now. Why wait until I die? It doesn’t fit me anyway.” With a smile I received her unexpected gift, an early inheritance that brings me joy.
My mom gave me a material gift, but Jesus promises that His Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask (Luke 11:13). If parents who are marred with sin can provide necessities (such as fish or eggs) for their children, how much more will our Father in heaven give to His children. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13), we can experience hope, love, joy, and peace even in times of trouble—and we can share these gifts with others.
Growing up, we may have had parents who were unable to love and care for us fully. Or we may have had mothers and fathers who were shining examples of sacrificial love. Or our experience may have been somewhere in between. Whatever we’ve known with our earthly parents, we can hold onto the promise that our heavenly Father loves us unceasingly. He gave His children the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Heavenly Father, I’m amazed at Your love for me. Help me to dwell in Your presence this day, sharing Your love with those I meet.
Our Father gives good gifts.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, July 15, 2018
My Life’s Spiritual Honor and Duty
I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians… —Romans 1:14
Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding every unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of my life that has value I owe to the redemption of Jesus Christ. Am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His redemption into evident reality in the lives of others? I will only be able to do this as the Spirit of God works into me this sense of indebtedness.
I am not a superior person among other people— I am a bondservant of the Lord Jesus. Paul said, “…you are not your own…you were bought at a price…” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ and he said, in effect, “I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His.” That is the characteristic of a Christian’s life once this level of spiritual honor and duty becomes real. Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine in real life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
God created man to be master of the life in the earth and sea and sky, and the reason he is not is because he took the law into his own hands, and became master of himself, but of nothing else. The Shadow of an Agony, 1163 L
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Joshua 19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Revenge is Natural, Not Spiritual
When we are mistreated, our animalistic response is to go on the hunt. Getting even is only natural. Which, incidentally, is precisely the problem. Revenge is natural, not spiritual. Getting even is the rule of the jungle. Giving grace is the rule of the kingdom.
You may be thinking, easy for you to say, Max, you have no idea how hard my life has been. You are right, I don’t. But I have a very clear idea how miserable your future will be unless you deal with your anger.
X-ray the soul of the vengeful and behold the tumor of bitterness; menacing, malignant. Yesterday you cannot alter, but your reaction to yesterday you can. After all, don’t we have enough things to do without trying to do God’s work too? Forgiveness is not saying the one who hurt you was right. Forgiveness is stating that God will do what is right.
From When God Whispers Your Name
Joshua 19
Simeon
The second lot went to Simeon for its clans. Their inheritance was within the territory of Judah. In their inheritance they had:
Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah,
Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem,
Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,
Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah,
Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen—
thirteen towns and their villages.
Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—
four towns and their villages—plus all the villages around these towns as far as Baalath Beer, the Ramah of the Negev.
8-9 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon according to its clans. The inheritance of Simeon came out of the share of Judah, because Judah’s portion turned out to be more than they needed. That’s how the people of Simeon came to get their lot from within Judah’s portion.
Zebulun
10-15 The third lot went to Zebulun, clan by clan:
The border of their inheritance went all the way to Sarid. It ran west to Maralah, met Dabbesheth, and then went to the brook opposite Jokneam. In the other direction from Sarid, the border ran east; it followed the sunrise to the border of Kisloth Tabor, on to Daberath and up to Japhia. It continued east to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin, came out at Rimmon, and turned toward Neah. There the border went around on the north to Hannathon and ran out into the Valley of Iphtah El. It included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve cities with their villages.
16 This is the inheritance of the people of Zebulun for their clans—these towns and their villages.
Issachar
17-21 The fourth lot went to Issachar, clan by clan. Their territory included:
Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem,
Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath,
Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez,
Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah, and Beth Pazzez.
22 The boundary touched Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh and ended at the Jordan—sixteen towns and their villages.
23 These towns with their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar, clan by clan.
Asher
24 The fifth lot went to the tribe of Asher, clan by clan:
25-30 Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. The western border touched Carmel and Shihor Libnath, then turned east toward Beth Dagon, touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El, and went north to Beth Emek and Neiel, skirting Cabul on the left. It went on to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, all the way to Greater Sidon. The border circled back toward Ramah, extended to the fort city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah, and came out at the Sea in the region of Aczib, Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob—twenty-two towns and their villages.
31 These towns and villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Asher, clan by clan.
Naphtali
32 The sixth lot came to Naphtali and its clans.
33 Their border ran from Heleph, from the oak at Zaanannim, passing Adami Nekeb and Jabneel to Lakkum and ending at the Jordan.
34 The border returned on the west at Aznoth Tabor and came out at Hukkok, meeting Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and the Jordan on the east.
The fort cities were:
35-38 Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth,
Adamah, Ramah, Hazor,
Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor,
Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh—
nineteen towns and their villages.
39 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali, the cities and their villages, clan by clan.
Dan
40-46 The seventh lot fell to Dan. The territory of their inheritance included:
Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh,
Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,
Elon, Timnah, Ekron,
Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath,
Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon,
Me Jarkon, and Rakkon, with the region facing Joppa.
47 But the people of Dan failed to get rid of the Westerners (Amorites), who pushed them back into the hills. The Westerners kept them out of the plain and they didn’t have enough room. So the people of Dan marched up and attacked Leshem. They took it, killed the inhabitants, and settled in. They renamed it Leshem Dan after the name of Dan their ancestor.
48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Dan, according to its clans, these towns with their villages.
49-50 They completed the dividing of the land as inheritance and the setting of its boundaries. The People of Israel then gave an inheritance among them to Joshua son of Nun. In obedience to God’s word, they gave him the city which he had requested, Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the city and settled there.
51 These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and the ancestral leaders assigned by lot to the tribes of Israel at Shiloh in the presence of God at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. They completed the dividing of the land.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Read: Hebrews 4:12–13
Hebrews 4:12-13 English Standard Version (ESV)
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
INSIGHT
Hebrews 4:12–13 has long been interpreted as referring to the Bible itself. And it’s certainly true that God’s Word is “alive and active.” But when we consider that in John 1:1–14 Jesus Himself is called the Word, we gain a fuller comprehension of how this Word can judge the “thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
As we become aware of God’s intimate knowledge of our hearts and motives, we might find that awareness intimidating. Yet this knowledge isn’t intended to drive us from God’s presence but rather to draw us to Him. In this same context of Hebrews 4, the writer points to Jesus, our “great high priest who has ascended into heaven” (v. 14). We may draw close to Him because He can “empathize with our weaknesses” (v. 15) and has Himself made the way for us to “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” (v. 16).
As we learn to be increasingly open and honest with God, who knows every hidden corner of our hearts, we also gain confidence to be transparent with each other. - Tim Gustafson
Hiding Our Hurts
By Elisa Morgan
The word of God . . . judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
I was guest-speaking in a local church and my topic was an honest story about presenting our brokenness before God and receiving the healing He wants to give. Before closing in prayer, the pastor stood in the center aisle, looked deeply into the eyes of his gathered congregants, and said, “As your pastor I have the privilege of seeing you midweek and hearing your heart-breaking stories of brokenness. Then in our weekend worship services, I have the pain of watching you hide your hurt away.”
My heart ached at the hidden hurts God came to heal. The writer of Hebrews describes the Word of God as alive and active. Many have understood this “word” to be the Bible, but it’s even more than that. Jesus is the living Word of God. He evaluates our thoughts and attitudes—and loves us still.
Jesus died to give us access to God’s presence, all the time. And while we all know it’s not wise to share everything with everyone, we also know that God intends His church be a place where we can live unapologetically as broken and forgiven followers of Christ. It’s to be a place where we “carry each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2).
What are you hiding from others today? And how are you trying to hide from God as well? God sees us through Jesus. And He still loves us. Will we let Him?
Who will you prayerfully consider letting help you carry your burdens?
God sees us with the eyes of a Father.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Suffering Afflictions and Going the Second Mile
I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. —Matthew 5:39
This verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but you must make it an opportunity to exhibit the Son of God in your life. And you cannot imitate the nature of Jesus— it is either in you or it is not. A personal insult becomes an opportunity for a saint to reveal the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not, “Do your duty,” but is, in effect, “Do what is not your duty.” It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things. We will not say, “Oh well, I just can’t do any more, and I’ve been so misrepresented and misunderstood.” Every time I insist on having my own rights, I hurt the Son of God, while in fact I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I will take the blow myself. That is the real meaning of filling “up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24). A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor.
Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is— Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz. into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 664 L
When we are mistreated, our animalistic response is to go on the hunt. Getting even is only natural. Which, incidentally, is precisely the problem. Revenge is natural, not spiritual. Getting even is the rule of the jungle. Giving grace is the rule of the kingdom.
You may be thinking, easy for you to say, Max, you have no idea how hard my life has been. You are right, I don’t. But I have a very clear idea how miserable your future will be unless you deal with your anger.
X-ray the soul of the vengeful and behold the tumor of bitterness; menacing, malignant. Yesterday you cannot alter, but your reaction to yesterday you can. After all, don’t we have enough things to do without trying to do God’s work too? Forgiveness is not saying the one who hurt you was right. Forgiveness is stating that God will do what is right.
From When God Whispers Your Name
Joshua 19
Simeon
The second lot went to Simeon for its clans. Their inheritance was within the territory of Judah. In their inheritance they had:
Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah,
Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem,
Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,
Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah,
Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen—
thirteen towns and their villages.
Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—
four towns and their villages—plus all the villages around these towns as far as Baalath Beer, the Ramah of the Negev.
8-9 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon according to its clans. The inheritance of Simeon came out of the share of Judah, because Judah’s portion turned out to be more than they needed. That’s how the people of Simeon came to get their lot from within Judah’s portion.
Zebulun
10-15 The third lot went to Zebulun, clan by clan:
The border of their inheritance went all the way to Sarid. It ran west to Maralah, met Dabbesheth, and then went to the brook opposite Jokneam. In the other direction from Sarid, the border ran east; it followed the sunrise to the border of Kisloth Tabor, on to Daberath and up to Japhia. It continued east to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin, came out at Rimmon, and turned toward Neah. There the border went around on the north to Hannathon and ran out into the Valley of Iphtah El. It included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve cities with their villages.
16 This is the inheritance of the people of Zebulun for their clans—these towns and their villages.
Issachar
17-21 The fourth lot went to Issachar, clan by clan. Their territory included:
Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem,
Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath,
Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez,
Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah, and Beth Pazzez.
22 The boundary touched Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh and ended at the Jordan—sixteen towns and their villages.
23 These towns with their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar, clan by clan.
Asher
24 The fifth lot went to the tribe of Asher, clan by clan:
25-30 Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. The western border touched Carmel and Shihor Libnath, then turned east toward Beth Dagon, touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El, and went north to Beth Emek and Neiel, skirting Cabul on the left. It went on to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, all the way to Greater Sidon. The border circled back toward Ramah, extended to the fort city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah, and came out at the Sea in the region of Aczib, Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob—twenty-two towns and their villages.
31 These towns and villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Asher, clan by clan.
Naphtali
32 The sixth lot came to Naphtali and its clans.
33 Their border ran from Heleph, from the oak at Zaanannim, passing Adami Nekeb and Jabneel to Lakkum and ending at the Jordan.
34 The border returned on the west at Aznoth Tabor and came out at Hukkok, meeting Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and the Jordan on the east.
The fort cities were:
35-38 Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth,
Adamah, Ramah, Hazor,
Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor,
Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh—
nineteen towns and their villages.
39 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali, the cities and their villages, clan by clan.
Dan
40-46 The seventh lot fell to Dan. The territory of their inheritance included:
Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh,
Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,
Elon, Timnah, Ekron,
Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath,
Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon,
Me Jarkon, and Rakkon, with the region facing Joppa.
47 But the people of Dan failed to get rid of the Westerners (Amorites), who pushed them back into the hills. The Westerners kept them out of the plain and they didn’t have enough room. So the people of Dan marched up and attacked Leshem. They took it, killed the inhabitants, and settled in. They renamed it Leshem Dan after the name of Dan their ancestor.
48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Dan, according to its clans, these towns with their villages.
49-50 They completed the dividing of the land as inheritance and the setting of its boundaries. The People of Israel then gave an inheritance among them to Joshua son of Nun. In obedience to God’s word, they gave him the city which he had requested, Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the city and settled there.
51 These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and the ancestral leaders assigned by lot to the tribes of Israel at Shiloh in the presence of God at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. They completed the dividing of the land.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Read: Hebrews 4:12–13
Hebrews 4:12-13 English Standard Version (ESV)
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
INSIGHT
Hebrews 4:12–13 has long been interpreted as referring to the Bible itself. And it’s certainly true that God’s Word is “alive and active.” But when we consider that in John 1:1–14 Jesus Himself is called the Word, we gain a fuller comprehension of how this Word can judge the “thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
As we become aware of God’s intimate knowledge of our hearts and motives, we might find that awareness intimidating. Yet this knowledge isn’t intended to drive us from God’s presence but rather to draw us to Him. In this same context of Hebrews 4, the writer points to Jesus, our “great high priest who has ascended into heaven” (v. 14). We may draw close to Him because He can “empathize with our weaknesses” (v. 15) and has Himself made the way for us to “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” (v. 16).
As we learn to be increasingly open and honest with God, who knows every hidden corner of our hearts, we also gain confidence to be transparent with each other. - Tim Gustafson
Hiding Our Hurts
By Elisa Morgan
The word of God . . . judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
I was guest-speaking in a local church and my topic was an honest story about presenting our brokenness before God and receiving the healing He wants to give. Before closing in prayer, the pastor stood in the center aisle, looked deeply into the eyes of his gathered congregants, and said, “As your pastor I have the privilege of seeing you midweek and hearing your heart-breaking stories of brokenness. Then in our weekend worship services, I have the pain of watching you hide your hurt away.”
My heart ached at the hidden hurts God came to heal. The writer of Hebrews describes the Word of God as alive and active. Many have understood this “word” to be the Bible, but it’s even more than that. Jesus is the living Word of God. He evaluates our thoughts and attitudes—and loves us still.
Jesus died to give us access to God’s presence, all the time. And while we all know it’s not wise to share everything with everyone, we also know that God intends His church be a place where we can live unapologetically as broken and forgiven followers of Christ. It’s to be a place where we “carry each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2).
What are you hiding from others today? And how are you trying to hide from God as well? God sees us through Jesus. And He still loves us. Will we let Him?
Who will you prayerfully consider letting help you carry your burdens?
God sees us with the eyes of a Father.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Suffering Afflictions and Going the Second Mile
I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. —Matthew 5:39
This verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but you must make it an opportunity to exhibit the Son of God in your life. And you cannot imitate the nature of Jesus— it is either in you or it is not. A personal insult becomes an opportunity for a saint to reveal the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not, “Do your duty,” but is, in effect, “Do what is not your duty.” It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things. We will not say, “Oh well, I just can’t do any more, and I’ve been so misrepresented and misunderstood.” Every time I insist on having my own rights, I hurt the Son of God, while in fact I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I will take the blow myself. That is the real meaning of filling “up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24). A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor.
Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is— Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz. into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 664 L
Friday, July 13, 2018
Joshua 18, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: WORK FOR THE LORD RATHER THAN PEOPLE
When Michelangelo was in his early thirties, the pope invited him to paint a dozen figures on the ceiling of a Vatican chapel. Painting wasn’t Michelangelo’s first passion and he almost refused the project, thinking it was an insignificant one. But he accepted, and as he painted his enthusiasm mounted. Four years, four-hundred figures, and nine scenes later, Michelangelo had changed more than the chapel; he’d changed the direction of art and the style of European painting.
What turned Michelangelo’s work of obligation into an act of inspiration? An observer asked why he focused such attention on the corners of the chapel. “No one will ever see them,” he suggested. Michelangelo’s reply? “God will.” The artist must have known the scripture, “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (Ephesians 6:7).
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Joshua 18
The Shiloh Survey
Then the entire congregation of the People of Israel got together at Shiloh. They put up the Tent of Meeting.
The land was under their control but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had yet to receive their inheritance.
3-5 Joshua addressed the People of Israel: “How long are you going to sit around on your hands, putting off taking possession of the land that God, the God of your ancestors, has given you? Pick three men from each tribe so I can commission them. They will survey and map the land, showing the inheritance due each tribe, and report back to me. They will divide it into seven parts. Judah will stay in its territory in the south and the people of Joseph will keep to their place in the north.
6 “You are responsible for preparing a survey map showing seven portions. Then bring it to me so that I can cast lots for you here in the presence of our God.
7 “Only the Levites get no portion among you because the priesthood of God is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh already have their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan, given to them by Moses the servant of God.”
8 So the men set out. As they went out to survey the land, Joshua charged them: “Go. Survey the land and map it. Then come back to me and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the presence of God.”
9 So off the men went. They covered the ground and mapped the country by towns in a scroll. Then they reported back to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh.
10 Joshua cast the lots for them at Shiloh in the presence of God. That’s where Joshua divided up the land to the People of Israel, according to their tribal divisions.
Benjamin
11 The first lot turned up for the tribe of Benjamin with its clans. The border of the allotment went between the peoples of Judah and Joseph.
12-13 The northern border began at the Jordan, then went up to the ridge north of Jericho, ascending west into the hill country into the wilderness of Beth Aven. From there the border went around to Luz, to its southern ridge (that is, Bethel), and then down from Ataroth Addar to the mountain to the south of Lower Beth Horon.
14 There the border took a turn on the west side and swung south from the mountain to the south of Beth Horon and ended at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a town of the people of Judah. This was the west side.
15-19 The southern border began at the edge of Kiriath Jearim on the west, then ran west until it reached the spring, the Waters of Nephtoah. It then descended to the foot of the mountain opposite the Valley of Ben Hinnom (which flanks the Valley of Rephaim to the north), descended to the Hinnom Valley, just south of the Jebusite ridge, and went on to En Rogel. From there it curved north to En Shemesh and Geliloth, opposite the Red Pass (Adummim), down to the Stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, continued toward the north flank of Beth Arabah, then plunged to the Arabah. It then followed the slope of Beth Hoglah north and came out at the northern bay of the Salt Sea—the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.
20 The east border was formed by the Jordan.
This was the inheritance of the people of Benjamin for their clans, marked by these borders on all sides.
21-28 The cities of the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, were:
Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz,
Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,
Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—
twelve towns with their villages.
Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,
Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah,
Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,
Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath Jearim—
fourteen cities with their villages. This was the inheritance for Benjamin, according to its clans.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, July 13, 2018
Read: Psalm 139:1–14
Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
Footnotes:
Psalm 139:14 Or for I am fearfully set apart
INSIGHT
In Psalm 139 David marvels at the Creator God. In these verses the poet-king reflects on God’s omniscience (vv. 1–6), omnipresence (vv. 7–12), and omnipotence (vv. 13–18)—clearly marking God out as distinct and above the creation He has made. This is the God who has welcomed us into relationship with Himself—and that invitation is based on His complete knowledge of who we are and how we have failed. His total awareness of our brokenness makes it all the more amazing that He desires for us to know Him. - Bill Crowder
He Knows Us
By Lawrence Darmani
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise. Psalm 139:1–2
Did God know about me as I drove at night on a 100-mile journey to my village? Given the condition I was in, the answer was not simple. My temperature ran high and my head ached. I prayed, “Lord, I know you are with me, but I’m in pain!”
Tired and weak, I parked by the road near a small village. Ten minutes later, I heard a voice. “Hello! Do you need any help?” It was a man with his companions from the community. Their presence felt good. When they told me the name of their village, Naa mi n’yala (meaning, “The King knows about me!”), I was amazed. I had passed this community dozens of times without stopping. This time, the Lord used its name to remind me that, indeed, He, the King, was with me while I was alone on that road in my ailing condition. Encouraged, I pressed on toward the nearest clinic.
God knows us thoroughly as we go about our everyday chores, at different locations and situations, no matter our condition (Psalm 139:1–4, 7–12). He does not abandon us or forget us; nor is He so busy that He neglects us. Even when we are in trouble or in difficult circumstances—“darkness” and “night” (vv. 11–12)—we are not hidden from His presence. This truth gives us such hope and assurance that we can praise the Lord who has carefully created us and leads us through life (v. 14).
Thank You, Lord, that You always know where I am and how I am doing. You know me inside and out. I’m thankful I can count on You to care.
No matter where we are, God knows about us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, July 13, 2018
The Price of the Vision
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord… —Isaiah 6:1
Our soul’s personal history with God is often an account of the death of our heroes. Over and over again God has to remove our friends to put Himself in their place, and that is when we falter, fail, and become discouraged. Let me think about this personally— when the person died who represented for me all that God was, did I give up on everything in life? Did I become ill or disheartened? Or did I do as Isaiah did and see the Lord?
My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can even be revealed to me. Before I can say, “I saw the Lord,” there must be something in my character that conforms to the likeness of God. Until I am born again and really begin to see the kingdom of God, I only see from the perspective of my own biases. What I need is God’s surgical procedure— His use of external circumstances to bring about internal purification.
Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God and no one else is taken into account whatsoever. Your prayer will then be, “In all the world there is no one but You, dear God; there is no one but You.”
Keep paying the price. Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 13, 2018
The Beautiful Side of a Brutal Storm - #8220
If you ask our kids about four or five of the most indelible memories from their childhood, I think at least one is bound to bring up the night of the hurricane. Some friends had offered their home on Eastern Long Island; we could use it for our vacation. I wonder if they had advance word that Hurricane Belle would make it all the way up the East Coast that week and smack Long Island right on the chin? Thankfully, the home we were in was on a cliff above the ocean so we didn't have to evacuate. But we made all the appropriate preparations. We loaded up on batteries and candles, stored water in the bathtub, and lined the freezer with newspaper in case the power went out. The leading winds of the hurricane started blowing in about bedtime that night, and I mean, you could hear it howling around our bedrooms upstairs. The kids were pretty unnerved (including this kid). So, we all moved out of our rooms to the downstairs living room. We laid out some sleeping bags, and we slept side by side together in the living room. The kids loved it! They actually said, "Hey, Dad, hurricanes are fun!" Really?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Beautiful Side of a Brutal Storm."
Now that hurricane was pretty brutal. I mean, it did a lot of damage across that area, and it was definitely scary. The reason our children enjoyed it so much was simple. The storm brought our family together in a special way! Yeah. You know, storms have a way of doing that with families, if we respond to the heavy weather in the right way.
Actually, when a storm hits your family, it probably won't leave you the same. It will either drive you and your spouse, you and your children, closer together or farther apart. Again, it all depends, not on the storm, but on how you respond to the storm. Do it right and you and your loved ones will come out closer than you have ever been before.
There's a helpful lesson in managing life's storms in our word for today from the Word of God in Acts 27:33. Paul is a prisoner of the Emperor of Rome, being transported to Rome on a grain ship crossing the Mediterranean. They hit this violent storm that pummels their ship relentlessly for two weeks. They can't see the moon, the sun, the stars. They're adrift; they're powerless against the storm. Then this angel appears to Paul and assures him that he will make it to Rome and that none of the people on board will die.
The story picks up: "Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat...I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head. After he had said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate...When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea."
Paul managed to make this storm into a God-moment for everyone on board. And a group of people who had started out as not having much in common – soldiers, sailors, passengers, an apostle. They're acting like family now. And that storm really clarified their priorities. So much so that they ended up throwing overboard cargo they never would have dreamed they could do without.
The heavy weather that's hitting your family right now, would you let it bring you closer together? That's going to happen if you pray together as you have never prayed before, perhaps as you never would have if it weren't for this storm. And let the storm clarify your priorities. Is there cargo you're carrying that the Lord wants you to throw overboard? A family hurricane has a way of sorting out things that really don't matter, and some things that might need to go. And all of a sudden, you have an opportunity to overlook the differences and the conflicts that have been building walls between you, because you need each other too much now to let anything come between you.
The winds are howling, the storm is intense, and it may do some damage. But it can also be one of the best things that has ever happened to your family, if you huddle together to face it and let it make you close in a new and special way.
When Michelangelo was in his early thirties, the pope invited him to paint a dozen figures on the ceiling of a Vatican chapel. Painting wasn’t Michelangelo’s first passion and he almost refused the project, thinking it was an insignificant one. But he accepted, and as he painted his enthusiasm mounted. Four years, four-hundred figures, and nine scenes later, Michelangelo had changed more than the chapel; he’d changed the direction of art and the style of European painting.
What turned Michelangelo’s work of obligation into an act of inspiration? An observer asked why he focused such attention on the corners of the chapel. “No one will ever see them,” he suggested. Michelangelo’s reply? “God will.” The artist must have known the scripture, “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (Ephesians 6:7).
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Joshua 18
The Shiloh Survey
Then the entire congregation of the People of Israel got together at Shiloh. They put up the Tent of Meeting.
The land was under their control but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had yet to receive their inheritance.
3-5 Joshua addressed the People of Israel: “How long are you going to sit around on your hands, putting off taking possession of the land that God, the God of your ancestors, has given you? Pick three men from each tribe so I can commission them. They will survey and map the land, showing the inheritance due each tribe, and report back to me. They will divide it into seven parts. Judah will stay in its territory in the south and the people of Joseph will keep to their place in the north.
6 “You are responsible for preparing a survey map showing seven portions. Then bring it to me so that I can cast lots for you here in the presence of our God.
7 “Only the Levites get no portion among you because the priesthood of God is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh already have their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan, given to them by Moses the servant of God.”
8 So the men set out. As they went out to survey the land, Joshua charged them: “Go. Survey the land and map it. Then come back to me and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the presence of God.”
9 So off the men went. They covered the ground and mapped the country by towns in a scroll. Then they reported back to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh.
10 Joshua cast the lots for them at Shiloh in the presence of God. That’s where Joshua divided up the land to the People of Israel, according to their tribal divisions.
Benjamin
11 The first lot turned up for the tribe of Benjamin with its clans. The border of the allotment went between the peoples of Judah and Joseph.
12-13 The northern border began at the Jordan, then went up to the ridge north of Jericho, ascending west into the hill country into the wilderness of Beth Aven. From there the border went around to Luz, to its southern ridge (that is, Bethel), and then down from Ataroth Addar to the mountain to the south of Lower Beth Horon.
14 There the border took a turn on the west side and swung south from the mountain to the south of Beth Horon and ended at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a town of the people of Judah. This was the west side.
15-19 The southern border began at the edge of Kiriath Jearim on the west, then ran west until it reached the spring, the Waters of Nephtoah. It then descended to the foot of the mountain opposite the Valley of Ben Hinnom (which flanks the Valley of Rephaim to the north), descended to the Hinnom Valley, just south of the Jebusite ridge, and went on to En Rogel. From there it curved north to En Shemesh and Geliloth, opposite the Red Pass (Adummim), down to the Stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, continued toward the north flank of Beth Arabah, then plunged to the Arabah. It then followed the slope of Beth Hoglah north and came out at the northern bay of the Salt Sea—the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.
20 The east border was formed by the Jordan.
This was the inheritance of the people of Benjamin for their clans, marked by these borders on all sides.
21-28 The cities of the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, were:
Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz,
Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,
Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—
twelve towns with their villages.
Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,
Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah,
Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,
Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath Jearim—
fourteen cities with their villages. This was the inheritance for Benjamin, according to its clans.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, July 13, 2018
Read: Psalm 139:1–14
Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
Footnotes:
Psalm 139:14 Or for I am fearfully set apart
INSIGHT
In Psalm 139 David marvels at the Creator God. In these verses the poet-king reflects on God’s omniscience (vv. 1–6), omnipresence (vv. 7–12), and omnipotence (vv. 13–18)—clearly marking God out as distinct and above the creation He has made. This is the God who has welcomed us into relationship with Himself—and that invitation is based on His complete knowledge of who we are and how we have failed. His total awareness of our brokenness makes it all the more amazing that He desires for us to know Him. - Bill Crowder
He Knows Us
By Lawrence Darmani
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise. Psalm 139:1–2
Did God know about me as I drove at night on a 100-mile journey to my village? Given the condition I was in, the answer was not simple. My temperature ran high and my head ached. I prayed, “Lord, I know you are with me, but I’m in pain!”
Tired and weak, I parked by the road near a small village. Ten minutes later, I heard a voice. “Hello! Do you need any help?” It was a man with his companions from the community. Their presence felt good. When they told me the name of their village, Naa mi n’yala (meaning, “The King knows about me!”), I was amazed. I had passed this community dozens of times without stopping. This time, the Lord used its name to remind me that, indeed, He, the King, was with me while I was alone on that road in my ailing condition. Encouraged, I pressed on toward the nearest clinic.
God knows us thoroughly as we go about our everyday chores, at different locations and situations, no matter our condition (Psalm 139:1–4, 7–12). He does not abandon us or forget us; nor is He so busy that He neglects us. Even when we are in trouble or in difficult circumstances—“darkness” and “night” (vv. 11–12)—we are not hidden from His presence. This truth gives us such hope and assurance that we can praise the Lord who has carefully created us and leads us through life (v. 14).
Thank You, Lord, that You always know where I am and how I am doing. You know me inside and out. I’m thankful I can count on You to care.
No matter where we are, God knows about us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, July 13, 2018
The Price of the Vision
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord… —Isaiah 6:1
Our soul’s personal history with God is often an account of the death of our heroes. Over and over again God has to remove our friends to put Himself in their place, and that is when we falter, fail, and become discouraged. Let me think about this personally— when the person died who represented for me all that God was, did I give up on everything in life? Did I become ill or disheartened? Or did I do as Isaiah did and see the Lord?
