Max Lucado Daily: FIND GOD IN YOUR CRISIS
Calamities can leave us off balance and confused. Consider the crisis of Joseph’s generation as recorded in Genesis Chapter 47. “Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.” Joseph faced a calamity on a global scale. Joseph told his brothers, “God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you.” Joseph began and ended his crisis with God.
God preceded the famine. God would outlive the famine. How would you describe your crisis? Do you recite your woes more naturally than you do heaven’s strength? You’re assuming God isn’t in the crisis. He is. Even a famine was fair game for God’s purpose!
Micah 1
The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, you peoples, all of you,
listen, earth and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem
3 Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place;
he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.
4 The mountains melt beneath him
and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
Is it not Samaria?
What is Judah’s high place?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour her stones into the valley
and lay bare her foundations.
7 All her idols will be broken to pieces;
all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
I will destroy all her images.
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,
as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”
Weeping and Mourning
8 Because of this I will weep and wail;
I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.
9 For Samaria’s plague is incurable;
it has spread to Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem itself.
10 Tell it not in Gath[a];
weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah[b]
roll in the dust.
11 Pass by naked and in shame,
you who live in Shaphir.[c]
Those who live in Zaanan[d]
will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
it no longer protects you.
12 Those who live in Maroth[e] writhe in pain,
waiting for relief,
because disaster has come from the Lord,
even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,
harness fast horses to the chariot.
You are where the sin of Daughter Zion began,
for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts
to Moresheth Gath.
The town of Akzib[f] will prove deceptive
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you
who live in Mareshah.[g]
The nobles of Israel
will flee to Adullam.
16 Shave your head in mourning
for the children in whom you delight;
make yourself as bald as the vulture,
for they will go from you into exile.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, July 10, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Acts 16:22–34
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
Insight
The jailer’s story in Acts 16:19–34 is intriguing. It’s possible he was a slave tasked with guarding the prison. According to Roman law, a jailer who let prisoners escape was to be executed (see 12:19). Evidently suicide was preferable to execution. But Paul stopped the jailer just in time (16:28). As a result, the guard asked about how he could be saved. He and his household placed their faith in God for salvation and were baptized (vv. 31–34).
Not Taking Advantage
Don’t harm yourself! We are all here! Acts 16:28
Several inmates were collecting roadside garbage to reduce their jail time when their supervisor, James, collapsed. They rushed to his aid and realized he was having a medical emergency. One inmate borrowed James’ phone to call for help. The sheriff’s department later thanked the inmates for helping get their supervisor prompt medical attention, especially because they could have instead neglected him—to his great detriment as he was having a stroke—or used the situation to their own advantage to escape.
The kindness of the inmates’ actions is not unlike those of Paul and Silas when they were imprisoned. After they’d been stripped, beaten, and thrown into prison, an earthquake struck so violently that it loosed their chains and shook the prison doors off their hinges (Acts 16:23–26). When the jailer awoke, he naturally assumed the prisoners had fled, so he prepared to take his own life (to preempt what would’ve been his punishment for their escape). When Paul shouted, “We are all here!” (v. 28) the jailer was so moved by their actions—uncharacteristic of prisoners—that he became curious about the God they worshiped, ultimately coming to believe in Him too (vv. 29–34).
The way we treat others reveals what we believe and value. When we choose to do good instead of harm, our actions might just prompt them to wonder about the God we know and love. By: Kirsten Holmberg
Reflect & Pray
In what situation can you choose to not take advantage for your own gain? How might that decision benefit someone else?
Loving God, help me to make choices that will draw others to You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, July 10, 2020
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
The Bible is the only Book that gives us any indication of the true nature of sin, and where it came from. The Philosophy of Sin, 1107 R
Bible in a Year: Job 41-42; Acts 16:22-40
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 10, 2020
No Life Without the Source - #8740
For my wife, it was sort of a symbol of the day she was born - daffodils. Growing up in the South, she was always able to have some fresh-picked daffodils for her birthday. But then we got married and then we found ourselves living pretty much in the North, where daffodils don't grow that early in the year. So every year, as my honey's birthday approached, I had fun trying to find some florist that somehow had some daffodils for sale, and I did. And once again, my gal had daffodils for her birthday. But even though they were very beautiful, the sad secret is they didn't last long...just like most of the flowers in the florist shop. They started to die as soon as they got cut from their stem.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Life Without the Source."
Someone has said that you and I are living in a "cut-flower civilization." We look like we're alive, but we're really cut off from the source of our life. That would be the God who designed us, who wired us - who planned us. He is, as the Bible says, "The author of life" (Acts 3:15). As spiritual "cut flowers," it's not that we don't try to generate life on our own. But no matter who or what we try, that strange loneliness and emptiness keeps creeping back into our soul. What we don't realize is that our loneliness is cosmic loneliness. Our emptiness is cosmic emptiness. We are missing the God who made us.
The Bible describes our true spiritual condition in eight sobering words. They're found in our word for today from the Word of God in Isaiah 59:2, "Your iniquities (That means sins or wrongdoings.) have separated you from your God." Think of that. Separated from God. In this life that means never finding the purpose of your life; never finding the love that can satisfy your heart.
At the end of this life, "separated from God" means an unspeakable eternity. In the single word the Bible uses, it means hell. God did not put up the wall that keeps us from Him-we did. Those "iniquities" are made up of every time we have done things the way we wanted to do it instead of God's way. And over a lifetime, it's impossible to add all those up. But each sin, each "me first" choice, has put another brick in the wall.
So, separated from the One our life came from, we're slowly dying inside. And every day is one day closer to the ultimate separation of an eternity away from God, of paying sin's horrific death penalty ourselves. But in spite of the way you and I have marginalized our Creator and ignored Him, He wasn't willing to let us be cut off from Him forever. Nope! To reconnect us to Him required the greatest act of love in the history of the human race. In the Bible's words, "This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him" (1 John 4:9). So Jesus came, and Jesus died, to remove the sin-wall that keeps us cut off from God. In fact, when He was dying on that cross, He was cut off from God the Father so you would never have to be.
That's why your decision about what you do with Jesus is the ultimate life-or-death decision you'll ever make. Because as the Bible makes very clear, "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:11-12). Either you have the Son of God in your heart and you have life forever, or you don't have the Son of God in your heart and you will miss eternal life.
You "have the Son of God" when you open your heart to Him, trusting Him as your only hope of having your sins forgiven, of having that wall between you and God finally come down, of going to heaven when you die. It's all about Jesus and whether you say yes or no to Him. And you could say "yes" to Him today and tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours. I've run my life. That's wrong. You died for that. I am Yours beginning today."
That's the life you were made for. That's the God you were made for. We want to help you get that relationship with Him started. And that help is at our website ANewStory.com. Please, do not risk another day without Him.
Friday, July 10, 2020
Thursday, July 9, 2020
Romans 16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE PROMISED REUNION
The word goodbye. This word may be the challenge of your life. How does a person get through raging loneliness, strength-draining grief? The rest of the world has moved on; you ache to do the same. Take heart. God has served notice. All farewells are on the clock.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 begins, “The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God’s trumpet blast! He will come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we’ll be walking on air. And there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. Reassure one another with these words” (The Message). Revelation 21:4 promises “He will wipe every tear from our eyes.” Isn’t this our hope? God has promised a restoration of all things, and that includes yours.
Romans 16
Be sure to welcome our friend Phoebe in the way of the Master, with all the generous hospitality we Christians are famous for. I heartily endorse both her and her work. She’s a key representative of the church at Cenchrea. Help her out in whatever she asks. She deserves anything you can do for her. She’s helped many a person, including me.
3-5 Say hello to Priscilla and Aquila, who have worked hand in hand with me in serving Jesus. They once put their lives on the line for me. And I’m not the only one grateful to them. All the non-Jewish gatherings of believers also owe them plenty, to say nothing of the church that meets in their house.
Hello to my dear friend Epenetus. He was the very first follower of Jesus in the province of Asia.
6 Hello to Mary. What a worker she has turned out to be!
7 Hello to my cousins Andronicus and Junias. We once shared a jail cell. They were believers in Christ before I was. Both of them are outstanding leaders.
8 Hello to Ampliatus, my good friend in the family of God.
9 Hello to Urbanus, our companion in Christ’s work, and my good friend Stachys.
10 Hello to Apelles, a tried-and-true veteran in following Christ.
Hello to the family of Aristobulus.
11 Hello to my cousin Herodion.
Hello to those who belong to the Lord from the family of Narcissus.
12 Hello to Tryphena and Tryphosa—such diligent women in serving the Master.
Hello to Persis, a dear friend and hard worker in Christ.
13 Hello to Rufus—a good choice by the Master!—and his mother. She has also been a dear mother to me.
14 Hello to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and also to all of their families.
15 Hello to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas—and all the followers of Jesus who live with them.
16 Holy embraces all around! All the churches of Christ send their warmest greetings!
17-18 One final word of counsel, friends. Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ. They’re only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren’t above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents.
19-20 And so while there has never been any question about your honesty in these matters—I couldn’t be more proud of you!—I want you also to be smart, making sure every “good” thing is the real thing. Don’t be gullible in regard to smooth-talking evil. Stay alert like this, and before you know it the God of peace will come down on Satan with both feet, stomping him into the dirt. Enjoy the best of Jesus!
21 And here are some more greetings from our end. Timothy, my partner in this work, Lucius, and my cousins Jason and Sosipater all said to tell you hello.
22 I, Tertius, who wrote this letter at Paul’s dictation, send you my personal greetings.
23 Gaius, who is host here to both me and the whole church, wants to be remembered to you.
Erastus, the city treasurer, and our good friend Quartus send their greetings.
25-26 All of our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the very last letter.
27 All our praise is focused through Jesus on this incomparably wise God! Yes!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 09, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Corinthians 1:20–31
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”[a]
Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 1:31 Jer. 9:24
Insight
Writers of the New Testament were themselves students of Scripture, and their writings reflect knowledge of the Old Testament. Occasionally they preface their use of the Old Testament with words like “to fulfill” (Matthew 1:22) or “it is written” (1 Corinthians 1:19, 31). Paul bookends his teaching in 1 Corinthians 1:19–31 about the wisdom and power of God that are inherent in the preaching of the gospel with quotes from Isaiah and Jeremiah. The section begins with a citation from Isaiah 29:14 and ends with words based on Jeremiah 9:24, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
The Foolish Way of New Life
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18
Some things just don’t make sense until you experience them. When I was pregnant with my first child, I read multiple books about childbirth and listened to dozens of women tell their stories of labor and delivery. But I still couldn’t really imagine what the experience would be like. What my body was going to do seemed impossible!
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians that birth into God’s kingdom, the salvation that God offers us through Christ, seems equally incomprehensible to those who haven’t experienced it. It sounds like “foolishness” to say that salvation could come through a cross—a death marked by weakness, defeat, and humiliation. Yet this “foolishness” was the salvation that Paul preached!
It wasn’t what anyone could have imagined it would be like. Some people thought that salvation would come through a strong political leader or a miraculous sign. Others thought that their own academic or philosophical achievements would be their salvation (1 Corinthians 1:22). But God surprised everyone by bringing salvation in a way that would only make sense to those who believed, to those who experienced it.
God took something shameful and weak—death on a cross—and made it the foundation of wisdom and power. God does the unimaginable. He chooses the weak and foolish things of the world to shame the wise (v. 27).
And His surprising, confounding ways are always the best ways. By: Amy Peterson
Reflect & Pray
How is God surprising you today? Why is it true that God’s ways are better than your ways?
