Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 12
An Open Door
Now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near.
Ephesians 2:13 (NCV)
Nothing remains between you and God but an open door.
Something happened in the death of Christ that opened the door for you and me. And that something is described by the writer of Hebrews.
“So, brothers and sisters, we are completely free to enter the Most Holy Place without fear because of the blood of Jesus’ death. We can enter through a new and living way that Jesus opened for us. It leads through the curtain—Christ’s body” (Heb. 10:19-20).
To the original readers, those last four words were explosive: “the curtain—Christ’s body.” According to the writer, the curtain equals Jesus. Hence, whatever happened to the flesh of Jesus happened to the curtain. What happened to his flesh? It was torn. Torn by the whips, torn by the thorns. Torn by the weight of the cross and the point of the nails. But in the horror of his torn flesh, we find the splendor of the open door.
2 Kings 2
Elijah Taken Up to Heaven
1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel."
But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.
3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?"
"Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it."
4 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho."
And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho.
5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?"
"Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it."
6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan."
And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on.
7 Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"
"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.
10 "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not."
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.
13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, "The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha." And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 "Look," they said, "we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley."
"No," Elisha replied, "do not send them."
17 But they persisted until he was too ashamed to refuse. So he said, "Send them." And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?"
Healing of the Water
19 The men of the city said to Elisha, "Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive."
20 "Bring me a new bowl," he said, "and put salt in it." So they brought it to him.
21 Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, "This is what the LORD says: 'I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.' " 22 And the water has remained wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.
Elisha Is Jeered
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Philippians 1:3-11 (New International Version)
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. 8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
March 12, 2009
Incomplete
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READ: Philippians 1:3-11
He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. —Philippians 1:6
When I was a little girl, my parents bought their first house. One afternoon, the family hopped into the car and drove to see where we soon would be living.
I couldn’t believe it. The house had no windows or doors, and there was a strange odor. The basement was clearly visible through big gaps in the floor and we had to climb a ladder to get down there.
That night when I asked my mother why they wanted to live in a house like that, she explained that the builder wasn’t finished with it yet. “Just wait and see,” she said. “I think you’ll like it when it’s done.”
Soon we began to see changes. The house got windows, then doors. The “funny smell” of new lumber faded. The holes in the floor were covered and a staircase was added. Walls were painted. Mom put up curtains at the windows and pictures on the walls. The incomplete house had been transformed. It had taken some time but finally it was finished.
As Christians, we need “finishing” too. Although the groundwork is laid at our conversion, the growing process continues throughout our life. As we obediently follow Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2), one day we too will be complete. — Cindy Hess Kasper
God sees in us a masterpiece
That one day will be done;
His Spirit works throughout our lives
To make us like His Son. —Sper
Please be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 12, 2009
Total Surrender
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READ:
Peter began to say to Him, ’See, we have left all and followed You’ —Mark 10:28
Our Lord replies to this statement of Peter by saying that this surrender is "for My sake and the gospel’s" (10:29). It was not for the purpose of what the disciples themselves would get out of it. Beware of surrender that is motivated by personal benefits that may result. For example, "I’m going to give myself to God because I want to be delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy." Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying, "No, Lord, I don’t want you; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, ’This is what God has done for me.’ " Gaining heaven, being delivered from sin, and being made useful to God are things that should never even be a consideration in real surrender. Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.
Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships? Most of us will desert Him with this excuse—"Yes, Lord, I heard you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can’t go any further" (see Luke 9:57-62 ). "Then," Jesus says, "you ’cannot be My disciple’ " (see Luke 14:26-33 ).
True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
God's Gerbils - #5784
Thursday, March 12, 2009
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Gerbils are pretty funny and they're extremely predictable. At least, the one our kids had as a pet sure was. When I checked in on him in his little cage upstairs, he was almost always doing the same thing - the wheel. There he was, just chugging away, running on his gerbil wheel. If you went back a few hours later - the wheel. If I had spoken "Gerbilese," I would have pointed out that even though he was expending a lot of energy, he wasn't going anywhere. But I think I know what his response would be. He would just run faster on the wheel that was going nowhere!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God's Gerbils."
These next few moments are dedicated to a special group of people - really busy Christians. Many of whom are, unknowingly, spiritual gerbils running faster and faster on a wheel, but often really not going anywhere because they're doing a lot of the right things for a lot of the wrong reasons.
The right reason to be serving is plainly spelled out in our word for today from the Word of God, where Jesus asks what is probably the most important question He ever asked. After Peter's triple denial of his Lord and Jesus' resurrection from the dead, Jesus calls him aside for a man-to-man talk in John 21, beginning in verse 15. And there's the question.
"Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon...do you truly love Me more than these?' 'Yes, Lord,' he said, 'you know that I love You.' Jesus said, 'Feed My lambs.'" Jesus goes on to ask His question a second time, and then again. "Jesus said, 'Simon...do you love Me?' Peter said, 'Lord...You know that I love You.' Jesus said, 'Feed My sheep.'"
Jesus didn't ask, "Why did you fail Me?" or "Will you work for Me?" All He wanted to know was "Do you love Me?" That's all He wants to know from you - do you love Him? Notice that the assignment, "Feed My sheep," comes only after Jesus is sure, and Peter is sure, that he's doing it for love.
Which leads to the inevitable question about your spiritual service. What are you doing it for? Basically, there are three reasons people do Christian things: duty, recognition, or love. And the first two don't count. Maybe you've been busy for God mostly out of a sense of duty. That's why you're easily frustrated, often depleted, and way too stressed. It's a spiritual gerbil wheel, isn't it? You're Martha, fulfilling all your responsibilities, but you're neglecting your relationship with Jesus. And the relationship matters way more to Jesus than the responsibilities.
Maybe you're doing it for recognition - Gerbil wheel. Not to mention glory-stealing; using what only God should be getting glory for to get glory for yourself. Doing the work of the Lord for duty or for recognition is inevitably going to feel hollow, unsatisfying, exhausting, and frustrating, because you're supposed to be doing it as an overflow of your love for Jesus.
And chances are good it used to be, it was because you loved Him. But now what's supposed to be a joy has become a gerbil wheel because your reasons for doing it got mixed up. Maybe it's time to say, "Jesus, I repent of doing the right things for the wrong reasons. I just want to spend the time with You that I need to spend to fall in love with You again." When you do, then all your spiritual service becomes simply loving Jesus in front of people. It's all for Him! And then the results don't matter...the recognition doesn't matter, just as long as you know Jesus is smiling.
The longer you do it for yourself, the more miserable it grows. But the longer you do it for Jesus, the sweeter He grows.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
2 Kings 1, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 11
Footprints of Discipleship
All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.
John 13:35 (NCV)
Watch a small boy follow his dad through the snow. He stretches to step where his dad stepped. Not an easy task. His small legs extend as far as they can so his feet can fall in his father's prints.
The father, seeing what the son is doing, smiles and begins taking shorter steps, so the son can follow.
It's a picture of discipleship.
In our faith we follow in someone's steps. A parent, a teacher, a hero--none of us are the first to walk the trail. All of us have someone we follow.
In our faith we leave footprints to guide others. A child, a friend, a recent convert. None should be left to walk the trail alone.
It's the principle of discipleship.
2 Kings 1
The Lord 's Judgment on Ahaziah
1 After Ahab's death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, "Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury."
3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?' 4 Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!' " So Elijah went.
5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, "Why have you come back?"
6 "A man came to meet us," they replied. "And he said to us, 'Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, "This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending men to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" ' "
7 The king asked them, "What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?"
8 They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist."
The king said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite."
9 Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down!' "
10 Elijah answered the captain, "If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.
11 At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, "Man of God, this is what the king says, 'Come down at once!' "
12 "If I am a man of God," Elijah replied, "may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. "Man of God," he begged, "please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!"
15 The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.
16 He told the king, "This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" 17 So he died, according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken.
Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram [a] succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18 As for all the other events of Ahaziah's reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Psalm 6
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.[a]
A psalm of David.
1O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint;
O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.
3 My soul is in anguish.
How long, O LORD, how long?
4 Turn, O LORD, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.
5 No one remembers you when he is dead.
Who praises you from the grave [b] ?
6 I am worn out from groaning;
all night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.
8 Away from me, all you who do evil,
for the LORD has heard my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed;
they will turn back in sudden disgrace.
March 11, 2009
Flying Machines
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READ: Psalm 6
I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears. —Psalm 6:6
Recording artist James Taylor exploded onto the music scene in early 1970 with the song “Fire and Rain.” In it, he talked about the disappointments of life, describing them as “sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.” That was a reference to Taylor’s original band Flying Machine, whose attempt at breaking into the recording industry had failed badly, causing him to wonder if his dreams of a musical career would ever come true. The reality of crushed expectations had taken their toll, leaving Taylor with a sense of loss and hopelessness.
The psalmist David also experienced hopeless despair as he struggled with his own failures, the attacks of others, and the disappointments of life. In Psalm 6:6 he said, “I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears.” The depth of his sorrow and loss drove him to heartache—but in that grief he turned to the God of all comfort. David’s own crushed and broken “flying machines” gave way to the assurance of God’s care, prompting him to say, “The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer” (v.9).
In our own seasons of disappointment, we too can find comfort in God, who cares for our broken hearts. — Bill Crowder
Even in my darkest hour
The Lord will bless me with His power;
His loving grace will sure abound,
In His sweet care I shall be found. —Brandt
God’s whisper of comfort quiets the noise of our trials.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 11, 2009
Obedience to the "Heavenly Vision"
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I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision —Acts 26:19
If we lose "the heavenly vision" God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to "the heavenly vision" is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.
"Though it tarries, wait for it . . ." ( Habakkuk 2:3 ). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that "tarries" is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.
Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will "bear much fruit" ( John 15:8 ).
It is essential that we live and "walk in the light" of God’s vision for us ( 1 John 1:7 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Right Words, Wrong Heart - #5783
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
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Today he's a respected Christian professional in our community. But legend has it that he had a strong streak of mischief in him when he was a boy, and maybe even now. An older friend from their church told me that when this man was four, his pastor came up to him at a football game and sat down next to him. And the pastor said, "Well, Mark, what have you been doing with yourself lately?" To which Mark replied with a smile, "Would you believe praying?" To which his pastor replied, "No, Mark, I wouldn't believe it." Smart pastor.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Right Words, Wrong Heart."