My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can even be revealed to me. Before I can say, “I saw the Lord,” there must be something in my character that conforms to the likeness of God. Until I am born again and really begin to see the kingdom of God, I only see from the perspective of my own biases. What I need is God’s surgical procedure— His use of external circumstances to bring about internal purification.
Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God and no one else is taken into account whatsoever. Your prayer will then be, “In all the world there is no one but You, dear God; there is no one but You.”
Keep paying the price. Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 13, 2018
The Beautiful Side of a Brutal Storm - #8220
If you ask our kids about four or five of the most indelible memories from their childhood, I think at least one is bound to bring up the night of the hurricane. Some friends had offered their home on Eastern Long Island; we could use it for our vacation. I wonder if they had advance word that Hurricane Belle would make it all the way up the East Coast that week and smack Long Island right on the chin? Thankfully, the home we were in was on a cliff above the ocean so we didn't have to evacuate. But we made all the appropriate preparations. We loaded up on batteries and candles, stored water in the bathtub, and lined the freezer with newspaper in case the power went out. The leading winds of the hurricane started blowing in about bedtime that night, and I mean, you could hear it howling around our bedrooms upstairs. The kids were pretty unnerved (including this kid). So, we all moved out of our rooms to the downstairs living room. We laid out some sleeping bags, and we slept side by side together in the living room. The kids loved it! They actually said, "Hey, Dad, hurricanes are fun!" Really?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Beautiful Side of a Brutal Storm."
Now that hurricane was pretty brutal. I mean, it did a lot of damage across that area, and it was definitely scary. The reason our children enjoyed it so much was simple. The storm brought our family together in a special way! Yeah. You know, storms have a way of doing that with families, if we respond to the heavy weather in the right way.
Actually, when a storm hits your family, it probably won't leave you the same. It will either drive you and your spouse, you and your children, closer together or farther apart. Again, it all depends, not on the storm, but on how you respond to the storm. Do it right and you and your loved ones will come out closer than you have ever been before.
There's a helpful lesson in managing life's storms in our word for today from the Word of God in Acts 27:33. Paul is a prisoner of the Emperor of Rome, being transported to Rome on a grain ship crossing the Mediterranean. They hit this violent storm that pummels their ship relentlessly for two weeks. They can't see the moon, the sun, the stars. They're adrift; they're powerless against the storm. Then this angel appears to Paul and assures him that he will make it to Rome and that none of the people on board will die.
The story picks up: "Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat...I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head. After he had said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate...When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea."
Paul managed to make this storm into a God-moment for everyone on board. And a group of people who had started out as not having much in common – soldiers, sailors, passengers, an apostle. They're acting like family now. And that storm really clarified their priorities. So much so that they ended up throwing overboard cargo they never would have dreamed they could do without.
The heavy weather that's hitting your family right now, would you let it bring you closer together? That's going to happen if you pray together as you have never prayed before, perhaps as you never would have if it weren't for this storm. And let the storm clarify your priorities. Is there cargo you're carrying that the Lord wants you to throw overboard? A family hurricane has a way of sorting out things that really don't matter, and some things that might need to go. And all of a sudden, you have an opportunity to overlook the differences and the conflicts that have been building walls between you, because you need each other too much now to let anything come between you.
The winds are howling, the storm is intense, and it may do some damage. But it can also be one of the best things that has ever happened to your family, if you huddle together to face it and let it make you close in a new and special way.
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Joshua 17 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A USEFUL VESSEL
When you are full of yourself, God cannot fill you. But when you empty yourself, God has a useful vessel!
Paul, the Bible’s most prolific author, referred to himself as “the least of the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:9). King David wrote no psalm celebrating his victory over Goliath, but he did write a public poem of penitence confessing his sin with Bathsheba. And then there’s Joseph, the quiet father of Jesus. Rather than make a name for himself, he made a home for Christ. And he was given the privilege of naming the son, “and he called his name Jesus” (Matthew 1:25). Queue up the millions who’ve spoken the name of Jesus, and look at the person selected to stand at the front of the line, Joseph. It seems right, don’t you think? Joseph gave up his name, so Jesus let Joseph say his. Do you think Joseph ever regretted his choice?
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Joshua 17
This is the lot that fell to the people of Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn. (Gilead and Bashan had already been given to Makir, Manasseh’s firstborn and father of Gilead, because he was an outstanding fighter.) So the lot that follows went to the rest of the people of Manasseh and their clans, the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.
3-4 Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, “God commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our kinsmen.” And Joshua did it; he gave them, as God commanded, an inheritance amid their father’s brothers.
5-6 Manasseh’s lot came to ten portions, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan on the other side of the Jordan, because Manasseh’s daughters got an inheritance along with his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the people of Manasseh.
7-10 The boundary of Manasseh went from Asher all the way to Micmethath, just opposite Shechem, then ran southward to the people living at En Tappuah. (The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah itself on the border of Manasseh belonged to the Ephraimites.) The boundary continued south to the Brook Kanah. (The cities there belonged to Ephraim although they lay among the cities of Manasseh.) The boundary of Manasseh ran north of the brook and ended at the Sea. The land to the south belonged to Ephraim; the land to the north to Manasseh, with the Sea as their western border; they meet Asher on the north and Issachar on the east.
11 Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh also held Beth Shan, Ibleam, and the people of Dor, Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, together with their villages, and the third in the list is Naphoth.
12-13 The people of Manasseh never were able to take over these towns—the Canaanites wouldn’t budge. But later, when the Israelites got stronger, they put the Canaanites to forced labor. But they never did get rid of them.
14 The people of Joseph spoke to Joshua: “Why did you give us just one allotment, one solitary share? There are a lot of us, and growing—God has extravagantly blessed us.”
15 Joshua responded, “Since there are so many of you, and you find the hill country of Ephraim too confining, climb into the forest and clear ground there for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim.”
16 But the people of Joseph said, “There’s not enough hill country for us; and the Canaanites who live down in the plain, both those in Beth Shan and its villages and in the Valley of Jezreel, have iron chariots.”
17-18 Joshua said to the family of Joseph (to Ephraim and Manasseh): “Yes, there are a lot of you, and you are very strong. One lot is not enough for you. You also get the hill country. It’s nothing but trees now, but you will clear the land and make it your own from one end to the other. The powerful Canaanites, even with their iron chariots, won’t stand a chance against you.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Read: Isaiah 51:12–16
“I, I am he who comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
of the son of man who is made like grass,
13 and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
And where is the wrath of the oppressor?
14 He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
he shall not die and go down to the pit,
neither shall his bread be lacking.
15 I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name.
16 And I have put my words in your mouth
and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
establishing[a] the heavens
and laying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
Footnotes:
Isaiah 51:16 Or planting
INSIGHT
Isaiah is fond of using imagery to display distinct ideas that are sometimes complementary and sometimes contrasting. Today’s passage presents contrasting ideas. In offering comfort to the people of Israel, Isaiah paints a portrait that gives the reader a beautiful vision of who God is in comparison to those who were trying to harm them. Notice the contrasts in verses 12–15: Mortals are like grass, while God stretches out the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth; the oppressor who stirs up wrath is nothing compared to the God who stirs the sea. While these words are comforting—after all, God is the one who covers us with the shadow of His hand—it’s important to understand that they don’t simply bypass the struggles we face. Isaiah acknowledges there is in fact an oppressor, and that oppressor is full of wrath. But he encourages us to see our difficulties in light of who God is and what He can do.
What difficult situation do you need to view in comparison with God’s power? - J.R. Hudberg
An Anchor When We’re Afraid
By Adam Holz
I, even I, am he who comforts you. Isaiah 51:12
Are you a worrier? I am. I wrestle with anxiety almost daily. I worry about big things. I worry about small things. Sometimes, it seems like I worry about everything. Once in my teens, I called the police when my parents were four hours late getting home.
Scripture repeatedly tells us not to be afraid. Because of God’s goodness and power, and because He sent Jesus to die for us and His Holy Spirit to guide us, our fears don’t have to rule our lives. We may well face hard things, but God has promised to be with us through it all.
One passage that has helped me profoundly in fearful moments is Isaiah 51:12–16. Here, God reminded His people, who had endured tremendous suffering, that He was still with them, and that His comforting presence is the ultimate reality. No matter how bad things may seem: “I, even I, am he who comforts you,” He told them through the prophet Isaiah (v. 12).
I love that promise. Those eight words have been an emotion-steadying anchor for my soul. I’ve clung to this promise repeatedly when life has felt overwhelming, when my own “constant terror” (v. 13) has felt oppressive. Through this passage, God reminds me to lift my eyes from my fears and in faith and dependence to look to the One who “stretches out the heavens” (v. 13)—the One who promises to comfort us.
Lord, sometimes the struggles we face in life seem so big. But You are bigger. Help us to cling to Your promise of comfort in fearful moments and to experience Your loving provision as we trust You.
God’s comforting presence is more powerful than our fears.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 12, 2018
The Spiritually Self-Seeking Church
…till we all come…to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ… —Ephesians 4:13
Reconciliation means the restoring of the relationship between the entire human race and God, putting it back to what God designed it to be. This is what Jesus Christ did in redemption. The church ceases to be spiritual when it becomes self-seeking, only interested in the development of its own organization. The reconciliation of the human race according to His plan means realizing Him not only in our lives individually, but also in our lives collectively. Jesus Christ sent apostles and teachers for this very purpose— that the corporate Person of Christ and His church, made up of many members, might be brought into being and made known. We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our own, or to enjoy a quiet spiritual retreat. We are here to have the full realization of Jesus Christ, for the purpose of building His body.
Am I building up the body of Christ, or am I only concerned about my own personal development? The essential thing is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “…that I may know Him…” (Philippians 3:10). To fulfill God’s perfect design for me requires my total surrender— complete abandonment of myself to Him. Whenever I only want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. And I will suffer great humiliation once I come to acknowledge and understand that I have not really been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ Himself, but only concerned with knowing what He has done for me.
My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace,
Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.
Am I measuring my life by this standard or by something less?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Closing the Door on Your Past - #8219
When I was a kid, "Nautilus" was Captain Nemo's submarine in a Jules Verne novel. I knew that because (No, I didn't read it.) Walt Disney put it on TV. Then "Nautilus" became the name of an early nuclear submarine launched by the United States. But not too long ago I saw a nautilus while we were at Ocean City, New Jersey. It wasn't a submarine. It was the original nautilus; the little sea creature with the fascinating shell. We actually saw a lot of nautilus shells in little shops. We bought one for our living room. It's real smooth on the outside, got stripes on it, and it's bigger than my hand. Now, to me, the nautilus shell is shaped sort of like a big, shiny human ear, and maybe we could say it's like an unborn child in the womb, if you can picture that. The original inhabitant is gone, of course, but his fascinating shell-house remains. When you cut a nautilus shell in half, it reveals the life story of the one-time inhabitant. At the center is this circular chamber with a wall around it. That was the original home of a little bitty nautilus. There are circular chambers all the way to the outer edge of the shell, and each chamber is a little larger than the previous one. That little sea creature kept outgrowing his shell, so he left it behind and moved on to the next chamber-and chapter-of his life.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Closing the Door on Your Past."
We've got a lesson to learn from that little sea creature. He knows how to close the door on the old chapters of his life and move on to a whole new chapter. For someone listening today, some of those old chapters still define a lot of who you are today; the past hurts, the past failures, the past mistakes, the past sins. Don't you wish you could do what that nautilus does and just build a wall that closes the door on the old you and enables you to grow into the new, improved you? The bad news is you can't. The good news is Jesus can. He's been doing it for people for 2,000 years. He's done it for me. He can do it for you.
It's the promise of 2 Corinthians 5:17, which is our word for today from the Word of God. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" See, something miraculous happens when you go from being "outside of Christ" to "inside Christ." The guilt of the old is erased, and you no longer have to be defined by the darkness of the past. He makes possible a fresh start, a clean slate, a new beginning.
That's why God says to us in Isaiah 43: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions and remembers your sins no more." Whoa! What an awesome possibility! The blotting out of every sin of your past! No religion can do that for you because no religion can pay the spiritual death penalty for your sin. It took nothing less than the brutal death of Jesus Christ on the cross for you. You did the sinning but Jesus did the dying so He could build a wall between you and the darkness of your past and move you into a life that revolves around Him; a forgiven life. A life lined up with the purpose for which you were created.
But you have to be "in Christ" for that miracle to happen. Not in church, but in Christ. You can be in Christianity and still not be in Christ. What brings you into belonging to Jesus? You enter in by a step of life-changing faith. You admit the sin of your life to Jesus, you let Him know you don't want to live this way anymore, and then you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm pinning all my hopes on your death for me on the cross and your resurrection from the dead. Jesus, beginning today, I'm yours." And the Bible says at that point you will be "in Christ" and you will be His "new creation."
You ready for that? Listen, go to our website. It's actually called ANewStory.com. There you can nail down once and for all how your new story can begin today.
The Bible says "the old is gone; the new has come!" You're on the edge of that miracle right now. So, let today be the day of your new beginning!
When you are full of yourself, God cannot fill you. But when you empty yourself, God has a useful vessel!
Paul, the Bible’s most prolific author, referred to himself as “the least of the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:9). King David wrote no psalm celebrating his victory over Goliath, but he did write a public poem of penitence confessing his sin with Bathsheba. And then there’s Joseph, the quiet father of Jesus. Rather than make a name for himself, he made a home for Christ. And he was given the privilege of naming the son, “and he called his name Jesus” (Matthew 1:25). Queue up the millions who’ve spoken the name of Jesus, and look at the person selected to stand at the front of the line, Joseph. It seems right, don’t you think? Joseph gave up his name, so Jesus let Joseph say his. Do you think Joseph ever regretted his choice?
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Joshua 17
This is the lot that fell to the people of Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn. (Gilead and Bashan had already been given to Makir, Manasseh’s firstborn and father of Gilead, because he was an outstanding fighter.) So the lot that follows went to the rest of the people of Manasseh and their clans, the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.
3-4 Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, “God commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our kinsmen.” And Joshua did it; he gave them, as God commanded, an inheritance amid their father’s brothers.
5-6 Manasseh’s lot came to ten portions, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan on the other side of the Jordan, because Manasseh’s daughters got an inheritance along with his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the people of Manasseh.
7-10 The boundary of Manasseh went from Asher all the way to Micmethath, just opposite Shechem, then ran southward to the people living at En Tappuah. (The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah itself on the border of Manasseh belonged to the Ephraimites.) The boundary continued south to the Brook Kanah. (The cities there belonged to Ephraim although they lay among the cities of Manasseh.) The boundary of Manasseh ran north of the brook and ended at the Sea. The land to the south belonged to Ephraim; the land to the north to Manasseh, with the Sea as their western border; they meet Asher on the north and Issachar on the east.
11 Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh also held Beth Shan, Ibleam, and the people of Dor, Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, together with their villages, and the third in the list is Naphoth.