God, with Isaiah I pray, as high as the heavens are above the earth, so are Your ways higher than my ways.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 09, 2020
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
We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….” So Send I You, 1325 R
Bible in a Year: Job 38-40; Acts 16:1-21
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 09, 2020
Attacking the Acid That's Attacking You - #8739
So you ate something your tummy didn't like. I love the phrase we say, "It didn't agree with me." Think about that. Now your stomach gets its revenge as it puts out an overdose of stomach acid. You experience the distress we call "heartburn" which has nothing to do with your heart, but...anyway. What's that miserable sufferer to do? Well, you know, maybe... well, there was a commercial years ago that said it was a Maalox moment...or we had the Alka Seltzer "tum-ta-tum-tum"...or Pepsid-AC, or I don't know - dozens of remedies out there. The idea is the same. You've got acid eating away your insides; you take a remedy that will neutralize the acid.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Attacking the Acid That's Attacking You."
There's no simple pill to take for the acid that does the most damage inside you. It's called bitterness...unforgiveness. It could be that you've been genuinely wronged. I mean, you have been deeply wounded. And the most natural thing in the world is for that wound to turn to bitterness toward the one who hurt you. It is the most natural thing, but also the most damaging thing. Someone listening today is being eaten up on the inside by bitter feelings, by smoldering anger.
But that acid of bitterness isn't hurting the person that hurt you. Now you're emotionally chained to that person, you think about them a lot. In fact, your bitterness may even be turning you hard on the inside. The acid may even be spilling on people who don't deserve it, people you love. God says in Hebrews 12:15 that a bitter root "grows up to cause trouble and defile many."
There's no pill that can neutralize the acid of bitterness. But there is a remedy. There's a picture of it in our word for today from the Word of God in Exodus 15, beginning in verse 23. The Israelites have traveled three days without finding water. Here's what it says, "When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter" (in fact, Marah means "bitter"). "So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, 'What are we to drink?' Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet."
Bitter water. God's remedy? A tree. God used a tree to do what would otherwise be impossible - make sweet what had been bitter for so long. He wants to do the same inside you with a tree of wood. The tree where God forgave all that you had done against Him. It is the cross of Jesus.
God's word to us is to "Forgive as the Lord forgave you." You and I certainly weren't forgiven based on deserving it. Certainly, the people who nailed Jesus to that tree did not deserve to have Him say, "Father, forgive them." But He did. And at the foot of Jesus' cross - the Forgiving Place - you could find the grace to finally release that person who has hurt you so deeply.
You have to tell the Lord you can't forgive that person, but that you want Jesus to give you His forgiving grace. Tell the Lord you're tired of drinking the water of bitterness, that you want to leave those dark feelings toward that person at the foot of the cross - God's tree for bitterness. Ask Him for the ability to see the person who hurt you through His eyes. Release that person to God's justice. He'll make things right a whole lot better than you ever could. And commit right there at the cross where you have been forgiven that you will not treat that person as they have treated you; you will treat them as Jesus has treated you.
And, my friend, you will finally be on your way to emotional freedom and emotional healing. The acid of bitterness has done enough damage hasn't it? Jesus stands ready to neutralize that bitterness with a heavy dose of His forgiving love and grace. You'll find it at the cross where you were forgiven.
The word goodbye. This word may be the challenge of your life. How does a person get through raging loneliness, strength-draining grief? The rest of the world has moved on; you ache to do the same. Take heart. God has served notice. All farewells are on the clock.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 begins, “The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God’s trumpet blast! He will come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we’ll be walking on air. And there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. Reassure one another with these words” (The Message). Revelation 21:4 promises “He will wipe every tear from our eyes.” Isn’t this our hope? God has promised a restoration of all things, and that includes yours.
Romans 16
Be sure to welcome our friend Phoebe in the way of the Master, with all the generous hospitality we Christians are famous for. I heartily endorse both her and her work. She’s a key representative of the church at Cenchrea. Help her out in whatever she asks. She deserves anything you can do for her. She’s helped many a person, including me.
3-5 Say hello to Priscilla and Aquila, who have worked hand in hand with me in serving Jesus. They once put their lives on the line for me. And I’m not the only one grateful to them. All the non-Jewish gatherings of believers also owe them plenty, to say nothing of the church that meets in their house.
Hello to my dear friend Epenetus. He was the very first follower of Jesus in the province of Asia.
6 Hello to Mary. What a worker she has turned out to be!
7 Hello to my cousins Andronicus and Junias. We once shared a jail cell. They were believers in Christ before I was. Both of them are outstanding leaders.
8 Hello to Ampliatus, my good friend in the family of God.
9 Hello to Urbanus, our companion in Christ’s work, and my good friend Stachys.
10 Hello to Apelles, a tried-and-true veteran in following Christ.
Hello to the family of Aristobulus.
11 Hello to my cousin Herodion.
Hello to those who belong to the Lord from the family of Narcissus.
12 Hello to Tryphena and Tryphosa—such diligent women in serving the Master.
Hello to Persis, a dear friend and hard worker in Christ.
13 Hello to Rufus—a good choice by the Master!—and his mother. She has also been a dear mother to me.
14 Hello to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and also to all of their families.
15 Hello to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas—and all the followers of Jesus who live with them.
16 Holy embraces all around! All the churches of Christ send their warmest greetings!
17-18 One final word of counsel, friends. Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ. They’re only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren’t above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents.
19-20 And so while there has never been any question about your honesty in these matters—I couldn’t be more proud of you!—I want you also to be smart, making sure every “good” thing is the real thing. Don’t be gullible in regard to smooth-talking evil. Stay alert like this, and before you know it the God of peace will come down on Satan with both feet, stomping him into the dirt. Enjoy the best of Jesus!
21 And here are some more greetings from our end. Timothy, my partner in this work, Lucius, and my cousins Jason and Sosipater all said to tell you hello.
22 I, Tertius, who wrote this letter at Paul’s dictation, send you my personal greetings.
23 Gaius, who is host here to both me and the whole church, wants to be remembered to you.
Erastus, the city treasurer, and our good friend Quartus send their greetings.
25-26 All of our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the very last letter.
27 All our praise is focused through Jesus on this incomparably wise God! Yes!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 09, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Corinthians 1:20–31
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”[a]
Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 1:31 Jer. 9:24
Insight
Writers of the New Testament were themselves students of Scripture, and their writings reflect knowledge of the Old Testament. Occasionally they preface their use of the Old Testament with words like “to fulfill” (Matthew 1:22) or “it is written” (1 Corinthians 1:19, 31). Paul bookends his teaching in 1 Corinthians 1:19–31 about the wisdom and power of God that are inherent in the preaching of the gospel with quotes from Isaiah and Jeremiah. The section begins with a citation from Isaiah 29:14 and ends with words based on Jeremiah 9:24, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
The Foolish Way of New Life
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18
Some things just don’t make sense until you experience them. When I was pregnant with my first child, I read multiple books about childbirth and listened to dozens of women tell their stories of labor and delivery. But I still couldn’t really imagine what the experience would be like. What my body was going to do seemed impossible!
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians that birth into God’s kingdom, the salvation that God offers us through Christ, seems equally incomprehensible to those who haven’t experienced it. It sounds like “foolishness” to say that salvation could come through a cross—a death marked by weakness, defeat, and humiliation. Yet this “foolishness” was the salvation that Paul preached!
It wasn’t what anyone could have imagined it would be like. Some people thought that salvation would come through a strong political leader or a miraculous sign. Others thought that their own academic or philosophical achievements would be their salvation (1 Corinthians 1:22). But God surprised everyone by bringing salvation in a way that would only make sense to those who believed, to those who experienced it.
God took something shameful and weak—death on a cross—and made it the foundation of wisdom and power. God does the unimaginable. He chooses the weak and foolish things of the world to shame the wise (v. 27).
And His surprising, confounding ways are always the best ways. By: Amy Peterson
Reflect & Pray
How is God surprising you today? Why is it true that God’s ways are better than your ways?
God, with Isaiah I pray, as high as the heavens are above the earth, so are Your ways higher than my ways.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 09, 2020
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
We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….” So Send I You, 1325 R
Bible in a Year: Job 38-40; Acts 16:1-21
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 09, 2020
Attacking the Acid That's Attacking You - #8739
So you ate something your tummy didn't like. I love the phrase we say, "It didn't agree with me." Think about that. Now your stomach gets its revenge as it puts out an overdose of stomach acid. You experience the distress we call "heartburn" which has nothing to do with your heart, but...anyway. What's that miserable sufferer to do? Well, you know, maybe... well, there was a commercial years ago that said it was a Maalox moment...or we had the Alka Seltzer "tum-ta-tum-tum"...or Pepsid-AC, or I don't know - dozens of remedies out there. The idea is the same. You've got acid eating away your insides; you take a remedy that will neutralize the acid.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Attacking the Acid That's Attacking You."
There's no simple pill to take for the acid that does the most damage inside you. It's called bitterness...unforgiveness. It could be that you've been genuinely wronged. I mean, you have been deeply wounded. And the most natural thing in the world is for that wound to turn to bitterness toward the one who hurt you. It is the most natural thing, but also the most damaging thing. Someone listening today is being eaten up on the inside by bitter feelings, by smoldering anger.
But that acid of bitterness isn't hurting the person that hurt you. Now you're emotionally chained to that person, you think about them a lot. In fact, your bitterness may even be turning you hard on the inside. The acid may even be spilling on people who don't deserve it, people you love. God says in Hebrews 12:15 that a bitter root "grows up to cause trouble and defile many."
There's no pill that can neutralize the acid of bitterness. But there is a remedy. There's a picture of it in our word for today from the Word of God in Exodus 15, beginning in verse 23. The Israelites have traveled three days without finding water. Here's what it says, "When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter" (in fact, Marah means "bitter"). "So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, 'What are we to drink?' Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet."
Bitter water. God's remedy? A tree. God used a tree to do what would otherwise be impossible - make sweet what had been bitter for so long. He wants to do the same inside you with a tree of wood. The tree where God forgave all that you had done against Him. It is the cross of Jesus.
God's word to us is to "Forgive as the Lord forgave you." You and I certainly weren't forgiven based on deserving it. Certainly, the people who nailed Jesus to that tree did not deserve to have Him say, "Father, forgive them." But He did. And at the foot of Jesus' cross - the Forgiving Place - you could find the grace to finally release that person who has hurt you so deeply.
You have to tell the Lord you can't forgive that person, but that you want Jesus to give you His forgiving grace. Tell the Lord you're tired of drinking the water of bitterness, that you want to leave those dark feelings toward that person at the foot of the cross - God's tree for bitterness. Ask Him for the ability to see the person who hurt you through His eyes. Release that person to God's justice. He'll make things right a whole lot better than you ever could. And commit right there at the cross where you have been forgiven that you will not treat that person as they have treated you; you will treat them as Jesus has treated you.
And, my friend, you will finally be on your way to emotional freedom and emotional healing. The acid of bitterness has done enough damage hasn't it? Jesus stands ready to neutralize that bitterness with a heavy dose of His forgiving love and grace. You'll find it at the cross where you were forgiven.
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Hosea 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: KEEP FORGIVING
Colossians 3:13 says, “As Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” Really, God? Begin the process of healing. How? Keep no list of wrongs. Pray for your antagonists rather than plot against them. Hate the wrong without hating wrongdoers. Turn your attention away from what they did to you to what Christ did for you. Outrageous as it may seem, Jesus died for them too. If He thinks they are worth forgiving, they are.
Does that make forgiveness easy? No. Quick? Seldom. Painless? Forgiveness vacillates. It has fits and starts, good days and bad. Anger intermingled with love. Irregular mercy. We make progress only to make a wrong turn. Step forward and fall back. But it’s okay. As long as you’re trying to forgive, you’re forgiving. It’s when you no longer try that bitterness sets in. So keep trying. Keep forgiving.
Hosea 14
Come Back! Return to Your God!
O Israel, come back! Return to your God!