It doesn't take long to learn the right church answers, does it? Man, we know what to say. A four-year-old boy can do it! And many of us have been around a lot longer than that and we know the words to say. The danger is that you can really fool yourself spiritually, just because you know all the right words, and go to all the right meetings, and do all the right things. Tragically, a full Christian vocabulary can mask a dangerously empty heart.
Jesus talked about that in our word for today from the Word of God in Mark 7:6. He said of some deeply religious people, "These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me." And you can be sure that getting into heaven will be based on what is in your heart, not on your lips. Your eternal rewards from Jesus will be also be based on what's in your heart, not your lips. Remember, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).
Recently, we called some Native American Christian friends of ours whose daughter has been struggling with some serious moral issues and life issues. The daughter was willing to talk with my wife, but only in her mother's words, "after she puts her coat on." Now that expression was new to us. Our friend explained that Indians use that expression sometimes to describe saying what non-Indians want to hear. In other words, saying what you think the other person wants to hear.
Well a lot of church folks "put their coat on" regularly when they're in a Christian setting. After all, you can pretty much learn the vocabulary of Christianity in about a month, and that will be enough to get you through with most Christians for the rest of your life. It's not enough to get you through with God.
It's wise to stand back every once in a while and ask, "How much of my Christianity is really about Christ and how much is a mask, a role I'm playing, human expectations I'm trying to fulfill; just my church?" If there's been more than one you, the Christian you and then the other guys, maybe you're tired of playing charades spiritually, you're tired of the performance, you're tired of the mask. It's time to say, "Jesus, I've been saying all the right words, but You know how hollow it all is really and now so do I. I just want to love You and want to know You for real. I want this to be all about a Christ-relationship, not the Christian religion."
And if you've never really given yourself to Jesus, let this be the day that you move from playing a role to the reality of knowing this awesome Savior. Listen, if you're ready to begin this relationship for real, would you tell Him that? That's the important thing. And say, "Dear Jesus, I believe when You died on that cross, some of those sins you died for were mine. You have paid my death penalty. You walked out of your grave under your own power. You are alive. You can give me eternal life and I turn from the running of my own life, and I place the rest of my life completely in Your hands.
At that moment you go from the role to the reality. At that moment, you don't just know about Jesus, you know Him. At that moment, you're not just believing things about Jesus; you belong to Him.
We'd love to help you get there. That's what our website's for. I want to encourage you to check it out at your first opportunity today. It's YoursForLife.net. Or I'd be glad to send you my booklet Yours For Life at no cost if you'll call us toll free at 877-741-1200.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 11
Footprints of Discipleship
All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.
John 13:35 (NCV)
Watch a small boy follow his dad through the snow. He stretches to step where his dad stepped. Not an easy task. His small legs extend as far as they can so his feet can fall in his father's prints.
The father, seeing what the son is doing, smiles and begins taking shorter steps, so the son can follow.
It's a picture of discipleship.
In our faith we follow in someone's steps. A parent, a teacher, a hero--none of us are the first to walk the trail. All of us have someone we follow.
In our faith we leave footprints to guide others. A child, a friend, a recent convert. None should be left to walk the trail alone.
It's the principle of discipleship.
2 Kings 1
The Lord 's Judgment on Ahaziah
1 After Ahab's death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, "Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury."
3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?' 4 Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!' " So Elijah went.
5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, "Why have you come back?"
6 "A man came to meet us," they replied. "And he said to us, 'Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, "This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending men to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" ' "
7 The king asked them, "What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?"
8 They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist."
The king said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite."
9 Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down!' "
10 Elijah answered the captain, "If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.
11 At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, "Man of God, this is what the king says, 'Come down at once!' "
12 "If I am a man of God," Elijah replied, "may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. "Man of God," he begged, "please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!"
15 The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.
16 He told the king, "This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" 17 So he died, according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken.
Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram [a] succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18 As for all the other events of Ahaziah's reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Psalm 6
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.[a]
A psalm of David.
1O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint;
O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.
3 My soul is in anguish.
How long, O LORD, how long?
4 Turn, O LORD, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.
5 No one remembers you when he is dead.
Who praises you from the grave [b] ?
6 I am worn out from groaning;
all night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.
8 Away from me, all you who do evil,
for the LORD has heard my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed;
they will turn back in sudden disgrace.
March 11, 2009
Flying Machines
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Psalm 6
I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears. —Psalm 6:6
Recording artist James Taylor exploded onto the music scene in early 1970 with the song “Fire and Rain.” In it, he talked about the disappointments of life, describing them as “sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.” That was a reference to Taylor’s original band Flying Machine, whose attempt at breaking into the recording industry had failed badly, causing him to wonder if his dreams of a musical career would ever come true. The reality of crushed expectations had taken their toll, leaving Taylor with a sense of loss and hopelessness.
The psalmist David also experienced hopeless despair as he struggled with his own failures, the attacks of others, and the disappointments of life. In Psalm 6:6 he said, “I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears.” The depth of his sorrow and loss drove him to heartache—but in that grief he turned to the God of all comfort. David’s own crushed and broken “flying machines” gave way to the assurance of God’s care, prompting him to say, “The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer” (v.9).
In our own seasons of disappointment, we too can find comfort in God, who cares for our broken hearts. — Bill Crowder
Even in my darkest hour
The Lord will bless me with His power;
His loving grace will sure abound,
In His sweet care I shall be found. —Brandt
God’s whisper of comfort quiets the noise of our trials.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 11, 2009
Obedience to the "Heavenly Vision"
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READ:
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision —Acts 26:19
If we lose "the heavenly vision" God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to "the heavenly vision" is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.
"Though it tarries, wait for it . . ." ( Habakkuk 2:3 ). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that "tarries" is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.
Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will "bear much fruit" ( John 15:8 ).
It is essential that we live and "walk in the light" of God’s vision for us ( 1 John 1:7 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Right Words, Wrong Heart - #5783
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Today he's a respected Christian professional in our community. But legend has it that he had a strong streak of mischief in him when he was a boy, and maybe even now. An older friend from their church told me that when this man was four, his pastor came up to him at a football game and sat down next to him. And the pastor said, "Well, Mark, what have you been doing with yourself lately?" To which Mark replied with a smile, "Would you believe praying?" To which his pastor replied, "No, Mark, I wouldn't believe it." Smart pastor.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Right Words, Wrong Heart."
It doesn't take long to learn the right church answers, does it? Man, we know what to say. A four-year-old boy can do it! And many of us have been around a lot longer than that and we know the words to say. The danger is that you can really fool yourself spiritually, just because you know all the right words, and go to all the right meetings, and do all the right things. Tragically, a full Christian vocabulary can mask a dangerously empty heart.
Jesus talked about that in our word for today from the Word of God in Mark 7:6. He said of some deeply religious people, "These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me." And you can be sure that getting into heaven will be based on what is in your heart, not on your lips. Your eternal rewards from Jesus will be also be based on what's in your heart, not your lips. Remember, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).
Recently, we called some Native American Christian friends of ours whose daughter has been struggling with some serious moral issues and life issues. The daughter was willing to talk with my wife, but only in her mother's words, "after she puts her coat on." Now that expression was new to us. Our friend explained that Indians use that expression sometimes to describe saying what non-Indians want to hear. In other words, saying what you think the other person wants to hear.
Well a lot of church folks "put their coat on" regularly when they're in a Christian setting. After all, you can pretty much learn the vocabulary of Christianity in about a month, and that will be enough to get you through with most Christians for the rest of your life. It's not enough to get you through with God.
It's wise to stand back every once in a while and ask, "How much of my Christianity is really about Christ and how much is a mask, a role I'm playing, human expectations I'm trying to fulfill; just my church?" If there's been more than one you, the Christian you and then the other guys, maybe you're tired of playing charades spiritually, you're tired of the performance, you're tired of the mask. It's time to say, "Jesus, I've been saying all the right words, but You know how hollow it all is really and now so do I. I just want to love You and want to know You for real. I want this to be all about a Christ-relationship, not the Christian religion."
And if you've never really given yourself to Jesus, let this be the day that you move from playing a role to the reality of knowing this awesome Savior. Listen, if you're ready to begin this relationship for real, would you tell Him that? That's the important thing. And say, "Dear Jesus, I believe when You died on that cross, some of those sins you died for were mine. You have paid my death penalty. You walked out of your grave under your own power. You are alive. You can give me eternal life and I turn from the running of my own life, and I place the rest of my life completely in Your hands.
At that moment you go from the role to the reality. At that moment, you don't just know about Jesus, you know Him. At that moment, you're not just believing things about Jesus; you belong to Him.
We'd love to help you get there. That's what our website's for. I want to encourage you to check it out at your first opportunity today. It's YoursForLife.net. Or I'd be glad to send you my booklet Yours For Life at no cost if you'll call us toll free at 877-741-1200.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
1 Kings 21, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 10
The World Needs Servants
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
Mark 10:45 (NKJV)
The world needs servants. People like Jesus who "did not come to be served, but to serve." He chose remote Nazareth over center-stage Jerusalem, his dad's carpentry shop over a marble-columned palace, and three decades of anonymity over a life of popularity.
Jesus came to serve. He selected prayer over sleep, the wilderness over the Jordan, irascible apostles over obedient angels. I'd have gone with the angels. Given the choice, I would have built my apostle team out of cherubim and seraphim or Gabriel and Michael, eyewitnesses of the Red Sea rescues and Mount Carmel falling fires. I'd choose the angels.
Not Jesus. He picked the people. Peter, Andrew, John, and Matthew. When they feared the storm, he stilled it. When they had no coin for taxes, he supplied it. And when they had no wine for the wedding or food for the multitude, he made both.
1 Kings 21
Naboth's Vineyard
1 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, "Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth."
3 But Naboth replied, "The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers."
4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, "Why are you so sullen? Why won't you eat?"
6 He answered her, "Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, 'Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.' But he said, 'I will not give you my vineyard.' "
7 Jezebel his wife said, "Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I'll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote:
"Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death."
11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth has cursed both God and the king." So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: "Naboth has been stoned and is dead."
15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, "Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead." 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth's vineyard.
17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 "Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth's vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!' "
20 Ahab said to Elijah, "So you have found me, my enemy!"
"I have found you," he answered, "because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD. 21 'I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free. 22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.'
23 "And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: 'Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of [a] Jezreel.'
24 "Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country."
25 (There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.)
27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.