12-13 The people of Manasseh never were able to take over these towns—the Canaanites wouldn’t budge. But later, when the Israelites got stronger, they put the Canaanites to forced labor. But they never did get rid of them.
14 The people of Joseph spoke to Joshua: “Why did you give us just one allotment, one solitary share? There are a lot of us, and growing—God has extravagantly blessed us.”
15 Joshua responded, “Since there are so many of you, and you find the hill country of Ephraim too confining, climb into the forest and clear ground there for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim.”
16 But the people of Joseph said, “There’s not enough hill country for us; and the Canaanites who live down in the plain, both those in Beth Shan and its villages and in the Valley of Jezreel, have iron chariots.”
17-18 Joshua said to the family of Joseph (to Ephraim and Manasseh): “Yes, there are a lot of you, and you are very strong. One lot is not enough for you. You also get the hill country. It’s nothing but trees now, but you will clear the land and make it your own from one end to the other. The powerful Canaanites, even with their iron chariots, won’t stand a chance against you.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Read: Isaiah 51:12–16
“I, I am he who comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
of the son of man who is made like grass,
13 and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
And where is the wrath of the oppressor?
14 He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
he shall not die and go down to the pit,
neither shall his bread be lacking.
15 I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name.
16 And I have put my words in your mouth
and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
establishing[a] the heavens
and laying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
Footnotes:
Isaiah 51:16 Or planting
INSIGHT
Isaiah is fond of using imagery to display distinct ideas that are sometimes complementary and sometimes contrasting. Today’s passage presents contrasting ideas. In offering comfort to the people of Israel, Isaiah paints a portrait that gives the reader a beautiful vision of who God is in comparison to those who were trying to harm them. Notice the contrasts in verses 12–15: Mortals are like grass, while God stretches out the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth; the oppressor who stirs up wrath is nothing compared to the God who stirs the sea. While these words are comforting—after all, God is the one who covers us with the shadow of His hand—it’s important to understand that they don’t simply bypass the struggles we face. Isaiah acknowledges there is in fact an oppressor, and that oppressor is full of wrath. But he encourages us to see our difficulties in light of who God is and what He can do.
What difficult situation do you need to view in comparison with God’s power? - J.R. Hudberg
An Anchor When We’re Afraid
By Adam Holz
I, even I, am he who comforts you. Isaiah 51:12
Are you a worrier? I am. I wrestle with anxiety almost daily. I worry about big things. I worry about small things. Sometimes, it seems like I worry about everything. Once in my teens, I called the police when my parents were four hours late getting home.
Scripture repeatedly tells us not to be afraid. Because of God’s goodness and power, and because He sent Jesus to die for us and His Holy Spirit to guide us, our fears don’t have to rule our lives. We may well face hard things, but God has promised to be with us through it all.
One passage that has helped me profoundly in fearful moments is Isaiah 51:12–16. Here, God reminded His people, who had endured tremendous suffering, that He was still with them, and that His comforting presence is the ultimate reality. No matter how bad things may seem: “I, even I, am he who comforts you,” He told them through the prophet Isaiah (v. 12).
I love that promise. Those eight words have been an emotion-steadying anchor for my soul. I’ve clung to this promise repeatedly when life has felt overwhelming, when my own “constant terror” (v. 13) has felt oppressive. Through this passage, God reminds me to lift my eyes from my fears and in faith and dependence to look to the One who “stretches out the heavens” (v. 13)—the One who promises to comfort us.
Lord, sometimes the struggles we face in life seem so big. But You are bigger. Help us to cling to Your promise of comfort in fearful moments and to experience Your loving provision as we trust You.
God’s comforting presence is more powerful than our fears.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 12, 2018
The Spiritually Self-Seeking Church
…till we all come…to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ… —Ephesians 4:13
Reconciliation means the restoring of the relationship between the entire human race and God, putting it back to what God designed it to be. This is what Jesus Christ did in redemption. The church ceases to be spiritual when it becomes self-seeking, only interested in the development of its own organization. The reconciliation of the human race according to His plan means realizing Him not only in our lives individually, but also in our lives collectively. Jesus Christ sent apostles and teachers for this very purpose— that the corporate Person of Christ and His church, made up of many members, might be brought into being and made known. We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our own, or to enjoy a quiet spiritual retreat. We are here to have the full realization of Jesus Christ, for the purpose of building His body.
Am I building up the body of Christ, or am I only concerned about my own personal development? The essential thing is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “…that I may know Him…” (Philippians 3:10). To fulfill God’s perfect design for me requires my total surrender— complete abandonment of myself to Him. Whenever I only want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. And I will suffer great humiliation once I come to acknowledge and understand that I have not really been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ Himself, but only concerned with knowing what He has done for me.
My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace,
Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.
Am I measuring my life by this standard or by something less?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Closing the Door on Your Past - #8219
When I was a kid, "Nautilus" was Captain Nemo's submarine in a Jules Verne novel. I knew that because (No, I didn't read it.) Walt Disney put it on TV. Then "Nautilus" became the name of an early nuclear submarine launched by the United States. But not too long ago I saw a nautilus while we were at Ocean City, New Jersey. It wasn't a submarine. It was the original nautilus; the little sea creature with the fascinating shell. We actually saw a lot of nautilus shells in little shops. We bought one for our living room. It's real smooth on the outside, got stripes on it, and it's bigger than my hand. Now, to me, the nautilus shell is shaped sort of like a big, shiny human ear, and maybe we could say it's like an unborn child in the womb, if you can picture that. The original inhabitant is gone, of course, but his fascinating shell-house remains. When you cut a nautilus shell in half, it reveals the life story of the one-time inhabitant. At the center is this circular chamber with a wall around it. That was the original home of a little bitty nautilus. There are circular chambers all the way to the outer edge of the shell, and each chamber is a little larger than the previous one. That little sea creature kept outgrowing his shell, so he left it behind and moved on to the next chamber-and chapter-of his life.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Closing the Door on Your Past."
We've got a lesson to learn from that little sea creature. He knows how to close the door on the old chapters of his life and move on to a whole new chapter. For someone listening today, some of those old chapters still define a lot of who you are today; the past hurts, the past failures, the past mistakes, the past sins. Don't you wish you could do what that nautilus does and just build a wall that closes the door on the old you and enables you to grow into the new, improved you? The bad news is you can't. The good news is Jesus can. He's been doing it for people for 2,000 years. He's done it for me. He can do it for you.
It's the promise of 2 Corinthians 5:17, which is our word for today from the Word of God. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" See, something miraculous happens when you go from being "outside of Christ" to "inside Christ." The guilt of the old is erased, and you no longer have to be defined by the darkness of the past. He makes possible a fresh start, a clean slate, a new beginning.
That's why God says to us in Isaiah 43: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions and remembers your sins no more." Whoa! What an awesome possibility! The blotting out of every sin of your past! No religion can do that for you because no religion can pay the spiritual death penalty for your sin. It took nothing less than the brutal death of Jesus Christ on the cross for you. You did the sinning but Jesus did the dying so He could build a wall between you and the darkness of your past and move you into a life that revolves around Him; a forgiven life. A life lined up with the purpose for which you were created.
But you have to be "in Christ" for that miracle to happen. Not in church, but in Christ. You can be in Christianity and still not be in Christ. What brings you into belonging to Jesus? You enter in by a step of life-changing faith. You admit the sin of your life to Jesus, you let Him know you don't want to live this way anymore, and then you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm pinning all my hopes on your death for me on the cross and your resurrection from the dead. Jesus, beginning today, I'm yours." And the Bible says at that point you will be "in Christ" and you will be His "new creation."
You ready for that? Listen, go to our website. It's actually called ANewStory.com. There you can nail down once and for all how your new story can begin today.
The Bible says "the old is gone; the new has come!" You're on the edge of that miracle right now. So, let today be the day of your new beginning!
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Joshua 16 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: YOU MAKE THE CHOICE
Would you forfeit your reputation to see Jesus born into your world? Let’s say you’re someone who enjoys the role of a “Christmas Christian.” You sing the carols, attend the services—but once the season passes, you jettison your faith and re-shelve your Bible. But this past Christmas, the immensity of it hit you: Heaven hung her highest hope and King on a cross for me. Radical thoughts have since surfaced—like joining a Bible study, going on a mission trip. Your family and friends think you’re crazy. They want the Christmas Christian back. You can protect your reputation or protect His. You have a choice.
Christ abandoned his. No one in Nazareth saluted him as the Son of God. Jesus “gave up his place with God and made himself nothing” (Philippians 2:7). God hunts for those who will do the same—through whom he can deliver Christ into the world!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Joshua 16
Joseph
1-3 The lot for the people of Joseph went from the Jordan near Jericho, east of the spring of Jericho, north through the desert mountains to Bethel. It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz) to the territory of the Arkites in Ataroth. It then descended westward to the territory of the Japhletites to the region of Lower Beth Horon and on to Gezer, ending at the Sea.
4 This is the region from which the people of Joseph—Manasseh and Ephraim—got their inheritance.
5-9 Ephraim’s territory by clans:
The boundary of their inheritance went from Ataroth Addar in the east to Upper Beth Horon and then west to the Sea. From Micmethath on the north it turned eastward to Taanath Shiloh and passed along, still eastward, to Janoah. The border then descended from Janoah to Ataroth and Naarah; it touched Jericho and came out at the Jordan. From Tappuah the border went westward to the Brook Kanah and ended at the Sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of Ephraim by clans, including the cities set aside for Ephraim within the inheritance of Manasseh—all those towns and their villages.
10 But they didn’t get rid of the Canaanites who were living in Gezer. Canaanites are still living among the people of Ephraim, but they are made to do forced labor.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Read: Leviticus 19:1–9, 33–34
The Lord Is Holy
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.
5 “When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is tainted; it will not be accepted, 8 and everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest.
Leviticus 19:33-34 English Standard Version (ESV)
33 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
INSIGHT
God promised the Israelites they would always have enough food to eat if they remained faithful to Him (Leviticus 26:3–5). Because God promised to provide for them, He commanded them to provide for the poor and the needy. God gave various harvest laws (Leviticus 19:9–10; 23:22; Deuteronomy 23:24–25; 24:19–22) to enable the poor to “work” for their food with dignity without having to resort to begging or stealing. We also see this compassionate law of gleaning in the story of Ruth (Ruth 2). - K. T. Sim
Strangers Welcome Strangers
By Amy Peterson
When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. . . . Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. Leviticus 19:33–34
When my husband and I moved to Seattle to be near his sister, we didn’t know where we would live or work. A local church helped us find a place: a rental house with many bedrooms. We could live in one bedroom, and rent the others to international students. For the next three years, we were strangers welcoming strangers: sharing our home and meals with people from all over the world. We and our housemates also welcomed dozens of international students into our home every Friday night for Bible study.
God’s people know what it means to be far from home. For several hundred years, the Israelites were literal foreigners—and slaves—in Egypt. In Leviticus 19, alongside familiar instructions like “Respect your mother and father” and “Do not steal” (vv. 3, 11), God reminded His people to empathetically care for foreigners, because they knew what it was like to be foreigners and afraid (vv. 33–34).
While not all of us as followers of God today have experienced literal exile, we all know how it feels to be “foreigners” on earth (1 Peter 2:11)—people who feel like outsiders because our ultimate allegiance is to a heavenly kingdom. We are called to create a community of hospitality—strangers welcoming strangers into God’s family. The hospitable welcome my husband and I experienced in Seattle taught us to extend welcome to others—and this is at the heart of being the family of God (Romans 12:13).
To whom can I show hospitality?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
The Spiritually Vigorous Saint
…that I may know Him… —Philippians 3:10
A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him. The Holy Spirit is determined that we will have the realization of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives, and He will bring us back to the same point over and over again until we do. Self-realization only leads to the glorification of good works, whereas a saint of God glorifies Jesus Christ through his good works. Whatever we may be doing— even eating, drinking, or washing disciples’ feet— we have to take the initiative of realizing and recognizing Jesus Christ in it. Every phase of our life has its counterpart in the life of Jesus. Our Lord realized His relationship to the Father even in the most menial task. “Jesus, knowing…that He had come from God and was going to God,…took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet…” (John 13:3-5).
The aim of a spiritually vigorous saint is “that I may know Him…” Do I know Him where I am today? If not, I am failing Him. I am not here for self-realization, but to know Jesus Christ. In Christian work our initiative and motivation are too often simply the result of realizing that there is work to be done and that we must do it. Yet that is never the attitude of a spiritually vigorous saint. His aim is to achieve the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him. Approved Unto God, 10 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Today's Battles, Yesterday's Weapons - #8218
Look, whether you're a Yankee or a Confederate at heart, you don't take much joy in what happened at what is called the "High Water Mark of the Confederacy." If you're a Civil War buff, you know that's where the Union Army turned back Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. Some 15,000 Confederate soldiers marched courageously across a field in a very tightly packed formation, advancing on 40,000 Union soldiers. Only 150 of those Southern soldiers made it. General Lee had made an honest but tragic mistake. See, he'd been trained at West Point in Napoleon's war tactics-masses of men, advancing against imprecise, short-range weapons until they could overwhelm the opposing troops in hand-to-hand combat. Unfortunately, things had changed since that kind of strategy had won battles for Napoleon. Recent technology had greatly improved the range and the accuracy of the rifles that the Union Army was using, which meant those masses of men were brought down long before they could ever reach enemy lines.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Today's Battles, Yesterday's Weapons."
Robert E. Lee, the great general that he was, made the fatal mistake of fighting today's battles with what used to work. You know, a lot of us are still making that fatal mistake when it comes to fighting the battle for which Jesus gave His life-turning people from the death penalty of their sin to the eternal life that only Jesus can give them. When we lose that battle, a soul is lost forever.
The message that Jesus died for our sin and came back from the dead to be our living Savior: that message, wow, that never changes. The Good News about Jesus always has been and it always will be the unchanging (in God's words) "power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16). That message is always relevant, it's always powerful, it's never to be tampered with or watered down, or compromised.
But the methods by which we present His message are always subject to change. And, frankly, many of us haven't changed our methods for a long time. We're still trying to reach people with what used to work. But today's lost people? They don't know the Bible, they don't understand our "Christianese" words we use to explain what Jesus did, they don't ever plan to come to our religious meeting to hear our religious speaker talk on a religious subject in a religious place, which describes a lot of the ways we try to reach them.
The Apostle Paul, who never compromised his message, of course, was the same one who said in 1 Corinthians 9:22, our word for today from the Word of God, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." In terms of method, Paul tells us you have to be willing to do whatever it takes, within Biblical boundaries, to rescue the dying.
Which today may mean going to where they are instead asking them to come where we are; doing outreach in places where they feel comfortable - neutral ground - instead of where we feel comfortable in our religious setting; communicating Christ in non-religious words that a lost person can understand. Delivering the message in music that is their musical language instead of ours; realizing it's going to be the everyday believer like you that we'll have to depend on to rescue the lost more than those programs we're created. See, the program of God for rescuing the dying is the people of God.
