Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 27
Faith Meets Grace
Let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, because we have been made free from a guilty conscience....
Hebrews 10:22 (NCV)
Faith is not born at the negotiating table where we barter our gifts in exchange for God's goodness. Faith is not an award given to the most learned. It's not a prize given to the most disciplined. It's not a title bequeathed to the most religious.
Faith is a desperate dive out of the sinking boat of human effort and a prayer that God will be there to pull us out of the water. The apostle Paul wrote about this kind of faith:
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).
The supreme force in salvation is God's grace.
James 2
Favoritism Forbidden
1My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself,"[a] you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, "Do not commit adultery,"[b] also said, "Do not murder."[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
Faith and Deeds
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[e] and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Revelation 3:14-22 (New International Version)
To the Church in Laodicea
14"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
July 27, 2009
God’s Heart Revealed
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Revelation 3:14-22
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. —Revelation 3:19
It’s easy to think of God as a divine fly-swatter, just waiting for you to land so that—whap—He can nail you for your sins. But that’s not what we see in Revelation 2–3 in His letters to the seven churches. The pattern of the letters demonstrates God’s loving heart for wayward people.
Jesus began many of these letters by affirming the good things His people had done. This shows us that when we do what is good and right, the Lord is pleased.
But Jesus is also concerned about the faults in our lives. His commendation in these letters was often followed by clear words of reproof. And while it’s not comfortable to hear Him say, “Nevertheless I have this against you” (2:4; see vv.14,20), He reveals what needs to be changed in our lives to keep us from self-deceit.
This moves us to the real heart of the matter—repentance. When the Lord told these churches to repent, He was revealing His love for wayward saints. His goal was not to condemn but to restore them to intimate fellowship with Him.
And don’t miss the fact that each letter ends with a specific promise for the “overcomers.” Clearly God desires to reward those who live lives that are pleasing to Him.
What’s He saying to you today? — Joe Stowell
To live a life that pleases Christ,
It’s crucial to obey His voice;
When He reveals our sin to us,
Repentance is the wisest choice. —Sper
Repentance restores and renews our intimacy with the Lord.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 27, 2009
The Way to Knowledge
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine . . . —John 7:17
The golden rule to follow to obtain spiritual understanding is not one of intellectual pursuit, but one of obedience. If a person wants scientific knowledge, then intellectual curiosity must be his guide. But if he desires knowledge and insight into the teachings of Jesus Christ, he can only obtain it through obedience. If spiritual things seem dark and hidden to me, then I can be sure that there is a point of disobedience somewhere in my life. Intellectual darkness is the result of ignorance, but spiritual darkness is the result of something that I do not intend to obey.
No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, "If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" ( Matthew 5:23-24 ). He is saying, in essence, "Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right." The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before.
When Jesus drives something home to you through His Word, don’t try to evade it. If you do, you will become a religious impostor. Examine the things you tend simply to shrug your shoulders about, and where you have refused to be obedient, and you will know why you are not growing spiritually. As Jesus said, "First . . . go . . .." Even at the risk of being thought of as fanatical, you must obey what God tells you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Hitting Pause - #5881
Monday, July 27, 2009
I could tell that our first grandson was going to be a busy little guy when he was just a little guy. He wasn't even in school yet, and he was already immersed in a project of some kind. And when I mean he got immersed, he got immersed. One day he was involved first in a detailed coloring project where he was intently working to have it just right, you know. And then there was a large puzzle he was focused on completing. What he hadn't taken time for recently, though, was what a lot of little boys don't take time for - a bathroom stop. Too busy you know. Knowing this boy understands video functions very well, his Dad just said, "Time for a bathroom break. Don't you think it's time to hit 'pause'?" Without looking up from his current project, our grandson said in all sincerity, "I don't have a 'pause.'"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hitting Pause."
Some of us have a father, actually a Heavenly Father, who's saying to us, "It's time to hit 'pause.'" But we're moving real fast. We're focused on the demands and the projects in front of us and we're saying, "I don't have a 'pause.'" That's not a good idea.
