Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
December 5
God Is for You
He will rejoice over you. You will rest in his love; he will sing and be joyful about you.
Zephaniah 3:17 (NCV)
God is for you. Turn to the sidelines; that's God cheering your run. Look past the finish line; that's God applauding your steps. Listen for him in the bleachers, shouting your name. Too tired to continue? He'll carry you. Too discouraged to fight? He's picking you up. God is for you.
God is for you. Had he a calendar, your birthday would be circled. If he drove a car, your name would be on his bumper. If there's a tree in heaven, he's carved your name in the bark....
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?" God asks in Isaiah 49:15 (NIV). What a bizarre question. Can you mothers imagine feeding your infant and then later asking, "What was that baby's name?" No. I've seen you care for your young. You stroke the hair, you touch the face, you sing the name over and over. Can a mother forget? No way. But "even if she could forget,... I will not forget you," God pledges (Isa. 49:15).
Deuteronomy 28
Blessings for Obedience
1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.
8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.
12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.
Curses for Disobedience
15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20 The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. [a] 21 The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. 22 The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. 24 The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.
25 The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away. 27 The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. 29 At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
30 You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. 33 A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. 34 The sights you see will drive you mad. 35 The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.
36 The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. 37 You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the LORD will drive you.
38 You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. 39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. 40 You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. 41 You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity. 42 Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.
43 The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. 44 He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.
45 All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. 46 They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. 47 Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.
49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. 51 They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined. 52 They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the LORD your God is giving you.
53 Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you. 54 Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, 55 and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities. 56 The most gentle and sensitive woman among you—so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot—will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter 57 the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For she intends to eat them secretly during the siege and in the distress that your enemy will inflict on you in your cities.
58 If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God- 59 the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. 60 He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. 61 The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. 62 You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the LORD your God. 63 Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.
64 Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. 66 You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. 67 In the morning you will say, "If only it were evening!" and in the evening, "If only it were morning!"-because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see. 68 The LORD will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
December 5, 2008
Seeing Jesus
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READ: Isaiah 53:1-6
He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. —Isaiah 53:2
When I was young, I thought I knew exactly what Jesus looked like. After all, I saw Him every day whenever I looked at some pictures in my bedroom. One showed Jesus knocking at a door and the other depicted Him as a Shepherd with His sheep.
What I didn’t know was that a mere decade before I was born, those pictures of Jesus didn’t exist. Warner Sallman painted the well-known “Head of Christ” and other portraits of Jesus in the 1940s. Those images were just one man’s idea of what Jesus might have looked like.
The Bible never gives a physical description of Jesus. Even the men who saw Him every day didn’t tell us what He looked like. In fact, the only clue we have is a passage in Isaiah that says: “There is no beauty that we should desire Him” (53:2). It seems that Jesus’ human form was deliberately de-emphasized. He looked like an ordinary man. People weren’t drawn to Him because of a regal appearance but because of what He said and did and because of the message of love He came to give (John 3:16).
But the next time Jesus comes to earth, it will be different. When our Savior returns, we will recognize Him as the sovereign King of kings and Lord of lords! (1 Tim. 6:14-15). — Cindy Hess Kasper
The more I see His beauty,
The more I know His grace,
The more I long, unhindered,
To gaze upon His face. —Anon.
To see Jesus will be heaven’s greatest joy.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 5, 2008
"The Temple of the Holy Spirit"
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. . . only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you —Genesis 41:40
I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not "set aside the grace of God"— make it ineffective ( Galatians 2:21 ). The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved— I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me. To "work out [my] own salvation" ( Philippians 2:12 ) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me. It also means that I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. "I discipline my body and bring it into subjection . . ." ( 1 Corinthians 9:27 ). Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God has given us the responsibility to rule over all "the temple of the Holy Spirit," including our thoughts and desires ( 1 Corinthians 6:19 ). We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to do them.
Paul said, "I beseech you . . . that you present your bodies a living sacrifice . . ." ( Romans 12:1 ). What I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple. Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth-my body is "the temple of the Holy Spirit."
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Your Skin Goes Everywhere - #5715 - December 5, 2008
Category: Your Relationships
Friday, December 5, 2008
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Some days you'd find me wearing a suit and tie; it's the appropriate cultural uniform for what I might be doing that day. At home, on other hand, you'd probably find me in jeans and an old shirt. Again, appropriate for the work I need to do there. If I'm in a wedding, let's say, well I'll show how much I'm willing to sacrifice for the bride and groom by wearing a tuxedo. Of course, if I go to the beach, I probably won't wear what I wear to the wedding. I change my clothes for the occasion. But there's something I wear that I never change, no matter how many times I change my clothes - my skin. I always have the same skin.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Skin Goes Everywhere."
Question: is your commitment to Jesus Christ just spiritual "clothes" you wear sometimes and then change when it's not a Christian situation? Or is it skin that you never change, no matter what environment you're put in?
Our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 10:31 calls us to a Christlike lifestyle that is full-time, not part-time. God says, "Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Notice: "Whatever you do." This business of living for Jesus is so practical that you can even eat or drink in a God-glorifying way. There should never be a situation where you "take off" your commitment to Christ to fit in, to get ahead, or to avoid embarrassment. If that commitment is spiritual skin, it never comes off!
A while back I had just finished speaking on giving God your best when a man came to me and said, "I just never feel like I'm doing enough spiritually." As we talked, it turned out that "enough" meant doing more "spiritual" things. But that isn't primarily what the Lord is looking for. He wants to make more things spiritual!
Our problem is that we reduce our Christ-life to a compartment, and Jesus isn't interested in being a compartment in your life. He expects to be, in fact He deserves to be, in each area - Lord of each area. So, being a Christian doesn't mean adding a list of spiritual things to do. It means letting Christ make the things you're already doing His things. So, you drive unselfishly, you dedicate your car to helping others, you shop for Jesus; trying to bring some of His joy and love into the grocery store where you're shopping.
Colossians 3:17 says, "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus..." Immediately, then, that passage begins to describe the kind of wife a woman needs to be...the kind of man a husband needs to be...how a child will obey his or her parents and say as they do, "Lord, I'm doing this for You."
It talks about fathering in positive ways and then it talks about employees working with all their heart as if Jesus were their boss. See your Christ-life isn't something you take off when you go to work, or when you're at home with your family, it's all about Jesus every day, all day.
Living for Christ isn't just a set of spiritual clothes you put on to do some spiritual work - your uniform you wear for spiritual settings. It is the spiritual skin you wear no matter what.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Deuteronomy 8, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
December 4
Brag About That!
Don’t praise yourself. Let someone else do it.
Proverbs 27:2 (NCV)
Demanding respect is like chasing a butterfly. Chase it, and you’ll never catch it. Sit still, and it may light on your shoulder. The French philosopher Blaise Pascal asked, “Do you wish people to speak well of you? Then never speak well of yourself.” Maybe that’s why the Bible says, “Don’t praise yourself. Let someone else do it.”
Do you feel a need for affirmation? Does your self-esteem need attention? You don’t need to drop names or show off. You need only pause at the base of the cross and be reminded of this: The maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you. And that is a fact. So if you need to brag, brag about that
Deuteronomy 8
Do Not Forget the LORD
1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. 2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
6 Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
19 If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Ecclesiastes 1:2-9
Listen to this passage
2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."
3 What does man gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:14
Listen to this passage
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
December 4, 2008
Gone With The Wind
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READ: Ecclesiastes 1:2-9,14
All is vanity and grasping for the wind. —Ecclesiastes 1:14
The epic film based on Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone With the Wind opens with these lines:
“There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South. Here in this pretty world, Gallantry took its last bow. . . . Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered, a Civilization gone with the wind.”
Not only does a way of life disappear but also the dreams that drive the main characters. Throughout the Civil War, Scarlett O’Hara is preoccupied with her love for Ashley Wilkes. But by story’s end, she is disillusioned.
Solomon saw the futility of seeking satisfaction in people and things. Despite amassing wealth and knowledge, completing great projects, and marrying many wives, he said, “All is vanity and grasping for the wind” (Eccl. 1:14).
Why does chasing transitory things leave us unfulfilled? The biblical answer is that we were created to find our ultimate fulfillment in God. Jesus promised, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
People and things come and go. But the spiritual satisfaction Christ offers sustains us in this world and will endure into eternity. — Dennis Fisher
What comes from man will never last,
It’s here today, tomorrow past;
What comes from God will always be
The same for all eternity! —Spencer
Invest your life in what pays eternal dividends.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 4, 2008
The Law of Opposition
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To him who overcomes . . . —Revelation 2:7
Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life.
Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I am alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead. If I have enough inner strength to fight, I help to produce the balance needed for health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a strong and active mental life, I have to fight. This struggle produces the mental balance called thought.
Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.
And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, "In the world you will have tribulation . . ." ( John 16:33 ). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, ". . . but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.
Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Unnecessary Running - #5714
Thursday, December 4, 2008
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Every once in a while we had the treat of seeing a guinea hen in our backyard. My wife was talking to a neighbor about guinea fowl, and he told us some interesting discoveries he had made about them. Apparently, they have this amazing ability to literally fly straight up when they have to. So, when a coyote is chasing a chicken, he's got a pretty good chance of having a chicken dinner because his prey takes off on an angle. But guinea fowl can just suddenly take off and go straight up thus seriously disappointing Mr. Coyote. Our neighbor said, "They're talented, but they're stupid!" That's because of a phenomenon he observed when some guinea hens were running in his wife's flower garden. They literally got lost in the flower patch and they just kept running back and forth, back and forth, actually trampling that flower garden. They just kept running. They were baffled as how to get out. Uh, guys look up! You can fly right out of here!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Unnecessary Running."