You’re down but you’re not out.
Prepare your confession
and come back to God.
Pray to him, “Take away our sin,
accept our confession.
Receive as restitution
our repentant prayers.
Assyria won’t save us;
horses won’t get us where we want to go.
We’ll never again say ‘our god’
to something we’ve made or made up.
You’re our last hope. Is it not true
that in you the orphan finds mercy?”
4-8 “I will heal their waywardness.
I will love them lavishly. My anger is played out.
I will make a fresh start with Israel.
He’ll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring.
He’ll put down deep oak tree roots,
he’ll become a forest of oaks!
He’ll become splendid—like a giant sequoia,
his fragrance like a grove of cedars!
Those who live near him will be blessed by him,
be blessed and prosper like golden grain.
Everyone will be talking about them,
spreading their fame as the vintage children of God.
Ephraim is finished with gods that are no-gods.
From now on I’m the one who answers and satisfies him.
I am like a luxuriant fruit tree.
Everything you need is to be found in me.”
9 If you want to live well,
make sure you understand all of this.
If you know what’s good for you,
you’ll learn this inside and out.
God’s paths get you where you want to go.
Right-living people walk them easily;
wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 08, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Acts 15:36–16:5
Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
16 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. 2 The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
Insight
Why does the detail about circumcision appear in Acts 16:3? To the Jewish people, the circumcision of all males was a symbol of their identification as God’s chosen people (see Genesis 17:9–14). It’s vital to note, however, that Paul didn’t have Timothy circumcised because of his identification as a believer in Jesus. Elsewhere Paul wrote, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6). In this instance, Paul had Timothy circumcised so that he wouldn't offend the Jewish people residing in southern Galatia (now part of Turkey). Paul was displaying great cultural sensitivity so that the good news about Jesus could reach more people.
A Friend in Failure
Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them. Acts 15:38
On November 27, 1939, three treasure hunters accompanied by film crews dug through the asphalt outside of the Hollywood Bowl amphitheater in Southern California. They were looking for the Cahuenga Pass treasure, consisting of gold, diamonds, and pearls rumored to have been buried there seventy-five years earlier.
They never found it. After twenty-four days of digging, they struck a boulder and stopped. All they accomplished was a nine-foot-wide, forty-two-foot-deep hole in the ground. They walked away dejected.
To err is human—we all fail sometimes. Scripture tells us that young Mark walked away from Paul and Barnabas on a missionary trip “and had not continued with them in the work.” Because of this, “Paul did not think it wise to take him” on his next trip (Acts 15:38), which resulted in a strong disagreement with Barnabas. But in spite of his initial failings, Mark shows up years later in surprising ways. When Paul was lonely and in prison toward the end of his life, he asked for Mark and called him “helpful to me in my ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11). God even inspired Mark to write the gospel that bears his name.
Mark’s life shows us that God won’t leave us to face our errors and failures alone. We have a Friend who’s greater than every mistake. As we follow our Savior, He’ll provide the help and strength we need.
By: James Banks
Reflect & Pray
What mistakes or failures have you faced recently? In what ways have you discovered God’s strength as you shared them with Him in prayer?
Jesus, thank You for being there whenever I want to talk to You. I praise You for the comfort and hope only You can give!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 08, 2020
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 Bible is a relation of facts, the truth of which must be tested. Life may go on all right for a while, when suddenly a bereavement comes, or some crisis; unrequited love or a new love, a disaster, a business collapse, or a shocking sin, and we turn up our Bibles again and God’s word comes straight home, and we say, “Why, I never saw that there before.” Shade of His Hand, 1223 L
Bible in a Year: Job 36-37; Acts 15:22-41
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 08, 2020
Say It In My Language - #8738
So I'm settling into my hotel room. I'm out of town, and I'm going to turn on the TV probably to get a little of the local flavor. I especially like to watch the local weather and the local news. That's pretty much what I do at home. Now, if I'm in the U.S. listening to the local news and weather, that's easy. It gets kind of frustrating in another country sometimes .
Like I was in Amsterdam for a major conference, and I did what I just described there. I turned on the TV as I was unpacking in my hotel room, and I saw a man communicating very earnestly. He was telling viewers everything they should know: the local news, the weather for tomorrow. Of course I couldn't understand a word he was saying; it was all in Dutch, and it was frustrating. He knew it, I wanted to know it, but the information was not in a language I could understand. You may know some folks who feel the same way toward you.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Say It In My Language."
Our word for today from the Word of God; it's in Acts 2, where we have a communications miracle called Pentecost. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in Christians beginning at this point, and the disciples are preaching on the street corner in Jerusalem. The problem is that the disciples don't speak many languages; they have their own language they speak. The audience is very multilingual, representing many language groups, and Hebrew just isn't going to "cut it" to get across to most of them. Listen to what happened.
In verse 1: "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place." Verse 4: "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language." And then it says later in verse 11, the people say, "We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own languages."
Well, that was the key. They were impressed that they heard the Good News in their own language. In one sense, that was a special miracle for a special occasion. But it's still true that our message has no effect until a person hears it in a language he can understand.
We have people right around us that we're trying to share Christ with, but we might be like that Dutch newsman I heard. We're giving the information, but the person who needs it just doesn't understand it in the language we're giving it in.
Maybe we've got a language problem. See, when you become a Jesus follower, right away you start hanging around the church and picking up a wonderful Christian vocabulary. We get used to expressing Christ in religious terms. I call it Christianese. But they're terms that a lost person just doesn't understand.
There might be someone close to you right now and they're rejecting Christ. Maybe they've never heard about Him in words they can understand. They don't understand all our church talk. They need to hear the Gospel expressed in the language of sports, or business, or music if that's their thing, or gardening, or parenting, or computers, or the language of the medical profession, or whatever they can relate to. It's lazy just to say it in the religious jargon I'm most comfortable with. Think about that lost person. Learn to think "lost."
Walk a mile in his shoes, actually in his vocabulary. Look at his interests. Look at how the truth of the Gospel could be communicated and illustrated in his or her terms. When a missionary goes to the mission field, they don't just transmit the Gospel, they translate the Gospel. That's why they go to language school before they go to the mission field. We need to translate our message. This is information that a person's eternity depends on.
I sat in that Dutch hotel room and I murmured, "Say it in my language, will you?" Well, there's someone near you who doesn't have Christ who's waiting for words they can understand. Do what you have to do. Leave your comfort zone to say it in their language.
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Hosea 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: STAY THE COURSE OF FORGIVENESS
Vengeance is God’s. He will repay—whether ultimately on the Day of Judgment or intermediately in this life. God can discipline your abusive boss. He can bring your ex to his knees or to her senses. Forgiveness doesn’t diminish justice; it just entrusts it to God. He guarantees the right retribution. The God of justice has the precise prescription.
Forgive your enemies? That’s where you and I come in. “Do not let the sun go down on your anger,” Paul wrote, “and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:26 -27). Don’t give the devil territory or ground. Bitterness invites him to occupy a space in your heart, to rent a room. Believe me, he will move in and stink up the place! When it comes to forgiveness, all of us are beginners. Stay the course!
Hosea 13
The Lord’s Anger Against Israel
When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;
he was exalted in Israel.
But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.
2 Now they sin more and more;
they make idols for themselves from their silver,
cleverly fashioned images,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
It is said of these people,
“They offer human sacrifices!
They kiss[d] calf-idols!”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears,
like chaff swirling from a threshing floor,
like smoke escaping through a window.
4 “But I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.
You shall acknowledge no God but me,
no Savior except me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness,
in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;
then they forgot me.
7 So I will be like a lion to them,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,
I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion I will devour them—
a wild animal will tear them apart.
9 “You are destroyed, Israel,
because you are against me, against your helper.
10 Where is your king, that he may save you?
Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,
and in my wrath I took him away.
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
his sins are kept on record.
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him,
but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time arrives,
he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.
14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?
“I will have no compassion,
15 even though he thrives among his brothers.
An east wind from the Lord will come,
blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
and his well dry up.
His storehouse will be plundered
of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria must bear their guilt,
because they have rebelled against their God.
They will fall by the sword;
their little ones will be dashed to the ground,
their pregnant women ripped open.”[e]
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, July 07, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Habakkuk 2:1–3
I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.[a]
The Lord’s Answer
2 Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald[b] may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it[c] will certainly come
and will not delay.
Footnotes:
Habakkuk 2:1 Or and what to answer when I am rebuked
Habakkuk 2:2 Or so that whoever reads it
Habakkuk 2:3 Or Though he linger, wait for him; / he
Insight
We know very little about the prophet Habakkuk. Some have speculated he was the son of the Shunammite woman who Elisha raised from the dead (2 Kings 4:8–37). As to his prophecy, the only historical element we have is the reference to the Babylonians (or Chaldeans, see Habakkuk 1:6). Habakkuk’s prophecy is normally dated around the seventh century bc. The New Bible Commentary says that the purpose of the book “deals with the moral problem of God’s raising up of the Chaldeans to inflict his judgment upon Judah.” Perhaps the key feature of Habakkuk is found in 2:4: “but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.” This statement is quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38, making it a core New Testament value, although it was first expressed in the minor prophets of the Old Testament.
Prayer Eggs
Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3
Just outside my kitchen window, a robin built her nest under the eaves of our patio roof. I loved watching her tuck grasses into a safe spot and then hunker down to incubate the eggs. Each morning I checked her progress; but each morning, there was nothing. Robin eggs take two weeks to hatch.
Such impatience isn’t new for me. I’ve always strained against the work of waiting, especially in prayer. My husband and I waited nearly five years to adopt our first child. Decades ago, author Catherine Marshall wrote, “Prayers, like eggs, don’t hatch as soon as we lay them.”
The prophet Habakkuk wrestled with waiting in prayer. Frustrated at God’s silence with Babylon’s brutal mistreatment of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, Habakkuk commits to “stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts,” to “look to see what he will say to me” (Habakkuk 2:1). God replies that Habakkuk is to wait for the “appointed time” (v. 3) and directs Habakkuk to “write down the revelation” so the word can be spread as soon as it’s given (v. 2).
What God doesn’t mention is that the “appointed time” when Babylon falls is six decades away, creating a long gap between promise and fulfillment. Like eggs, prayers often don’t hatch immediately but rather incubate in God’s overarching purposes for our world and our lives. By: Elisa Morgan
Reflect & Pray
How difficult do you find it to wait while God works? While you wait, how can you obey God in what He has already given you to do?
Dear God, help me to trust You to work while I’m waiting.
To learn more about the prophet Habakkuk, visit bit.ly/35b7xTE.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 07, 2020
All Efforts of Worth and Excellence Are Difficult
Enter by the narrow gate….Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life…. —Matthew 7:13-14
If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all efforts of worth and excellence are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but its difficulty does not make us faint and cave in— it stirs us up to overcome. Do we appreciate the miraculous salvation of Jesus Christ enough to be our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory?
God saves people by His sovereign grace through the atonement of Jesus, and “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). But we have to “work out” that salvation in our everyday, practical living (Philippians 2:12). If we will only start on the basis of His redemption to do what He commands, then we will find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not yet put into practice what God has placed within us. But a crisis will reveal whether or not we have been putting it into practice. If we will obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has placed within us by His Spirit, then when a crisis does come we will find that our own nature, as well as the grace of God, will stand by us.
Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it is also something that requires bravery, courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10), and God will not shield us from the requirements of sonship. God’s grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an effort to live a life of worth and excellence.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The message of the prophets is that although they have forsaken God, it has not altered God. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the same truth, that God remains God even when we are unfaithful (see 2 Timothy 2:13). Never interpret God as changing with our changes. He never does; there is no variableness in Him. Notes on Ezekiel, 1477 L
Bible in a Year: Job 34-35; Acts 15:1-21
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 07, 2020
Jamming Communications - #8737
In college, our daughter wrote an award-winning essay about the power of radio. In that essay she wrote, "radio has the power to go through walls and sneak past border guards." That's true. For example, go back a few years to the fall of Communism. Uncle Sam broadcast Free World messages behind the Iron Curtain through an organization called Radio Free Europe. People got to hear truth about the rest of the world they never would have heard otherwise. Of course, the Communist leaders didn't want people hearing the rest of the story, so they would broadcast on the same frequencies, often just trying to drown out the truth with noise.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Jamming Communications."
The Iron Curtain, thank God that is gone, but unfortunately the strategy of drowning out the truth with noise - that's not gone. In fact, Satan has been using that strategy for a long time to keep us from hearing what God has to say. Listen to our word for today from the Word of God. It's just eight little words, but they are words that, for all their simplicity, totally challenge most of our lifestyles. Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God." How do you get in touch with the heart of God, with the plans of God, with the perspective of God? Be still. Now the enemy of our soul knows that, so he simply tries to jam God's communications to us by covering them up with a lot of noise.
And it's easy to let it happen in our busy, busy, busy lives. A telephone at home, a telephone at work, a cell phone with us everywhere. a computer and all kinds of stuff coming in on all these devices and technology. We've got communications going on in our car, we've got, Oh man, emails and text messaging. People's voices - our children, our mate, our friends, our coworkers - they're always transmitting to us. We wake up to background sound, we get ready to it, we drive to it, we exercise with it, we relax with it, and we go to sleep with it. And then there's the "quiet noise"...newspapers, magazines, novels, and piles of mail.
We've been raised in such a noisy world that silence actually makes a lot of us uncomfortable. If there isn't background sound, we turn some on fast! And yet God says He is best known in silent times. We have so few. And while Christian radio and TV and music can encourage our growth in Christ, even they can jam what God wants to say to our heart if we keep them going constantly.
As Martha was stressfully running around serving Jesus, He told her that when her sister Mary was doing the most important thing, she was sitting quietly at His feet just listening to Him. That's what we have way too little of. We've got plenty of Martha busyness, but not much Mary quietness do we, just listening to Jesus? As a result, our minds are stressed and our souls are parched.
I wonder if God is saying to you in the midst of the barrenness of a busy life, "Slow down. You're missing Me in all of this because you're not protecting our quiet times." You literally have to fight for those quiet times in a world of noise. You drive without the radio on just so you can listen to your Lord. You leave the TV off, you skip the news. You don't go right to your phone or your computer to check the text. You exercise without the music, you go away if necessary just to be still and know He is God.
Begin by praising Him specifically for His attributes and actions that you've been experiencing, and then listen to Him through extended time in His Word. Pour out your deepest feelings to Him in prayer and listen in your soul for His responses. Keep a notepad handy and write down whatever He seems to be saying during this time when His voice is the only voice you're listening to.
Satan doesn't want you to hear the messages from God's heart to your heart, so he just keeps trying to jam God's communications, drowning out the truth with noise. You cannot afford to miss those messages from God's heart to your heart. So carve out some silence. And in the silence, you can hear heaven.
Vengeance is God’s. He will repay—whether ultimately on the Day of Judgment or intermediately in this life. God can discipline your abusive boss. He can bring your ex to his knees or to her senses. Forgiveness doesn’t diminish justice; it just entrusts it to God. He guarantees the right retribution. The God of justice has the precise prescription.
Forgive your enemies? That’s where you and I come in. “Do not let the sun go down on your anger,” Paul wrote, “and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:26 -27). Don’t give the devil territory or ground. Bitterness invites him to occupy a space in your heart, to rent a room. Believe me, he will move in and stink up the place! When it comes to forgiveness, all of us are beginners. Stay the course!
Hosea 13
The Lord’s Anger Against Israel
When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;
he was exalted in Israel.
But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.
2 Now they sin more and more;
they make idols for themselves from their silver,
cleverly fashioned images,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
It is said of these people,
“They offer human sacrifices!
They kiss[d] calf-idols!”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears,
like chaff swirling from a threshing floor,
like smoke escaping through a window.
4 “But I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.
You shall acknowledge no God but me,
no Savior except me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness,
in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;
then they forgot me.
7 So I will be like a lion to them,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,
I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion I will devour them—
a wild animal will tear them apart.
9 “You are destroyed, Israel,
because you are against me, against your helper.
10 Where is your king, that he may save you?
Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,
and in my wrath I took him away.
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
his sins are kept on record.
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him,
but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time arrives,
he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.
14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?
“I will have no compassion,
15 even though he thrives among his brothers.
An east wind from the Lord will come,
blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
and his well dry up.
His storehouse will be plundered
of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria must bear their guilt,
because they have rebelled against their God.
They will fall by the sword;
their little ones will be dashed to the ground,
their pregnant women ripped open.”[e]
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, July 07, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Habakkuk 2:1–3
I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.[a]
The Lord’s Answer
2 Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald[b] may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it[c] will certainly come
and will not delay.
Footnotes:
Habakkuk 2:1 Or and what to answer when I am rebuked
Habakkuk 2:2 Or so that whoever reads it
Habakkuk 2:3 Or Though he linger, wait for him; / he
Insight
We know very little about the prophet Habakkuk. Some have speculated he was the son of the Shunammite woman who Elisha raised from the dead (2 Kings 4:8–37). As to his prophecy, the only historical element we have is the reference to the Babylonians (or Chaldeans, see Habakkuk 1:6). Habakkuk’s prophecy is normally dated around the seventh century bc. The New Bible Commentary says that the purpose of the book “deals with the moral problem of God’s raising up of the Chaldeans to inflict his judgment upon Judah.” Perhaps the key feature of Habakkuk is found in 2:4: “but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.” This statement is quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38, making it a core New Testament value, although it was first expressed in the minor prophets of the Old Testament.
Prayer Eggs
Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3
Just outside my kitchen window, a robin built her nest under the eaves of our patio roof. I loved watching her tuck grasses into a safe spot and then hunker down to incubate the eggs. Each morning I checked her progress; but each morning, there was nothing. Robin eggs take two weeks to hatch.
Such impatience isn’t new for me. I’ve always strained against the work of waiting, especially in prayer. My husband and I waited nearly five years to adopt our first child. Decades ago, author Catherine Marshall wrote, “Prayers, like eggs, don’t hatch as soon as we lay them.”
The prophet Habakkuk wrestled with waiting in prayer. Frustrated at God’s silence with Babylon’s brutal mistreatment of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, Habakkuk commits to “stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts,” to “look to see what he will say to me” (Habakkuk 2:1). God replies that Habakkuk is to wait for the “appointed time” (v. 3) and directs Habakkuk to “write down the revelation” so the word can be spread as soon as it’s given (v. 2).
What God doesn’t mention is that the “appointed time” when Babylon falls is six decades away, creating a long gap between promise and fulfillment. Like eggs, prayers often don’t hatch immediately but rather incubate in God’s overarching purposes for our world and our lives. By: Elisa Morgan
Reflect & Pray
How difficult do you find it to wait while God works? While you wait, how can you obey God in what He has already given you to do?
Dear God, help me to trust You to work while I’m waiting.
To learn more about the prophet Habakkuk, visit bit.ly/35b7xTE.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 07, 2020
All Efforts of Worth and Excellence Are Difficult
Enter by the narrow gate….Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life…. —Matthew 7:13-14
If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all efforts of worth and excellence are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but its difficulty does not make us faint and cave in— it stirs us up to overcome. Do we appreciate the miraculous salvation of Jesus Christ enough to be our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory?
God saves people by His sovereign grace through the atonement of Jesus, and “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). But we have to “work out” that salvation in our everyday, practical living (Philippians 2:12). If we will only start on the basis of His redemption to do what He commands, then we will find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not yet put into practice what God has placed within us. But a crisis will reveal whether or not we have been putting it into practice. If we will obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has placed within us by His Spirit, then when a crisis does come we will find that our own nature, as well as the grace of God, will stand by us.
Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it is also something that requires bravery, courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10), and God will not shield us from the requirements of sonship. God’s grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an effort to live a life of worth and excellence.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The message of the prophets is that although they have forsaken God, it has not altered God. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the same truth, that God remains God even when we are unfaithful (see 2 Timothy 2:13). Never interpret God as changing with our changes. He never does; there is no variableness in Him. Notes on Ezekiel, 1477 L
Bible in a Year: Job 34-35; Acts 15:1-21
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 07, 2020
Jamming Communications - #8737
In college, our daughter wrote an award-winning essay about the power of radio. In that essay she wrote, "radio has the power to go through walls and sneak past border guards." That's true. For example, go back a few years to the fall of Communism. Uncle Sam broadcast Free World messages behind the Iron Curtain through an organization called Radio Free Europe. People got to hear truth about the rest of the world they never would have heard otherwise. Of course, the Communist leaders didn't want people hearing the rest of the story, so they would broadcast on the same frequencies, often just trying to drown out the truth with noise.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Jamming Communications."
The Iron Curtain, thank God that is gone, but unfortunately the strategy of drowning out the truth with noise - that's not gone. In fact, Satan has been using that strategy for a long time to keep us from hearing what God has to say. Listen to our word for today from the Word of God. It's just eight little words, but they are words that, for all their simplicity, totally challenge most of our lifestyles. Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God." How do you get in touch with the heart of God, with the plans of God, with the perspective of God? Be still. Now the enemy of our soul knows that, so he simply tries to jam God's communications to us by covering them up with a lot of noise.
And it's easy to let it happen in our busy, busy, busy lives. A telephone at home, a telephone at work, a cell phone with us everywhere. a computer and all kinds of stuff coming in on all these devices and technology. We've got communications going on in our car, we've got, Oh man, emails and text messaging. People's voices - our children, our mate, our friends, our coworkers - they're always transmitting to us. We wake up to background sound, we get ready to it, we drive to it, we exercise with it, we relax with it, and we go to sleep with it. And then there's the "quiet noise"...newspapers, magazines, novels, and piles of mail.
We've been raised in such a noisy world that silence actually makes a lot of us uncomfortable. If there isn't background sound, we turn some on fast! And yet God says He is best known in silent times. We have so few. And while Christian radio and TV and music can encourage our growth in Christ, even they can jam what God wants to say to our heart if we keep them going constantly.
As Martha was stressfully running around serving Jesus, He told her that when her sister Mary was doing the most important thing, she was sitting quietly at His feet just listening to Him. That's what we have way too little of. We've got plenty of Martha busyness, but not much Mary quietness do we, just listening to Jesus? As a result, our minds are stressed and our souls are parched.
I wonder if God is saying to you in the midst of the barrenness of a busy life, "Slow down. You're missing Me in all of this because you're not protecting our quiet times." You literally have to fight for those quiet times in a world of noise. You drive without the radio on just so you can listen to your Lord. You leave the TV off, you skip the news. You don't go right to your phone or your computer to check the text. You exercise without the music, you go away if necessary just to be still and know He is God.
Begin by praising Him specifically for His attributes and actions that you've been experiencing, and then listen to Him through extended time in His Word. Pour out your deepest feelings to Him in prayer and listen in your soul for His responses. Keep a notepad handy and write down whatever He seems to be saying during this time when His voice is the only voice you're listening to.
Satan doesn't want you to hear the messages from God's heart to your heart, so he just keeps trying to jam God's communications, drowning out the truth with noise. You cannot afford to miss those messages from God's heart to your heart. So carve out some silence. And in the silence, you can hear heaven.
Monday, July 6, 2020
Hosea 12, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: GOD CAN HEAL ANCIENT HURT
God moves us forward by healing our past! Can he really? Can God heal this ancient hurt in my heart? Of course He can. In fact, God cares about justice more than we do. We’re reminded in Romans 12:17-19, “Never pay back evil for evil…never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God, for He has said that He will repay those who deserve it.”