In Psalm 46:10, our word for today from the Word of God, He says, "Be still, and know that I am God." Hit pause and remember who's really in charge here, whose battle this really is, and whose plans you're supposed to be pursuing. God may be trying to get you to slow down or to stop right now so He can show you some things that you are never going to see if you're on the run.
It could be that you've been running ahead of the Lord's timing, or you've been pursuing what you want instead of what He wants. Isaiah quotes the Lord as saying, "Woe to the obstinate children...to those who carry out plans that are not Mine..." (Isaiah 30:1). Those are sobering words. Often we can't see that we're trying desperately to make something work that wasn't God's idea in the first place. He has to pull us over to the side of the road for us to realize that we're on the wrong road.
Or maybe you've been neglecting the regular timeout that God calls a "Sabbath"; you're all accelerator and no brakes, you're violating God's created order of taking regular rest. It's possible that God's been trying to say some very important things to you, things that would bring sense to your swirling world, but you can't hear Him because you're running so fast. Whatever the reason for your non-stop pace, I know there has to be someone listening right now to whom God is saying, "It's time to hit 'pause.'" Don't ignore His call to "be still and know that He is God."
If we don't choose to slow down, He will as the 23rd Psalm says, "make us lie down in green pastures." He has many creative ways to get you to slow down if you don't choose to slow down - health, finances, crises, family problems. He asks us to pause, or ultimately makes us pause, not to punish us, but to refit us. He's wanting to slow you down for work that needs to be done, for refueling that you desperately need, for retooling, or for redirecting you back into the center of His will. And He's actually wired us to do what His Son did at the beginning of His unbelievably busy days here on earth - to spend quiet time with Him. To hit 'pause' each new day so we can hear our Master's voice before we hear any other, appropriate our Master's resources, experience our Master's healing touch, and receive our Master's orders for the day.
When you don't hit "pause," you'll end up running right past the God that you can't do without.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
James 1, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 26
He has covered me with clothes of salvation and wrapped me with a coat of goodness.
Isaiah 61:10 (NCV)
Do you ever feel unnoticed?
New clothes and styles may help for a while. But if you want permanent change, learn to see yourself as God sees you: "He has covered me with clothes of salvation and wrapped me with a coat of goodness, like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding, like a bride dressed in jewels" (Isa. 61:10).
Allow God's love to change the way you look at you.
James 1
1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.
Trials and Temptations
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
9The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
Listening and Doing
19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Philippians 2:12-18 (New International Version)
Shining as Stars
12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out[a] the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
July 26, 2009
Role Models
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Philippians 2:12-18
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault. —Philippians 2:14-15
During a summer of international sports scandals involving gambling and substance abuse, two athletes were applauded for their character as much as their professional accomplishments. A record crowd of 75,000 cheered Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn during their 2007 induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. “Whether we like it or not,” Ripken said, “as big leaguers, we are role models. The only question is, will it be positive or will it be negative?”
Gwynn echoed the sentiment: “There’s more than just playing the game of baseball. . . . You’re responsible, you’ve got to make good decisions and show people how things are supposed to be done.”
Every day, people are watching us. As followers of Christ, we are guided by Paul’s challenge to “become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15).
Compromise causes others to become disillusioned, while character fosters hope. As the life of our Savior flows out from us, we can encourage others and point them to Him.
What kind of role model will we be for someone watching today? — David C. McCasland
Guard well your life, to the Savior be true;
Many are watching each deed that you do;
Hence if you stumble and fall in deep sin,
It will prove harder lost souls here to win. —Bosch
The best role models model Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 26, 2009
The Way to Purity
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart . . . . For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man . . . —Matthew 15:18-20
Initially we trust in our ignorance, calling it innocence, and next we trust our innocence, calling it purity. Then when we hear these strong statements from our Lord, we shrink back, saying, "But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart." We resent what He reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust the penetration of His Word into my heart, or would I prefer to trust my own "innocent ignorance"? If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me. But as long as I remain under the false security of my own "innocence," I am living in a fool’s paradise. If I have never been an openly rude and abusive person, the only reason is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive from living a civilized life. But when I am open and completely exposed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis of me.