Unbelievable! The guinea fowl gets all worked up, running back and forth, wondering how to get out when all he has to do is look up. Wait a minute here. This sounds all too familiar.
See, Jesus describes how we do a lot of unnecessary worrying and running in our word for today from the Word of God. In Matthew 6, beginning in verse 25, Jesus says, "Do not worry about your life." In verse 28, He says, "Why do you worry?" In verse 31, His command is again, "Do not worry." Then He describes the guinea fowl-like race that many of us run and the "look up" that can liberate you from it.
Talking about the daily concerns of having enough stuff, Jesus says, "The pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Basically, Jesus is saying the anxiety level, the sanity of your life, depends on what you are pursuing, what you're really passionate about. If it's earth-stuff, welcome to Worry Land. If it's the stuff that matters to God, the things that will last forever, welcome to the realm of flying above all the insanity of life's trivial pursuits.
If you belong to Jesus Christ, I'm sure in your beliefs you think God's stuff is more important than earth-stuff. But you're daily living, your choices may suggest that the reverse is true. It could be that you've allowed yourself to get caught up in the race for what earth has...in an earthbound definition of "financial security"...in trying to get lots of human approval and recognition. And you're running back and forth like a guinea hen in a flower garden. Oh, there's lots of activity, but not much progress.
The difference between personal peace and personal turmoil is an issue of priorities. Which kingdom are you putting first? If what matters to God, like your time with Him, your service for Him, the condition of your relationships; if those things have been shoved to the margins by other less eternal pursuits, then you're trapped in a race that knows no peace.
But you could look up today. You could see your higher calling to live for what will last. Your Heavenly Father knows your needs; you don't have to run all over the place trying to meet them. As the Bible says, "Set your heart on things above" and start to fly above that race that has worn you out and consumed your peace.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
December 4
Brag About That!
Don’t praise yourself. Let someone else do it.
Proverbs 27:2 (NCV)
Demanding respect is like chasing a butterfly. Chase it, and you’ll never catch it. Sit still, and it may light on your shoulder. The French philosopher Blaise Pascal asked, “Do you wish people to speak well of you? Then never speak well of yourself.” Maybe that’s why the Bible says, “Don’t praise yourself. Let someone else do it.”
Do you feel a need for affirmation? Does your self-esteem need attention? You don’t need to drop names or show off. You need only pause at the base of the cross and be reminded of this: The maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you. And that is a fact. So if you need to brag, brag about that
Deuteronomy 8
Do Not Forget the LORD
1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. 2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
6 Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
19 If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Ecclesiastes 1:2-9
Listen to this passage
2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."
3 What does man gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:14
Listen to this passage
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
December 4, 2008
Gone With The Wind
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Ecclesiastes 1:2-9,14
All is vanity and grasping for the wind. —Ecclesiastes 1:14
The epic film based on Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone With the Wind opens with these lines:
“There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South. Here in this pretty world, Gallantry took its last bow. . . . Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered, a Civilization gone with the wind.”
Not only does a way of life disappear but also the dreams that drive the main characters. Throughout the Civil War, Scarlett O’Hara is preoccupied with her love for Ashley Wilkes. But by story’s end, she is disillusioned.
Solomon saw the futility of seeking satisfaction in people and things. Despite amassing wealth and knowledge, completing great projects, and marrying many wives, he said, “All is vanity and grasping for the wind” (Eccl. 1:14).
Why does chasing transitory things leave us unfulfilled? The biblical answer is that we were created to find our ultimate fulfillment in God. Jesus promised, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
People and things come and go. But the spiritual satisfaction Christ offers sustains us in this world and will endure into eternity. — Dennis Fisher
What comes from man will never last,
It’s here today, tomorrow past;
What comes from God will always be
The same for all eternity! —Spencer
Invest your life in what pays eternal dividends.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 4, 2008
The Law of Opposition
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READ:
To him who overcomes . . . —Revelation 2:7
Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life.
Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I am alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead. If I have enough inner strength to fight, I help to produce the balance needed for health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a strong and active mental life, I have to fight. This struggle produces the mental balance called thought.
Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.
And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, "In the world you will have tribulation . . ." ( John 16:33 ). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, ". . . but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.
Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Unnecessary Running - #5714
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Every once in a while we had the treat of seeing a guinea hen in our backyard. My wife was talking to a neighbor about guinea fowl, and he told us some interesting discoveries he had made about them. Apparently, they have this amazing ability to literally fly straight up when they have to. So, when a coyote is chasing a chicken, he's got a pretty good chance of having a chicken dinner because his prey takes off on an angle. But guinea fowl can just suddenly take off and go straight up thus seriously disappointing Mr. Coyote. Our neighbor said, "They're talented, but they're stupid!" That's because of a phenomenon he observed when some guinea hens were running in his wife's flower garden. They literally got lost in the flower patch and they just kept running back and forth, back and forth, actually trampling that flower garden. They just kept running. They were baffled as how to get out. Uh, guys look up! You can fly right out of here!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Unnecessary Running."
Unbelievable! The guinea fowl gets all worked up, running back and forth, wondering how to get out when all he has to do is look up. Wait a minute here. This sounds all too familiar.
See, Jesus describes how we do a lot of unnecessary worrying and running in our word for today from the Word of God. In Matthew 6, beginning in verse 25, Jesus says, "Do not worry about your life." In verse 28, He says, "Why do you worry?" In verse 31, His command is again, "Do not worry." Then He describes the guinea fowl-like race that many of us run and the "look up" that can liberate you from it.
Talking about the daily concerns of having enough stuff, Jesus says, "The pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Basically, Jesus is saying the anxiety level, the sanity of your life, depends on what you are pursuing, what you're really passionate about. If it's earth-stuff, welcome to Worry Land. If it's the stuff that matters to God, the things that will last forever, welcome to the realm of flying above all the insanity of life's trivial pursuits.
If you belong to Jesus Christ, I'm sure in your beliefs you think God's stuff is more important than earth-stuff. But you're daily living, your choices may suggest that the reverse is true. It could be that you've allowed yourself to get caught up in the race for what earth has...in an earthbound definition of "financial security"...in trying to get lots of human approval and recognition. And you're running back and forth like a guinea hen in a flower garden. Oh, there's lots of activity, but not much progress.
The difference between personal peace and personal turmoil is an issue of priorities. Which kingdom are you putting first? If what matters to God, like your time with Him, your service for Him, the condition of your relationships; if those things have been shoved to the margins by other less eternal pursuits, then you're trapped in a race that knows no peace.
But you could look up today. You could see your higher calling to live for what will last. Your Heavenly Father knows your needs; you don't have to run all over the place trying to meet them. As the Bible says, "Set your heart on things above" and start to fly above that race that has worn you out and consumed your peace.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Deuteronomy 7, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
December 3
Don’t Miss God’s Answer
Is anything too hard for the LORD? No!
Genesis 18:14 (NCV)
The God of surprises strikes again. . . . God does that for the faithful. Just when the womb gets too old for babies, Sarai gets pregnant. Just when the failure is too great for grace, David is pardoned....
The lesson? Three words. Don't give up....
Is the road long? Don't stop.
Is the night black? Don't quit.
God is watching. For all you know right at this moment.... the check may be in the mail.
The apology may be in the making.
The job contract may be on the desk.
Don't quit. For if you do, you may miss the answer to your prayers.
Deuteronomy 7
Driving Out the Nations
1 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you- 2 and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. [c] Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles [d] and burn their idols in the fire. 6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
7 The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. 10 But
those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;
he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.
11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.
12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the LORD your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers. 13 He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you. 14 You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young. 15 The LORD will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. 16 You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
17 You may say to yourselves, "These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?" 18 But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. 20 Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. 22 The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. 23 But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. 24 He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them. 25 The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the LORD your God. 26 Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Philippians 1:12-21 (New International Version)
Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel
12Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[a] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
15It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.[b] 18But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.[c] 20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
December 3, 2008
Expectations
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Philippians 1:12-21
My earnest expectation and hope [is] that . . . Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. —Philippians 1:20
Expectations! We all have them. We expect that people will be nice to us, that we’ll have good health, great marriages, faithful friends, successful careers. But what do we do when life doesn’t live up to our expectations? In Philippians 1, Paul shows us the way. He faced broken expectations of place, people, and the future, yet he remained surprisingly upbeat.
Paul was stuck in prison—not a great place to be! When we get stuck in a tough marriage, an unrewarding job, or a challenging neighborhood, it’s easy to get discouraged. But Paul was wonderfully positive. He said that his suffering helped to advance the gospel (Phil. 1:12).
Maybe people haven’t lived up to our expectations. Paul likely expected other believers to encourage him. Instead, some were actually glad he was in jail and were preaching out of “envy and strife” (v.15). Paul’s response? “Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice” (v.18).
Maybe it’s an uncertain future—the loss of a spouse, a job transfer, or a health crisis. Paul knew that at any moment Nero might give the order for his execution, yet he declared, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (v.21).