We fear the evildoer will slip into the night, unknown and unpunished. Escape to Fiji and sip mai tais on the beach. Not to worry. Scripture says, “God will repay,” not “God might repay.” God will execute justice on behalf of truth and fairness. Unlike us, God never gives up on a person. Never! Long after we’ve moved on, God is still there– probing the conscience; stirring conviction; always orchestrating redemption. Think you need to fix your enemies? That’s God’s job.
Hosea 12
Ephraim feeds on the wind;
he pursues the east wind all day
and multiplies lies and violence.
He makes a treaty with Assyria
and sends olive oil to Egypt.
2 The Lord has a charge to bring against Judah;
he will punish Jacob[b] according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;
as a man he struggled with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel
and talked with him there—
5 the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is his name!
6 But you must return to your God;
maintain love and justice,
and wait for your God always.
7 The merchant uses dishonest scales
and loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim boasts,
“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.
With all my wealth they will not find in me
any iniquity or sin.”
9 “I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
as in the days of your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets,
gave them many visions
and told parables through them.”
11 Is Gilead wicked?
Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?
Their altars will be like piles of stones
on a plowed field.
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram[c];
Israel served to get a wife,
and to pay for her he tended sheep.
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,
by a prophet he cared for him.
14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed
and will repay him for his contempt.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, July 06, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Proverbs 11:24–30
One person gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
25 A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
26 People curse the one who hoards grain,
but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.
27 Whoever seeks good finds favor,
but evil comes to one who searches for it.
28 Those who trust in their riches will fall,
but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
29 Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind,
and the fool will be servant to the wise.
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and the one who is wise saves lives.
Insight
The word thrive in Proverbs 11:28 is a translation of the Hebrew verb parach. It can mean “to break forth” as with a bud or blossom; or grow, spread, and spring up. “Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.” This positive growth dynamic characterizes those who are rightly related to God (“the righteous”). We also see this word in Psalm 92: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God” (vv. 12–13).
A Flourishing Tree
Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. Proverbs 11:28
I’ve always had a collector’s heart. As a kid, I collected stamps. Baseball cards. Comics. Now, as a parent, I see the same impulse in my kids. Sometimes I wonder, Do you really need another teddy bear?
Of course, it’s not about need. It’s about the allure of something new. Or sometimes the tantalizing draw of something old, something rare. Whatever captivates our imagination, we’re tempted to believe that if we only had “X,” our lives would be better. We’d be happy. Content.
Except those things never deliver the goods. Why? Because God created us to be filled by Him, not by the things that the world around us often insists will satisfy our longing hearts.
This tension is hardly new. Proverbs contrasts two ways of life: a life spent pursuing riches versus a life grounded in loving God and giving generously. In The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases Proverbs 11:28 like this: “A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.”
What a picture! Two ways of life: one flourishing and fruitful, one hollow and barren. The world insists that material abundance equals “the good life.” In contrast, God invites us to be rooted in Him, to experience His goodness, and to flourish fruitfully. And as we’re shaped by our relationship with Him, God reshapes our hearts and desires, transforming us from the inside out. By: Adam R. Holz
Reflect & Pray
When has an undue focus on material things become a major spiritual struggle for you? What helps you keep your desires in proper perspective?
Father, thank You for the good gifts You give. Help me to keep putting my trust in You rather than the stuff of this world.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, July 06, 2020
Visions Becoming Reality
The parched ground shall become a pool… —Isaiah 35:7
We always have a vision of something before it actually becomes real to us. When we realize that the vision is real, but is not yet real in us, Satan comes to us with his temptations, and we are inclined to say that there is no point in even trying to continue. Instead of the vision becoming real to us, we have entered into a valley of humiliation.
Life is not as idle ore,
But iron dug from central gloom,
And battered by the shocks of doom
To shape and use.
God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint. Every God-given vision will become real if we will only have patience. Just think of the enormous amount of free time God has! He is never in a hurry. Yet we are always in such a frantic hurry. While still in the light of the glory of the vision, we go right out to do things, but the vision is not yet real in us. God has to take us into the valley and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision. Ever since God gave us the vision, He has been at work. He is getting us into the shape of the goal He has for us, and yet over and over again we try to escape from the Sculptor’s hand in an effort to batter ourselves into the shape of our own goal.
The vision that God gives is not some unattainable castle in the sky, but a vision of what God wants you to be down here. Allow the Potter to put you on His wheel and whirl you around as He desires. Then as surely as God is God, and you are you, you will turn out as an exact likeness of the vision. But don’t lose heart in the process. If you have ever had a vision from God, you may try as you will to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never allow it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
“I have chosen you” (John 15:16). Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God, but that He has got you. My Utmost for His Highest, October 25, 837 R
Bible in a Year: Job 32-33; Acts 14
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, July 06, 2020
The Monster In Your Closet - #8736
When you're the parent of a little kid, you know that one of your great challenges could be getting that little one to sleep at night. When you are the little child, you know why it's hard to get to sleep at night. First, there's that prayer. You know, the one where your Mommy has you pray, "Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep." OK, that's good so far. Then, "If I should die before I wake..." Wait a minute! Hold it! Not going to sleep! Who in the world put that line in that prayer? Then there's another reason little kids have a hard time getting to sleep. The monsters, you know the ones in the closet. Oh, I know we had them in my room, how about yours? See, parents never really seem to get it. But all of us kids knew that once the lights all went out, there was a really scary monster waiting in that closet. So, you lie there with your eyes wide open, afraid of what the monster might do if you fall asleep.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Monster In Your Closet."
Well, fortunately we've all grown up now. Huh? Right? And in a sense, there is still a monster in our closet that makes it very hard for us to be at peace. And this one is not imaginary. It is all too real; life's ultimate, inevitable reality. Our deep, nagging fear of that monster is actually expressed in the possibility raised in that childhood prayer, "If I should die before I wake..."
The monster of death actually comes out of the closet every time we have to go to a funeral. It comes really close to us when the person who died is like someone our age. It's not meant to be a morbid thing, but the reality is that one day it will be me in that casket and it will be you. And we know it. And the longer we live, the more quickly our years seem to slip away, right? One day the monster will catch every one of us. Beyond our last heartbeat is a lot of unknown and whatever it is, it's forever.
Of course, the only one who can really speak with total authority about death is God. He's the only One who knows what's on the other side. And in our word for today from the Word of God, there is some very good news about the monster - the monster that lurks in all of our futures. Hebrews 2:14 - "(Jesus) shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."
Wow! "Held in slavery by their fear of death." Now, we know it's inevitable. We don't know where it will take us. But we can. If you'll put your life in the hands of Jesus Christ, you can be liberated from the fear of death. Why? Because you'll know for sure that death for you is going to mean heaven forever. How can you know that? By having the only thing that could keep you out of God's heaven removed forever, and that is your sins. There is no way you can enter heaven with your sins. And there is no way they can be forgiven by anyone but the One who died to pay for those sins.
This same Bible chapter says that Jesus tasted "death for everyone," and that He made "atonement for the sins of the people." Your sins have been paid for. You don't ever have to pay for them if you give yourself to Him. And death will just be your graduation to eternal life in heaven. But if you've never totally trusted Jesus as your Savior from your sin, you have no hope of heaven.
So, I urge you, if you want to begin your relationship with Jesus, tell Him that now while you know you've got the opportunity. Don't risk your eternity by waiting. Tell Him today, "Jesus, I've been running my life. I resign. I'm yours because you died for me. You drive from here on."
A lot of people have found help in beginning this relationship by visiting our website. In fact, that's how we've set it up. I hope you go there today. It's ANewStory.com where your new story might begin.
That monster of death was put to death when Jesus died on the cross. And you can finally be free from the fear that haunts us all our lives until we meet Jesus. Until we know that if we die before we wake, we'll be in heaven forever with Him.
Sunday, July 5, 2020
Romans 15:14-33, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: He Cares About You
Maybe you don’t want to trouble God with your hurts. After all, “He’s got famines and pestilence and wars. He won’t care about my little struggles,” you think. Why don’t you let Him decide that?
Jesus cared enough about a wedding to provide the wine. He cared enough about the woman at the well to give her answers. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “He cares about you.”
Your first step is to go to the right person. Go to God. Your second step is to assume the right posture. Bow before God. Luke 18:7 reminds us, “God will always give what is right to His people who cry to Him night and day, and He will not be slow to answer them.”
Listen to the prayer in Psalm 25:1-2: “Lord, I give myself to You, my God. I trust You.” So, go…bow…and trust. It’s worth a try, don’t you think?
from Traveling Light
Romans 15:14-33
Paul the Minister to the Gentiles
Personally, I’ve been completely satisfied with who you are and what you are doing. You seem to me to be well-motivated and well-instructed, quite capable of guiding and advising one another. So, my dear friends, don’t take my rather bold and blunt language as criticism. It’s not criticism. I’m simply underlining how very much I need your help in carrying out this highly focused assignment God gave me, this priestly and gospel work of serving the spiritual needs of the non-Jewish outsiders so they can be presented as an acceptable offering to God, made whole and holy by God’s Holy Spirit.
17-21 Looking back over what has been accomplished and what I have observed, I must say I am most pleased—in the context of Jesus, I’d even say proud, but only in that context. I have no interest in giving you a chatty account of my adventures, only the wondrously powerful and transformingly present words and deeds of Christ in me that triggered a believing response among the outsiders. In such ways I have trailblazed a preaching of the Message of Jesus all the way from Jerusalem far into northwestern Greece. This has all been pioneer work, bringing the Message only into those places where Jesus was not yet known and worshiped. My text has been,
Those who were never told of him—
they’ll see him!
Those who’ve never heard of him—
they’ll get the message!
22-24 And that’s why it has taken me so long to finally get around to coming to you. But now that there is no more pioneering work to be done in these parts, and since I have looked forward to seeing you for many years, I’m planning my visit. I’m headed for Spain, and expect to stop off on the way to enjoy a good visit with you, and eventually have you send me off with God’s blessing.
25-29 First, though, I’m going to Jerusalem to deliver a relief offering to the followers of Jesus there. The Greeks—all the way from the Macedonians in the north to the Achaians in the south—decided they wanted to take up a collection for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. They were happy to do this, but it was also their duty. Seeing that they got in on all the spiritual gifts that flowed out of the Jerusalem community so generously, it is only right that they do what they can to relieve their poverty. As soon as I have done this—personally handed over this “fruit basket”—I’m off to Spain, with a stopover with you in Rome. My hope is that my visit with you is going to be one of Christ’s more extravagant blessings.
30-33 I have one request, dear friends: Pray for me. Pray strenuously with and for me—to God the Father, through the power of our Master Jesus, through the love of the Spirit—that I will be delivered from the lions’ den of unbelievers in Judea. Pray also that my relief offering to the Jerusalem believers will be accepted in the spirit in which it is given. Then, God willing, I’ll be on my way to you with a light and eager heart, looking forward to being refreshed by your company. God’s peace be with all of you. Oh, yes!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, July 05, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 103:1–5
Of David.
Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Insight
Renewal is one of the themes in Psalm 103 (see vv. 3–5). It’s also a prominent theme in other Old Testament Scriptures: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31); “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10), and “Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21). In the New Testament, we learn that the final renewal of all things will come when Jesus returns: “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28). Meanwhile, believers in Jesus are being daily renewed by the Holy Spirit at work in their lives (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 4:16).
Renewed Strength
Praise the Lord . . . who satisfies your desires with good things. Psalm 103:1, 5
Psychiatrist Robert Coles once noticed a pattern in those who burn out while serving others. The first warning sign is weariness. Next comes cynicism about things ever improving, then bitterness, despair, depression, and finally burnout.