28 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 "Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Hebrews 13:5-16 (New International Version)
5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."[a] 6So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"[b]
7Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. 10We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
15Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
March 10, 2009
For The Birds
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Hebrews 13:5-16
You shall not covet . . . anything that is your neighbor’s. —Exodus 20:17
The bird feeder attached to my office window is just beyond the reach of the squirrels. But one squirrel has made it his mission to get the seeds meant for the birds. Having seen his tiny neighbors nibbling noisily from the abundant supply, the squirrel is fixated on enjoying the same pleasure. He has tried coming at the feeder from every direction but without success. He clawed his way up the wooden window casing to within inches of the feeder but slid down the slippery glass. He climbed the thin branches of the forsythia bush. Then he reached so far that he fell to the ground.
The squirrel’s tireless attempts to get what isn’t meant to be his calls to mind a man and woman who reached for food that wasn’t meant to be theirs. They too suffered a fall—a fall so severe that it hurt the whole human race. Because they were disobedient and helped themselves to food that God told them not to eat, He put them where they could no longer reach it. As a result of their disobedience, they and their descendants must now work hard to get what He originally had given as a gift—food (see Gen. 2–3).
May our desire to have what God has kept from us not keep us from enjoying what He has given to us (Heb. 13:5). — Julie Ackerman Link
Thinking It Through
What (or who) am I looking to for happiness?
Is this wise? Or do I need to make some changes?
How may I be content? (Heb. 13:5).
Godliness with contentment is great gain. —1 Timothy 6:6
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 10, 2009
Being an Example of His Message
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Preach the word! —2 Timothy 4:2
We are not saved only to be instruments for God, but to be His sons and daughters. He does not turn us into spiritual agents but into spiritual messengers, and the message must be a part of us. The Son of God was His own message— "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" ( John 6:63 ). As His disciples, our lives must be a holy example of the reality of our message. Even the natural heart of the unsaved will serve if called upon to do so, but it takes a heart broken by conviction of sin, baptized by the Holy Spirit, and crushed into submission to God’s purpose to make a person’s life a holy example of God’s message.
There is a difference between giving a testimony and preaching. A preacher is someone who has received the call of God and is determined to use all his energy to proclaim God’s truth. God takes us beyond our own aspirations and ideas for our lives, and molds and shapes us for His purpose, just as He worked in the disciples’ lives after Pentecost. The purpose of Pentecost was not to teach the disciples something, but to make them the incarnation of what they preached so that they would literally become God’s message in the flesh. ". . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . ." ( Acts 1:8 ).
Allow God to have complete liberty in your life when you speak. Before God’s message can liberate other people, His liberation must first be real in you. Gather your material carefully, and then allow God to "set your words on fire" for His glory.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Shields Up! - #5782
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
There are few TV series that have become more a part of the culture than the one that portrays the voyage of the Starship Enterprise, yeah you got it, Star Trek. The original show has spawned two or three other series and several major movies. So many people know about the transporter which beams your molecules up and down to another location or the weapon the Trekkies call a phaser. And maybe you remember the command the captain gives whenever the Enterprise is coming under fire. It's the directive that activates the invisible protection around their ship, "Shields up!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Shields Up!"
If you are trying to make any kind of a difference for Jesus Christ, you know what it is to come under enemy fire. After all, "your enemy the devil (the Bible says) prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). And that warning is in a passage addressed to spiritual activists. It's followed by this command, "Resist him." "Shields up!"
There's a time when we're particularly vulnerable to our enemy's attack; the time when we are most likely to have our shields down. Strangely enough, we are often most vulnerable immediately after God has done something powerful for us or through us. Think about Elijah. When was he suddenly so depressed he didn't even want to live anymore? Immediately after he challenged and defeated 450 false prophets in that fire-from-heaven showdown.
How about Moses? He's just met Jehovah on the mountain, and he's received the laws of God from God's own mouth. And he comes down from the mountain to his people and they're worshipping the golden calf. Or think about Jesus. When does Satan come in and blast Him with relentless temptations? Right after Jesus' greatest spiritual moment - His baptism when heaven came down on Him. The disciples came down from seeing heaven on a mountain with Jesus, only to be confronted with the devil at the bottom of the mountain in the form of a demon-possessed boy.
One reason we're so vulnerable to Satan's attacks after a spiritual victory is this: we go into the battle with our shields up, spiritually alert, deeply dependent on God. We know we need it. But when the battle's over and we've won, we tend to lower our guard. We felt our need for the Lord going in; we forget how much we need Him coming out. So the devil is all over us after the victory. He knows we're too close to God during the battle itself, so he waits until the battle is over and we're spiritually relaxed.
That's when he hits you with that temptation, that discouragement, that depression, that problem at home or at work, that conflict, those doubts. Sound familiar? You may be in the middle of that kind of attack right now. If it was during the big battle, you would instinctively know it was Satan and you'd fight back with everything you've got. But because it comes after the battle, you don't use your spiritual weapons. You tend to fight it as "flesh and blood" instead of "the spiritual forces of evil" (Ephesians 6:12). And you lose a battle you should be winning.
So, I love our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Isaiah 52:12, "The Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard." See, God promises not only to look out for you as you're going into the battle, but also to be your "rear guard" after the battle. So when God has worked mightily, when God has used you significantly, don't get spiritually careless. That's the time you give yourself that all-important order, "Shields up!"
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 10
The World Needs Servants
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
Mark 10:45 (NKJV)
The world needs servants. People like Jesus who "did not come to be served, but to serve." He chose remote Nazareth over center-stage Jerusalem, his dad's carpentry shop over a marble-columned palace, and three decades of anonymity over a life of popularity.
Jesus came to serve. He selected prayer over sleep, the wilderness over the Jordan, irascible apostles over obedient angels. I'd have gone with the angels. Given the choice, I would have built my apostle team out of cherubim and seraphim or Gabriel and Michael, eyewitnesses of the Red Sea rescues and Mount Carmel falling fires. I'd choose the angels.
Not Jesus. He picked the people. Peter, Andrew, John, and Matthew. When they feared the storm, he stilled it. When they had no coin for taxes, he supplied it. And when they had no wine for the wedding or food for the multitude, he made both.
1 Kings 21
Naboth's Vineyard
1 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, "Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth."
3 But Naboth replied, "The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers."
4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, "Why are you so sullen? Why won't you eat?"
6 He answered her, "Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, 'Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.' But he said, 'I will not give you my vineyard.' "
7 Jezebel his wife said, "Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I'll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote:
"Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death."
11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth has cursed both God and the king." So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: "Naboth has been stoned and is dead."
15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, "Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead." 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth's vineyard.
17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 "Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth's vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!' "
20 Ahab said to Elijah, "So you have found me, my enemy!"
"I have found you," he answered, "because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD. 21 'I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free. 22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.'
23 "And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: 'Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of [a] Jezreel.'
24 "Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country."
25 (There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.)
27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.
28 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 "Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Hebrews 13:5-16 (New International Version)
5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."[a] 6So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"[b]
7Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. 10We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
15Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
March 10, 2009
For The Birds
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Hebrews 13:5-16
You shall not covet . . . anything that is your neighbor’s. —Exodus 20:17
The bird feeder attached to my office window is just beyond the reach of the squirrels. But one squirrel has made it his mission to get the seeds meant for the birds. Having seen his tiny neighbors nibbling noisily from the abundant supply, the squirrel is fixated on enjoying the same pleasure. He has tried coming at the feeder from every direction but without success. He clawed his way up the wooden window casing to within inches of the feeder but slid down the slippery glass. He climbed the thin branches of the forsythia bush. Then he reached so far that he fell to the ground.
The squirrel’s tireless attempts to get what isn’t meant to be his calls to mind a man and woman who reached for food that wasn’t meant to be theirs. They too suffered a fall—a fall so severe that it hurt the whole human race. Because they were disobedient and helped themselves to food that God told them not to eat, He put them where they could no longer reach it. As a result of their disobedience, they and their descendants must now work hard to get what He originally had given as a gift—food (see Gen. 2–3).
May our desire to have what God has kept from us not keep us from enjoying what He has given to us (Heb. 13:5). — Julie Ackerman Link
Thinking It Through
What (or who) am I looking to for happiness?
Is this wise? Or do I need to make some changes?
How may I be content? (Heb. 13:5).
Godliness with contentment is great gain. —1 Timothy 6:6
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 10, 2009
Being an Example of His Message
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Preach the word! —2 Timothy 4:2
We are not saved only to be instruments for God, but to be His sons and daughters. He does not turn us into spiritual agents but into spiritual messengers, and the message must be a part of us. The Son of God was His own message— "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" ( John 6:63 ). As His disciples, our lives must be a holy example of the reality of our message. Even the natural heart of the unsaved will serve if called upon to do so, but it takes a heart broken by conviction of sin, baptized by the Holy Spirit, and crushed into submission to God’s purpose to make a person’s life a holy example of God’s message.
There is a difference between giving a testimony and preaching. A preacher is someone who has received the call of God and is determined to use all his energy to proclaim God’s truth. God takes us beyond our own aspirations and ideas for our lives, and molds and shapes us for His purpose, just as He worked in the disciples’ lives after Pentecost. The purpose of Pentecost was not to teach the disciples something, but to make them the incarnation of what they preached so that they would literally become God’s message in the flesh. ". . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . ." ( Acts 1:8 ).
Allow God to have complete liberty in your life when you speak. Before God’s message can liberate other people, His liberation must first be real in you. Gather your material carefully, and then allow God to "set your words on fire" for His glory.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Shields Up! - #5782
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
There are few TV series that have become more a part of the culture than the one that portrays the voyage of the Starship Enterprise, yeah you got it, Star Trek. The original show has spawned two or three other series and several major movies. So many people know about the transporter which beams your molecules up and down to another location or the weapon the Trekkies call a phaser. And maybe you remember the command the captain gives whenever the Enterprise is coming under fire. It's the directive that activates the invisible protection around their ship, "Shields up!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Shields Up!"
If you are trying to make any kind of a difference for Jesus Christ, you know what it is to come under enemy fire. After all, "your enemy the devil (the Bible says) prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). And that warning is in a passage addressed to spiritual activists. It's followed by this command, "Resist him." "Shields up!"
There's a time when we're particularly vulnerable to our enemy's attack; the time when we are most likely to have our shields down. Strangely enough, we are often most vulnerable immediately after God has done something powerful for us or through us. Think about Elijah. When was he suddenly so depressed he didn't even want to live anymore? Immediately after he challenged and defeated 450 false prophets in that fire-from-heaven showdown.