The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolute unblemished purity.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 26
He has covered me with clothes of salvation and wrapped me with a coat of goodness.
Isaiah 61:10 (NCV)
Do you ever feel unnoticed?
New clothes and styles may help for a while. But if you want permanent change, learn to see yourself as God sees you: "He has covered me with clothes of salvation and wrapped me with a coat of goodness, like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding, like a bride dressed in jewels" (Isa. 61:10).
Allow God's love to change the way you look at you.
James 1
1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.
Trials and Temptations
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
9The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
Listening and Doing
19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Philippians 2:12-18 (New International Version)
Shining as Stars
12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out[a] the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
July 26, 2009
Role Models
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Philippians 2:12-18
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault. —Philippians 2:14-15
During a summer of international sports scandals involving gambling and substance abuse, two athletes were applauded for their character as much as their professional accomplishments. A record crowd of 75,000 cheered Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn during their 2007 induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. “Whether we like it or not,” Ripken said, “as big leaguers, we are role models. The only question is, will it be positive or will it be negative?”
Gwynn echoed the sentiment: “There’s more than just playing the game of baseball. . . . You’re responsible, you’ve got to make good decisions and show people how things are supposed to be done.”
Every day, people are watching us. As followers of Christ, we are guided by Paul’s challenge to “become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15).
Compromise causes others to become disillusioned, while character fosters hope. As the life of our Savior flows out from us, we can encourage others and point them to Him.
What kind of role model will we be for someone watching today? — David C. McCasland
Guard well your life, to the Savior be true;
Many are watching each deed that you do;
Hence if you stumble and fall in deep sin,
It will prove harder lost souls here to win. —Bosch
The best role models model Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 26, 2009
The Way to Purity
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart . . . . For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man . . . —Matthew 15:18-20
Initially we trust in our ignorance, calling it innocence, and next we trust our innocence, calling it purity. Then when we hear these strong statements from our Lord, we shrink back, saying, "But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart." We resent what He reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust the penetration of His Word into my heart, or would I prefer to trust my own "innocent ignorance"? If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me. But as long as I remain under the false security of my own "innocence," I am living in a fool’s paradise. If I have never been an openly rude and abusive person, the only reason is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive from living a civilized life. But when I am open and completely exposed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis of me.
The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolute unblemished purity.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Galatians 6, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 25
"I have not lost any of the ones you gave me."
John 18:9 (NCV)
Satan falls in the presence of Christ....Satan is powerless against the
protection of Christ.
When Jesus says he will keep you safe, he means it. Hell will have to get through him to get to you. Jesus is able to protect you.
When he says he will get you home, he will get you home.
Galatians 6
Doing Good to All
1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.
6Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature[n]will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Not Circumcision but a New Creation
11See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
12Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. 14May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which[o] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. 16Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.
17Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Acts 26:12-23 (New International Version)
12"On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,[a] 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'
15"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?'
" 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
19"So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. 21That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22But I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23that the Christ[b] would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."
July 25, 2009
Change Your Mind
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Acts 26:12-23
. . . repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. —Acts 26:20
One of my favorite Peanuts comic strips features Charlie Brown saying to Snoopy, “I hear you’re writing a book on theology. I hope you have a good title.” Snoopy responds, “I have the perfect title: Has It Ever Occurred To You That You Might Be Wrong?”
Snoopy’s title reminds us that our understanding of God and what He requires of us is sometimes twisted. Because our wrong beliefs lead to wrong behavior, we need to “repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” (Acts 26:20).
The Greek word translated “repent” is metanoeo, which means “change your mind.” As Paul indicated, repentance does not mean just nodding in polite agreement with God, and continuing the same way we were going. When we turn our thoughts toward God—when we truly agree with Him about what is right—our behavior will follow. Like a car, we go in the direction we are pointed. So, when we truly turn our minds and hearts toward God, our actions change accordingly.