After writing a book about recovering from broken dreams, I once entered a busy season of conference speaking. Helping people find hope after disappointment was richly rewarding, but came at a cost. One day, about to step on stage, I thought I was going to faint. I hadn’t slept well, a vacation hadn’t fixed my weariness, and the thought of hearing another person’s problems afterward filled me with dread. I was following Coles’ pattern.
Scripture gives two strategies for beating burnout. In Isaiah 40, the weary soul is renewed when it hopes in the Lord (vv. 29–31). I needed to rest in God, trusting Him to work, rather than pushing on in my own dwindling strength. And Psalm 103 says God renews us by satisfying our desires with good things (v. 5). While this includes forgiveness and redemption (vv. 3–4), provisions of joy and play come from Him too. When I reworked my schedule to include more prayer, rest, and hobbies like photography, I began to feel healthy again.
Burnout begins with weariness. Let’s stop it from going further. We serve others best when our lives include both worship and rest. By: Sheridan Voysey
Reflect & Pray
What burdens do you need to offload to God right now? How are you renewing your strength through prayer, Scripture, and healthy play?
Loving God, I want to rise in strength like the eagle today. I trust You to work in my exhausting situation, and receive Your soul-filling gifts with gladness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, July 05, 2020
Don’t Plan Without God
Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. —Psalm 37:5
Don’t plan without God. God seems to have a delightful way of upsetting the plans we have made, when we have not taken Him into account. We get ourselves into circumstances that were not chosen by God, and suddenly we realize that we have been making our plans without Him— that we have not even considered Him to be a vital, living factor in the planning of our lives. And yet the only thing that will keep us from even the possibility of worrying is to bring God in as the greatest factor in all of our planning.
In spiritual issues it is customary for us to put God first, but we tend to think that it is inappropriate and unnecessary to put Him first in the practical, everyday issues of our lives. If we have the idea that we have to put on our “spiritual face” before we can come near to God, then we will never come near to Him. We must come as we are.
Don’t plan with a concern for evil in mind. Does God really mean for us to plan without taking the evil around us into account? “Love…thinks no evil” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). Love is not ignorant of the existence of evil, but it does not take it into account as a factor in planning. When we were apart from God, we did take evil into account, doing all of our planning with it in mind, and we tried to reason out all of our work from its standpoint.
Don’t plan with a rainy day in mind. You cannot hoard things for a rainy day if you are truly trusting Christ. Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:1). God will not keep your heart from being troubled. It is a command— “Let not….” To do it, continually pick yourself up, even if you fall a hundred and one times a day, until you get into the habit of putting God first and planning with Him in mind.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The message of the prophets is that although they have forsaken God, it has not altered God. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the same truth, that God remains God even when we are unfaithful (see 2 Timothy 2:13). Never interpret God as changing with our changes. He never does; there is no variableness in Him. Notes on Ezekiel, 1477 L
Bible in a Year: Job 30-31; Acts 13:26-52
Maybe you don’t want to trouble God with your hurts. After all, “He’s got famines and pestilence and wars. He won’t care about my little struggles,” you think. Why don’t you let Him decide that?
Jesus cared enough about a wedding to provide the wine. He cared enough about the woman at the well to give her answers. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “He cares about you.”
Your first step is to go to the right person. Go to God. Your second step is to assume the right posture. Bow before God. Luke 18:7 reminds us, “God will always give what is right to His people who cry to Him night and day, and He will not be slow to answer them.”
Listen to the prayer in Psalm 25:1-2: “Lord, I give myself to You, my God. I trust You.” So, go…bow…and trust. It’s worth a try, don’t you think?
from Traveling Light
Romans 15:14-33
Paul the Minister to the Gentiles
Personally, I’ve been completely satisfied with who you are and what you are doing. You seem to me to be well-motivated and well-instructed, quite capable of guiding and advising one another. So, my dear friends, don’t take my rather bold and blunt language as criticism. It’s not criticism. I’m simply underlining how very much I need your help in carrying out this highly focused assignment God gave me, this priestly and gospel work of serving the spiritual needs of the non-Jewish outsiders so they can be presented as an acceptable offering to God, made whole and holy by God’s Holy Spirit.
17-21 Looking back over what has been accomplished and what I have observed, I must say I am most pleased—in the context of Jesus, I’d even say proud, but only in that context. I have no interest in giving you a chatty account of my adventures, only the wondrously powerful and transformingly present words and deeds of Christ in me that triggered a believing response among the outsiders. In such ways I have trailblazed a preaching of the Message of Jesus all the way from Jerusalem far into northwestern Greece. This has all been pioneer work, bringing the Message only into those places where Jesus was not yet known and worshiped. My text has been,
Those who were never told of him—
they’ll see him!
Those who’ve never heard of him—
they’ll get the message!
22-24 And that’s why it has taken me so long to finally get around to coming to you. But now that there is no more pioneering work to be done in these parts, and since I have looked forward to seeing you for many years, I’m planning my visit. I’m headed for Spain, and expect to stop off on the way to enjoy a good visit with you, and eventually have you send me off with God’s blessing.
25-29 First, though, I’m going to Jerusalem to deliver a relief offering to the followers of Jesus there. The Greeks—all the way from the Macedonians in the north to the Achaians in the south—decided they wanted to take up a collection for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. They were happy to do this, but it was also their duty. Seeing that they got in on all the spiritual gifts that flowed out of the Jerusalem community so generously, it is only right that they do what they can to relieve their poverty. As soon as I have done this—personally handed over this “fruit basket”—I’m off to Spain, with a stopover with you in Rome. My hope is that my visit with you is going to be one of Christ’s more extravagant blessings.
30-33 I have one request, dear friends: Pray for me. Pray strenuously with and for me—to God the Father, through the power of our Master Jesus, through the love of the Spirit—that I will be delivered from the lions’ den of unbelievers in Judea. Pray also that my relief offering to the Jerusalem believers will be accepted in the spirit in which it is given. Then, God willing, I’ll be on my way to you with a light and eager heart, looking forward to being refreshed by your company. God’s peace be with all of you. Oh, yes!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, July 05, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 103:1–5
Of David.
Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Insight
Renewal is one of the themes in Psalm 103 (see vv. 3–5). It’s also a prominent theme in other Old Testament Scriptures: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31); “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10), and “Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21). In the New Testament, we learn that the final renewal of all things will come when Jesus returns: “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28). Meanwhile, believers in Jesus are being daily renewed by the Holy Spirit at work in their lives (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 4:16).
Renewed Strength
Praise the Lord . . . who satisfies your desires with good things. Psalm 103:1, 5
Psychiatrist Robert Coles once noticed a pattern in those who burn out while serving others. The first warning sign is weariness. Next comes cynicism about things ever improving, then bitterness, despair, depression, and finally burnout.
After writing a book about recovering from broken dreams, I once entered a busy season of conference speaking. Helping people find hope after disappointment was richly rewarding, but came at a cost. One day, about to step on stage, I thought I was going to faint. I hadn’t slept well, a vacation hadn’t fixed my weariness, and the thought of hearing another person’s problems afterward filled me with dread. I was following Coles’ pattern.
Scripture gives two strategies for beating burnout. In Isaiah 40, the weary soul is renewed when it hopes in the Lord (vv. 29–31). I needed to rest in God, trusting Him to work, rather than pushing on in my own dwindling strength. And Psalm 103 says God renews us by satisfying our desires with good things (v. 5). While this includes forgiveness and redemption (vv. 3–4), provisions of joy and play come from Him too. When I reworked my schedule to include more prayer, rest, and hobbies like photography, I began to feel healthy again.
Burnout begins with weariness. Let’s stop it from going further. We serve others best when our lives include both worship and rest. By: Sheridan Voysey
Reflect & Pray
What burdens do you need to offload to God right now? How are you renewing your strength through prayer, Scripture, and healthy play?
Loving God, I want to rise in strength like the eagle today. I trust You to work in my exhausting situation, and receive Your soul-filling gifts with gladness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, July 05, 2020
Don’t Plan Without God
Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. —Psalm 37:5
Don’t plan without God. God seems to have a delightful way of upsetting the plans we have made, when we have not taken Him into account. We get ourselves into circumstances that were not chosen by God, and suddenly we realize that we have been making our plans without Him— that we have not even considered Him to be a vital, living factor in the planning of our lives. And yet the only thing that will keep us from even the possibility of worrying is to bring God in as the greatest factor in all of our planning.
In spiritual issues it is customary for us to put God first, but we tend to think that it is inappropriate and unnecessary to put Him first in the practical, everyday issues of our lives. If we have the idea that we have to put on our “spiritual face” before we can come near to God, then we will never come near to Him. We must come as we are.
Don’t plan with a concern for evil in mind. Does God really mean for us to plan without taking the evil around us into account? “Love…thinks no evil” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). Love is not ignorant of the existence of evil, but it does not take it into account as a factor in planning. When we were apart from God, we did take evil into account, doing all of our planning with it in mind, and we tried to reason out all of our work from its standpoint.
Don’t plan with a rainy day in mind. You cannot hoard things for a rainy day if you are truly trusting Christ. Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:1). God will not keep your heart from being troubled. It is a command— “Let not….” To do it, continually pick yourself up, even if you fall a hundred and one times a day, until you get into the habit of putting God first and planning with Him in mind.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The message of the prophets is that although they have forsaken God, it has not altered God. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the same truth, that God remains God even when we are unfaithful (see 2 Timothy 2:13). Never interpret God as changing with our changes. He never does; there is no variableness in Him. Notes on Ezekiel, 1477 L
Bible in a Year: Job 30-31; Acts 13:26-52
Saturday, July 4, 2020
Hosea 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Doesn’t Look Like a Hero
The apostle Paul shaped history. Yet Paul would die in the jail of a despot. No headlines announced his execution. No observer recorded the events. Doesn’t look like a hero. The fellow who changes the oil in your car could be a hero. Maybe as he works he prays, asking God to do with the heart of the driver what he does with the engine. I know, I know…. Doesn’t fit our image of a hero.
John Egglen, a deacon, stepped in and gave the sermon for a few folks who had arrived before a snowstorm that prevented the pastor from getting there. In a moment of courage, he looked straight at a young boy in the service and said, “Look to Jesus. Look!” The boy’s name? Charles Haddon Spurgeon, England’s “prince of preachers.” You never know… tomorrow’s Spurgeon may be in your church or be your neighbor. And the hero who inspires him might be in your mirror!
From When God Whispers Your Name
Hosea 11
God’s Love for Israel
“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.[e]
They sacrificed to the Baals
and they burned incense to images.
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed them.
5 “Will they not return to Egypt
and will not Assyria rule over them
because they refuse to repent?
6 A sword will flash in their cities;
it will devour their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn from me.
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
8 “How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,
nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man—
the Holy One among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar like a lion.
When he roars,
his children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria, fluttering like doves.
I will settle them in their homes,”
declares the Lord.
Israel’s Sin
12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful Holy One.[f]
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, July 04, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Luke 7:11–17
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
Insight
In the entire Bible, the town of Nain is only mentioned here in Luke 7. It was located more than twenty miles southwest of Capernaum (Jesus’ northern ministry headquarters on the Sea of Galilee) and about seven miles south of Nazareth (Jesus’ boyhood home). As such, it’s right in the middle of Christ’s home territory. As the site of a miracle of life out of death, however, Nain has even more significance. It was close to the ancient site of Shunem, a city that no longer existed except in the memory of the people. Why was it remembered? At Shunem, Elisha the prophet raised a woman’s son from the dead (2 Kings 4:8–36). No wonder, then, that when Jesus raised the widow of Nain’s son from the dead, the people responded by declaring, “A great prophet has appeared among us” (Luke 7:16). They still remembered what Elisha had done!