How about Moses? He's just met Jehovah on the mountain, and he's received the laws of God from God's own mouth. And he comes down from the mountain to his people and they're worshipping the golden calf. Or think about Jesus. When does Satan come in and blast Him with relentless temptations? Right after Jesus' greatest spiritual moment - His baptism when heaven came down on Him. The disciples came down from seeing heaven on a mountain with Jesus, only to be confronted with the devil at the bottom of the mountain in the form of a demon-possessed boy.
One reason we're so vulnerable to Satan's attacks after a spiritual victory is this: we go into the battle with our shields up, spiritually alert, deeply dependent on God. We know we need it. But when the battle's over and we've won, we tend to lower our guard. We felt our need for the Lord going in; we forget how much we need Him coming out. So the devil is all over us after the victory. He knows we're too close to God during the battle itself, so he waits until the battle is over and we're spiritually relaxed.
That's when he hits you with that temptation, that discouragement, that depression, that problem at home or at work, that conflict, those doubts. Sound familiar? You may be in the middle of that kind of attack right now. If it was during the big battle, you would instinctively know it was Satan and you'd fight back with everything you've got. But because it comes after the battle, you don't use your spiritual weapons. You tend to fight it as "flesh and blood" instead of "the spiritual forces of evil" (Ephesians 6:12). And you lose a battle you should be winning.
So, I love our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Isaiah 52:12, "The Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard." See, God promises not only to look out for you as you're going into the battle, but also to be your "rear guard" after the battle. So when God has worked mightily, when God has used you significantly, don't get spiritually careless. That's the time you give yourself that all-important order, "Shields up!"
Monday, March 9, 2009
1 Kings 19, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 9
A Morsel of Kindness
Suppose someone has enough to live and sees a brother or sister in need, but does not help. Then God's love is not living in that person.
1 John 3:17 (NCV)
Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian writer, tells of the time he was walking down the street and passed a beggar. Tolstoy reached into his pocket to give the beggar some money, but his pocket was empty. Tolstoy turned to the man and said, "I'm sorry, my brother, but I have nothing to give."
The beggar brightened and said, "You have given me more than I asked for--you have called me brother."
To the loved, a word of affection is a morsel, but to the love-starved, a word of affection can be a feast.
1 Kings 19
Elijah Flees to Horeb
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them."
3 Elijah was afraid [c] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." 6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
The LORD Appears to Elijah
And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
14 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
15 The LORD said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."
The Call of Elisha
19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. "Let me kiss my father and mother good-by," he said, "and then I will come with you."
"Go back," Elijah replied. "What have I done to you?"
21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Genesis 3:9-19 (New International Version)
9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
"Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring [a] and hers;
he will crush [b] your head,
and you will strike his heel."
16 To the woman he said,
"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you."
17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'
"Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return."
March 9, 2009
You Can’t Say That!
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Genesis 3:9-19
“Lord, what do You want me to do?” —Acts 9:6
According to a career-building Web site, certain words should be avoided on the job. When someone in authority asks you to do a project, you shouldn’t say, “Sure, no problem,” if you don’t mean it and aren’t going to follow through. Otherwise, you’ll become known as someone who doesn’t keep his word. And don’t say, “That’s not my job,” because you may need that person’s help in the future.
And if your boss comes to you with a problem, careerbuilder.com suggests it’s best not to blame someone else and say, “It’s not my fault!”
That’s the excuse Adam and Eve gave to God. They were told not to eat from the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17). When they disobeyed and were confronted by God, Adam blamed God and Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent (3:9-19). They basically said, “It’s not my fault!”
Perhaps there are things we should avoid saying to God about what He’s told us to do or not to do. For example, He gives us specific instructions for Christlike behavior in
1 Corinthians 13, yet we may be tempted to say, “I just don’t feel convicted about that,” or “That’s not really my gift.”
What is the Lord asking of you today? How will you respond? How about, “Yes, Lord!” — Anne Cetas
God wants complete obedience,
Excuses will not do;
His Word and Spirit show His will—
Then we must follow through. —Sper
The highest motive for obeying God is the desire to please Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 9, 2009
Turning Back or Walking with Jesus?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Do you also want to go away? —John 6:67
What a penetrating question! Our Lord’s words often hit home for us when He speaks in the simplest way. In spite of the fact that we know who Jesus is, He asks, "Do you also want to go away?" We must continually maintain an adventurous attitude toward Him, despite any potential personal risk.
"From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more" (John 6:66 ). They turned back from walking with Jesus; not into sin, but away from Him. Many people today are pouring their lives out and working for Jesus Christ, but are not really walking with Him. One thing God constantly requires of us is a oneness with Jesus Christ. After being set apart through sanctification, we should discipline our lives spiritually to maintain this intimate oneness. When God gives you a clear determination of His will for you, all your striving to maintain that relationship by some particular method is completely unnecessary. All that is required is to live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ. Never try to live your life with God in any other way than His way. And His way means absolute devotion to Him. Showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead is the secret of walking with Jesus.
Peter saw in Jesus only someone who could minister salvation to him and to the world. But our Lord wants us to be fellow laborers with Him.
In John 6:70 Jesus lovingly reminded Peter that he was chosen to go with Him. And each of us must answer this question for ourselves and no one else: "Do you also want to go away?"
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Banged Up But Running Well - #5781
Monday, March 9, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
During two weeks that I call "The Ice Age" in our area, a car slid into our vehicle in a parking lot. So the right side looked pretty ugly. Interestingly enough, that damage didn't affect the performance of our car at all. Like so many older cars we've had over the years, the outside was banged up but the engine was running fine.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Banged Up But Running Well."
It's possible for you and me to run that way, too. Did you know that? Hit hard and dented on the outside, but still running strong on the inside. A hit to the chassis doesn't have to mean a hit to the engine, and that's what keeps you going.
This "banged up but running well" phenomenon is explained in our word for today from the Word of God. In 2 Corinthians 4, beginning in verse 16, Paul says, "We do not lose heart." Now, that's pretty significant in light of the fact that earlier in the chapter he tells us about their being "hard pressed on every side, perplexed, persecuted, struck down." But in spite of all those hits, they are not "crushed," he says, or "in despair" or "abandoned" or "destroyed." If you've taken some hits lately, you might be interested in how Paul keeps his engine running so smoothly.
2 Corinthians 4:16 says, "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So 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." Just because you're battered on the outside doesn't mean you have to be battered on the inside. Just because you're running down on the outside doesn't mean you have to run down on the inside. Just because you're body is sick doesn't mean your spirit has to be sick. You can lose your job, your health, your loved one, your stuff, but you don't have to lose heart! That's a choice you make!
Paul has come to know his Lord as the Renewer; the One who refuels and refreshes his spirit each new day. Remember, God has promised that those who are weary and weak but wait on Him will "renew their strength" and "soar on wings like eagles" (Isaiah 40:31). How does it happen? First, you get God's perspective. That perspective recognizes the difference between what about this situation is "temporary" and what about this situation is "eternal." We can say of any earth-burden what my wife and I used to say when our kids were going through the roller coaster junior high years, "TTSP" - "This too shall pass." That perspective makes the burdens bearable. They're heavy, they hurt, but they're only hurt for a little while.
Secondly, you have to focus on God's payoff. Paul refuses to get mired in the present troubles; they are temporary. He focuses instead on the "eternal glory" that's going to be his for being victorious through these troubles. He tells us to "fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen...what is eternal." At that point, your troubles suddenly seem relatively "light and momentary," as Paul says.
A car can be hit hard and it can be all banged up, but that doesn't have to affect its performance. It's the condition of the engine that counts. You can be hit hard and all banged up, but it doesn't have to affect your performance. It's the condition of your spirit that counts. And God stands ready to jump start your spirit each new day if you'll focus on your Lord and not on your load.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 9
A Morsel of Kindness
Suppose someone has enough to live and sees a brother or sister in need, but does not help. Then God's love is not living in that person.
1 John 3:17 (NCV)
Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian writer, tells of the time he was walking down the street and passed a beggar. Tolstoy reached into his pocket to give the beggar some money, but his pocket was empty. Tolstoy turned to the man and said, "I'm sorry, my brother, but I have nothing to give."
The beggar brightened and said, "You have given me more than I asked for--you have called me brother."
To the loved, a word of affection is a morsel, but to the love-starved, a word of affection can be a feast.
1 Kings 19
Elijah Flees to Horeb
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them."
3 Elijah was afraid [c] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." 6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
The LORD Appears to Elijah
And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
14 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
15 The LORD said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."
The Call of Elisha
19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. "Let me kiss my father and mother good-by," he said, "and then I will come with you."
"Go back," Elijah replied. "What have I done to you?"
21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Genesis 3:9-19 (New International Version)
9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
"Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring [a] and hers;
he will crush [b] your head,
and you will strike his heel."
16 To the woman he said,
"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you."
17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'
"Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return."
March 9, 2009
You Can’t Say That!
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Genesis 3:9-19
“Lord, what do You want me to do?” —Acts 9:6
According to a career-building Web site, certain words should be avoided on the job. When someone in authority asks you to do a project, you shouldn’t say, “Sure, no problem,” if you don’t mean it and aren’t going to follow through. Otherwise, you’ll become known as someone who doesn’t keep his word. And don’t say, “That’s not my job,” because you may need that person’s help in the future.
And if your boss comes to you with a problem, careerbuilder.com suggests it’s best not to blame someone else and say, “It’s not my fault!”
That’s the excuse Adam and Eve gave to God. They were told not to eat from the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17). When they disobeyed and were confronted by God, Adam blamed God and Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent (3:9-19). They basically said, “It’s not my fault!”
Perhaps there are things we should avoid saying to God about what He’s told us to do or not to do. For example, He gives us specific instructions for Christlike behavior in
1 Corinthians 13, yet we may be tempted to say, “I just don’t feel convicted about that,” or “That’s not really my gift.”
What is the Lord asking of you today? How will you respond? How about, “Yes, Lord!” — Anne Cetas
God wants complete obedience,
Excuses will not do;
His Word and Spirit show His will—
Then we must follow through. —Sper
The highest motive for obeying God is the desire to please Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 9, 2009
Turning Back or Walking with Jesus?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Do you also want to go away? —John 6:67
What a penetrating question! Our Lord’s words often hit home for us when He speaks in the simplest way. In spite of the fact that we know who Jesus is, He asks, "Do you also want to go away?" We must continually maintain an adventurous attitude toward Him, despite any potential personal risk.