If we insist on fighting today's battle for the lost with what worked yesterday, we'll keep on reaching who we've already been reaching, while most of the spiritually dying people around us will live and die without God and without hope. We can't lose them because we insist on doing what we've always done, sticking to what we're comfortable with.
The eternity of people all around us is at stake; this is a battle that is too costly to lose.
Would you forfeit your reputation to see Jesus born into your world? Let’s say you’re someone who enjoys the role of a “Christmas Christian.” You sing the carols, attend the services—but once the season passes, you jettison your faith and re-shelve your Bible. But this past Christmas, the immensity of it hit you: Heaven hung her highest hope and King on a cross for me. Radical thoughts have since surfaced—like joining a Bible study, going on a mission trip. Your family and friends think you’re crazy. They want the Christmas Christian back. You can protect your reputation or protect His. You have a choice.
Christ abandoned his. No one in Nazareth saluted him as the Son of God. Jesus “gave up his place with God and made himself nothing” (Philippians 2:7). God hunts for those who will do the same—through whom he can deliver Christ into the world!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Joshua 16
Joseph
1-3 The lot for the people of Joseph went from the Jordan near Jericho, east of the spring of Jericho, north through the desert mountains to Bethel. It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz) to the territory of the Arkites in Ataroth. It then descended westward to the territory of the Japhletites to the region of Lower Beth Horon and on to Gezer, ending at the Sea.
4 This is the region from which the people of Joseph—Manasseh and Ephraim—got their inheritance.
5-9 Ephraim’s territory by clans:
The boundary of their inheritance went from Ataroth Addar in the east to Upper Beth Horon and then west to the Sea. From Micmethath on the north it turned eastward to Taanath Shiloh and passed along, still eastward, to Janoah. The border then descended from Janoah to Ataroth and Naarah; it touched Jericho and came out at the Jordan. From Tappuah the border went westward to the Brook Kanah and ended at the Sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of Ephraim by clans, including the cities set aside for Ephraim within the inheritance of Manasseh—all those towns and their villages.
10 But they didn’t get rid of the Canaanites who were living in Gezer. Canaanites are still living among the people of Ephraim, but they are made to do forced labor.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Read: Leviticus 19:1–9, 33–34
The Lord Is Holy
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.
5 “When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is tainted; it will not be accepted, 8 and everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest.
Leviticus 19:33-34 English Standard Version (ESV)
33 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
INSIGHT
God promised the Israelites they would always have enough food to eat if they remained faithful to Him (Leviticus 26:3–5). Because God promised to provide for them, He commanded them to provide for the poor and the needy. God gave various harvest laws (Leviticus 19:9–10; 23:22; Deuteronomy 23:24–25; 24:19–22) to enable the poor to “work” for their food with dignity without having to resort to begging or stealing. We also see this compassionate law of gleaning in the story of Ruth (Ruth 2). - K. T. Sim
Strangers Welcome Strangers
By Amy Peterson
When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. . . . Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. Leviticus 19:33–34
When my husband and I moved to Seattle to be near his sister, we didn’t know where we would live or work. A local church helped us find a place: a rental house with many bedrooms. We could live in one bedroom, and rent the others to international students. For the next three years, we were strangers welcoming strangers: sharing our home and meals with people from all over the world. We and our housemates also welcomed dozens of international students into our home every Friday night for Bible study.
God’s people know what it means to be far from home. For several hundred years, the Israelites were literal foreigners—and slaves—in Egypt. In Leviticus 19, alongside familiar instructions like “Respect your mother and father” and “Do not steal” (vv. 3, 11), God reminded His people to empathetically care for foreigners, because they knew what it was like to be foreigners and afraid (vv. 33–34).
While not all of us as followers of God today have experienced literal exile, we all know how it feels to be “foreigners” on earth (1 Peter 2:11)—people who feel like outsiders because our ultimate allegiance is to a heavenly kingdom. We are called to create a community of hospitality—strangers welcoming strangers into God’s family. The hospitable welcome my husband and I experienced in Seattle taught us to extend welcome to others—and this is at the heart of being the family of God (Romans 12:13).
To whom can I show hospitality?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
The Spiritually Vigorous Saint
…that I may know Him… —Philippians 3:10
A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him. The Holy Spirit is determined that we will have the realization of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives, and He will bring us back to the same point over and over again until we do. Self-realization only leads to the glorification of good works, whereas a saint of God glorifies Jesus Christ through his good works. Whatever we may be doing— even eating, drinking, or washing disciples’ feet— we have to take the initiative of realizing and recognizing Jesus Christ in it. Every phase of our life has its counterpart in the life of Jesus. Our Lord realized His relationship to the Father even in the most menial task. “Jesus, knowing…that He had come from God and was going to God,…took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet…” (John 13:3-5).
The aim of a spiritually vigorous saint is “that I may know Him…” Do I know Him where I am today? If not, I am failing Him. I am not here for self-realization, but to know Jesus Christ. In Christian work our initiative and motivation are too often simply the result of realizing that there is work to be done and that we must do it. Yet that is never the attitude of a spiritually vigorous saint. His aim is to achieve the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him. Approved Unto God, 10 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Today's Battles, Yesterday's Weapons - #8218
Look, whether you're a Yankee or a Confederate at heart, you don't take much joy in what happened at what is called the "High Water Mark of the Confederacy." If you're a Civil War buff, you know that's where the Union Army turned back Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. Some 15,000 Confederate soldiers marched courageously across a field in a very tightly packed formation, advancing on 40,000 Union soldiers. Only 150 of those Southern soldiers made it. General Lee had made an honest but tragic mistake. See, he'd been trained at West Point in Napoleon's war tactics-masses of men, advancing against imprecise, short-range weapons until they could overwhelm the opposing troops in hand-to-hand combat. Unfortunately, things had changed since that kind of strategy had won battles for Napoleon. Recent technology had greatly improved the range and the accuracy of the rifles that the Union Army was using, which meant those masses of men were brought down long before they could ever reach enemy lines.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Today's Battles, Yesterday's Weapons."
Robert E. Lee, the great general that he was, made the fatal mistake of fighting today's battles with what used to work. You know, a lot of us are still making that fatal mistake when it comes to fighting the battle for which Jesus gave His life-turning people from the death penalty of their sin to the eternal life that only Jesus can give them. When we lose that battle, a soul is lost forever.
The message that Jesus died for our sin and came back from the dead to be our living Savior: that message, wow, that never changes. The Good News about Jesus always has been and it always will be the unchanging (in God's words) "power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16). That message is always relevant, it's always powerful, it's never to be tampered with or watered down, or compromised.
But the methods by which we present His message are always subject to change. And, frankly, many of us haven't changed our methods for a long time. We're still trying to reach people with what used to work. But today's lost people? They don't know the Bible, they don't understand our "Christianese" words we use to explain what Jesus did, they don't ever plan to come to our religious meeting to hear our religious speaker talk on a religious subject in a religious place, which describes a lot of the ways we try to reach them.
The Apostle Paul, who never compromised his message, of course, was the same one who said in 1 Corinthians 9:22, our word for today from the Word of God, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." In terms of method, Paul tells us you have to be willing to do whatever it takes, within Biblical boundaries, to rescue the dying.
Which today may mean going to where they are instead asking them to come where we are; doing outreach in places where they feel comfortable - neutral ground - instead of where we feel comfortable in our religious setting; communicating Christ in non-religious words that a lost person can understand. Delivering the message in music that is their musical language instead of ours; realizing it's going to be the everyday believer like you that we'll have to depend on to rescue the lost more than those programs we're created. See, the program of God for rescuing the dying is the people of God.
If we insist on fighting today's battle for the lost with what worked yesterday, we'll keep on reaching who we've already been reaching, while most of the spiritually dying people around us will live and die without God and without hope. We can't lose them because we insist on doing what we've always done, sticking to what we're comfortable with.
The eternity of people all around us is at stake; this is a battle that is too costly to lose.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Joshua 15, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: SURRENDERING OUR COMMON LIFE
God grants us an uncommon life to the degree that we surrender our common one. Jesus said, “If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life” (Matthew 16:25).
Imagine that you are a photographer for an ad agency and your boss assigns you your biggest photo shoot ever—an adult magazine. Say yes and polish your reputation; yet you’ll use your God-given gifts to tarnish Christ’s reputation. What do you choose? You have a choice!
Jesus did too. He “made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men…he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7-8). Christ abandoned his reputation, and God hunts for those who will do likewise.
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Joshua 15
Judah
The lot for the people of Judah, their clans, extended south to the border of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin in the extreme south.
2-4 The southern border ran from the tip of the Salt Sea south of The Tongue; it ran southward from Scorpions Pass, went around Zin and just south of Kadesh Barnea; then it ran past Hezron, ascended to Addar, and curved around to Karka; from there it passed along to Azmon, came out at the Brook of Egypt, ending at the Sea. This is the southern boundary.
5-11 The eastern boundary: the Salt Sea up to the mouth of the Jordan.
The northern boundary started at the shallows of the Sea at the mouth of the Jordan, went up to Beth Hoglah and around to the north of Beth Arabah and to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. The border then ascended to Debir from Trouble Valley and turned north toward Gilgal, which lies opposite Red Pass, just south of the gorge. The border then followed the Waters of En Shemesh and ended at En Rogel. The border followed the Valley of Ben Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusite ridge (that is, Jerusalem). It ascended to the top of the mountain opposite Hinnom Valley on the west, at the northern end of Rephaim Valley; the border then took a turn at the top of the mountain to the spring, the Waters of Nephtoah, and followed the valley out to Mount Ephron, turned toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath Jearim), took another turn west of Baalah to Mount Seir, curved around to the northern shoulder of Mount Jearim (that is, Kesalon), descended to Beth Shemesh, and crossed to Timnah. The border then went north to the ridge of Ekron, turned toward Shikkeron, passed along to Mount Baalah, and came out at Jabneel. The border ended at the Sea.
12 The western border: the coastline of the Great Sea.
This is the boundary around the people of Judah for their clans.
13 Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a section among the people of Judah, according to God’s command. He gave him Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron. Arba was the ancestor of Anak.
14-15 Caleb drove out three Anakim from Hebron: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, all descendants of Anak. He marched up from there against the people of Debir. Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.
16-17 Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and takes it, I’ll give my daughter Acsah to him as his wife.” Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, took it; so Caleb gave him his daughter Acsah as his wife.
18-19 When she arrived she got him
to ask for farmland from her father.
As she dismounted from her donkey
Caleb asked her, “What would you like?”
She said, “Give me a marriage gift.
You’ve given me desert land;
Now give me pools of water!”
And he gave her the upper and the lower pools.
20-32 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Judah, clan by clan.
The southern towns of the tribe of Judah in the Negev were near the boundary of Edom:
Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,
Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah,
Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan,
Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,
Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor),
Amam, Shema, Moladah,
Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet,
Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah,
Baalah, Iim, Ezem,
Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah,
Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah,
Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—
a total of twenty-nine towns and their villages.
33-47 In the Shephelah (the western foothills) there were:
Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah,
Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam,
Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,
Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (or Gederothaim)—
fourteen towns and their villages.
Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad,
Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel,
Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon,
Cabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish,
Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah—
sixteen towns and their villages.
Libnah, Ether, Ashan,
Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,
Keilah, Aczib, and Mareshah—
nine towns and their villages.
Ekron with its towns and villages;
From Ekron, west to the sea, all that bordered Ashdod with its villages;
Ashdod with its towns and villages;
Gaza with its towns and villages all the way to the Brook of Egypt.
The Great Sea is the western border.
48-60 In the hill country:
Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,
Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (that is, Debir),
Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,
Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—
eleven towns and their villages.
Arab, Dumah, Eshan,
Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah,
Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—
nine towns and their villages.
Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,
Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah—
ten towns and their villages.
Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor,
Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon—
six towns and their villages.
Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah—
two towns and their villages.
61-62 In the wilderness:
Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah,
Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En Gedi—
six towns and their villages.
63 The people of Judah couldn’t get rid of the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. The Jebusites stayed put, living alongside the people of Judah. They are still living there in Jerusalem.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Read: Job 41:12–34
“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
13 Who can strip off his outer garment?
Who would come near him with a bridle?
14 Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth is terror.
15 His back is made of[a] rows of shields,
shut up closely as with a seal.
16 One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 His sneezings flash forth light,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
19 Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap forth.
20 Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 His breath kindles coals,
and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
22 In his neck abides strength,
and terror dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh stick together,
firmly cast on him and immovable.
24 His heart is hard as a stone,
hard as the lower millstone.
25 When he raises himself up, the mighty[b] are afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail,
nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 He counts iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee;
for him, sling stones are turned to stubble.
29 Clubs are counted as stubble;
he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
30 His underparts are like sharp potsherds;
he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
31 He makes the deep boil like a pot;
he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 Behind him he leaves a shining wake;
one would think the deep to be white-haired.
33 On earth there is not his like,
a creature without fear.
34 He sees everything that is high;
he is king over all the sons of pride.”
Footnotes:
Job 41:15 Or His pride is in his
Job 41:25 Or gods
INSIGHT
To learn more about the Creator, check out christianuniversity.org/CA203.
God of the Depths
By Tim Gustafson
There is the sea, vast and spacious, . . . and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. Psalm 104:25–26
“When you go to the deep sea, every time you take a sample, you’ll find a new species,” says marine biologist Ward Appeltans. In one recent year, scientists identified 1,451 new types of undersea life. We simply don’t know the half of what’s down there.
In Job 38–40, God reviewed His creation for Job’s benefit. In three poetic chapters, God highlighted the wonders of weather, the vastness of the cosmos, and the variety of creatures in their habitats. These are things we can observe. Then God spoke of the mysterious Leviathan—for an entire chapter. Leviathan is a creature like no other, with harpoon-deflecting armor (Job 41:7, 13), graceful power (v. 12), and “fearsome teeth” (v. 14). “Flames stream from its mouth . . . smoke pours from its nostrils” (vv. 19–20). “Nothing on earth is its equal” (v. 33).
Okay, so God talks about a huge creature we haven’t seen. Is that the point of Job 41?
No! Job 41 broadens our understanding of God’s surprising character. The psalmist expanded on this when he wrote, “There is the sea, vast and spacious, . . . and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there” (Psalm 104:25–26). After the terrifying description in Job, we learn that God created a playpen for this most fearsome of all creatures. Leviathan frolics.
We have the present to explore the ocean. We’ll have eternity to explore the wonders of our magnificent, mysterious, playful God.
Our exploration of creation teaches us about the Creator.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
The Spiritually Lazy Saint
Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together… —Hebrews 10:24-25
We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward Christ-realization, not the initiative toward self-realization. To live a distant, withdrawn, and secluded life is diametrically opposed to spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.