Adopt Paul’s only expectation—for Christ to be honored no matter what! — Joe Stowell
In all I think and say and do,
I long, O God, to honor You;
But may my highest motive be
To love the Christ who died for me. —D. De Haan
You can expect to enjoy God’s presence when you honor Him with your life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 3, 2008
"Not by Might nor by Power"
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power . . . —1 Corinthians 2:4
If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality. Take care to see while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, that you yourself are rooted and grounded by faith in God. Never rely on the clearness of your presentation, but as you give your explanation make sure that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in people.
Once you are rooted in reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. But nothing can ever change God or the reality of redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God Himself. Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification. God disapproves of our human efforts to cling to the concept that sanctification is merely an experience, while forgetting that even our sanctification must also be sanctified (see John 17:19 ). I must deliberately give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Driving Better When You're Being Watched - #5713 - December 3, 2008
Category: Your Relationships
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
I will long remember some of the most thrill-packed times of my life when I was teaching our oldest son to drive. Actually, there was a strange by-product of his learning to drive - my driving improved! Over the years, you know, you get a little careless about the right way to drive, especially when you're living in the metropolitan New York area where stunt driving is like a survival skill! But knowing that my son was learning to drive, I suddenly became conscious of this pair of eyes watching me from the back seat - an impressionable teenage boy watching how his Dad holds the wheel, keeps the speed limit, changes lanes, and approaches cars from the rear. Those eyes had an effect. I ended up driving more as I'm, well, supposed to drive.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Driving Better When You're Being Watched."
Sometimes it really matters how you're driving because you're being watched, which you are if you belong to Jesus Christ, by the people around you who don't know Him that is. And it really matters how you drive your life because of the extremely important position God has put you in. That position is defined in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 5:20. "We are, therefore, Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." Notice, this doesn't say we should be Christ's ambassador - we are Christ's ambassador.
In many countries, America's ambassador is the main representative of this country. People assume that America is like that ambassador who is an American. Now the sobering reality of your everyday life as a Christian is that people are sizing up Jesus Christ based on you; deciding what Jesus is like based on what you're like. You may say, "I don't want that responsibility." It doesn't matter. You've got that responsibility. You are carrying Jesus' reputation on you.
Just as I was watched as a driver by my son, you and I are being watched, whether we realize it or not. And that's good. I need to know someone is watching my driving. It makes me a better driver. You and I need to know how important our daily actions are; they are shaping someone's impression of Jesus. Sometimes we feel like it doesn't matter how we talk, how we act, how we choose, or how we treat someone, but it really, really does.
It matters that you go out of your way to tell the truth, to reach out to a person who's down, to keep your temper, to clean up your language, to stop complaining, to show respect. I urge you to focus on one person in your world who probably doesn't have Jesus as their Savior; one person that you really want to see in heaven with you. When you pray by name for that spiritually dying person, when you focus on them being in heaven with you, you suddenly start to realize there is a pair of eyes watching you.
Actually, that lost person has been watching, but now you're basing your actions on that awareness. It grips you that literally someone's forever could depend on how you live. You can be a reason they're attracted to Jesus or a reason they reject Jesus - a major factor in whether they spend forever in heaven or in hell.
That realization makes you pray as never before - to be in God's Word for daily strength and daily orders. There is no greater incentive to spiritual sharpness than to know you are Christ's ambassador; that you are giving Him a reputation by everything you say and do. So, get both hands on the wheel, watch your speed, and drive very carefully. You're being watched, and someone's eternity may depend on what they see in you.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
December 3
Don’t Miss God’s Answer
Is anything too hard for the LORD? No!
Genesis 18:14 (NCV)
The God of surprises strikes again. . . . God does that for the faithful. Just when the womb gets too old for babies, Sarai gets pregnant. Just when the failure is too great for grace, David is pardoned....
The lesson? Three words. Don't give up....
Is the road long? Don't stop.
Is the night black? Don't quit.
God is watching. For all you know right at this moment.... the check may be in the mail.
The apology may be in the making.
The job contract may be on the desk.
Don't quit. For if you do, you may miss the answer to your prayers.
Deuteronomy 7
Driving Out the Nations
1 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you- 2 and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. [c] Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles [d] and burn their idols in the fire. 6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
7 The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. 10 But
those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;
he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.
11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.
12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the LORD your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers. 13 He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you. 14 You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young. 15 The LORD will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. 16 You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
17 You may say to yourselves, "These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?" 18 But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. 20 Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. 22 The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. 23 But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. 24 He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them. 25 The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the LORD your God. 26 Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Philippians 1:12-21 (New International Version)
Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel
12Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[a] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
15It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.[b] 18But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.[c] 20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
December 3, 2008
Expectations
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Philippians 1:12-21
My earnest expectation and hope [is] that . . . Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. —Philippians 1:20
Expectations! We all have them. We expect that people will be nice to us, that we’ll have good health, great marriages, faithful friends, successful careers. But what do we do when life doesn’t live up to our expectations? In Philippians 1, Paul shows us the way. He faced broken expectations of place, people, and the future, yet he remained surprisingly upbeat.
Paul was stuck in prison—not a great place to be! When we get stuck in a tough marriage, an unrewarding job, or a challenging neighborhood, it’s easy to get discouraged. But Paul was wonderfully positive. He said that his suffering helped to advance the gospel (Phil. 1:12).
Maybe people haven’t lived up to our expectations. Paul likely expected other believers to encourage him. Instead, some were actually glad he was in jail and were preaching out of “envy and strife” (v.15). Paul’s response? “Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice” (v.18).
Maybe it’s an uncertain future—the loss of a spouse, a job transfer, or a health crisis. Paul knew that at any moment Nero might give the order for his execution, yet he declared, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (v.21).
Adopt Paul’s only expectation—for Christ to be honored no matter what! — Joe Stowell
In all I think and say and do,
I long, O God, to honor You;
But may my highest motive be
To love the Christ who died for me. —D. De Haan
You can expect to enjoy God’s presence when you honor Him with your life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 3, 2008
"Not by Might nor by Power"
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power . . . —1 Corinthians 2:4
If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality. Take care to see while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, that you yourself are rooted and grounded by faith in God. Never rely on the clearness of your presentation, but as you give your explanation make sure that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in people.
Once you are rooted in reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. But nothing can ever change God or the reality of redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God Himself. Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification. God disapproves of our human efforts to cling to the concept that sanctification is merely an experience, while forgetting that even our sanctification must also be sanctified (see John 17:19 ). I must deliberately give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Driving Better When You're Being Watched - #5713 - December 3, 2008
Category: Your Relationships
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
I will long remember some of the most thrill-packed times of my life when I was teaching our oldest son to drive. Actually, there was a strange by-product of his learning to drive - my driving improved! Over the years, you know, you get a little careless about the right way to drive, especially when you're living in the metropolitan New York area where stunt driving is like a survival skill! But knowing that my son was learning to drive, I suddenly became conscious of this pair of eyes watching me from the back seat - an impressionable teenage boy watching how his Dad holds the wheel, keeps the speed limit, changes lanes, and approaches cars from the rear. Those eyes had an effect. I ended up driving more as I'm, well, supposed to drive.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Driving Better When You're Being Watched."
Sometimes it really matters how you're driving because you're being watched, which you are if you belong to Jesus Christ, by the people around you who don't know Him that is. And it really matters how you drive your life because of the extremely important position God has put you in. That position is defined in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 5:20. "We are, therefore, Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." Notice, this doesn't say we should be Christ's ambassador - we are Christ's ambassador.
In many countries, America's ambassador is the main representative of this country. People assume that America is like that ambassador who is an American. Now the sobering reality of your everyday life as a Christian is that people are sizing up Jesus Christ based on you; deciding what Jesus is like based on what you're like. You may say, "I don't want that responsibility." It doesn't matter. You've got that responsibility. You are carrying Jesus' reputation on you.
Just as I was watched as a driver by my son, you and I are being watched, whether we realize it or not. And that's good. I need to know someone is watching my driving. It makes me a better driver. You and I need to know how important our daily actions are; they are shaping someone's impression of Jesus. Sometimes we feel like it doesn't matter how we talk, how we act, how we choose, or how we treat someone, but it really, really does.
It matters that you go out of your way to tell the truth, to reach out to a person who's down, to keep your temper, to clean up your language, to stop complaining, to show respect. I urge you to focus on one person in your world who probably doesn't have Jesus as their Savior; one person that you really want to see in heaven with you. When you pray by name for that spiritually dying person, when you focus on them being in heaven with you, you suddenly start to realize there is a pair of eyes watching you.
Actually, that lost person has been watching, but now you're basing your actions on that awareness. It grips you that literally someone's forever could depend on how you live. You can be a reason they're attracted to Jesus or a reason they reject Jesus - a major factor in whether they spend forever in heaven or in hell.
That realization makes you pray as never before - to be in God's Word for daily strength and daily orders. There is no greater incentive to spiritual sharpness than to know you are Christ's ambassador; that you are giving Him a reputation by everything you say and do. So, get both hands on the wheel, watch your speed, and drive very carefully. You're being watched, and someone's eternity may depend on what they see in you.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Deuteronomy 6, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
December 2
An Everlasting Love
As high as the sky is above the earth, so great is his love for those who respect him.
Psalm 103:11 (NCV)
The big news of the Bible is not that you love God but that God loves you; not that you can know God but that God already knows you! He tattooed your name on the palm of his hand. His thoughts of you outnumber the sand on the shore. You never leave his mind, escape his sight, flee his thoughts. He sees the worst of you and loves you still. Your sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise him; he sees them now. Every day and deed of your life has passed before his eyes and been calculated in his decision. He knows you better than you know you and has reached his verdict; he loves you still. No discovery will disillusion him; no rebellion will dissuade him. He loves you with an everlasting love.