"From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more" (John 6:66 ). They turned back from walking with Jesus; not into sin, but away from Him. Many people today are pouring their lives out and working for Jesus Christ, but are not really walking with Him. One thing God constantly requires of us is a oneness with Jesus Christ. After being set apart through sanctification, we should discipline our lives spiritually to maintain this intimate oneness. When God gives you a clear determination of His will for you, all your striving to maintain that relationship by some particular method is completely unnecessary. All that is required is to live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ. Never try to live your life with God in any other way than His way. And His way means absolute devotion to Him. Showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead is the secret of walking with Jesus.
Peter saw in Jesus only someone who could minister salvation to him and to the world. But our Lord wants us to be fellow laborers with Him.
In John 6:70 Jesus lovingly reminded Peter that he was chosen to go with Him. And each of us must answer this question for ourselves and no one else: "Do you also want to go away?"
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Banged Up But Running Well - #5781
Monday, March 9, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
During two weeks that I call "The Ice Age" in our area, a car slid into our vehicle in a parking lot. So the right side looked pretty ugly. Interestingly enough, that damage didn't affect the performance of our car at all. Like so many older cars we've had over the years, the outside was banged up but the engine was running fine.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Banged Up But Running Well."
It's possible for you and me to run that way, too. Did you know that? Hit hard and dented on the outside, but still running strong on the inside. A hit to the chassis doesn't have to mean a hit to the engine, and that's what keeps you going.
This "banged up but running well" phenomenon is explained in our word for today from the Word of God. In 2 Corinthians 4, beginning in verse 16, Paul says, "We do not lose heart." Now, that's pretty significant in light of the fact that earlier in the chapter he tells us about their being "hard pressed on every side, perplexed, persecuted, struck down." But in spite of all those hits, they are not "crushed," he says, or "in despair" or "abandoned" or "destroyed." If you've taken some hits lately, you might be interested in how Paul keeps his engine running so smoothly.
2 Corinthians 4:16 says, "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So 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." Just because you're battered on the outside doesn't mean you have to be battered on the inside. Just because you're running down on the outside doesn't mean you have to run down on the inside. Just because you're body is sick doesn't mean your spirit has to be sick. You can lose your job, your health, your loved one, your stuff, but you don't have to lose heart! That's a choice you make!
Paul has come to know his Lord as the Renewer; the One who refuels and refreshes his spirit each new day. Remember, God has promised that those who are weary and weak but wait on Him will "renew their strength" and "soar on wings like eagles" (Isaiah 40:31). How does it happen? First, you get God's perspective. That perspective recognizes the difference between what about this situation is "temporary" and what about this situation is "eternal." We can say of any earth-burden what my wife and I used to say when our kids were going through the roller coaster junior high years, "TTSP" - "This too shall pass." That perspective makes the burdens bearable. They're heavy, they hurt, but they're only hurt for a little while.
Secondly, you have to focus on God's payoff. Paul refuses to get mired in the present troubles; they are temporary. He focuses instead on the "eternal glory" that's going to be his for being victorious through these troubles. He tells us to "fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen...what is eternal." At that point, your troubles suddenly seem relatively "light and momentary," as Paul says.
A car can be hit hard and it can be all banged up, but that doesn't have to affect its performance. It's the condition of the engine that counts. You can be hit hard and all banged up, but it doesn't have to affect your performance. It's the condition of your spirit that counts. And God stands ready to jump start your spirit each new day if you'll focus on your Lord and not on your load.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
1 Kings 18, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 8
God's grace that can save everyone has come.
Titus 2:11 (NCV)
As moments go, that one appeared no different than any others....It came and went....It was one of the countless moments that have marked time since eternity became measurable.
But in reality, that particular moment was like none other. For through that segment of time a spectacular thing occurred. God became a man. While the creatures of earth walked unaware, Divinity arrived.
1 Kings 18
Elijah and Obadiah
1 After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land." 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
Now the famine was severe in Samaria, 3 and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of his palace. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD. 4 While Jezebel was killing off the LORD's prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) 5 Ahab had said to Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals." 6 So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.
7 As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, "Is it really you, my lord Elijah?"
8 "Yes," he replied. "Go tell your master, 'Elijah is here.' "
9 "What have I done wrong," asked Obadiah, "that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? 10 As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. 11 But now you tell me to go to my master and say, 'Elijah is here.' 12 I don't know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn't find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the LORD since my youth. 13 Haven't you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the LORD ? I hid a hundred of the LORD's prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. 14 And now you tell me to go to my master and say, 'Elijah is here.' He will kill me!"
15 Elijah said, "As the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today."
Elijah on Mount Carmel
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?"
18 "I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the LORD's commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him."
But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the LORD's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God."
Then all the people said, "What you say is good."
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire." 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs [b] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."
34 "Do it again," he said, and they did it again.
"Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!"
40 Then Elijah commanded them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let anyone get away!" They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain." 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
43 "Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
"There is nothing there," he said.
Seven times Elijah said, "Go back."
44 The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea."
So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.' "
45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
March 8, 2009
The Time Will Come
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Timothy 4:1-8
The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. —2 Timothy 4:3
A USA Today article describes how parents today seek to initiate their children into a world of all faiths. Ema Drouillard, who runs a ceremony service, was asked by a couple to conduct a service for their baby, Greer. The mother said, “We just wanted a larger spirit to guide our daughter, but we didn’t want to get specific. I wanted all her bases covered.” The couple said, “We just do Christianity L-I-T-E” for Greer, who “believes in angels and fairies, leprechauns and Santa Claus.” This illustrates the low value placed on scriptural truth that is so prevalent in our culture today.
The apostle Paul warned Timothy that a time would come when people would prefer “lite” spiritual meals and would not tolerate substantive teaching (2 Tim. 4:3-4). He predicted that false teaching would increase and be embraced by many because it caters to the needs of their flesh. They have a craving to be entertained and desire teaching that leaves them with good feelings about themselves. Paul instructed Timothy to combat this by teaching doctrines according to God’s Word. The purpose of his instruction was to correct, rebuke, and encourage others (v.2).
As believers we are called to teach and obey the Word of God, not to scratch the itches of our culture. — Marvin Williams
Lord, teach us from Your holy Word
All error to discern,
And by Your Spirit’s light help us
From Satan’s snares to turn. —Bosch
Stand on the Word of God and you won’t fall into error.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 8, 2009
The Surrendered Life
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
I have been crucified with Christ . . . —Galatians 2:20
To become one with Jesus Christ, a person must be willing not only to give up sin, but also to surrender his whole way of looking at things. Being born again by the Spirit of God means that we must first be willing to let go before we can grasp something else. The first thing we must surrender is all of our pretense or deceit. What our Lord wants us to present to Him is not our goodness, honesty, or our efforts to do better, but real solid sin. Actually, that is all He can take from us. And what He gives us in exchange for our sin is real solid righteousness. But we must surrender all pretense that we are anything, and give up all our claims of even being worthy of God’s consideration.
Once we have done that, the Spirit of God will show us what we need to surrender next. Along each step of this process, we will have to give up our claims to our rights to ourselves. Are we willing to surrender our grasp on all that we possess, our desires, and everything else in our lives? Are we ready to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?
We will suffer a sharp painful disillusionment before we fully surrender. When people really see themselves as the Lord sees them, it is not the terribly offensive sins of the flesh that shock them, but the awful nature of the pride of their own hearts opposing Jesus Christ. When they see themselves in the light of the Lord, the shame, horror, and desperate conviction hit home for them.
If you are faced with the question of whether or not to surrender, make a determination to go on through the crisis, surrendering all that you have and all that you are to Him. And God will then equip you to do all that He requires of you.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 8
God's grace that can save everyone has come.
Titus 2:11 (NCV)
As moments go, that one appeared no different than any others....It came and went....It was one of the countless moments that have marked time since eternity became measurable.
But in reality, that particular moment was like none other. For through that segment of time a spectacular thing occurred. God became a man. While the creatures of earth walked unaware, Divinity arrived.
1 Kings 18
Elijah and Obadiah
1 After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land." 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
Now the famine was severe in Samaria, 3 and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of his palace. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD. 4 While Jezebel was killing off the LORD's prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) 5 Ahab had said to Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals." 6 So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.
7 As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, "Is it really you, my lord Elijah?"
8 "Yes," he replied. "Go tell your master, 'Elijah is here.' "
9 "What have I done wrong," asked Obadiah, "that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? 10 As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. 11 But now you tell me to go to my master and say, 'Elijah is here.' 12 I don't know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn't find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the LORD since my youth. 13 Haven't you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the LORD ? I hid a hundred of the LORD's prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. 14 And now you tell me to go to my master and say, 'Elijah is here.' He will kill me!"
15 Elijah said, "As the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today."
Elijah on Mount Carmel
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?"
18 "I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the LORD's commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him."
But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the LORD's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God."
Then all the people said, "What you say is good."
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire." 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs [b] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."
34 "Do it again," he said, and they did it again.
"Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!"
40 Then Elijah commanded them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let anyone get away!" They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain." 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
43 "Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
"There is nothing there," he said.
Seven times Elijah said, "Go back."
44 The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea."
So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.' "
45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
March 8, 2009
The Time Will Come
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Timothy 4:1-8
The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. —2 Timothy 4:3
A USA Today article describes how parents today seek to initiate their children into a world of all faiths. Ema Drouillard, who runs a ceremony service, was asked by a couple to conduct a service for their baby, Greer. The mother said, “We just wanted a larger spirit to guide our daughter, but we didn’t want to get specific. I wanted all her bases covered.” The couple said, “We just do Christianity L-I-T-E” for Greer, who “believes in angels and fairies, leprechauns and Santa Claus.” This illustrates the low value placed on scriptural truth that is so prevalent in our culture today.
The apostle Paul warned Timothy that a time would come when people would prefer “lite” spiritual meals and would not tolerate substantive teaching (2 Tim. 4:3-4). He predicted that false teaching would increase and be embraced by many because it caters to the needs of their flesh. They have a craving to be entertained and desire teaching that leaves them with good feelings about themselves. Paul instructed Timothy to combat this by teaching doctrines according to God’s Word. The purpose of his instruction was to correct, rebuke, and encourage others (v.2).