The true test of our spirituality occurs when we come up against injustice, degradation, ingratitude, and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritually lazy. While being tested, we want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of finding a quiet retreat. We use God only for the sake of getting peace and joy. We seek only our enjoyment of Jesus Christ, not a true realization of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things we are seeking are simply effects, and yet we try to make them causes.
“Yes, I think it is right,” Peter said, “…to stir you up by reminding you…” (2 Peter 1:13). It is a most disturbing thing to be hit squarely in the stomach by someone being used of God to stir us up— someone who is full of spiritual activity. Simple active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work can actually be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The real danger in spiritual laziness is that we do not want to be stirred up— all we want to hear about is a spiritual retirement from the world. Yet Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement— He says, “Go and tell My brethren…” (Matthew 28:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves. The Place of Help, 1051 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Human Volcanoes - #8217
All eyes were on the mountain-the volcano nearby. Our friends' daughter, a missionary, was living in a city that sits in the middle of several volcanoes. And one of them was showing some of those Mt. St. Helen's-type symptoms: the bulging and the boiling that suggests a possible eruption in the near future. Scientists were predicting that could very well happen. So living anywhere near that boiling mountain was, to say the least, like nerve-wracking.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Human Volcanoes."
It's tough living with a volcano that could go off any minute. Maybe that's how the people around you feel. When the stress and the pressure and the aggravation build up, many of us become a human volcano, blowing up and doing some serious damage, especially to the people we love. Like a volcano, the eruption is over fairly quickly, but the damage it does can last a lifetime.
For someone listening today, your temper is, well maybe to put it in "Star Wars" vocabulary, part of your "dark side." And our dark side, frankly, is out of control all too often. It might be the devastating things that we say and do when we're angry, or it could be our selfishness that just continually wounds and crushes people, or our sexual desires that take us where we really never should go, or this kind of sour negative attitude and bitterness that poisons our life and the lives of people around us. It's all deadly molten lava that keeps spewing out of our life, often hurting most the people we love the most.
The battle we fight with our explosive dark side isn't a new battle. It's at least 2,000 years old, as evidenced by what one Bible writer said in Romans 7, beginning with verse 15, which is our word for today from the Word of God. He says, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do." That's a struggle we all understand too well, isn't it? The way we treat our mate, our children, our co-workers, our friends-we don't want to be that way, but we can't seem to stop being that way. He goes on to say, "I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." How many times have we resolved to do better - and failed? And then he says, "For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this is what I keep on doing."
Ready for some good news? Well, there is some here. Because the Bible now shows us how to move from despair to deliverance. The writer says, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me...?" Okay, that's the word, that's what we need. We need a rescue! Someone who can lift us out of this sin-mess we're trapped in. "Thanks be to God," the writer continues, "through Jesus Christ our Lord!" That's where hope is! Jesus Christ came here to deal once and for all with this sin monster that's so powerful inside us. That sin cuts us off from God, now and forever. But Jesus went to a cross where He died to absorb all the power and all the death penalty of your sin and mine. Then He declared total victory three days later when He walked out of His grave under His own power!
And He wants to bring that victory into your life to forgive every sinful, hurtful things you have ever done and give you a new beginning. He stands ready to actually move into your heart and to control what you've never been able to control and to beat what has always beaten you. He's the Rescuer, reaching for you. Now it's up to you to reach back and grab His hand and tell Him, "Jesus, You're my only hope. I don't want to be like this anymore. I'm placing all my trust in you to be my Savior from my sin." With Him in your life, you don't have to be what you've always been. You can be what the Bible calls "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Look, if you want to begin this relationship and begin this liberating experience with Jesus Christ, let me invite you to go to our website. It's called actually ANewStory.com because it's where your new story could begin.
When Jesus was on earth, He was with His disciples in this violent storm that threatened to destroy them, until He stepped to the helm and He said three words: "Peace, be still!" The storm was gone. Today He wants to do that for the storm that's been raging inside you.
God grants us an uncommon life to the degree that we surrender our common one. Jesus said, “If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life” (Matthew 16:25).
Imagine that you are a photographer for an ad agency and your boss assigns you your biggest photo shoot ever—an adult magazine. Say yes and polish your reputation; yet you’ll use your God-given gifts to tarnish Christ’s reputation. What do you choose? You have a choice!
Jesus did too. He “made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men…he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7-8). Christ abandoned his reputation, and God hunts for those who will do likewise.
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Joshua 15
Judah
The lot for the people of Judah, their clans, extended south to the border of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin in the extreme south.
2-4 The southern border ran from the tip of the Salt Sea south of The Tongue; it ran southward from Scorpions Pass, went around Zin and just south of Kadesh Barnea; then it ran past Hezron, ascended to Addar, and curved around to Karka; from there it passed along to Azmon, came out at the Brook of Egypt, ending at the Sea. This is the southern boundary.
5-11 The eastern boundary: the Salt Sea up to the mouth of the Jordan.
The northern boundary started at the shallows of the Sea at the mouth of the Jordan, went up to Beth Hoglah and around to the north of Beth Arabah and to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. The border then ascended to Debir from Trouble Valley and turned north toward Gilgal, which lies opposite Red Pass, just south of the gorge. The border then followed the Waters of En Shemesh and ended at En Rogel. The border followed the Valley of Ben Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusite ridge (that is, Jerusalem). It ascended to the top of the mountain opposite Hinnom Valley on the west, at the northern end of Rephaim Valley; the border then took a turn at the top of the mountain to the spring, the Waters of Nephtoah, and followed the valley out to Mount Ephron, turned toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath Jearim), took another turn west of Baalah to Mount Seir, curved around to the northern shoulder of Mount Jearim (that is, Kesalon), descended to Beth Shemesh, and crossed to Timnah. The border then went north to the ridge of Ekron, turned toward Shikkeron, passed along to Mount Baalah, and came out at Jabneel. The border ended at the Sea.
12 The western border: the coastline of the Great Sea.
This is the boundary around the people of Judah for their clans.
13 Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a section among the people of Judah, according to God’s command. He gave him Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron. Arba was the ancestor of Anak.
14-15 Caleb drove out three Anakim from Hebron: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, all descendants of Anak. He marched up from there against the people of Debir. Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.
16-17 Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and takes it, I’ll give my daughter Acsah to him as his wife.” Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, took it; so Caleb gave him his daughter Acsah as his wife.
18-19 When she arrived she got him
to ask for farmland from her father.
As she dismounted from her donkey
Caleb asked her, “What would you like?”
She said, “Give me a marriage gift.
You’ve given me desert land;
Now give me pools of water!”
And he gave her the upper and the lower pools.
20-32 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Judah, clan by clan.
The southern towns of the tribe of Judah in the Negev were near the boundary of Edom:
Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,
Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah,
Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan,
Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,
Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor),
Amam, Shema, Moladah,
Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet,
Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah,
Baalah, Iim, Ezem,
Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah,
Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah,
Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—
a total of twenty-nine towns and their villages.
33-47 In the Shephelah (the western foothills) there were:
Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah,
Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam,
Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,
Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (or Gederothaim)—
fourteen towns and their villages.
Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad,
Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel,
Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon,
Cabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish,
Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah—
sixteen towns and their villages.
Libnah, Ether, Ashan,
Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,
Keilah, Aczib, and Mareshah—
nine towns and their villages.
Ekron with its towns and villages;
From Ekron, west to the sea, all that bordered Ashdod with its villages;
Ashdod with its towns and villages;
Gaza with its towns and villages all the way to the Brook of Egypt.
The Great Sea is the western border.
48-60 In the hill country:
Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,
Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (that is, Debir),
Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,
Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—
eleven towns and their villages.
Arab, Dumah, Eshan,
Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah,
Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—
nine towns and their villages.
Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,
Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah—
ten towns and their villages.
Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor,
Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon—
six towns and their villages.
Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah—
two towns and their villages.
61-62 In the wilderness:
Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah,
Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En Gedi—
six towns and their villages.
63 The people of Judah couldn’t get rid of the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. The Jebusites stayed put, living alongside the people of Judah. They are still living there in Jerusalem.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Read: Job 41:12–34
“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
13 Who can strip off his outer garment?
Who would come near him with a bridle?
14 Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth is terror.
15 His back is made of[a] rows of shields,
shut up closely as with a seal.
16 One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 His sneezings flash forth light,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
19 Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap forth.
20 Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 His breath kindles coals,
and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
22 In his neck abides strength,
and terror dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh stick together,
firmly cast on him and immovable.
24 His heart is hard as a stone,
hard as the lower millstone.
25 When he raises himself up, the mighty[b] are afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail,
nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 He counts iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee;
for him, sling stones are turned to stubble.
29 Clubs are counted as stubble;
he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
30 His underparts are like sharp potsherds;
he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
31 He makes the deep boil like a pot;
he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 Behind him he leaves a shining wake;
one would think the deep to be white-haired.
33 On earth there is not his like,
a creature without fear.
34 He sees everything that is high;
he is king over all the sons of pride.”
Footnotes:
Job 41:15 Or His pride is in his
Job 41:25 Or gods
INSIGHT
To learn more about the Creator, check out christianuniversity.org/CA203.
God of the Depths
By Tim Gustafson
There is the sea, vast and spacious, . . . and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. Psalm 104:25–26
“When you go to the deep sea, every time you take a sample, you’ll find a new species,” says marine biologist Ward Appeltans. In one recent year, scientists identified 1,451 new types of undersea life. We simply don’t know the half of what’s down there.
In Job 38–40, God reviewed His creation for Job’s benefit. In three poetic chapters, God highlighted the wonders of weather, the vastness of the cosmos, and the variety of creatures in their habitats. These are things we can observe. Then God spoke of the mysterious Leviathan—for an entire chapter. Leviathan is a creature like no other, with harpoon-deflecting armor (Job 41:7, 13), graceful power (v. 12), and “fearsome teeth” (v. 14). “Flames stream from its mouth . . . smoke pours from its nostrils” (vv. 19–20). “Nothing on earth is its equal” (v. 33).
Okay, so God talks about a huge creature we haven’t seen. Is that the point of Job 41?
No! Job 41 broadens our understanding of God’s surprising character. The psalmist expanded on this when he wrote, “There is the sea, vast and spacious, . . . and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there” (Psalm 104:25–26). After the terrifying description in Job, we learn that God created a playpen for this most fearsome of all creatures. Leviathan frolics.
We have the present to explore the ocean. We’ll have eternity to explore the wonders of our magnificent, mysterious, playful God.
Our exploration of creation teaches us about the Creator.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
The Spiritually Lazy Saint
Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together… —Hebrews 10:24-25
We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward Christ-realization, not the initiative toward self-realization. To live a distant, withdrawn, and secluded life is diametrically opposed to spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.
The true test of our spirituality occurs when we come up against injustice, degradation, ingratitude, and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritually lazy. While being tested, we want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of finding a quiet retreat. We use God only for the sake of getting peace and joy. We seek only our enjoyment of Jesus Christ, not a true realization of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things we are seeking are simply effects, and yet we try to make them causes.
“Yes, I think it is right,” Peter said, “…to stir you up by reminding you…” (2 Peter 1:13). It is a most disturbing thing to be hit squarely in the stomach by someone being used of God to stir us up— someone who is full of spiritual activity. Simple active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work can actually be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The real danger in spiritual laziness is that we do not want to be stirred up— all we want to hear about is a spiritual retirement from the world. Yet Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement— He says, “Go and tell My brethren…” (Matthew 28:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves. The Place of Help, 1051 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Human Volcanoes - #8217
All eyes were on the mountain-the volcano nearby. Our friends' daughter, a missionary, was living in a city that sits in the middle of several volcanoes. And one of them was showing some of those Mt. St. Helen's-type symptoms: the bulging and the boiling that suggests a possible eruption in the near future. Scientists were predicting that could very well happen. So living anywhere near that boiling mountain was, to say the least, like nerve-wracking.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Human Volcanoes."
It's tough living with a volcano that could go off any minute. Maybe that's how the people around you feel. When the stress and the pressure and the aggravation build up, many of us become a human volcano, blowing up and doing some serious damage, especially to the people we love. Like a volcano, the eruption is over fairly quickly, but the damage it does can last a lifetime.
For someone listening today, your temper is, well maybe to put it in "Star Wars" vocabulary, part of your "dark side." And our dark side, frankly, is out of control all too often. It might be the devastating things that we say and do when we're angry, or it could be our selfishness that just continually wounds and crushes people, or our sexual desires that take us where we really never should go, or this kind of sour negative attitude and bitterness that poisons our life and the lives of people around us. It's all deadly molten lava that keeps spewing out of our life, often hurting most the people we love the most.
The battle we fight with our explosive dark side isn't a new battle. It's at least 2,000 years old, as evidenced by what one Bible writer said in Romans 7, beginning with verse 15, which is our word for today from the Word of God. He says, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do." That's a struggle we all understand too well, isn't it? The way we treat our mate, our children, our co-workers, our friends-we don't want to be that way, but we can't seem to stop being that way. He goes on to say, "I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." How many times have we resolved to do better - and failed? And then he says, "For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this is what I keep on doing."
Ready for some good news? Well, there is some here. Because the Bible now shows us how to move from despair to deliverance. The writer says, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me...?" Okay, that's the word, that's what we need. We need a rescue! Someone who can lift us out of this sin-mess we're trapped in. "Thanks be to God," the writer continues, "through Jesus Christ our Lord!" That's where hope is! Jesus Christ came here to deal once and for all with this sin monster that's so powerful inside us. That sin cuts us off from God, now and forever. But Jesus went to a cross where He died to absorb all the power and all the death penalty of your sin and mine. Then He declared total victory three days later when He walked out of His grave under His own power!
And He wants to bring that victory into your life to forgive every sinful, hurtful things you have ever done and give you a new beginning. He stands ready to actually move into your heart and to control what you've never been able to control and to beat what has always beaten you. He's the Rescuer, reaching for you. Now it's up to you to reach back and grab His hand and tell Him, "Jesus, You're my only hope. I don't want to be like this anymore. I'm placing all my trust in you to be my Savior from my sin." With Him in your life, you don't have to be what you've always been. You can be what the Bible calls "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Look, if you want to begin this relationship and begin this liberating experience with Jesus Christ, let me invite you to go to our website. It's called actually ANewStory.com because it's where your new story could begin.
When Jesus was on earth, He was with His disciples in this violent storm that threatened to destroy them, until He stepped to the helm and He said three words: "Peace, be still!" The storm was gone. Today He wants to do that for the storm that's been raging inside you.
Monday, July 9, 2018
Joshua 14 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: GOD HEALS FAMILY THROUGH HIS FAMILY
“God’s family is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). The term family far and away outpaces any other biblical term to describe the church. “Brothers” or “brothers and sisters” appears a whopping 148 times between the book of Acts and the book of Revelation.
In the church we use our gifts to love each other, honor one another, and carry each other’s burdens. Do you need encouragement, prayers, or a hospitable home? God entrusts the church to purvey these treasures. Consider the church God’s treatment center for the common life. Don’t miss the place to find your place and heal your hurts. Oh, the immensity, the beauty, and the surprises of family life. In God’s church, may you find them all.