Deuteronomy 6
Love the LORD Your God
1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [b] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
13 Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers, 19 thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD said.
20 In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has commanded you?" 21 tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our eyes the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders—great and terrible—upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our forefathers. 24 The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Corinthians 5:9-21 (New International Version)
9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
11Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
December 2, 2008
A Passion For People
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Corinthians 5:9-21
He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. —2 Corinthians 5:15
Mark Twain said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
This quote appears on a Web site intended to help people discover what they are passionate about so they can live with greater significance.
The apostle Paul’s passion in life was largely driven by concern for the eternal destiny of others. In 2 Corinthians 5, he names three things that fueled his passion. First, he recognized that he was accountable to Christ for his service and wanted to give a good accounting at the judgment seat of Christ (vv.9-10). Second, Paul was driven by Christ’s love and a desire that others would know the love that he had experienced. In verse 14 he wrote, “For the love of Christ compels us.” Finally, he understood that a lost and dying world needs the Savior (v.20).
What are you passionate about? Paul’s passion for people was fueled by the love of Christ—and ours should be as well. Let’s apply Twain’s words of challenge to our efforts in outreach: “Sail away from the safe harbor.” Share the love of Christ with someone today. — Bill Crowder
Set us afire, Lord, stir us we pray!
While the world perishes, we go our way
Purposeless, passionless, day after day;
Set us afire, Lord, stir us we pray! —Cushman
Talking to Christ about others helps us to talk to others about Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 2, 2008
Christian Perfection
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect . . . —Philippians 3:12
It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, "It could never be God’s will for me to be sick"? If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son ( Isaiah 53:10 ), why shouldn’t He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick.
Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary— that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God’s standard for your life. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Goodbye, Ordinary! - #5712 - December 2, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
I was more of a Superman and Batman fan. I never really got into Spiderman. But when the blockbuster Spiderman movie came out, a lot of people did get into Spiderman. And you know what? There have been a couple more of them since then. I'm still not very interested in this web-spinning, skyscraper-climbing, crime-fighting guy in the spider suit. But I am interested in something he said in the movie about him. Peter Parker is the bookish teenager who gets bitten by a radioactive spider one day and begins to discover that he has suddenly developed some amazing spiderish abilities. OK, I'm reporting this story; I didn't write it. It dawns on him that he can't just use these abilities for himself. He has to use them to make a difference. Here's what he says. I like this: "For me, living an ordinary life is no longer an option."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Goodbye, Ordinary!"
An ordinary guy who suddenly realizes that he has some extraordinary powers available to him, and who realizes he can't settle for ordinary anymore. Man, is that a picture of any man or woman in whom Jesus Christ lives! That's the Jesus who blew the doors off His grave on Easter morning, who has conquered death, the most powerful force on earth. The force that has stopped every man except one man. And the day you gave yourself to Him, He moved into your life to stay with all His resurrection power.
That's what Paul is talking about in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, our word for today from the Word of God. "Christ's love compels us ... He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again." So what is supposed to be the practical result of Good Friday and Easter? That you stop living for yourself, you stop settling for small and ordinary, and you start living a life worthy of Jesus' Good Friday love and His resurrection power.
How can anyone in whom this death-conquering Christ lives ever settle for ordinary again? Paul expressed his lifelong passion this way: "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection..." (Philippians 3:10). Exploring, unleashing, experiencing the awesome power of the Jesus who lives in you!
Maybe you're like so many believers I've met in recent years. You've got this unexplainable restlessness inside. It's saying, "There's got to be something more than this." It's saying, "I want to make a greater difference with the rest of my life than I've made until now." Well, it's God who made you restless. He wants you to realize the power you got when you got Jesus. He wants you to give yourself to a mission far larger than your little kingdom, your little comfort zone.
Those chains that have bound you for so long, you don't have to settle for those anymore. Jesus Christ has resurrection power to set you free! If you'll commit yourself to resurrection living, you can confront those monsters from your past; the ones that have haunted you and defined you for way too long. You can face those fears. You can move beyond that bitterness. You can throw yourself into doing some things that will last forever!
Tell Jesus you're tired of business as usual; that you've been settling for a life that's just way too small, that's only as big as you can make it. Then sell out to His plans, sell out to His power. We stand by Jesus at the empty tomb that He blew away and we say, "For me, living an ordinary life is no longer an option!"
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
December 2
An Everlasting Love
As high as the sky is above the earth, so great is his love for those who respect him.
Psalm 103:11 (NCV)
The big news of the Bible is not that you love God but that God loves you; not that you can know God but that God already knows you! He tattooed your name on the palm of his hand. His thoughts of you outnumber the sand on the shore. You never leave his mind, escape his sight, flee his thoughts. He sees the worst of you and loves you still. Your sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise him; he sees them now. Every day and deed of your life has passed before his eyes and been calculated in his decision. He knows you better than you know you and has reached his verdict; he loves you still. No discovery will disillusion him; no rebellion will dissuade him. He loves you with an everlasting love.
Deuteronomy 6
Love the LORD Your God
1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [b] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
13 Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers, 19 thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD said.
20 In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has commanded you?" 21 tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our eyes the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders—great and terrible—upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our forefathers. 24 The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Corinthians 5:9-21 (New International Version)
9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
11Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
December 2, 2008
A Passion For People
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Corinthians 5:9-21
He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. —2 Corinthians 5:15
Mark Twain said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
This quote appears on a Web site intended to help people discover what they are passionate about so they can live with greater significance.
The apostle Paul’s passion in life was largely driven by concern for the eternal destiny of others. In 2 Corinthians 5, he names three things that fueled his passion. First, he recognized that he was accountable to Christ for his service and wanted to give a good accounting at the judgment seat of Christ (vv.9-10). Second, Paul was driven by Christ’s love and a desire that others would know the love that he had experienced. In verse 14 he wrote, “For the love of Christ compels us.” Finally, he understood that a lost and dying world needs the Savior (v.20).
What are you passionate about? Paul’s passion for people was fueled by the love of Christ—and ours should be as well. Let’s apply Twain’s words of challenge to our efforts in outreach: “Sail away from the safe harbor.” Share the love of Christ with someone today. — Bill Crowder
Set us afire, Lord, stir us we pray!
While the world perishes, we go our way
Purposeless, passionless, day after day;
Set us afire, Lord, stir us we pray! —Cushman
Talking to Christ about others helps us to talk to others about Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 2, 2008
Christian Perfection
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect . . . —Philippians 3:12
It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, "It could never be God’s will for me to be sick"? If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son ( Isaiah 53:10 ), why shouldn’t He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick.
Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary— that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God’s standard for your life. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Goodbye, Ordinary! - #5712 - December 2, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
I was more of a Superman and Batman fan. I never really got into Spiderman. But when the blockbuster Spiderman movie came out, a lot of people did get into Spiderman. And you know what? There have been a couple more of them since then. I'm still not very interested in this web-spinning, skyscraper-climbing, crime-fighting guy in the spider suit. But I am interested in something he said in the movie about him. Peter Parker is the bookish teenager who gets bitten by a radioactive spider one day and begins to discover that he has suddenly developed some amazing spiderish abilities. OK, I'm reporting this story; I didn't write it. It dawns on him that he can't just use these abilities for himself. He has to use them to make a difference. Here's what he says. I like this: "For me, living an ordinary life is no longer an option."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Goodbye, Ordinary!"
An ordinary guy who suddenly realizes that he has some extraordinary powers available to him, and who realizes he can't settle for ordinary anymore. Man, is that a picture of any man or woman in whom Jesus Christ lives! That's the Jesus who blew the doors off His grave on Easter morning, who has conquered death, the most powerful force on earth. The force that has stopped every man except one man. And the day you gave yourself to Him, He moved into your life to stay with all His resurrection power.
That's what Paul is talking about in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, our word for today from the Word of God. "Christ's love compels us ... He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again." So what is supposed to be the practical result of Good Friday and Easter? That you stop living for yourself, you stop settling for small and ordinary, and you start living a life worthy of Jesus' Good Friday love and His resurrection power.
How can anyone in whom this death-conquering Christ lives ever settle for ordinary again? Paul expressed his lifelong passion this way: "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection..." (Philippians 3:10). Exploring, unleashing, experiencing the awesome power of the Jesus who lives in you!
Maybe you're like so many believers I've met in recent years. You've got this unexplainable restlessness inside. It's saying, "There's got to be something more than this." It's saying, "I want to make a greater difference with the rest of my life than I've made until now." Well, it's God who made you restless. He wants you to realize the power you got when you got Jesus. He wants you to give yourself to a mission far larger than your little kingdom, your little comfort zone.
Those chains that have bound you for so long, you don't have to settle for those anymore. Jesus Christ has resurrection power to set you free! If you'll commit yourself to resurrection living, you can confront those monsters from your past; the ones that have haunted you and defined you for way too long. You can face those fears. You can move beyond that bitterness. You can throw yourself into doing some things that will last forever!
Tell Jesus you're tired of business as usual; that you've been settling for a life that's just way too small, that's only as big as you can make it. Then sell out to His plans, sell out to His power. We stand by Jesus at the empty tomb that He blew away and we say, "For me, living an ordinary life is no longer an option!"