The Kindness Man
When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her. Luke 7:13
Disillusioned and wanting a more meaningful life, Leon quit his job in finance. Then one day he saw a homeless man holding up this sign at a street corner: KINDNESS IS THE BEST MEDICINE. Leon says, “Those words rammed straight into me. It was an epiphany.”
Leon decided to begin his new life by creating an international organization to promote kindness. He travels around the world, relying on strangers to provide him with food, gas, and a place to stay. Then he rewards them, through his organization, with good deeds such as feeding orphans or building on to a school for underprivileged children. He says, “It’s sometimes seen as being soft. But kindness is a profound strength.”
Christ’s very essence as God is goodness, so kindness naturally flowed from Him. I love the story of what Jesus did when He came upon the funeral procession of a widow’s only son (Luke 7:11–17). The grieving woman most likely was dependent on her son for financial support. We don’t read in the story that anyone asked Jesus to intervene. Purely from the goodness of His nature (v. 13), He was concerned and brought her son back to life. The people said of Christ, “God has come to help his people” (v. 16). By: Anne Cetas
Reflect & Pray
What kindnesses does Jesus pour out on you? List them and thank Him.
You, God, are always showering me with Your gifts of love. I praise You for caring for me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, July 04, 2020
One of God’s Great “Don’ts”
Do not fret— it only causes harm. —Psalm 37:8
Fretting means getting ourselves “out of joint” mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, “Do not fret,” but something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret. It’s easy to say, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7) until our own little world is turned upside down and we are forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other people. Is it possible to “rest in the Lord” then? If this “Do not” doesn’t work there, then it will not work anywhere. This “Do not” must work during our days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our peaceful days, or it will never work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship with God Himself.
Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God.
Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all your opinions and speculations aside and “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are not fundamentally free; external circumstances are not in our hands, they are in God’s hands, the one thing in which we are free is in our personal relationship to God. We are not responsible for the circumstances we are in, but we are responsible for the way we allow those circumstances to affect us; we can either allow them to get on top of us, or we can allow them to transform us into what God wants us to be. Conformed to His Image, 354 L
Bible in a Year: Job 28-29; Acts 13:1-25
The apostle Paul shaped history. Yet Paul would die in the jail of a despot. No headlines announced his execution. No observer recorded the events. Doesn’t look like a hero. The fellow who changes the oil in your car could be a hero. Maybe as he works he prays, asking God to do with the heart of the driver what he does with the engine. I know, I know…. Doesn’t fit our image of a hero.
John Egglen, a deacon, stepped in and gave the sermon for a few folks who had arrived before a snowstorm that prevented the pastor from getting there. In a moment of courage, he looked straight at a young boy in the service and said, “Look to Jesus. Look!” The boy’s name? Charles Haddon Spurgeon, England’s “prince of preachers.” You never know… tomorrow’s Spurgeon may be in your church or be your neighbor. And the hero who inspires him might be in your mirror!
From When God Whispers Your Name
Hosea 11
God’s Love for Israel
“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.[e]
They sacrificed to the Baals
and they burned incense to images.
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed them.
5 “Will they not return to Egypt
and will not Assyria rule over them
because they refuse to repent?
6 A sword will flash in their cities;
it will devour their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn from me.
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
8 “How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,
nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man—
the Holy One among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar like a lion.
When he roars,
his children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria, fluttering like doves.
I will settle them in their homes,”
declares the Lord.
Israel’s Sin
12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful Holy One.[f]
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, July 04, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Luke 7:11–17
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
Insight
In the entire Bible, the town of Nain is only mentioned here in Luke 7. It was located more than twenty miles southwest of Capernaum (Jesus’ northern ministry headquarters on the Sea of Galilee) and about seven miles south of Nazareth (Jesus’ boyhood home). As such, it’s right in the middle of Christ’s home territory. As the site of a miracle of life out of death, however, Nain has even more significance. It was close to the ancient site of Shunem, a city that no longer existed except in the memory of the people. Why was it remembered? At Shunem, Elisha the prophet raised a woman’s son from the dead (2 Kings 4:8–36). No wonder, then, that when Jesus raised the widow of Nain’s son from the dead, the people responded by declaring, “A great prophet has appeared among us” (Luke 7:16). They still remembered what Elisha had done!
The Kindness Man
When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her. Luke 7:13
Disillusioned and wanting a more meaningful life, Leon quit his job in finance. Then one day he saw a homeless man holding up this sign at a street corner: KINDNESS IS THE BEST MEDICINE. Leon says, “Those words rammed straight into me. It was an epiphany.”
Leon decided to begin his new life by creating an international organization to promote kindness. He travels around the world, relying on strangers to provide him with food, gas, and a place to stay. Then he rewards them, through his organization, with good deeds such as feeding orphans or building on to a school for underprivileged children. He says, “It’s sometimes seen as being soft. But kindness is a profound strength.”
Christ’s very essence as God is goodness, so kindness naturally flowed from Him. I love the story of what Jesus did when He came upon the funeral procession of a widow’s only son (Luke 7:11–17). The grieving woman most likely was dependent on her son for financial support. We don’t read in the story that anyone asked Jesus to intervene. Purely from the goodness of His nature (v. 13), He was concerned and brought her son back to life. The people said of Christ, “God has come to help his people” (v. 16). By: Anne Cetas
Reflect & Pray
What kindnesses does Jesus pour out on you? List them and thank Him.
You, God, are always showering me with Your gifts of love. I praise You for caring for me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, July 04, 2020
One of God’s Great “Don’ts”
Do not fret— it only causes harm. —Psalm 37:8
Fretting means getting ourselves “out of joint” mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, “Do not fret,” but something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret. It’s easy to say, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7) until our own little world is turned upside down and we are forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other people. Is it possible to “rest in the Lord” then? If this “Do not” doesn’t work there, then it will not work anywhere. This “Do not” must work during our days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our peaceful days, or it will never work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship with God Himself.
Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God.
Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all your opinions and speculations aside and “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are not fundamentally free; external circumstances are not in our hands, they are in God’s hands, the one thing in which we are free is in our personal relationship to God. We are not responsible for the circumstances we are in, but we are responsible for the way we allow those circumstances to affect us; we can either allow them to get on top of us, or we can allow them to transform us into what God wants us to be. Conformed to His Image, 354 L
Bible in a Year: Job 28-29; Acts 13:1-25
Friday, July 3, 2020
Hosea 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE HOUSE THAT SPITE BUILT
In 1882 in New York City, Joseph Richardson owned a narrow strip of land 5 feet wide and 104 feet long. Next door was a normal-sized lot owned by a man who wanted to erect an apartment building. He offered Richardson $1,000 for his plot. Deeply offended, Richardson demanded $5,000 which the builder refused to pay. The builder went on to build the apartment building assuming the slender lot would remain vacant and the view exposed.
But Richardson built a house instead—blocking the view! Dubbed the “Spite House,” Richardson spent the last fourteen years of his life in the narrow residence that seemed to fit his narrow state of mind. Revenge builds a lonely, narrow house…space enough for one person. No wonder God insists we “keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent!” (Hebrews 12:14 MSG).
Hosea 10
Israel was a spreading vine;
he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
he built more altars;
as his land prospered,
he adorned his sacred stones.
2 Their heart is deceitful,
and now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will demolish their altars
and destroy their sacred stones.
3 Then they will say, “We have no king
because we did not revere the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
what could he do for us?”
4 They make many promises,
take false oaths
and make agreements;
therefore lawsuits spring up
like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
5 The people who live in Samaria fear
for the calf-idol of Beth Aven.[b]
Its people will mourn over it,
and so will its idolatrous priests,
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
because it is taken from them into exile.
6 It will be carried to Assyria
as tribute for the great king.
Ephraim will be disgraced;
Israel will be ashamed of its foreign alliances.
7 Samaria’s king will be destroyed,
swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
8 The high places of wickedness[c] will be destroyed—
it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns and thistles will grow up
and cover their altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
9 “Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel,
and there you have remained.[d]
Will not war again overtake
the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will punish them;
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bonds for their double sin.
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer
that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke
on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
Judah must plow,
and Jacob must break up the ground.
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes
and showers his righteousness on you.
13 But you have planted wickedness,
you have reaped evil,
you have eaten the fruit of deception.
Because you have depended on your own strength
and on your many warriors,
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
so that all your fortresses will be devastated—
as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
15 So will it happen to you, Bethel,
because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, July 03, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
James 3:1–6
Taming the Tongue
Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Insight
In the New Testament letter of James, the author describes as useless a religion that can’t control the tongue (1:26), but later he adds that no one can tame the tongue (3:8). What is James saying? Because he’s writing as a servant of Christ (1:1), he may be recalling what Jesus said when He reminded the religious leaders of His day that it’s out of the heart that the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). It’s our hearts, not just our words, that need to come under the control of a Source beyond ourselves. At the end of chapter 3, he contrasts a wisdom of self-centeredness with wisdom that is peace-loving, gentle, considerate, merciful, and good—a spirituality of heart, word, and action resonating from the life-changing Spirit of Jesus (3:17–18).
Just a Spark
The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. James 3:5
“We’re in the library, and we can see the flames right outside!” She was scared. We could hear it in her voice. We know her voice—the voice of our daughter. At the same time we knew her college campus was the safest place for her and her almost 3,000 fellow students. The 2018 Woolsey Fire spread more quickly than anyone anticipated—most of all fire personnel. The record heat and dry conditions in the California canyon, along with the legendary Santa Ana winds, were all the rather small sparks needed to ultimately burn 97,000 acres, destroy more than 1,600 structures, and kill three people. In the photos taken after the fire was contained, the usual lush coastline resembled the barren surface of the moon.
In the book of James, the author names some small but powerful things: “bits [in] the mouths of horses” and the rudders of ships (3:3–4). And while familiar, these examples are somewhat removed from us. But then he names something a little closer to home, something small that every human being possesses—a tongue. And while this chapter is first directed specifically to teachers (v. 1), the application quickly spreads to each of us. The tongue, small as it is, can lead to disastrous results.
Our small tongues are powerful, but our big God is more powerful. His help on a daily basis provides the strength to rein in and guide our words. By: John Blase
Reflect & Pray
When was the last time your tongue got away from you? What will help you keep a tight rein on your words in God’s strength?
Jesus, I’ve been on the receiving end of words that burn. And my words have hurt others. Help me to keep a tight rein on my tongue.
To learn more about the book of James, visit christianuniversity.org/nt336.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, July 03, 2020
The Concentration of Personal Sin
Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips… —Isaiah 6:5
When I come into the very presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense, but I suddenly realize and the focus of my attention is directed toward the concentration of sin in a particular area of my life. A person will easily say, “Oh yes, I know I am a sinner,” but when he comes into the presence of God he cannot get away with such a broad and indefinite statement. Our conviction is focused on our specific sin, and we realize, as Isaiah did, what we really are. This is always the sign that a person is in the presence of God. There is never any vague sense of sin, but a focusing on the concentration of sin in some specific, personal area of life. God begins by convicting us of the very thing to which His Spirit has directed our mind’s attention. If we will surrender, submitting to His conviction of that particular sin, He will lead us down to where He can reveal the vast underlying nature of sin. That is the way God always deals with us when we are consciously aware of His presence.