As believers we are called to teach and obey the Word of God, not to scratch the itches of our culture. — Marvin Williams
Lord, teach us from Your holy Word
All error to discern,
And by Your Spirit’s light help us
From Satan’s snares to turn. —Bosch
Stand on the Word of God and you won’t fall into error.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 8, 2009
The Surrendered Life
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
I have been crucified with Christ . . . —Galatians 2:20
To become one with Jesus Christ, a person must be willing not only to give up sin, but also to surrender his whole way of looking at things. Being born again by the Spirit of God means that we must first be willing to let go before we can grasp something else. The first thing we must surrender is all of our pretense or deceit. What our Lord wants us to present to Him is not our goodness, honesty, or our efforts to do better, but real solid sin. Actually, that is all He can take from us. And what He gives us in exchange for our sin is real solid righteousness. But we must surrender all pretense that we are anything, and give up all our claims of even being worthy of God’s consideration.
Once we have done that, the Spirit of God will show us what we need to surrender next. Along each step of this process, we will have to give up our claims to our rights to ourselves. Are we willing to surrender our grasp on all that we possess, our desires, and everything else in our lives? Are we ready to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?
We will suffer a sharp painful disillusionment before we fully surrender. When people really see themselves as the Lord sees them, it is not the terribly offensive sins of the flesh that shock them, but the awful nature of the pride of their own hearts opposing Jesus Christ. When they see themselves in the light of the Lord, the shame, horror, and desperate conviction hit home for them.
If you are faced with the question of whether or not to surrender, make a determination to go on through the crisis, surrendering all that you have and all that you are to Him. And God will then equip you to do all that He requires of you.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
1 Kings 17, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 7
I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you.
Genesis 26:24 (NKJV)
Hope is not what you expect; it's what you would never dream....It's Abraham adjusting his bifocals so he can see not his grandson, but his son....
Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed; no, it's far greater than that. It's a zany, unpredictable dependence on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction
1 Kings 17
Elijah Fed by Ravens
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe [a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word."
2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."
5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
The Widow at Zarephath
7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" 11 As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die."
13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' "
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?"
19 "Give me your son," Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?" 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this boy's life return to him!"
22 The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!"
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Romans 5
Peace and Joy
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a]have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
March 7, 2009
God’s Love And Ours
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Romans 5:1-11
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8
Franklin Graham regrets it now, but in his youth he was wild and rebellious. One day he went roaring up to his dad’s house on his Harley Davidson motorcycle to ask for some money. Dressed in his leathers, dusty and bearded, he burst into his father’s living room—and walked right into a meeting of Billy’s executive board.
Without hesitation, Billy Graham identified Franklin as his son. Then he proudly introduced him to every member of the board. Billy did not apologize for his son or show any shame or guilt. Franklin wrote later in his autobiography, Rebel With a Cause, that the love and respect his father gave him that day never left him, even during his rebellious years.
Our children don’t have to earn our love. To withhold love for our own selfish purposes is to follow the enemy, not God. God’s love for us is undeserved. We did nothing to earn it; no good in us merited it. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). In all our relationships, especially with our children, we must genuinely show that same kind of love.
We are called to treat our children, and all people, with love and respect. It helps to remember what we were when Christ died for us. — David C. Egner
Help me, Lord, to show respect and love to others,
always mindful of the fact that each of us is created
in Your image. May Your love shine through my life
and bring praise and honor to You. Amen.
God’s love changes prodigal sons into precious saints.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 7, 2009
The Source of Abundant Joy
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us —Romans 8:37
Paul was speaking here of the things that might seem likely to separate a saint from the love of God. But the remarkable thing is that nothing can come between the love of God and a saint. The things Paul mentioned in this passage can and do disrupt the close fellowship of our soul with God and separate our natural life from Him. But none of them is able to come between the love of God and the soul of a saint on the spiritual level. The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross of Calvary; a love that is not earned and can never be. Paul said this is the reason that "in all these things we are more than conquerors." We are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.
Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Let’s apply that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against— tribulation, suffering, and persecution— are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. "We are more than conquerors through Him" "in all these things"; not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A saint doesn’t know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it. Paul said, "I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation" (2 Corinthians 7:4 ).
The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can change. And the experiences of life, whether they are everyday events or terrifying ones, are powerless to "separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" ( Romans 8:39 ).
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 7
I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you.
Genesis 26:24 (NKJV)
Hope is not what you expect; it's what you would never dream....It's Abraham adjusting his bifocals so he can see not his grandson, but his son....
Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed; no, it's far greater than that. It's a zany, unpredictable dependence on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction
1 Kings 17
Elijah Fed by Ravens
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe [a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word."
2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."
5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
The Widow at Zarephath
7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" 11 As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die."
13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' "
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?"
19 "Give me your son," Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?" 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this boy's life return to him!"
22 The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!"
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Romans 5
Peace and Joy
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a]have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
March 7, 2009
God’s Love And Ours
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Romans 5:1-11
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8
Franklin Graham regrets it now, but in his youth he was wild and rebellious. One day he went roaring up to his dad’s house on his Harley Davidson motorcycle to ask for some money. Dressed in his leathers, dusty and bearded, he burst into his father’s living room—and walked right into a meeting of Billy’s executive board.
Without hesitation, Billy Graham identified Franklin as his son. Then he proudly introduced him to every member of the board. Billy did not apologize for his son or show any shame or guilt. Franklin wrote later in his autobiography, Rebel With a Cause, that the love and respect his father gave him that day never left him, even during his rebellious years.
Our children don’t have to earn our love. To withhold love for our own selfish purposes is to follow the enemy, not God. God’s love for us is undeserved. We did nothing to earn it; no good in us merited it. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). In all our relationships, especially with our children, we must genuinely show that same kind of love.
We are called to treat our children, and all people, with love and respect. It helps to remember what we were when Christ died for us. — David C. Egner
Help me, Lord, to show respect and love to others,
always mindful of the fact that each of us is created
in Your image. May Your love shine through my life
and bring praise and honor to You. Amen.
God’s love changes prodigal sons into precious saints.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 7, 2009
The Source of Abundant Joy
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us —Romans 8:37
Paul was speaking here of the things that might seem likely to separate a saint from the love of God. But the remarkable thing is that nothing can come between the love of God and a saint. The things Paul mentioned in this passage can and do disrupt the close fellowship of our soul with God and separate our natural life from Him. But none of them is able to come between the love of God and the soul of a saint on the spiritual level. The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross of Calvary; a love that is not earned and can never be. Paul said this is the reason that "in all these things we are more than conquerors." We are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.
Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Let’s apply that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against— tribulation, suffering, and persecution— are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. "We are more than conquerors through Him" "in all these things"; not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A saint doesn’t know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it. Paul said, "I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation" (2 Corinthians 7:4 ).
The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can change. And the experiences of life, whether they are everyday events or terrifying ones, are powerless to "separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" ( Romans 8:39 ).
Friday, March 6, 2009
2 Chronicles 16, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 6
Our High Priest
Our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. When he lived on earth, he was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin.
Hebrews 4:15 (NCV)
Read how J.B. Phillips translates Hebrews 4:15:
For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are
unintelligible--he himself has shared fully in all our experience of
temptation, except that he never sinned.
It's as if he knows that we will say to God...: "God, it's easy for you up there. You don't know how hard it is from down here." So he boldly proclaims Jesus' ability to understand. Look at the wording again.
He himself. Not an angel. Not an ambassador. Not an emissary, but Jesus himself.
Shared fully. Not partially. Not nearly. Not to a large degree. Entirely! Jesus shared fully.
In all our experience. Every hurt. Each ache. All the stresses and all the strains. No exceptions. No substitutes. Why? So he could sympathize with our weaknesses.
2 Chronicles 16
Asa's Last Years
1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
2 Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the LORD's temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 3 "Let there be a treaty between me and you," he said, "as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me."
4 Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim [d] and all the store cities of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work. 6 Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using. With them he built up Geba and Mizpah.
7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were not the Cushites [e] and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen [f] ? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war."
10 Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.
11 The events of Asa's reign, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians. 13 Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his fathers. 14 They buried him in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier covered with spices and various blended perfumes, and they made a huge fire in his honor.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Hebrews 11:24-40 (New International Version)
24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea[a] as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[b]
32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned[c]; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
March 6, 2009
You Are Not Forgotten
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Hebrews 11:24-40
God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have showed toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints. —Hebrews 6:10
When Britain’s oldest man turned 111, vintage aircraft did a flyover, and the Band of the Royal Marines played “Happy Birthday.” According to the Daily Mirror, Henry Allingham was amazed by all of the attention. Until 6 years earlier, he had for 86 years kept secret the horrific memories of what happened in the trenches of World War I. Only when tracked down by the World War I Veteran’s Association did this old man, who had been shelled, bombed, and shot, receive honor for what he had endured in behalf of his country.
The story of the Bible gives us parallels to Henry’s story. The Scriptures show that those who fight the battles of God often end up wounded, imprisoned, and even killed as a result of their service.
The cynic might observe such lives and conclude with a sigh that no good deed goes unpunished. But the author of Hebrews sees a bigger picture. He reminds us that everything and anything we have done in faith and love will one day be honored by God (6:10).
Are you discouraged today? Do you feel insignificant? Do you feel forgotten after trying to serve God? Be assured that God will not forget anything you have done in your service to Him or others. — Mart De Haan
Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem so small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own. —Suffield
God remembers the good we forget.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 6, 2009
Taking the Next Step
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses —2 Corinthians 6:4
When you have no vision from God, no enthusiasm left in your life, and no one watching and encouraging you, it requires the grace of Almighty God to take the next step in your devotion to Him, in the reading and studying of His Word, in your family life, or in your duty to Him. It takes much more of the grace of God, and a much greater awareness of drawing upon Him, to take that next step, than it does to preach the gospel.
Every Christian must experience the essence of the incarnation by bringing the next step down into flesh-and-blood reality and by working it out with his hands. We lose interest and give up when we have no vision, no encouragement, and no improvement, but only experience our everyday life with its trivial tasks. The thing that really testifies for God and for the people of God in the long run is steady perseverance, even when the work cannot be seen by others. And the only way to live an undefeated life is to live looking to God. Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to discourage you. Never allow yourself to think that some tasks are beneath your dignity or too insignificant for you to do, and remind yourself of the example of Christ inJohn 13:1-17 .