Monday, December 1, 2008
Deuteronomy 5, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
December 1
He’s Coming Back
Christ rose first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will become alive again.
1 Corinthians 15:23 (TLB)
God has made [a] promise to us. "I will come back...," he assures us. Yes, the rocks will tumble. Yes, the ground will shake. But the child of God needn't fear--for the Father has promised to take us to be with him.
But dare we believe the promise? Dare we trust his loyalty? Isn't there a cautious part of us that wonders how reliable these words may be?...
How can we know he will do what he said? How can we believe he will move the rocks and set us free?
Because he's already done it once.
Deuteronomy 5
The Ten Commandments
1 Moses summoned all Israel and said:
Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:
6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
7 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
16 "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17 "You shall not murder.
18 "You shall not commit adultery.
19 "You shall not steal.
20 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
21 "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
22 These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
23 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and your elders came to me. 24 And you said, "The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him. 25 But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. 26 For what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived? 27 Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells you. We will listen and obey."
28 The LORD heard you when you spoke to me and the LORD said to me, "I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good. 29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!
30 "Go, tell them to return to their tents. 31 But you stay here with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess."
32 So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. 33 Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Corinthians 4:8-18 (New International Version)
8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."[a]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
December 1, 2008
Waiting For Joy
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Corinthians 4:8-18
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. —Psalm 30:5
A large part of life centers around anticipation. How much we would lose if we were to wake up one day to the unexpected announcement: “Christmas in 10 minutes!” The enjoyment in many of life’s events is built on the fact that we have time to anticipate them.
Christmas, vacations, mission trips, sporting events. All grow in value because of the hours we spend looking forward to them—eagerly running through our minds the fun, challenges, and excitement they’ll bring.
I think about the value of anticipation and the thrill it can bring to the human heart when I read Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” The psalmist is declaring the comforting idea that our earthly sorrow lasts but a short time when compared with the anticipated joy that will begin in heaven and last forever. Paul pens a similar idea in 2 Corinthians 4:17, where we discover that our “light affliction” leads to a glory of eternal value.
For now, those of us who weep can dwell on hope instead of hopelessness and anticipation instead of sorrow. It may be nighttime in our hearts, but just ahead lies the dawn of eternity. And with it, God promises the endless joy of heavenly morning. — Dave Branon
Tribulation, grief, and sorrow
Are but heaven’s steppingstones
To a bright and glad tomorrow
Where no heartache can be known. —Glass
We can endure this life’s trials because of the next life’s joys.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 1, 2008
The Law and the Gospel
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all —James 2:10
The moral law does not consider our weaknesses as human beings; in fact, it does not take into account our heredity or infirmities. It simply demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never changes, either for the highest of society or for the weakest in the world. It is enduring and eternally the same. The moral law, ordained by God, does not make itself weak to the weak by excusing our shortcomings. It remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we are not aware of this, it is because we are less than alive. Once we do realize it, our life immediately becomes a fatal tragedy. "I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died" ( Romans 7:9 ). The moment we realize this, the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a person gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Christ remains absurd to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful, confining sense of the law. It makes a person hopeless— ". . . sold under sin" ( Romans 7:14 ). I, a guilty sinner, can never work to get right with God— it is impossible. There is only one way by which I can get right with God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the underlying idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience. Who of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection!
We only begin to realize the power of the moral law once we see that it comes with a condition and a promise. But God never coerces us. Sometimes we wish He would make us be obedient, and at other times we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God’s will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. And when we deliberately choose to obey Him, He will reach to the remotest star and to the ends of the earth to assist us with all of His almighty power.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Putting Clean On Over Dirty - #5711 - December 1, 2008
Category: Your Hindrances
Monday, December 1, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
It was a simple order, "Get dressed." When Mom said it, our five-year-old grandson did what she asked. Moments later, he emerged from his room dressed for the day. That's good. It wasn't until he was undressing that night that Mom noticed a slight anomaly in how he had gotten dressed. He had two pairs of underwear on! When Mom asked him about it, he answered with a bemused look on his face: "Oh, I just put clean underwear on over the dirty underwear." Not good.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Putting Clean On Over Dirty."
Unfortunately, that is an all too common practice among God's children that is. Instead of taking off some things in our life that are dirty, we keep those and just put some clean stuff on over the dirty. It may make you feel better about the dirty stuff, it may be covered up from most people, but the dirty is still there. And you've got trouble with God.
There's a game all too many of us church folks play. It's described in Isaiah 29:13-15. It's our word for today from the Word of God. "The Lord says: 'These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me...Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, 'Who sees us? Who will know?'" Of course, God knows. He's not impressed with all those Christian words we say and Christian meetings we go to and Christian causes we support. He's interested in what's really going on in your heart, in your real life.
There are a lot of nice people who have some very not-nice things going on beneath the nice. Nice Christians who are poisoning their soul with pornography, seemingly unaware that Jesus is standing there all the time. Nice Christians who still have a serious problem with their temper, whose rage is so hurtful, but known only to a few. There are nice Christians who are hiding a pattern of abuse, or a heart full of bitterness, a life of lying, a relationship that our culture calls an affair but God calls adultery, a secret but sinful addiction, an agenda of revenge, sex outside of God's fence of marriage; so many secrets that Christians cover with a layer of clean.
Maybe the lie we want to believe is that the good we put on over the bad somehow excuses or makes up for the bad. Not with a holy God. That's a lie that may stave off the judgment of your own conscience but it will only compound the judgment of God. And about it being a secret, Romans 2:16 describes the day "when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ." If you're covering up sin with spiritual stuff, you are sponsoring an unholy coexistence that is an insult to a Savior who gave His life on the cross "so that we might die to sins" (1 Peter 2:24) the Bible says, not hide our sins.
In Ephesians 4, God commands us to "put off your old self" and "to be made new," to "put on the new self." He goes on to tell us to put off lying and put on truth, put off trash talk and put on uplifting talk, put off anger and bitterness and put on forgiveness and compassion, put off any kind of sexual immorality and put on purity.
So you are at a crossroads. God brought us together today to tell you that covering up your dirty with a layer of clean isn't going to cut it. It's self-deception, it's living a lie, it's defying God, and it's building up judgment. Don't you think it's time to come clean even if it hurts? It will hurt a whole lot more not to come clean. You know you're sick of that battle inside you. It's tearing you apart - the guilt, the fear of getting caught, the shame. And you know God is sick of this charade. While God is speaking to you, while your heart is open to the truth, run to the cross where everything you're hiding was paid for with Jesus' blood. If you've never been there to get the sin of your life forgiven, don't miss what He died for. Today tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours." Go to our website. You'll find some more information there on how to be sure you belong to Him. It's YoursForLife.net and leave all that dirty stuff, once and for all, at the foot of His old rugged cross.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
December 1
He’s Coming Back
Christ rose first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will become alive again.
1 Corinthians 15:23 (TLB)
God has made [a] promise to us. "I will come back...," he assures us. Yes, the rocks will tumble. Yes, the ground will shake. But the child of God needn't fear--for the Father has promised to take us to be with him.
But dare we believe the promise? Dare we trust his loyalty? Isn't there a cautious part of us that wonders how reliable these words may be?...
How can we know he will do what he said? How can we believe he will move the rocks and set us free?
Because he's already done it once.
Deuteronomy 5
The Ten Commandments
1 Moses summoned all Israel and said:
Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:
6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
7 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
16 "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17 "You shall not murder.
18 "You shall not commit adultery.
19 "You shall not steal.
20 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
21 "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
22 These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
23 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and your elders came to me. 24 And you said, "The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him. 25 But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. 26 For what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived? 27 Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells you. We will listen and obey."
28 The LORD heard you when you spoke to me and the LORD said to me, "I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good. 29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!
30 "Go, tell them to return to their tents. 31 But you stay here with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess."
32 So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. 33 Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Corinthians 4:8-18 (New International Version)
8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."[a]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
December 1, 2008
Waiting For Joy
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Corinthians 4:8-18
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. —Psalm 30:5
A large part of life centers around anticipation. How much we would lose if we were to wake up one day to the unexpected announcement: “Christmas in 10 minutes!” The enjoyment in many of life’s events is built on the fact that we have time to anticipate them.
Christmas, vacations, mission trips, sporting events. All grow in value because of the hours we spend looking forward to them—eagerly running through our minds the fun, challenges, and excitement they’ll bring.
I think about the value of anticipation and the thrill it can bring to the human heart when I read Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” The psalmist is declaring the comforting idea that our earthly sorrow lasts but a short time when compared with the anticipated joy that will begin in heaven and last forever. Paul pens a similar idea in 2 Corinthians 4:17, where we discover that our “light affliction” leads to a glory of eternal value.
For now, those of us who weep can dwell on hope instead of hopelessness and anticipation instead of sorrow. It may be nighttime in our hearts, but just ahead lies the dawn of eternity. And with it, God promises the endless joy of heavenly morning. — Dave Branon
Tribulation, grief, and sorrow
Are but heaven’s steppingstones
To a bright and glad tomorrow
Where no heartache can be known. —Glass
We can endure this life’s trials because of the next life’s joys.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 1, 2008
The Law and the Gospel
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all —James 2:10
The moral law does not consider our weaknesses as human beings; in fact, it does not take into account our heredity or infirmities. It simply demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never changes, either for the highest of society or for the weakest in the world. It is enduring and eternally the same. The moral law, ordained by God, does not make itself weak to the weak by excusing our shortcomings. It remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we are not aware of this, it is because we are less than alive. Once we do realize it, our life immediately becomes a fatal tragedy. "I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died" ( Romans 7:9 ). The moment we realize this, the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a person gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Christ remains absurd to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful, confining sense of the law. It makes a person hopeless— ". . . sold under sin" ( Romans 7:14 ). I, a guilty sinner, can never work to get right with God— it is impossible. There is only one way by which I can get right with God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the underlying idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience. Who of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection!