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Joshua 14
Land West of the Jordan
Here are the inheritance allotments that the People of Israel received in the land of Canaan. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the family clans made the allotments. Each inheritance was assigned by lot to the nine and a half tribes, just as God had commanded Moses.
3-4 Moses had given the two and a half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan, but hadn’t given an inheritance to the Levites, as he had to the others. Because the sons of Joseph had become two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, they gave no allotment to the Levites; but they did give them cities to live in with pasture rights for their flocks and herds.
5 The People of Israel followed through exactly as God had commanded Moses. They apportioned the land.
Caleb
6-12 The people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite spoke: “You’ll remember what God said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me back at Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of God sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. And I brought back an honest and accurate report. My companions who went with me discouraged the people, but I stuck to my guns, totally with God, my God. That was the day that Moses solemnly promised, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance, you and your children’s, forever. Yes, you have lived totally for God.’ Now look at me: God has kept me alive, as he promised. It is now forty-five years since God spoke this word to Moses, years in which Israel wandered in the wilderness. And here I am today, eighty-five years old! I’m as strong as I was the day Moses sent me out. I’m as strong as ever in battle, whether coming or going. So give me this hill country that God promised me. You yourself heard the report, that the Anakim were there with their great fortress cities. If God goes with me, I will drive them out, just as God said.”
13-14 Joshua blessed him. He gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite still today, because he gave himself totally to God, the God of Israel.
15 The name of Hebron used to be Kiriath Arba, named after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.
And the land had rest from war.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, July 09, 2018
Read: Psalm 131
I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
131 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
INSIGHT
The theme of Psalm 131 is rest or spiritual contentment. Verse 2 says, “I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.” This idea of rest connects to the preceding song (Psalm 130) whose theme is forgiveness. Psalm 130:4 affirms, “But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.” It is forgiveness that gives us true, lasting rest because it brings us into relationship with the God who made us.
This was voiced beautifully by the church father Augustine who said, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” - Bill Crowder
Be Still, My Soul!
By Arthur Jackson
I have calmed and quieted myself. Psalm 131:2
Picture a parent poised lovingly over a child, finger gently placed in front of nose and lips softly speaking the words—“hush,” “shhhh.” The demeanor and simple words are meant to comfort and quiet anxious little ones in the midst of disappointment, discomfort, or pain. Scenes like this are universal and timeless and most of us have been on the giving or receiving end of such loving expressions. When I ponder Psalm 131:2, this is the picture that comes to mind.
The language and flow of this psalm suggest that the writer, David, had experienced something that provoked serious reflection. Have you experienced a disappointment, defeat, or failure that prompted thoughtful, reflective prayer? What do you do when you are humbled by life’s circumstances? When you fail a test or lose a job or experience the end of a relationship? David poured out his heart to the Lord and in the process did a bit of honest soul-searching and inventory (Psalm 131:1). In making peace with his circumstances, he found contentment like that of a young child who was satisfied with simply being with his or her mother (v. 2).
Life’s circumstances change and sometimes we are humbled. Yet we can be hopeful and content knowing that there is One who has promised to never leave or forsake us. We can trust Him fully.
Father, when things change in my life, help me not to be anxious but to trust You and find contentment in You alone.
Read more: Cultivating a Heart of Contentment at discoveryseries.org/hp052.
Contentment is found in Christ alone.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, July 09, 2018
Will You Examine Yourself?
Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the Lord…" —Joshua 24:19
Do you have even the slightest reliance on anything or anyone other than God? Is there a remnant of reliance left on any natural quality within you, or on any particular set of circumstances? Are you relying on yourself in any manner whatsoever regarding this new proposal or plan which God has placed before you? Will you examine yourself by asking these probing questions? It really is true to say, “I cannot live a holy life,” but you can decide to let Jesus Christ make you holy. “You cannot serve the Lord…”— but you can place yourself in the proper position where God’s almighty power will flow through you. Is your relationship with God sufficient for you to expect Him to exhibit His wonderful life in you?
“The people said to Joshua, ‘No, but we will serve the Lord!’ ” (Joshua 24:21). This is not an impulsive action, but a deliberate commitment. We tend to say, “But God could never have called me to this. I’m too unworthy. It can’t mean me.” It does mean you, and the more weak and feeble you are, the better. The person who is still relying and trusting in anything within himself is the last person to even come close to saying, “I will serve the Lord.”
We say, “Oh, if only I really could believe!” The question is, “Will I believe?” No wonder Jesus Christ placed such emphasis on the sin of unbelief. “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). If we really believed that God meant what He said, just imagine what we would be like! Do I really dare to let God be to me all that He says He will be?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, July 09, 2018
Going Too Fast To Turn - #8216
O.K., I'll admit it, I'm often in a hurry to get where I'm going. More than once, you know, when Karen and I were traveling in the crew configuration that my wife and I used for years – me pilot at the wheel, her navigator with map. We'd be clipping along at a healthy rate of speed, believing that the purpose of the exercise is to be there, right, not to spend a lot of time getting there! Right? And even though my beautiful navigator may have announced that a turn was coming up soon, I maintain my "got to get there" speed. Then, suddenly, I hear those words, "This is our turn!" Zoom! We blow right past it – sometimes without an opportunity to turn around for several miles. So much for me trying to make good time, right? Too often, I've ended up on the wrong road – just because I was going too fast to turn.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Going Too Fast To Turn."
Actually, that's how a lot of us have ended up on the wrong road – going too fast to turn when God was telling us to turn. King David knew how important it was to listen to God's navigation instructions. Our word for today from the Word of God is in 1 Chronicles 14 and 15. In 1 Chronicles 14:10, the Philistines are moving against the Jews and "David inquired of God: 'Shall I go and attack the Philistines?' . . . The Lord answered him, 'Go, and I will hand them over to you.' So David and his men went up." And, of course, David's army was victorious. When the Philistines invaded another time, the Bible says, "David inquired of God again, and God answered him, 'Do not go straight up'." Again, David checked with the Lord, the Lord gave him a different strategy this time, and again David prevailed.
But it wasn't always that way. Just before these incidents of David allowing God to navigate, 1 Chronicles 13 tells about one of David's good ideas that turned to disaster. He had the wonderful idea of bringing back the Ark of God – getting it back to Jerusalem - that holy gold box that enshrined the presence of the Lord. But as it was being moved on an ox cart, it started to tip. A man tried to grab it. He died on the spot. No one was supposed to touch the Ark.
What went wrong here? Well, David had been working on a noble cause. But the Jewish Scriptures spelled out God's way of transporting the Ark – only Levites, only with poles through the rings on top of the Ark. Later, as the Levites are preparing to move the Ark God's way this time, David tells them what went wrong when the same mission led to disaster. He said, "We did not inquire of Him about how to do it in the prescribed way" (1 Chronicles 15:13). David says, "We blew it because we didn't check with God on how to do this."
See, David's mistake was one you and I repeat all too often. We're speeding ahead with our great idea, our great plan, and we blow right past our divine Leader. God's telling us to turn, and we're just going too fast to make the turn or maybe even hear His voice. So we end up on the wrong road or ahead of God and ahead of His perfect timing. All because we didn't inquire of the Lord. We didn't slow down long enough to see what God wanted and where God wanted us to be. So often we start out headed down a road that the Lord wants us on, but then He makes a turn while we're still speeding in the direction He was going.
Which simply means, we need to be submitting our plans to the Lord at least on a daily basis; checking with heaven before acting on earth. And not resisting the Lord when He is urging us to make a turn that we're unsure of.
Those of us who are high-energy, hard-driving, make-it-happen people, we're in the greatest danger of speeding right past the Lord on our way to this noble destination. But we'll save a lot of grief, a lot of wasted time, and a lot of trouble if we go when God says go and turn when God says turn.
“God’s family is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). The term family far and away outpaces any other biblical term to describe the church. “Brothers” or “brothers and sisters” appears a whopping 148 times between the book of Acts and the book of Revelation.
In the church we use our gifts to love each other, honor one another, and carry each other’s burdens. Do you need encouragement, prayers, or a hospitable home? God entrusts the church to purvey these treasures. Consider the church God’s treatment center for the common life. Don’t miss the place to find your place and heal your hurts. Oh, the immensity, the beauty, and the surprises of family life. In God’s church, may you find them all.
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Joshua 14
Land West of the Jordan
Here are the inheritance allotments that the People of Israel received in the land of Canaan. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the family clans made the allotments. Each inheritance was assigned by lot to the nine and a half tribes, just as God had commanded Moses.
3-4 Moses had given the two and a half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan, but hadn’t given an inheritance to the Levites, as he had to the others. Because the sons of Joseph had become two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, they gave no allotment to the Levites; but they did give them cities to live in with pasture rights for their flocks and herds.
5 The People of Israel followed through exactly as God had commanded Moses. They apportioned the land.
Caleb
6-12 The people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite spoke: “You’ll remember what God said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me back at Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of God sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. And I brought back an honest and accurate report. My companions who went with me discouraged the people, but I stuck to my guns, totally with God, my God. That was the day that Moses solemnly promised, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance, you and your children’s, forever. Yes, you have lived totally for God.’ Now look at me: God has kept me alive, as he promised. It is now forty-five years since God spoke this word to Moses, years in which Israel wandered in the wilderness. And here I am today, eighty-five years old! I’m as strong as I was the day Moses sent me out. I’m as strong as ever in battle, whether coming or going. So give me this hill country that God promised me. You yourself heard the report, that the Anakim were there with their great fortress cities. If God goes with me, I will drive them out, just as God said.”
13-14 Joshua blessed him. He gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite still today, because he gave himself totally to God, the God of Israel.
15 The name of Hebron used to be Kiriath Arba, named after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.
And the land had rest from war.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, July 09, 2018
Read: Psalm 131
I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
131 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
INSIGHT
The theme of Psalm 131 is rest or spiritual contentment. Verse 2 says, “I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.” This idea of rest connects to the preceding song (Psalm 130) whose theme is forgiveness. Psalm 130:4 affirms, “But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.” It is forgiveness that gives us true, lasting rest because it brings us into relationship with the God who made us.
This was voiced beautifully by the church father Augustine who said, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” - Bill Crowder
Be Still, My Soul!
By Arthur Jackson
I have calmed and quieted myself. Psalm 131:2
Picture a parent poised lovingly over a child, finger gently placed in front of nose and lips softly speaking the words—“hush,” “shhhh.” The demeanor and simple words are meant to comfort and quiet anxious little ones in the midst of disappointment, discomfort, or pain. Scenes like this are universal and timeless and most of us have been on the giving or receiving end of such loving expressions. When I ponder Psalm 131:2, this is the picture that comes to mind.
The language and flow of this psalm suggest that the writer, David, had experienced something that provoked serious reflection. Have you experienced a disappointment, defeat, or failure that prompted thoughtful, reflective prayer? What do you do when you are humbled by life’s circumstances? When you fail a test or lose a job or experience the end of a relationship? David poured out his heart to the Lord and in the process did a bit of honest soul-searching and inventory (Psalm 131:1). In making peace with his circumstances, he found contentment like that of a young child who was satisfied with simply being with his or her mother (v. 2).
Life’s circumstances change and sometimes we are humbled. Yet we can be hopeful and content knowing that there is One who has promised to never leave or forsake us. We can trust Him fully.
Father, when things change in my life, help me not to be anxious but to trust You and find contentment in You alone.
Read more: Cultivating a Heart of Contentment at discoveryseries.org/hp052.
Contentment is found in Christ alone.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, July 09, 2018
Will You Examine Yourself?
Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the Lord…" —Joshua 24:19
Do you have even the slightest reliance on anything or anyone other than God? Is there a remnant of reliance left on any natural quality within you, or on any particular set of circumstances? Are you relying on yourself in any manner whatsoever regarding this new proposal or plan which God has placed before you? Will you examine yourself by asking these probing questions? It really is true to say, “I cannot live a holy life,” but you can decide to let Jesus Christ make you holy. “You cannot serve the Lord…”— but you can place yourself in the proper position where God’s almighty power will flow through you. Is your relationship with God sufficient for you to expect Him to exhibit His wonderful life in you?
“The people said to Joshua, ‘No, but we will serve the Lord!’ ” (Joshua 24:21). This is not an impulsive action, but a deliberate commitment. We tend to say, “But God could never have called me to this. I’m too unworthy. It can’t mean me.” It does mean you, and the more weak and feeble you are, the better. The person who is still relying and trusting in anything within himself is the last person to even come close to saying, “I will serve the Lord.”
We say, “Oh, if only I really could believe!” The question is, “Will I believe?” No wonder Jesus Christ placed such emphasis on the sin of unbelief. “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). If we really believed that God meant what He said, just imagine what we would be like! Do I really dare to let God be to me all that He says He will be?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, July 09, 2018
Going Too Fast To Turn - #8216
O.K., I'll admit it, I'm often in a hurry to get where I'm going. More than once, you know, when Karen and I were traveling in the crew configuration that my wife and I used for years – me pilot at the wheel, her navigator with map. We'd be clipping along at a healthy rate of speed, believing that the purpose of the exercise is to be there, right, not to spend a lot of time getting there! Right? And even though my beautiful navigator may have announced that a turn was coming up soon, I maintain my "got to get there" speed. Then, suddenly, I hear those words, "This is our turn!" Zoom! We blow right past it – sometimes without an opportunity to turn around for several miles. So much for me trying to make good time, right? Too often, I've ended up on the wrong road – just because I was going too fast to turn.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Going Too Fast To Turn."
Actually, that's how a lot of us have ended up on the wrong road – going too fast to turn when God was telling us to turn. King David knew how important it was to listen to God's navigation instructions. Our word for today from the Word of God is in 1 Chronicles 14 and 15. In 1 Chronicles 14:10, the Philistines are moving against the Jews and "David inquired of God: 'Shall I go and attack the Philistines?' . . . The Lord answered him, 'Go, and I will hand them over to you.' So David and his men went up." And, of course, David's army was victorious. When the Philistines invaded another time, the Bible says, "David inquired of God again, and God answered him, 'Do not go straight up'." Again, David checked with the Lord, the Lord gave him a different strategy this time, and again David prevailed.
But it wasn't always that way. Just before these incidents of David allowing God to navigate, 1 Chronicles 13 tells about one of David's good ideas that turned to disaster. He had the wonderful idea of bringing back the Ark of God – getting it back to Jerusalem - that holy gold box that enshrined the presence of the Lord. But as it was being moved on an ox cart, it started to tip. A man tried to grab it. He died on the spot. No one was supposed to touch the Ark.