This experience of our attention being directed to our concentration of personal sin is true in everyone’s life, from the greatest of saints to the worst of sinners. When a person first begins climbing the ladder of experience, he might say, “I don’t know where I’ve gone wrong,” but the Spirit of God will point out some definite and specific thing to him. The effect of Isaiah’s vision of the holiness of the Lord was the directing of his attention to the fact that he was “a man of unclean lips.” “He touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged’ ” (Isaiah 6:7). The cleansing fire had to be applied where the sin had been concentrated.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The fiery furnaces are there by God’s direct permission. It is misleading to imagine that we are developed in spite of our circumstances; we are developed because of them. It is mastery in circumstances that is needed, not mastery over them. The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 674 R
Bible in a Year: Job 25-27; Acts 12
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 03, 2020
Knowing the Ending - #8735
At a party with some of our ministry staff and volunteers, we had a lot of fun with a common party game. Okay, each person brings something they really want to get rid of, beautifully wrapped. Everyone draws a number. When your number comes up, you have the choice of opening one of the unopened gifts and making it yours or taking that unopened package and trading for what someone else has already opened, and then you leave them with whatever is in that still-wrapped package. Somehow, there always ends up being a few items that everybody wants. And depending on how aggressive your people are - and we've had some pretty aggressive ones - they remember who's got the hot item and they go after it with a vengeance. Those few items just keep moving around in trade after trade.
My sister-in-law, who is a wonderful worker in our ministry, actually drew the #1, which meant she didn't get to make a trade at the beginning. But while the trading frenzy for the evening's hot items got more and more intense, she just sat peacefully and quietly through it all, because she remembered the oft-forgotten rule of the game. Since #1 didn't get to make a trade at the beginning of the game, she makes the last trade of the game. So all along, she knew what she wanted. And all along she's sitting there thinking, "I know how this is going to end!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Knowing the Ending."
One of the exciting things about what God reveals to us in His Word is that we get to see how things are going to end. The frenzy and chaos may last quite a while, there may be lots of twists and changes, but, like my sister-in-law's perspective on that game, there is no question about how it's going to end up.
Our word for today from the Word of God is the incredible promise of Romans 8:28 - the verse that one great writer called "a soft pillow for a long night." Later verses will declare that if God is for us, no one can successfully be against us, that Christ's love makes us conquerors in this worst of life's disasters, that there will never be a life-quake so severe that it will be able to take us out of Jesus' love. But before all that, this promise of how everything in a believer's life will end up. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." In the King James, "God works all things together for good."
During the game, it can get really frantic. In fact, it can even hurt a lot. The verse does not say everything is good. It says God is working everything together for good - the agony, the ecstasy, the pain, the gains, the losses, even what the devil is doing to you. Paul's thorn in the flesh wasn't good in itself; it hurt him, it frustrated him, and the Bible says it was a "messenger from Satan." But Paul saw the good that came later in the game. The pain had brought him to the end of himself and into an experience of God's power that only the powerless ever experience. The gain was far greater than the pain.
That's the implied guarantee of Romans 8, that God will not allow it in your life unless it can be used for a greater good. No matter how hard this current situation is to understand, no matter how almost unbearable the pain, it's possible for you to keep going with this unexplainable sense of peace and well-being. Because while God never guarantees that all the chapters will be happy, He does guarantee a happy ending.
The outcome...a better family, or a better ministry, or a better business, a better you if you'll stay on the Jesus-path, if you'll let the struggle turn you to your Lord, not away from Him. He will do what will bring you the greatest good and Him the greatest glory. Relax in that guarantee, no matter how it looks now.
As the pressure and the frenzy increase all around you, you'll be able to sit there with this wonderful inner calm saying because of your Sovereign Lord, "I know how this is going to end."
In 1882 in New York City, Joseph Richardson owned a narrow strip of land 5 feet wide and 104 feet long. Next door was a normal-sized lot owned by a man who wanted to erect an apartment building. He offered Richardson $1,000 for his plot. Deeply offended, Richardson demanded $5,000 which the builder refused to pay. The builder went on to build the apartment building assuming the slender lot would remain vacant and the view exposed.
But Richardson built a house instead—blocking the view! Dubbed the “Spite House,” Richardson spent the last fourteen years of his life in the narrow residence that seemed to fit his narrow state of mind. Revenge builds a lonely, narrow house…space enough for one person. No wonder God insists we “keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent!” (Hebrews 12:14 MSG).
Hosea 10
Israel was a spreading vine;
he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
he built more altars;
as his land prospered,
he adorned his sacred stones.
2 Their heart is deceitful,
and now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will demolish their altars
and destroy their sacred stones.
3 Then they will say, “We have no king
because we did not revere the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
what could he do for us?”
4 They make many promises,
take false oaths
and make agreements;
therefore lawsuits spring up
like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
5 The people who live in Samaria fear
for the calf-idol of Beth Aven.[b]
Its people will mourn over it,
and so will its idolatrous priests,
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
because it is taken from them into exile.
6 It will be carried to Assyria
as tribute for the great king.
Ephraim will be disgraced;
Israel will be ashamed of its foreign alliances.
7 Samaria’s king will be destroyed,
swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
8 The high places of wickedness[c] will be destroyed—
it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns and thistles will grow up
and cover their altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
9 “Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel,
and there you have remained.[d]
Will not war again overtake
the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will punish them;
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bonds for their double sin.
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer
that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke
on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
Judah must plow,
and Jacob must break up the ground.
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes
and showers his righteousness on you.
13 But you have planted wickedness,
you have reaped evil,
you have eaten the fruit of deception.
Because you have depended on your own strength
and on your many warriors,
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
so that all your fortresses will be devastated—
as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
15 So will it happen to you, Bethel,
because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, July 03, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
James 3:1–6
Taming the Tongue
Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Insight
In the New Testament letter of James, the author describes as useless a religion that can’t control the tongue (1:26), but later he adds that no one can tame the tongue (3:8). What is James saying? Because he’s writing as a servant of Christ (1:1), he may be recalling what Jesus said when He reminded the religious leaders of His day that it’s out of the heart that the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). It’s our hearts, not just our words, that need to come under the control of a Source beyond ourselves. At the end of chapter 3, he contrasts a wisdom of self-centeredness with wisdom that is peace-loving, gentle, considerate, merciful, and good—a spirituality of heart, word, and action resonating from the life-changing Spirit of Jesus (3:17–18).
Just a Spark
The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. James 3:5
“We’re in the library, and we can see the flames right outside!” She was scared. We could hear it in her voice. We know her voice—the voice of our daughter. At the same time we knew her college campus was the safest place for her and her almost 3,000 fellow students. The 2018 Woolsey Fire spread more quickly than anyone anticipated—most of all fire personnel. The record heat and dry conditions in the California canyon, along with the legendary Santa Ana winds, were all the rather small sparks needed to ultimately burn 97,000 acres, destroy more than 1,600 structures, and kill three people. In the photos taken after the fire was contained, the usual lush coastline resembled the barren surface of the moon.
In the book of James, the author names some small but powerful things: “bits [in] the mouths of horses” and the rudders of ships (3:3–4). And while familiar, these examples are somewhat removed from us. But then he names something a little closer to home, something small that every human being possesses—a tongue. And while this chapter is first directed specifically to teachers (v. 1), the application quickly spreads to each of us. The tongue, small as it is, can lead to disastrous results.
Our small tongues are powerful, but our big God is more powerful. His help on a daily basis provides the strength to rein in and guide our words. By: John Blase
Reflect & Pray
When was the last time your tongue got away from you? What will help you keep a tight rein on your words in God’s strength?
Jesus, I’ve been on the receiving end of words that burn. And my words have hurt others. Help me to keep a tight rein on my tongue.
To learn more about the book of James, visit christianuniversity.org/nt336.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, July 03, 2020
The Concentration of Personal Sin
Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips… —Isaiah 6:5
When I come into the very presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense, but I suddenly realize and the focus of my attention is directed toward the concentration of sin in a particular area of my life. A person will easily say, “Oh yes, I know I am a sinner,” but when he comes into the presence of God he cannot get away with such a broad and indefinite statement. Our conviction is focused on our specific sin, and we realize, as Isaiah did, what we really are. This is always the sign that a person is in the presence of God. There is never any vague sense of sin, but a focusing on the concentration of sin in some specific, personal area of life. God begins by convicting us of the very thing to which His Spirit has directed our mind’s attention. If we will surrender, submitting to His conviction of that particular sin, He will lead us down to where He can reveal the vast underlying nature of sin. That is the way God always deals with us when we are consciously aware of His presence.
This experience of our attention being directed to our concentration of personal sin is true in everyone’s life, from the greatest of saints to the worst of sinners. When a person first begins climbing the ladder of experience, he might say, “I don’t know where I’ve gone wrong,” but the Spirit of God will point out some definite and specific thing to him. The effect of Isaiah’s vision of the holiness of the Lord was the directing of his attention to the fact that he was “a man of unclean lips.” “He touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged’ ” (Isaiah 6:7). The cleansing fire had to be applied where the sin had been concentrated.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The fiery furnaces are there by God’s direct permission. It is misleading to imagine that we are developed in spite of our circumstances; we are developed because of them. It is mastery in circumstances that is needed, not mastery over them. The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 674 R
Bible in a Year: Job 25-27; Acts 12
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 03, 2020
Knowing the Ending - #8735
At a party with some of our ministry staff and volunteers, we had a lot of fun with a common party game. Okay, each person brings something they really want to get rid of, beautifully wrapped. Everyone draws a number. When your number comes up, you have the choice of opening one of the unopened gifts and making it yours or taking that unopened package and trading for what someone else has already opened, and then you leave them with whatever is in that still-wrapped package. Somehow, there always ends up being a few items that everybody wants. And depending on how aggressive your people are - and we've had some pretty aggressive ones - they remember who's got the hot item and they go after it with a vengeance. Those few items just keep moving around in trade after trade.
My sister-in-law, who is a wonderful worker in our ministry, actually drew the #1, which meant she didn't get to make a trade at the beginning. But while the trading frenzy for the evening's hot items got more and more intense, she just sat peacefully and quietly through it all, because she remembered the oft-forgotten rule of the game. Since #1 didn't get to make a trade at the beginning of the game, she makes the last trade of the game. So all along, she knew what she wanted. And all along she's sitting there thinking, "I know how this is going to end!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Knowing the Ending."
One of the exciting things about what God reveals to us in His Word is that we get to see how things are going to end. The frenzy and chaos may last quite a while, there may be lots of twists and changes, but, like my sister-in-law's perspective on that game, there is no question about how it's going to end up.
Our word for today from the Word of God is the incredible promise of Romans 8:28 - the verse that one great writer called "a soft pillow for a long night." Later verses will declare that if God is for us, no one can successfully be against us, that Christ's love makes us conquerors in this worst of life's disasters, that there will never be a life-quake so severe that it will be able to take us out of Jesus' love. But before all that, this promise of how everything in a believer's life will end up. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." In the King James, "God works all things together for good."
During the game, it can get really frantic. In fact, it can even hurt a lot. The verse does not say everything is good. It says God is working everything together for good - the agony, the ecstasy, the pain, the gains, the losses, even what the devil is doing to you. Paul's thorn in the flesh wasn't good in itself; it hurt him, it frustrated him, and the Bible says it was a "messenger from Satan." But Paul saw the good that came later in the game. The pain had brought him to the end of himself and into an experience of God's power that only the powerless ever experience. The gain was far greater than the pain.
That's the implied guarantee of Romans 8, that God will not allow it in your life unless it can be used for a greater good. No matter how hard this current situation is to understand, no matter how almost unbearable the pain, it's possible for you to keep going with this unexplainable sense of peace and well-being. Because while God never guarantees that all the chapters will be happy, He does guarantee a happy ending.
The outcome...a better family, or a better ministry, or a better business, a better you if you'll stay on the Jesus-path, if you'll let the struggle turn you to your Lord, not away from Him. He will do what will bring you the greatest good and Him the greatest glory. Relax in that guarantee, no matter how it looks now.
As the pressure and the frenzy increase all around you, you'll be able to sit there with this wonderful inner calm saying because of your Sovereign Lord, "I know how this is going to end."
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