We only begin to realize the power of the moral law once we see that it comes with a condition and a promise. But God never coerces us. Sometimes we wish He would make us be obedient, and at other times we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God’s will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. And when we deliberately choose to obey Him, He will reach to the remotest star and to the ends of the earth to assist us with all of His almighty power.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Putting Clean On Over Dirty - #5711 - December 1, 2008
Category: Your Hindrances
Monday, December 1, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
It was a simple order, "Get dressed." When Mom said it, our five-year-old grandson did what she asked. Moments later, he emerged from his room dressed for the day. That's good. It wasn't until he was undressing that night that Mom noticed a slight anomaly in how he had gotten dressed. He had two pairs of underwear on! When Mom asked him about it, he answered with a bemused look on his face: "Oh, I just put clean underwear on over the dirty underwear." Not good.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Putting Clean On Over Dirty."
Unfortunately, that is an all too common practice among God's children that is. Instead of taking off some things in our life that are dirty, we keep those and just put some clean stuff on over the dirty. It may make you feel better about the dirty stuff, it may be covered up from most people, but the dirty is still there. And you've got trouble with God.
There's a game all too many of us church folks play. It's described in Isaiah 29:13-15. It's our word for today from the Word of God. "The Lord says: 'These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me...Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, 'Who sees us? Who will know?'" Of course, God knows. He's not impressed with all those Christian words we say and Christian meetings we go to and Christian causes we support. He's interested in what's really going on in your heart, in your real life.
There are a lot of nice people who have some very not-nice things going on beneath the nice. Nice Christians who are poisoning their soul with pornography, seemingly unaware that Jesus is standing there all the time. Nice Christians who still have a serious problem with their temper, whose rage is so hurtful, but known only to a few. There are nice Christians who are hiding a pattern of abuse, or a heart full of bitterness, a life of lying, a relationship that our culture calls an affair but God calls adultery, a secret but sinful addiction, an agenda of revenge, sex outside of God's fence of marriage; so many secrets that Christians cover with a layer of clean.
Maybe the lie we want to believe is that the good we put on over the bad somehow excuses or makes up for the bad. Not with a holy God. That's a lie that may stave off the judgment of your own conscience but it will only compound the judgment of God. And about it being a secret, Romans 2:16 describes the day "when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ." If you're covering up sin with spiritual stuff, you are sponsoring an unholy coexistence that is an insult to a Savior who gave His life on the cross "so that we might die to sins" (1 Peter 2:24) the Bible says, not hide our sins.
In Ephesians 4, God commands us to "put off your old self" and "to be made new," to "put on the new self." He goes on to tell us to put off lying and put on truth, put off trash talk and put on uplifting talk, put off anger and bitterness and put on forgiveness and compassion, put off any kind of sexual immorality and put on purity.
So you are at a crossroads. God brought us together today to tell you that covering up your dirty with a layer of clean isn't going to cut it. It's self-deception, it's living a lie, it's defying God, and it's building up judgment. Don't you think it's time to come clean even if it hurts? It will hurt a whole lot more not to come clean. You know you're sick of that battle inside you. It's tearing you apart - the guilt, the fear of getting caught, the shame. And you know God is sick of this charade. While God is speaking to you, while your heart is open to the truth, run to the cross where everything you're hiding was paid for with Jesus' blood. If you've never been there to get the sin of your life forgiven, don't miss what He died for. Today tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours." Go to our website. You'll find some more information there on how to be sure you belong to Him. It's YoursForLife.net and leave all that dirty stuff, once and for all, at the foot of His old rugged cross.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Numbers 14, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 30
What is impossible with men is possible with God.
Luke 18:27 (NIV)
The rich young ruler thought heaven was just a payment away. It only made sense. You work hard, you pay your dues, and "zap"—your account is credited as paid in full.
Jesus says, "No way." What you want costs far more than what you can pay. You don't need a system, you need a Savior. You don't need a resume, you need a Redeemer.
For "what is impossible with men is possible with God."
Numbers 14
The People Rebel
1 That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" 4 And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them."
10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they."
13 Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, O LORD, are with these people and that you, O LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15 If you put these people to death all at one time, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 'The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.'
17 "Now may the Lord's strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18 'The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.' 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now."
20 The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22 not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times- 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. 25 Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea. [j] "
26 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 27 "How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. 28 So tell them, 'As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: 29 In this desert your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. 32 But you—your bodies will fall in this desert. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. 34 For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.' 35 I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die."
36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it- 37 these men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the LORD. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.
39 When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they went up toward the high hill country. "We have sinned," they said. "We will go up to the place the LORD promised."
41 But Moses said, "Why are you disobeying the LORD's command? This will not succeed! 42 Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 43 for the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword."
44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD's covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Romans 12:9-21 (New International Version)
Love
9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.
17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[b]says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."[c] 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
November 30, 2008
Lend A Hand
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Romans 12:9-21
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. —Romans 12:15
The next month will be very difficult for many people who are still reeling from a loss this past year. The crippling hurt caused by the absence of a loved one can cloud holiday gatherings and even dim the desire to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Poet Ann Weems has written:
Some of us walk into Advent
tethered to our unresolved yesterdays,
the pain still stabbing,
the hurt still throbbing.
It’s not that we don’t know better;
it’s just that we can’t stand up
anymore by ourselves.
On the way to Bethlehem,
will you give us a hand?
In Romans 12:9-21, Paul gives ways to express practical Christianity in our relationships. One seems especially needed at this time of year: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (v.15). We can “give a hand” to grieving friends and family by understanding their sorrow and not expecting them to “get over it” in time to celebrate the holidays. We can freely mention the name of the person whose death has brought such desolation and then share a fond memory. We can be quiet, listen, and pray for God’s help.
Only God can heal the deep wounds of the heart, but we can lend a hand. — David C. McCasland
If I can help some wounded heart,
If I can by my love impart
Some blessing that will help more now—
Lord, just show me how. —Brandt
No one is strong enough to bear his burdens alone.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 30, 2008
"By the Grace of God I Am What I Am"
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . . —1 Corinthians 15:10
The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, "Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint." But to say that before God means, "No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible." That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.
Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, "Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified," is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.
There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 30
What is impossible with men is possible with God.
Luke 18:27 (NIV)
The rich young ruler thought heaven was just a payment away. It only made sense. You work hard, you pay your dues, and "zap"—your account is credited as paid in full.
Jesus says, "No way." What you want costs far more than what you can pay. You don't need a system, you need a Savior. You don't need a resume, you need a Redeemer.
For "what is impossible with men is possible with God."
Numbers 14
The People Rebel
1 That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" 4 And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them."
10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they."
13 Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, O LORD, are with these people and that you, O LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15 If you put these people to death all at one time, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 'The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.'
17 "Now may the Lord's strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18 'The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.' 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now."
20 The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22 not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times- 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. 25 Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea. [j] "
26 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 27 "How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. 28 So tell them, 'As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: 29 In this desert your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. 32 But you—your bodies will fall in this desert. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. 34 For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.' 35 I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die."
36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it- 37 these men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the LORD. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.
39 When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they went up toward the high hill country. "We have sinned," they said. "We will go up to the place the LORD promised."
41 But Moses said, "Why are you disobeying the LORD's command? This will not succeed! 42 Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 43 for the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword."
44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD's covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Romans 12:9-21 (New International Version)
Love
9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.
17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[b]says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."[c] 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
November 30, 2008
Lend A Hand
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Romans 12:9-21
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. —Romans 12:15
The next month will be very difficult for many people who are still reeling from a loss this past year. The crippling hurt caused by the absence of a loved one can cloud holiday gatherings and even dim the desire to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Poet Ann Weems has written:
Some of us walk into Advent
tethered to our unresolved yesterdays,
the pain still stabbing,
the hurt still throbbing.
It’s not that we don’t know better;
it’s just that we can’t stand up
anymore by ourselves.
On the way to Bethlehem,
will you give us a hand?
In Romans 12:9-21, Paul gives ways to express practical Christianity in our relationships. One seems especially needed at this time of year: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (v.15). We can “give a hand” to grieving friends and family by understanding their sorrow and not expecting them to “get over it” in time to celebrate the holidays. We can freely mention the name of the person whose death has brought such desolation and then share a fond memory. We can be quiet, listen, and pray for God’s help.
Only God can heal the deep wounds of the heart, but we can lend a hand. — David C. McCasland
If I can help some wounded heart,
If I can by my love impart
Some blessing that will help more now—
Lord, just show me how. —Brandt
No one is strong enough to bear his burdens alone.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 30, 2008
"By the Grace of God I Am What I Am"
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . . —1 Corinthians 15:10
The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, "Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint." But to say that before God means, "No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible." That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.
Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, "Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified," is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.
There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Numbers 13, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 29
The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.