What went wrong here? Well, David had been working on a noble cause. But the Jewish Scriptures spelled out God's way of transporting the Ark – only Levites, only with poles through the rings on top of the Ark. Later, as the Levites are preparing to move the Ark God's way this time, David tells them what went wrong when the same mission led to disaster. He said, "We did not inquire of Him about how to do it in the prescribed way" (1 Chronicles 15:13). David says, "We blew it because we didn't check with God on how to do this."
See, David's mistake was one you and I repeat all too often. We're speeding ahead with our great idea, our great plan, and we blow right past our divine Leader. God's telling us to turn, and we're just going too fast to make the turn or maybe even hear His voice. So we end up on the wrong road or ahead of God and ahead of His perfect timing. All because we didn't inquire of the Lord. We didn't slow down long enough to see what God wanted and where God wanted us to be. So often we start out headed down a road that the Lord wants us on, but then He makes a turn while we're still speeding in the direction He was going.
Which simply means, we need to be submitting our plans to the Lord at least on a daily basis; checking with heaven before acting on earth. And not resisting the Lord when He is urging us to make a turn that we're unsure of.
Those of us who are high-energy, hard-driving, make-it-happen people, we're in the greatest danger of speeding right past the Lord on our way to this noble destination. But we'll save a lot of grief, a lot of wasted time, and a lot of trouble if we go when God says go and turn when God says turn.
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Joshua 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: God's Grace
I've never been surprised by God's judgment, but I'm still stunned by His grace! God's judgment has never been a problem for me. Lightning bolts on Sodom…fire on Gomorrah… good job, God! Discipline is easy for me to swallow; it's logical to assimilate.
But God's grace? Anything but. Peter denied Christ before he preached Christ. The thief on the cross was hell-bent and hung out to die one minute, then heaven-bound and smiling the next. I challenge you to find one story in the Bible of a person who came to God seeking grace and did not find it. I dare you. God gives a lot more grace than we would ever imagine.
We could do the same. I'm not for watering down the truth or compromising the Gospel. One thing is for sure. When we get to heaven, we'll be surprised at some of the folks we see. And some of them will be surprised when they see us.
From When God Whispers Your Name
Joshua 13
The Receiving of the Land
1-6 When Joshua had reached a venerable age, God said to him, “You’ve had a good, long life, but there is a lot of land still to be taken. This is the land that remains:
all the districts of the Philistines and Geshurites;
the land from the Shihor River east of Egypt to the border of Ekron up north, Canaanite country (there were five Philistine tyrants—in Gaza, in Ashdod, in Ashkelon, in Gath, in Ekron); also the Avvim from the south;
all the Canaanite land from Arah (belonging to the Sidonians) to Aphek at the Amorite border;
the country of the Gebalites;
all Lebanon eastward from Baal Gad in the shadow of Mount Hermon to the Entrance of Hamath;
all who live in the mountains, from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim;
all the Sidonians.
6-7 “I myself will drive them out before the People of Israel. All you have to do is allot this land to Israel as an inheritance, as I have instructed you. Do it now: Allot this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
Land East of the Jordan
8 The other half-tribe of Manasseh, with the Reubenites and Gadites, had been given their inheritance by Moses on the other side of the Jordan eastward. Moses the servant of God gave it to them.
9-13 This land extended from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge and the city in the middle of the valley, taking in the entire tableland of Medeba as far as Dibon, and all the towns of Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, and out to the border of the Ammonites. It also included Gilead, the country of the people of Geshur and Maacah, all of Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah—the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. He was one of the last survivors of the Rephaim. Moses had defeated them and taken their land. The People of Israel never did drive out the Geshurites and the Maacathites—they’re still there, living in Israel.
14 Levi was the only tribe that did not receive an inheritance. The Fire-Gift-Offerings to God, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as he told them.
Reuben
15-22 To the tribe of Reuben, clan by clan, Moses gave:
the land from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge and the town in the middle of the valley, including the tableland around Medeba;
Heshbon on the tableland with all its towns (Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on Valley Mountain, Beth Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth Jeshimoth);
and all the cities of the tableland, the whole kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled at Heshbon, whom Moses put to death along with the princes of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who lived in that country, all puppets of Sihon. (In addition to those killed in battle, Balaam son of Beor, the soothsayer, was put to death by the People of Israel.)
23 The boundary for the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan River. This was the inheritance of the Reubenites, their villages and cities, according to their clans.
Gad
24-27 To the tribe of Gad, clan by clan, Moses gave:
the territory of Jazer and all the towns of Gilead and half the Ammonite country as far as Aroer near Rabbah;
the land from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the region of Debir;
in the valley: Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the east side of the Jordan, north to the end of the Sea of Kinnereth).
28 This was the inheritance of the Gadites, their cities and villages, clan by clan.
Half-Tribe of Manasseh
29-31 To the half-tribe of Manasseh, clan by clan, Moses gave:
the land stretching out from Mahanaim;
all of Bashan, which is the entire kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the settlements of Jair in Bashan—sixty towns in all.
Half of Gilead with Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan, belong to the descendants of Makir, a son of Manasseh (in other words, the half-tribe of the children of Makir) for their clans.
32-33 This is the inheritance that Moses gave out when he was on the plains of Moab across the Jordan east of Jericho. But Moses gave no inheritance to the tribe of Levi. God, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as he told them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, July 08, 2018
Read: 1 Corinthians 12:4–14
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
One Body with Many Members
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves[a] or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 12:13 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface
INSIGHT
Romans 12:6–8 and 1 Corinthians 12 provide important instruction about spiritual gifts: All Christians have been given gifts; all gifts have different but equally important functions; all are from God; and all are to be used to build up others in the church. We have no reason to boast about our gifts because they are products of God’s grace. “In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us” (Romans 12:5–6).
How can you use your gifts to promote unity? - Alyson Kieda
Many Gifts, One Purpose
By Keila Ochoa
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12
Corn, also called maize, is the staple food in my home country of Mexico. There are so many different types. You can find yellow, brown, red, and black cobs, even ones with a wonderful spotted pattern. But people in the cities usually won’t eat the spotted cobs. Restaurateur and researcher Amado RamÃrez explains that they believe uniformity is a synonym of quality. Yet the spotted cobs taste good, and they make excellent tortillas.
The church of Christ is much more similar to a spotted ear of corn than to a cob of just one color. The apostle Paul used the imagery of a body to describe the church, because even though we are all one body, and we have the same God, each of us has been given a different gift. As Paul said, “There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work” (1 Corinthians 12:5–6). Our diversity in the ways we help each other shows God’s generosity and creativity.
As we embrace our diversity, may we also make every effort to keep our unity in faith and purpose. Yes, we have different abilities and backgrounds. We speak different languages and come from different countries. But we have the same wonderful God, the Creator who delights in so much variety.
Father, may we make every effort to be one, respecting and valuing each other and our various gifts and talents.
We need one another in order to be what God wants us to be.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, July 08, 2018
Will To Be Faithful
…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… —Joshua 24:15
A person’s will is embodied in the actions of the whole person. I cannot give up my will— I must exercise it, putting it into action. I must will to obey, and I must will to receive God’s Spirit. When God gives me a vision of truth, there is never a question of what He will do, but only of what I will do. The Lord has been placing in front of each of us some big proposals and plans. The best thing to do is to remember what you did before when you were touched by God. Recall the moment when you were saved, or first recognized Jesus, or realized some truth. It was easy then to yield your allegiance to God. Immediately recall those moments each time the Spirit of God brings some new proposal before you.
“…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….” Your choice must be a deliberate determination— it is not something into which you will automatically drift. And everything else in your life will be held in temporary suspension until you make a decision. The proposal is between you and God— do not “confer with flesh and blood” about it (Galatians 1:16). With every new proposal, the people around us seem to become more and more isolated, and that is where the tension develops. God allows the opinion of His other saints to matter to you, and yet you become less and less certain that others really understand the step you are taking. You have no business trying to find out where God is leading— the only thing God will explain to you is Himself.
Openly declare to Him, “I will be faithful.” But remember that as soon as you choose to be faithful to Jesus Christ, “You are witnesses against yourselves…” (Joshua 24:22). Don’t consult with other Christians, but simply and freely declare before Him, “I will serve You.” Will to be faithful— and give other people credit for being faithful too.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord”;… The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 537 L
I've never been surprised by God's judgment, but I'm still stunned by His grace! God's judgment has never been a problem for me. Lightning bolts on Sodom…fire on Gomorrah… good job, God! Discipline is easy for me to swallow; it's logical to assimilate.
But God's grace? Anything but. Peter denied Christ before he preached Christ. The thief on the cross was hell-bent and hung out to die one minute, then heaven-bound and smiling the next. I challenge you to find one story in the Bible of a person who came to God seeking grace and did not find it. I dare you. God gives a lot more grace than we would ever imagine.
We could do the same. I'm not for watering down the truth or compromising the Gospel. One thing is for sure. When we get to heaven, we'll be surprised at some of the folks we see. And some of them will be surprised when they see us.
From When God Whispers Your Name
Joshua 13
The Receiving of the Land
1-6 When Joshua had reached a venerable age, God said to him, “You’ve had a good, long life, but there is a lot of land still to be taken. This is the land that remains:
all the districts of the Philistines and Geshurites;
the land from the Shihor River east of Egypt to the border of Ekron up north, Canaanite country (there were five Philistine tyrants—in Gaza, in Ashdod, in Ashkelon, in Gath, in Ekron); also the Avvim from the south;
all the Canaanite land from Arah (belonging to the Sidonians) to Aphek at the Amorite border;
the country of the Gebalites;
all Lebanon eastward from Baal Gad in the shadow of Mount Hermon to the Entrance of Hamath;
all who live in the mountains, from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim;
all the Sidonians.
6-7 “I myself will drive them out before the People of Israel. All you have to do is allot this land to Israel as an inheritance, as I have instructed you. Do it now: Allot this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
Land East of the Jordan
8 The other half-tribe of Manasseh, with the Reubenites and Gadites, had been given their inheritance by Moses on the other side of the Jordan eastward. Moses the servant of God gave it to them.
9-13 This land extended from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge and the city in the middle of the valley, taking in the entire tableland of Medeba as far as Dibon, and all the towns of Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, and out to the border of the Ammonites. It also included Gilead, the country of the people of Geshur and Maacah, all of Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah—the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. He was one of the last survivors of the Rephaim. Moses had defeated them and taken their land. The People of Israel never did drive out the Geshurites and the Maacathites—they’re still there, living in Israel.
14 Levi was the only tribe that did not receive an inheritance. The Fire-Gift-Offerings to God, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as he told them.
Reuben
15-22 To the tribe of Reuben, clan by clan, Moses gave:
the land from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge and the town in the middle of the valley, including the tableland around Medeba;
Heshbon on the tableland with all its towns (Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on Valley Mountain, Beth Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth Jeshimoth);
and all the cities of the tableland, the whole kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled at Heshbon, whom Moses put to death along with the princes of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who lived in that country, all puppets of Sihon. (In addition to those killed in battle, Balaam son of Beor, the soothsayer, was put to death by the People of Israel.)
23 The boundary for the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan River. This was the inheritance of the Reubenites, their villages and cities, according to their clans.
Gad
24-27 To the tribe of Gad, clan by clan, Moses gave:
the territory of Jazer and all the towns of Gilead and half the Ammonite country as far as Aroer near Rabbah;
the land from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the region of Debir;
in the valley: Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the east side of the Jordan, north to the end of the Sea of Kinnereth).
28 This was the inheritance of the Gadites, their cities and villages, clan by clan.
Half-Tribe of Manasseh
29-31 To the half-tribe of Manasseh, clan by clan, Moses gave:
the land stretching out from Mahanaim;
all of Bashan, which is the entire kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the settlements of Jair in Bashan—sixty towns in all.
Half of Gilead with Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan, belong to the descendants of Makir, a son of Manasseh (in other words, the half-tribe of the children of Makir) for their clans.
32-33 This is the inheritance that Moses gave out when he was on the plains of Moab across the Jordan east of Jericho. But Moses gave no inheritance to the tribe of Levi. God, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as he told them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, July 08, 2018
Read: 1 Corinthians 12:4–14
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
One Body with Many Members
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves[a] or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 12:13 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface
INSIGHT
Romans 12:6–8 and 1 Corinthians 12 provide important instruction about spiritual gifts: All Christians have been given gifts; all gifts have different but equally important functions; all are from God; and all are to be used to build up others in the church. We have no reason to boast about our gifts because they are products of God’s grace. “In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us” (Romans 12:5–6).
How can you use your gifts to promote unity? - Alyson Kieda
Many Gifts, One Purpose
By Keila Ochoa
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12
Corn, also called maize, is the staple food in my home country of Mexico. There are so many different types. You can find yellow, brown, red, and black cobs, even ones with a wonderful spotted pattern. But people in the cities usually won’t eat the spotted cobs. Restaurateur and researcher Amado RamÃrez explains that they believe uniformity is a synonym of quality. Yet the spotted cobs taste good, and they make excellent tortillas.
The church of Christ is much more similar to a spotted ear of corn than to a cob of just one color. The apostle Paul used the imagery of a body to describe the church, because even though we are all one body, and we have the same God, each of us has been given a different gift. As Paul said, “There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work” (1 Corinthians 12:5–6). Our diversity in the ways we help each other shows God’s generosity and creativity.
As we embrace our diversity, may we also make every effort to keep our unity in faith and purpose. Yes, we have different abilities and backgrounds. We speak different languages and come from different countries. But we have the same wonderful God, the Creator who delights in so much variety.
Father, may we make every effort to be one, respecting and valuing each other and our various gifts and talents.
We need one another in order to be what God wants us to be.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, July 08, 2018
Will To Be Faithful
…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… —Joshua 24:15
A person’s will is embodied in the actions of the whole person. I cannot give up my will— I must exercise it, putting it into action. I must will to obey, and I must will to receive God’s Spirit. When God gives me a vision of truth, there is never a question of what He will do, but only of what I will do. The Lord has been placing in front of each of us some big proposals and plans. The best thing to do is to remember what you did before when you were touched by God. Recall the moment when you were saved, or first recognized Jesus, or realized some truth. It was easy then to yield your allegiance to God. Immediately recall those moments each time the Spirit of God brings some new proposal before you.
“…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….” Your choice must be a deliberate determination— it is not something into which you will automatically drift. And everything else in your life will be held in temporary suspension until you make a decision. The proposal is between you and God— do not “confer with flesh and blood” about it (Galatians 1:16). With every new proposal, the people around us seem to become more and more isolated, and that is where the tension develops. God allows the opinion of His other saints to matter to you, and yet you become less and less certain that others really understand the step you are taking. You have no business trying to find out where God is leading— the only thing God will explain to you is Himself.
Openly declare to Him, “I will be faithful.” But remember that as soon as you choose to be faithful to Jesus Christ, “You are witnesses against yourselves…” (Joshua 24:22). Don’t consult with other Christians, but simply and freely declare before Him, “I will serve You.” Will to be faithful— and give other people credit for being faithful too.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord”;… The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 537 L
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