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Secret Of Staying Healthy - #5780
Friday, March 6, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Recently we had a wave of nasty infections going through our area and, of course, through our team. Thank the Lord, I have not been one who got knocked out for a week or more by this bug. And I am very grateful for all the people who pray for me. That has got to be one of the big reason why I'm still going strong. Of course, I try to do what I can to stay healthy. I've concluded that one of the biggest things you can do to keep from getting sick is just to wash your hands frequently. (Now I sound like your Mother, right?) But I do. Wherever I travel, I take my trusty towelettes and my liquid disinfectant. We're picking up germs that could infect us all day long! It's a good idea to wash your hands regularly.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Secret Of Staying Healthy."
The fact is, we live in a world where we're surrounded by plenty of spiritual germs, as well. And the secret of spiritual health is the same as physical health - frequent washing. Not hand-washing, but heart-washing!
Our word for today from the Word of God explains the importance of our staying spiritually uncontaminated. And it may be a reminder to some of us that we've become dangerously careless about staying clean. In 2 Corinthians 6, beginning in verse 16, Paul reminds us that "we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, 'I will be their God, and they will be My people'...'Therefore, come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty."
What an awesome position you have if you belong to Jesus Christ! God lives in you. You are "His people"; you're a prince or princess, a son or daughter of the King! So live like it! And 2 Corinthians 7:1 tells you how you do that. "Since we have these promises, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." Keep washing your heart, keep washing your mind, from anything that could contaminate you. You are His temple, remember!
So we need to stop regularly and wash away any contaminating attitude or conversation or thought or action that we've picked up. If you tell anything less than the truth, correct it immediately before it becomes an entrenched infection. If you speak a harsh word, make it right immediately; don't let it fester in your heart or their heart. If you allow a lustful thought to take over the stage in your mind, don't dwell on it; confess it and replace it right away with thoughts about Jesus. If you find yourself thinking proudly about something you've done, get rid of it quickly and give all the glory to the God who gave you everything you have and everything you are. If you're watching or listening to something that's displeasing to God, turn it off right away.
The alternative is spiritual infection. It's carelessness about staying clean that can cost you your physical health and, yes, your spiritual health. And we get careless when we forget who we are - God's temple, God's people, God's son or daughter. He says, "Don't touch any unclean thing." Remember who you are.
Life is so much more enjoyable when you're healthy. And you're likely to stay spiritually healthy a lot more if you practice frequent heart-washing. Or, as the Bible says, "purifying yourself from everything that contaminates."
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 6
Our High Priest
Our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. When he lived on earth, he was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin.
Hebrews 4:15 (NCV)
Read how J.B. Phillips translates Hebrews 4:15:
For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are
unintelligible--he himself has shared fully in all our experience of
temptation, except that he never sinned.
It's as if he knows that we will say to God...: "God, it's easy for you up there. You don't know how hard it is from down here." So he boldly proclaims Jesus' ability to understand. Look at the wording again.
He himself. Not an angel. Not an ambassador. Not an emissary, but Jesus himself.
Shared fully. Not partially. Not nearly. Not to a large degree. Entirely! Jesus shared fully.
In all our experience. Every hurt. Each ache. All the stresses and all the strains. No exceptions. No substitutes. Why? So he could sympathize with our weaknesses.
2 Chronicles 16
Asa's Last Years
1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
2 Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the LORD's temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 3 "Let there be a treaty between me and you," he said, "as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me."
4 Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim [d] and all the store cities of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work. 6 Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using. With them he built up Geba and Mizpah.
7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were not the Cushites [e] and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen [f] ? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war."
10 Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.
11 The events of Asa's reign, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians. 13 Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his fathers. 14 They buried him in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier covered with spices and various blended perfumes, and they made a huge fire in his honor.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Hebrews 11:24-40 (New International Version)
24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea[a] as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[b]
32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned[c]; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
March 6, 2009
You Are Not Forgotten
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Hebrews 11:24-40
God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have showed toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints. —Hebrews 6:10
When Britain’s oldest man turned 111, vintage aircraft did a flyover, and the Band of the Royal Marines played “Happy Birthday.” According to the Daily Mirror, Henry Allingham was amazed by all of the attention. Until 6 years earlier, he had for 86 years kept secret the horrific memories of what happened in the trenches of World War I. Only when tracked down by the World War I Veteran’s Association did this old man, who had been shelled, bombed, and shot, receive honor for what he had endured in behalf of his country.
The story of the Bible gives us parallels to Henry’s story. The Scriptures show that those who fight the battles of God often end up wounded, imprisoned, and even killed as a result of their service.
The cynic might observe such lives and conclude with a sigh that no good deed goes unpunished. But the author of Hebrews sees a bigger picture. He reminds us that everything and anything we have done in faith and love will one day be honored by God (6:10).
Are you discouraged today? Do you feel insignificant? Do you feel forgotten after trying to serve God? Be assured that God will not forget anything you have done in your service to Him or others. — Mart De Haan
Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem so small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own. —Suffield
God remembers the good we forget.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 6, 2009
Taking the Next Step
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses —2 Corinthians 6:4
When you have no vision from God, no enthusiasm left in your life, and no one watching and encouraging you, it requires the grace of Almighty God to take the next step in your devotion to Him, in the reading and studying of His Word, in your family life, or in your duty to Him. It takes much more of the grace of God, and a much greater awareness of drawing upon Him, to take that next step, than it does to preach the gospel.
Every Christian must experience the essence of the incarnation by bringing the next step down into flesh-and-blood reality and by working it out with his hands. We lose interest and give up when we have no vision, no encouragement, and no improvement, but only experience our everyday life with its trivial tasks. The thing that really testifies for God and for the people of God in the long run is steady perseverance, even when the work cannot be seen by others. And the only way to live an undefeated life is to live looking to God. Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to discourage you. Never allow yourself to think that some tasks are beneath your dignity or too insignificant for you to do, and remind yourself of the example of Christ inJohn 13:1-17 .
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Secret Of Staying Healthy - #5780
Friday, March 6, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Recently we had a wave of nasty infections going through our area and, of course, through our team. Thank the Lord, I have not been one who got knocked out for a week or more by this bug. And I am very grateful for all the people who pray for me. That has got to be one of the big reason why I'm still going strong. Of course, I try to do what I can to stay healthy. I've concluded that one of the biggest things you can do to keep from getting sick is just to wash your hands frequently. (Now I sound like your Mother, right?) But I do. Wherever I travel, I take my trusty towelettes and my liquid disinfectant. We're picking up germs that could infect us all day long! It's a good idea to wash your hands regularly.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Secret Of Staying Healthy."
The fact is, we live in a world where we're surrounded by plenty of spiritual germs, as well. And the secret of spiritual health is the same as physical health - frequent washing. Not hand-washing, but heart-washing!
Our word for today from the Word of God explains the importance of our staying spiritually uncontaminated. And it may be a reminder to some of us that we've become dangerously careless about staying clean. In 2 Corinthians 6, beginning in verse 16, Paul reminds us that "we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, 'I will be their God, and they will be My people'...'Therefore, come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty."
What an awesome position you have if you belong to Jesus Christ! God lives in you. You are "His people"; you're a prince or princess, a son or daughter of the King! So live like it! And 2 Corinthians 7:1 tells you how you do that. "Since we have these promises, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." Keep washing your heart, keep washing your mind, from anything that could contaminate you. You are His temple, remember!
So we need to stop regularly and wash away any contaminating attitude or conversation or thought or action that we've picked up. If you tell anything less than the truth, correct it immediately before it becomes an entrenched infection. If you speak a harsh word, make it right immediately; don't let it fester in your heart or their heart. If you allow a lustful thought to take over the stage in your mind, don't dwell on it; confess it and replace it right away with thoughts about Jesus. If you find yourself thinking proudly about something you've done, get rid of it quickly and give all the glory to the God who gave you everything you have and everything you are. If you're watching or listening to something that's displeasing to God, turn it off right away.
The alternative is spiritual infection. It's carelessness about staying clean that can cost you your physical health and, yes, your spiritual health. And we get careless when we forget who we are - God's temple, God's people, God's son or daughter. He says, "Don't touch any unclean thing." Remember who you are.
Life is so much more enjoyable when you're healthy. And you're likely to stay spiritually healthy a lot more if you practice frequent heart-washing. Or, as the Bible says, "purifying yourself from everything that contaminates."
Thursday, March 5, 2009
2 Chronicles 15, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 5
God’s Open Arms
Keep your roots deep in him and have your lives built on him.
Colossians 2:6 (NCV)
The people God used to change history were a ragbag of ne’er-do-wells and has-beens who found hope, not in their performance, but in God’s proverbially open arms.
Let’s start with Abraham. Though eulogized by Paul for his faith, this Father of a Nation wasn’t without his weaknesses. He had a fibbing tongue that wouldn’t stop! One time, in order to save his neck, he let the word get out that Sarah wasn’t his wife but his sister, which was only half-true. And then, not long later, he did it again! “And there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.’”
Twice he traded in his integrity for security. That’s what you call confidence in God’s promises? Can you build a nation on that kind of faith? God can. God took what was good and forgave what was bad and used “old forked tongue” to start a nation.
2 Chronicles 15
Asa's Reform
1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. 4 But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. 5 In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. 6 One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. 7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."
8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of [c] Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD's temple.
9 Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
10 They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. 11 At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. 12 They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul. 13 All who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 14 They took an oath to the LORD with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.
16 King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole. Asa cut the pole down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17 Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa's heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life. 18 He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.
19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Ezekiel 14
Idolaters Condemned
1 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. 2 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 3 "Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? 4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the LORD will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry. 5 I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.'
6 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!
7 " 'When any Israelite or any alien living in Israel separates himself from me and sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet to inquire of me, I the LORD will answer him myself. 8 I will set my face against that man and make him an example and a byword. I will cut him off from my people. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
March 5, 2009
Idols In The Heart
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Ezekiel 14:1-8
Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts. —Ezekiel 14:3
When my husband and I first went out as missionaries, I recall being concerned about the growth of materialism in our society. It never crossed my mind that I myself could be materialistic. After all, hadn’t we gone overseas with almost nothing? Weren’t we choosing to live in a shabbily furnished, rundown apartment? I thought materialism couldn’t touch us.
Nonetheless, feelings of discontent gradually began to take root in my heart. Before long I was craving hungrily after nice things and secretly feeling resentful over not having them.