Luke 19:10 (NCV)
God will do what it takes-- whatever it takes--to bring his children home.
He is the shepherd in search of His lamb. His legs are scratched, His feet are sore, and His eyes are burning. He scales the cliffs and traverses the fields. He explores the caves. He cups His hand to His mouth and calls into the canyon.
And the name He calls is yours.
Numbers 13
Exploring Canaan
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."
3 So at the LORD's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. 4 These are their names:
from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)
17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo [h] Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, [i] they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
Report on the Exploration
26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan."
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 16:24-28 (New International Version)
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
November 29, 2008
A Convenient Christianity
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 16:24-28
Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. —Matthew 16:25
So many television programs, so little time to watch them. Apparently that’s what our culture thinks, because now technology allows us to see an hour-long program in just 6 minutes or less! The Minisode Network has pruned episodes of popular series into shorter, more convenient packages for interested viewers. “The shows you love—only shorter” is how it’s advertised. All to make our life more convenient.
Some have tried to make the Christian life more convenient. They choose to practice Christianity on Sunday only. They attend a religious service at whatever church makes them most comfortable. They give a small offering and are nice to fellow churchgoers—nothing that requires much effort on their part. That way they can have the rest of the week to themselves, to live as they please.
That would be a convenient Christianity. But we know that following Jesus is a lifestyle and not a Sunday-only convenience. Being a “disciple” calls for giving up our lives for Him (Matt. 16:25). It’s about living as Jesus calls us to live, daily giving up our plans and purposes for His. A relationship with Him causes us to be concerned with our thoughts, decisions, attitudes, and actions—all to make our life joy-filled for us and pleasing to God. — Anne Cetas
The Christian life is more than just
A prayer of faith made in the past;
It’s dedicating every day
To live for Christ and what will last. —Sper
Faith in Christ is not just a single step but a life of walking with Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 29, 2008
The Supremacy of Jesus Christ
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
He will glorify Me . . . —John 16:14
The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with "the blood of the Lamb" ( Revelation 12:11 ). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, "That is the work of God Almighty!" Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else.
The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!
Jesus said, ". . . when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, . . . He will glorify Me . . ." (John 16:13-14 ). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tools to Help You Share Christ at Christmas
Thank you for letting us enter your life five times a week through "A Word With You." We trust God has spoken to you throughout the year through these brief devotionals.
Over these last weeks of the year (through December 31st), you will notice some extra information at the top of each "A Word With You." The links can serve as tools to enable you to take advantage of opportunities for you and others to get involved in rescue during this season of heightened focus on Jesus, and spiritual matters.
Please check out the Christmas Gospel Moments that Ron Hutchcraft created as a contemporary tool to help you reach your friends and family with the life-saving message of Jesus. There will be a link to these at the top of your "A Word With You" transcript beginning December 1.
Watch for a special matching gift opportunity that could match dollar for dollar your year-end gift to help Ron Hutchcraft Ministries reach thousands with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Read Ron's Blog "Security in Stormy Times" for insight in dealing with these challenging times.
Look for other special offers!
Check out the RHM website and online store at www.hutchcraft.com.
Encourage people you know by forwarding to them Ron's special offers and Christmas Gospel Moments.
Would you please prayerfully consider how you can be involved to help RHM finish 2008 without outstanding financial obligation, and launch 2009 into the greatest rescue year of its 17-year history?
Your gift at year-end will help bring the Gospel to those who have never experienced even a single day with Jesus.
Simply click here to donate. Thank you for your encouragement through your gifts and prayers.
Your Partners in Rescue,
The Ron Hutchcraft Ministries Team
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 29
The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.
Luke 19:10 (NCV)
God will do what it takes-- whatever it takes--to bring his children home.
He is the shepherd in search of His lamb. His legs are scratched, His feet are sore, and His eyes are burning. He scales the cliffs and traverses the fields. He explores the caves. He cups His hand to His mouth and calls into the canyon.
And the name He calls is yours.
Numbers 13
Exploring Canaan
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."
3 So at the LORD's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. 4 These are their names:
from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)
17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo [h] Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, [i] they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
Report on the Exploration
26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan."
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 16:24-28 (New International Version)
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
November 29, 2008
A Convenient Christianity
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 16:24-28
Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. —Matthew 16:25
So many television programs, so little time to watch them. Apparently that’s what our culture thinks, because now technology allows us to see an hour-long program in just 6 minutes or less! The Minisode Network has pruned episodes of popular series into shorter, more convenient packages for interested viewers. “The shows you love—only shorter” is how it’s advertised. All to make our life more convenient.
Some have tried to make the Christian life more convenient. They choose to practice Christianity on Sunday only. They attend a religious service at whatever church makes them most comfortable. They give a small offering and are nice to fellow churchgoers—nothing that requires much effort on their part. That way they can have the rest of the week to themselves, to live as they please.
That would be a convenient Christianity. But we know that following Jesus is a lifestyle and not a Sunday-only convenience. Being a “disciple” calls for giving up our lives for Him (Matt. 16:25). It’s about living as Jesus calls us to live, daily giving up our plans and purposes for His. A relationship with Him causes us to be concerned with our thoughts, decisions, attitudes, and actions—all to make our life joy-filled for us and pleasing to God. — Anne Cetas
The Christian life is more than just
A prayer of faith made in the past;
It’s dedicating every day
To live for Christ and what will last. —Sper
Faith in Christ is not just a single step but a life of walking with Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 29, 2008
The Supremacy of Jesus Christ
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
He will glorify Me . . . —John 16:14
The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with "the blood of the Lamb" ( Revelation 12:11 ). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, "That is the work of God Almighty!" Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else.
The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!
Jesus said, ". . . when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, . . . He will glorify Me . . ." (John 16:13-14 ). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tools to Help You Share Christ at Christmas
Thank you for letting us enter your life five times a week through "A Word With You." We trust God has spoken to you throughout the year through these brief devotionals.
Over these last weeks of the year (through December 31st), you will notice some extra information at the top of each "A Word With You." The links can serve as tools to enable you to take advantage of opportunities for you and others to get involved in rescue during this season of heightened focus on Jesus, and spiritual matters.
Please check out the Christmas Gospel Moments that Ron Hutchcraft created as a contemporary tool to help you reach your friends and family with the life-saving message of Jesus. There will be a link to these at the top of your "A Word With You" transcript beginning December 1.
Watch for a special matching gift opportunity that could match dollar for dollar your year-end gift to help Ron Hutchcraft Ministries reach thousands with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Read Ron's Blog "Security in Stormy Times" for insight in dealing with these challenging times.
Look for other special offers!
Check out the RHM website and online store at www.hutchcraft.com.
Encourage people you know by forwarding to them Ron's special offers and Christmas Gospel Moments.
Would you please prayerfully consider how you can be involved to help RHM finish 2008 without outstanding financial obligation, and launch 2009 into the greatest rescue year of its 17-year history?
Your gift at year-end will help bring the Gospel to those who have never experienced even a single day with Jesus.
Simply click here to donate. Thank you for your encouragement through your gifts and prayers.
Your Partners in Rescue,
The Ron Hutchcraft Ministries Team
Friday, November 28, 2008
Numbers 12, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 28
The Soul Killer
When people sin, they earn what sin pays--death.
Romans 6:23 (NCV)
Sin does to a life what shears do to a flower. A cut at the stem separates a flower from the source of life. Initially the flower is attractive, still colorful and strong. But watch that flower over a period of time, and the leaves will wilt and the petals will drop. No matter what you do, the flower will never live again. Surround it with water. Stick the stem in soil. Baptize it with fertilizer. Glue the flower back on the stem. Do what you wish. The flower is dead. . . .
A dead soul has no life.
Cut off from God, the soul withers and dies. The consequence of sin is not a bad day or a bad mood but a dead soul. The sign of a dead soul is clear: poisoned lips and cursing mouths, feet that lead to violence and eyes that don't see God....
The finished work of sin is to kill the soul.
Numbers 12
Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
1 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 2 "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this.
3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
4 At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out. 5 Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, 6 he said, "Listen to my words:
"When a prophet of the LORD is among you,
I reveal myself to him in visions,
I speak to him in dreams.
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?"
9 The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.
10 When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam—leprous, [g] like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; 11 and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away."
13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, "O God, please heal her!"
14 The LORD replied to Moses, "If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back." 15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.
16 After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Genesis 4
Cain and Abel
1 Adam [a] lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. [b] She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth [c] a man." 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." [d] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"
10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."
13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."
15 But the LORD said to him, "Not so [e] ; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, [f] east of Eden.
About This Cover November 28, 2008
Sin Crouches At The Door
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Genesis 4:1-16
Sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it. —Genesis 4:7
The award-winning author John Steinbeck often used biblical themes in his novels. In his book East of Eden, he describes characters who illustrate the conflict of jealousy and revenge reflected in the story of Cain and Abel. Steinbeck shows how an angry heart burning with revenge doesn’t have to act a certain way. There’s always a choice.
When Abel’s animal sacrifice received divine favor and Cain’s offering of fruit was rejected, Cain burned with anger (Gen. 4:1-6). But the Lord admonished him, “Sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” (Gen. 4:7). The original Hebrew words paint the picture of an animal crouching, ready to devour its prey. Cain’s anger and jealousy, if not brought under control, would “eat him up” and spill out in destructive behavior. Tragically, Cain gave in to his evil desires. It resulted in the first homicide and his departure from the presence of the Lord (Gen. 4:8-16).
Do you have feelings of jealousy or anger toward someone? If so, you have a choice. If you ignore the internal struggle, it will only get worse and control you. But if you bring your anger to the Lord and ask for His help, in His strength you will have victory. — Dennis Fisher
When faced with trials from without
Or tempted from within,
Rely upon the Lord for strength
To turn away from sin. —Sper
Control your anger, or it will control you.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
The gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service— I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are "rich," particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was "beyond" us and places it "within" us. And immediately, once "the beyond" has come "within," it rises up to "the above," and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns (see John 3:5 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
A Brand New You - #5710
Friday, November 28, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
On a recent business trip, my friend Rich found a site that advertised caverns and an Indian artifact museum. An Indian man, with his coal black hair pulled back and a face my friend described as "well-weathered," offered to take Rich on the museum tour which he thought would last about 15 minutes. Nearly two hours later, he had received an incredible history lesson on the Shawnee Nation. The guide said that the Shawnee Nation is made up of many different Indian tribes which the Shawnee have "adopted" into their nation. And several times the Shawnee man pointed out that when his tribe allows this to happen, the adopted people or person may never speak of his former tribe or nation again!
Several times Rich's guide asked if he really understood that concept and my friend assured him that he did. Suddenly, the Shawnee man stepped back a few feet and he said, "You're a Christian, aren't you?" Rich gave him a wholehearted yes, and then he asked how he could tell. The Native American man's response: "Only a true Shawnee or a Christian can understand forsaking all past life and accepting a new life!" Later, as they prayed together, it was clear that this man who my friend described as "truly amazing" was both a Shawnee and a Christian.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Brand New You."
The Indian brother really understands what it means to become a part of Jesus' tribe far better than many of us who claim to be following Jesus. What he said is almost a paraphrase of exactly what God says in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 5, beginning in verse 15.
"Christ died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves (stop and ask yourself, 'Are you really living for yourself?'), but to live for Him who died for them and was raised again...Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" And paralleling the Shawnee experience, the way we become "in Christ" is "to be adopted as God's sons through Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 1:5). Adopted - not to have part of us in our old family, which is really the devil's family, and part of us in God's family. No, we're talking here about leaving one way of life for good and taking on a brand new you! Which may make some of the junk in your life right now a little hard to explain.
You can't really hold Jesus with one hand and, with your other hand you're holding some of the junk that killed Him. After all, in God's words, "He bore our sins in His body on the tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). Imagine how it must make Jesus feel to see you still hanging onto sins that He died to get you out of!
It may be that you've missed the imperative Jesus gave us to "repent" when we come to Him. It would be easy to miss; nobody talks much about repenting these days. But it still matters just as much to Jesus. And your failure to really repent may explain your constant spiritual roller coaster, your recurring doubts about whether or not you really belong to Jesus. In Acts 3:19, the call is to "repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." Repenting of that sin isn't just saying, "I'm sorry." It's saying, "I'm not doing that stuff anymore!"
You've tried carrying your dual identity long enough; you're a halfhearted sinner and a halfhearted Christian. It's time to turn your back, once and for all, on that junk that's shackled you for so long. You tell Jesus right now, "Jesus, with Your power, I am dropping this junk and saying goodbye to the old me once and for all." This could be the beginning of a real belonging to Jesus; a real love relationship this very day. And I would like to invite you to our website where an awful lot of people have found help in getting started with Him. It's YoursForLife.net. Or you can get my booklet Yours For Life with the same information in it. You can call toll free at 877-741-1200.
You know, Jesus died to get you out of the old darkness. And beginning today could be the beginning of a brand new you.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 28
The Soul Killer
When people sin, they earn what sin pays--death.
Romans 6:23 (NCV)
Sin does to a life what shears do to a flower. A cut at the stem separates a flower from the source of life. Initially the flower is attractive, still colorful and strong. But watch that flower over a period of time, and the leaves will wilt and the petals will drop. No matter what you do, the flower will never live again. Surround it with water. Stick the stem in soil. Baptize it with fertilizer. Glue the flower back on the stem. Do what you wish. The flower is dead. . . .
A dead soul has no life.
Cut off from God, the soul withers and dies. The consequence of sin is not a bad day or a bad mood but a dead soul. The sign of a dead soul is clear: poisoned lips and cursing mouths, feet that lead to violence and eyes that don't see God....
The finished work of sin is to kill the soul.
Numbers 12
Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
1 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 2 "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this.
3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
4 At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out. 5 Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, 6 he said, "Listen to my words:
"When a prophet of the LORD is among you,
I reveal myself to him in visions,
I speak to him in dreams.
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?"
9 The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.
10 When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam—leprous, [g] like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; 11 and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away."
13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, "O God, please heal her!"
14 The LORD replied to Moses, "If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back." 15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.
16 After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Genesis 4
Cain and Abel
1 Adam [a] lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. [b] She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth [c] a man." 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." [d] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"
10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."
13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."
15 But the LORD said to him, "Not so [e] ; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, [f] east of Eden.
About This Cover November 28, 2008
Sin Crouches At The Door
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Genesis 4:1-16
Sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it. —Genesis 4:7
The award-winning author John Steinbeck often used biblical themes in his novels. In his book East of Eden, he describes characters who illustrate the conflict of jealousy and revenge reflected in the story of Cain and Abel. Steinbeck shows how an angry heart burning with revenge doesn’t have to act a certain way. There’s always a choice.
When Abel’s animal sacrifice received divine favor and Cain’s offering of fruit was rejected, Cain burned with anger (Gen. 4:1-6). But the Lord admonished him, “Sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” (Gen. 4:7). The original Hebrew words paint the picture of an animal crouching, ready to devour its prey. Cain’s anger and jealousy, if not brought under control, would “eat him up” and spill out in destructive behavior. Tragically, Cain gave in to his evil desires. It resulted in the first homicide and his departure from the presence of the Lord (Gen. 4:8-16).
Do you have feelings of jealousy or anger toward someone? If so, you have a choice. If you ignore the internal struggle, it will only get worse and control you. But if you bring your anger to the Lord and ask for His help, in His strength you will have victory. — Dennis Fisher
When faced with trials from without
Or tempted from within,
Rely upon the Lord for strength
To turn away from sin. —Sper
Control your anger, or it will control you.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
The gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service— I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are "rich," particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was "beyond" us and places it "within" us. And immediately, once "the beyond" has come "within," it rises up to "the above," and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns (see John 3:5 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
A Brand New You - #5710
Friday, November 28, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
On a recent business trip, my friend Rich found a site that advertised caverns and an Indian artifact museum. An Indian man, with his coal black hair pulled back and a face my friend described as "well-weathered," offered to take Rich on the museum tour which he thought would last about 15 minutes. Nearly two hours later, he had received an incredible history lesson on the Shawnee Nation. The guide said that the Shawnee Nation is made up of many different Indian tribes which the Shawnee have "adopted" into their nation. And several times the Shawnee man pointed out that when his tribe allows this to happen, the adopted people or person may never speak of his former tribe or nation again!
Several times Rich's guide asked if he really understood that concept and my friend assured him that he did. Suddenly, the Shawnee man stepped back a few feet and he said, "You're a Christian, aren't you?" Rich gave him a wholehearted yes, and then he asked how he could tell. The Native American man's response: "Only a true Shawnee or a Christian can understand forsaking all past life and accepting a new life!" Later, as they prayed together, it was clear that this man who my friend described as "truly amazing" was both a Shawnee and a Christian.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Brand New You."
The Indian brother really understands what it means to become a part of Jesus' tribe far better than many of us who claim to be following Jesus. What he said is almost a paraphrase of exactly what God says in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 5, beginning in verse 15.
"Christ died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves (stop and ask yourself, 'Are you really living for yourself?'), but to live for Him who died for them and was raised again...Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" And paralleling the Shawnee experience, the way we become "in Christ" is "to be adopted as God's sons through Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 1:5). Adopted - not to have part of us in our old family, which is really the devil's family, and part of us in God's family. No, we're talking here about leaving one way of life for good and taking on a brand new you! Which may make some of the junk in your life right now a little hard to explain.
You can't really hold Jesus with one hand and, with your other hand you're holding some of the junk that killed Him. After all, in God's words, "He bore our sins in His body on the tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). Imagine how it must make Jesus feel to see you still hanging onto sins that He died to get you out of!
It may be that you've missed the imperative Jesus gave us to "repent" when we come to Him. It would be easy to miss; nobody talks much about repenting these days. But it still matters just as much to Jesus. And your failure to really repent may explain your constant spiritual roller coaster, your recurring doubts about whether or not you really belong to Jesus. In Acts 3:19, the call is to "repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." Repenting of that sin isn't just saying, "I'm sorry." It's saying, "I'm not doing that stuff anymore!"
You've tried carrying your dual identity long enough; you're a halfhearted sinner and a halfhearted Christian. It's time to turn your back, once and for all, on that junk that's shackled you for so long. You tell Jesus right now, "Jesus, with Your power, I am dropping this junk and saying goodbye to the old me once and for all." This could be the beginning of a real belonging to Jesus; a real love relationship this very day. And I would like to invite you to our website where an awful lot of people have found help in getting started with Him. It's YoursForLife.net. Or you can get my booklet Yours For Life with the same information in it. You can call toll free at 877-741-1200.
You know, Jesus died to get you out of the old darkness. And beginning today could be the beginning of a brand new you.
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