Then one day God’s Spirit opened my eyes with a disturbing insight: Materialism isn’t necessarily having things; it can also be craving them. There I stood—guilty of materialism! God had exposed my discontent for what it was—an idol in my heart! That day as I repented of this subtle sin, God recaptured my heart as His rightful throne. Needless to say, a deep contentment followed, based not on things but on Him.
In Ezekiel’s day, God dealt thoroughly with this kind of secret idolatry. His throne on earth has always been in the hearts of His people. That’s why we must rid our heart of anything that destroys our contentment with Him. — Joanie Yoder
The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be,
Help me to tear it from Thy throne
And worship only Thee. —Cowper
An idol is anything that takes the place of God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 5, 2009
Is He Really My Lord?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus . . . —Acts 20:24
Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing. The joy our Lord experienced came from doing what the Father sent Him to do. And He says to us, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (John 20:21 ). Have you received a ministry from the Lord? If so, you must be faithful to it— to consider your life valuable only for the purpose of fulfilling that ministry. Knowing that you have done what Jesus sent you to do, think how satisfying it will be to hear Him say to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant" ( Matthew 25:21 ). We each have to find a niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive a ministry from the Lord. To do this we must have close fellowship with Jesus and must know Him as more than our personal Savior. And we must be willing to experience the full impact of Acts 9:16 — "I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake."
"Do you love Me?" Then, "Feed My sheep" ( John 21:17 ). He is not offering us a choice of how we can serve Him; He is asking for absolute loyalty to His commission, a faithfulness to what we discern when we are in the closest possible fellowship with God. If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is not the same as the call— the need is the opportunity to exercise the call. The call is to be faithful to the ministry you received when you were in true fellowship with Him. This does not imply that there is a whole series of differing ministries marked out for you. It does mean that you must be sensitive to what God has called you to do, and this may sometimes require ignoring demands for service in other areas.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Standing Against The Storm - #5779
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Each summer we travel with a team of young Native Americans to take the hope of Jesus to America's reservation young people, and God has really shown up powerfully for these young spiritual warriors. Like the night one summer in a very remote corner of New Mexico when our last outreach was about to be rained out. The previous night the thunderstorms had hit the basketball court just as we were about to present the Gospel. So, this was now our last opportunity to invite young people to come to Christ in an area where the spiritual darkness is very deeply entrenched.
Well, once again, just before invitation time, wouldn't you know it; a wall of ominous storm clouds was moving toward the school. I asked six of our team members to pray in the face of that approaching storm, and as I said, "Stand against that storm in Jesus' name." They got in a huddle and they prayed really fervently and minutes later they came running to tell me what had happened. They said, "Ron, the storm suddenly divided in two and it went around the school!" That night one out of five people in that village made a public commitment to Jesus Christ!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Standing Against The Storm."
That may be exactly what God is wanting you to do right now - to stand in prayer against the storm that is threatening your children, or your marriage, or your ministry, or something or someone that you care deeply about.
In Isaiah 36, beginning with verse 18, our word for today from the Word of God, a deadly military storm is bearing down on King Hezekiah and the Jews. The seemingly invincible Assyrian army has gobbled up every kingdom in its path and now they are moving against Jerusalem. The Assyrian king sent this letter to Hezekiah, "Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, 'Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.' Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely." The storm has engulfed everything in its path, and he's saying Jerusalem is next.
Notice Hezekiah's response: "He went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, 'O Lord Almighty, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth...Now O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.'" God tells Hezekiah He is going to intervene "because you have prayed to Me" he says. Outcome? "The angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp...So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, broke camp and withdrew."
Now about that storm that's bearing down on you or someone you love. You have the same God Hezekiah did, and He is Lord over this seemingly unstoppable storm. It's time for you to do what those Native American young people did last summer; get on your knees and you stand against that storm in Jesus' name. Do a Hezekiah - spread the threat out before your Lord. When you pray, don't focus on the threat, but like King Hezekiah, focus on the greatness and the total sovereignty of the God in whom you are trusting and unleash His authority on that storm!
What looks like something that is going to bring destruction may actually be a unique opportunity for you, and all those around you, to see what God can do! This is about His glory being seen! So "come boldly to the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16), lay out the threat before the Lord, stand against that storm, and expect something that only God can do!
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 5
God’s Open Arms
Keep your roots deep in him and have your lives built on him.
Colossians 2:6 (NCV)
The people God used to change history were a ragbag of ne’er-do-wells and has-beens who found hope, not in their performance, but in God’s proverbially open arms.
Let’s start with Abraham. Though eulogized by Paul for his faith, this Father of a Nation wasn’t without his weaknesses. He had a fibbing tongue that wouldn’t stop! One time, in order to save his neck, he let the word get out that Sarah wasn’t his wife but his sister, which was only half-true. And then, not long later, he did it again! “And there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.’”
Twice he traded in his integrity for security. That’s what you call confidence in God’s promises? Can you build a nation on that kind of faith? God can. God took what was good and forgave what was bad and used “old forked tongue” to start a nation.
2 Chronicles 15
Asa's Reform
1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. 4 But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. 5 In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. 6 One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. 7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."
8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of [c] Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD's temple.
9 Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
10 They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. 11 At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. 12 They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul. 13 All who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 14 They took an oath to the LORD with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.
16 King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole. Asa cut the pole down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17 Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa's heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life. 18 He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.
19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Ezekiel 14
Idolaters Condemned
1 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. 2 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 3 "Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? 4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the LORD will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry. 5 I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.'
6 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!
7 " 'When any Israelite or any alien living in Israel separates himself from me and sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet to inquire of me, I the LORD will answer him myself. 8 I will set my face against that man and make him an example and a byword. I will cut him off from my people. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
March 5, 2009
Idols In The Heart
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Ezekiel 14:1-8
Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts. —Ezekiel 14:3
When my husband and I first went out as missionaries, I recall being concerned about the growth of materialism in our society. It never crossed my mind that I myself could be materialistic. After all, hadn’t we gone overseas with almost nothing? Weren’t we choosing to live in a shabbily furnished, rundown apartment? I thought materialism couldn’t touch us.
Nonetheless, feelings of discontent gradually began to take root in my heart. Before long I was craving hungrily after nice things and secretly feeling resentful over not having them.
Then one day God’s Spirit opened my eyes with a disturbing insight: Materialism isn’t necessarily having things; it can also be craving them. There I stood—guilty of materialism! God had exposed my discontent for what it was—an idol in my heart! That day as I repented of this subtle sin, God recaptured my heart as His rightful throne. Needless to say, a deep contentment followed, based not on things but on Him.
In Ezekiel’s day, God dealt thoroughly with this kind of secret idolatry. His throne on earth has always been in the hearts of His people. That’s why we must rid our heart of anything that destroys our contentment with Him. — Joanie Yoder
The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be,
Help me to tear it from Thy throne
And worship only Thee. —Cowper
An idol is anything that takes the place of God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 5, 2009
Is He Really My Lord?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus . . . —Acts 20:24
Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing. The joy our Lord experienced came from doing what the Father sent Him to do. And He says to us, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (John 20:21 ). Have you received a ministry from the Lord? If so, you must be faithful to it— to consider your life valuable only for the purpose of fulfilling that ministry. Knowing that you have done what Jesus sent you to do, think how satisfying it will be to hear Him say to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant" ( Matthew 25:21 ). We each have to find a niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive a ministry from the Lord. To do this we must have close fellowship with Jesus and must know Him as more than our personal Savior. And we must be willing to experience the full impact of Acts 9:16 — "I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake."
"Do you love Me?" Then, "Feed My sheep" ( John 21:17 ). He is not offering us a choice of how we can serve Him; He is asking for absolute loyalty to His commission, a faithfulness to what we discern when we are in the closest possible fellowship with God. If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is not the same as the call— the need is the opportunity to exercise the call. The call is to be faithful to the ministry you received when you were in true fellowship with Him. This does not imply that there is a whole series of differing ministries marked out for you. It does mean that you must be sensitive to what God has called you to do, and this may sometimes require ignoring demands for service in other areas.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Standing Against The Storm - #5779
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Each summer we travel with a team of young Native Americans to take the hope of Jesus to America's reservation young people, and God has really shown up powerfully for these young spiritual warriors. Like the night one summer in a very remote corner of New Mexico when our last outreach was about to be rained out. The previous night the thunderstorms had hit the basketball court just as we were about to present the Gospel. So, this was now our last opportunity to invite young people to come to Christ in an area where the spiritual darkness is very deeply entrenched.
Well, once again, just before invitation time, wouldn't you know it; a wall of ominous storm clouds was moving toward the school. I asked six of our team members to pray in the face of that approaching storm, and as I said, "Stand against that storm in Jesus' name." They got in a huddle and they prayed really fervently and minutes later they came running to tell me what had happened. They said, "Ron, the storm suddenly divided in two and it went around the school!" That night one out of five people in that village made a public commitment to Jesus Christ!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Standing Against The Storm."
That may be exactly what God is wanting you to do right now - to stand in prayer against the storm that is threatening your children, or your marriage, or your ministry, or something or someone that you care deeply about.
In Isaiah 36, beginning with verse 18, our word for today from the Word of God, a deadly military storm is bearing down on King Hezekiah and the Jews. The seemingly invincible Assyrian army has gobbled up every kingdom in its path and now they are moving against Jerusalem. The Assyrian king sent this letter to Hezekiah, "Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, 'Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.' Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely." The storm has engulfed everything in its path, and he's saying Jerusalem is next.
Notice Hezekiah's response: "He went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, 'O Lord Almighty, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth...Now O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.'" God tells Hezekiah He is going to intervene "because you have prayed to Me" he says. Outcome? "The angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp...So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, broke camp and withdrew."
Now about that storm that's bearing down on you or someone you love. You have the same God Hezekiah did, and He is Lord over this seemingly unstoppable storm. It's time for you to do what those Native American young people did last summer; get on your knees and you stand against that storm in Jesus' name. Do a Hezekiah - spread the threat out before your Lord. When you pray, don't focus on the threat, but like King Hezekiah, focus on the greatness and the total sovereignty of the God in whom you are trusting and unleash His authority on that storm!
What looks like something that is going to bring destruction may actually be a unique opportunity for you, and all those around you, to see what God can do! This is about His glory being seen! So "come boldly to the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16), lay out the threat before the Lord, stand against that storm, and expect something that only God can do!
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