Instead of going happily along, assuming that our choices are right, we need to regularly stop and ask ourselves Snoopy’s question. As Paul taught, it is only when we are willing to admit being wrong that we can be certain of being right with God. — Julie Ackerman Link
We must acknowledge when we’re wrong,
Confessing it as sin,
If we would know God’s power to heal
And cleanse us from within. —Fasick
Either we conform our desires to the truth or we conform the truth to our desires. —Os Guinness
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 25, 2009
Am I Blessed Like This?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Blessed are . . . —Matthew 5:3-11
When we first read the statements of Jesus, they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unnoticed into our subconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the "dynamite" of the Holy Spirit. And they "explode" when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of the Beatitudes, we say, "What a startling statement that is!" Then we must decide whether or not we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is as easy as child’s play. But the interpretation by the Spirit of God as He applies our Lord’s statements to our circumstances is the strict and difficult work of a saint.
The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations— it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 25
"I have not lost any of the ones you gave me."
John 18:9 (NCV)
Satan falls in the presence of Christ....Satan is powerless against the
protection of Christ.
When Jesus says he will keep you safe, he means it. Hell will have to get through him to get to you. Jesus is able to protect you.
When he says he will get you home, he will get you home.
Galatians 6
Doing Good to All
1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.
6Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature[n]will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Not Circumcision but a New Creation
11See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
12Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. 14May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which[o] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. 16Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.
17Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Acts 26:12-23 (New International Version)
12"On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,[a] 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'
15"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?'
" 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
19"So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. 21That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22But I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23that the Christ[b] would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."
July 25, 2009
Change Your Mind
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Acts 26:12-23
. . . repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. —Acts 26:20
One of my favorite Peanuts comic strips features Charlie Brown saying to Snoopy, “I hear you’re writing a book on theology. I hope you have a good title.” Snoopy responds, “I have the perfect title: Has It Ever Occurred To You That You Might Be Wrong?”
Snoopy’s title reminds us that our understanding of God and what He requires of us is sometimes twisted. Because our wrong beliefs lead to wrong behavior, we need to “repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” (Acts 26:20).
The Greek word translated “repent” is metanoeo, which means “change your mind.” As Paul indicated, repentance does not mean just nodding in polite agreement with God, and continuing the same way we were going. When we turn our thoughts toward God—when we truly agree with Him about what is right—our behavior will follow. Like a car, we go in the direction we are pointed. So, when we truly turn our minds and hearts toward God, our actions change accordingly.
Instead of going happily along, assuming that our choices are right, we need to regularly stop and ask ourselves Snoopy’s question. As Paul taught, it is only when we are willing to admit being wrong that we can be certain of being right with God. — Julie Ackerman Link
We must acknowledge when we’re wrong,
Confessing it as sin,
If we would know God’s power to heal
And cleanse us from within. —Fasick
Either we conform our desires to the truth or we conform the truth to our desires. —Os Guinness
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 25, 2009
Am I Blessed Like This?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Blessed are . . . —Matthew 5:3-11
When we first read the statements of Jesus, they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unnoticed into our subconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the "dynamite" of the Holy Spirit. And they "explode" when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of the Beatitudes, we say, "What a startling statement that is!" Then we must decide whether or not we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is as easy as child’s play. But the interpretation by the Spirit of God as He applies our Lord’s statements to our circumstances is the strict and difficult work of a saint.
The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations— it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Galatians 5, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 24
Reflecting God’s Glory
Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord's glory, and we are being changed to be like him.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NCV)
The purpose of worship is to change the face of the worshiper. That is exactly what happened to Christ on the mountain. Jesus' appearance was changed: "His face became bright like the sun" (Matt. 17:2).
The connection between the face and worship is more than coincidental. Our face is the most public part of our bodies, covered less than any other area. It is also the most recognizable part of our bodies. We don't fill a school annual with photos of people's feet but rather with photos of faces. God desires to take our faces, this exposed and memorable part of our bodies, and use them to reflect his goodness
Galatians 5
Freedom in Christ
1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." 10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
13You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature[l]; rather, serve one another in love. 14The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."[m] 15If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Life by the Spirit
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Timothy 4:6-16 (New International Version)
6If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
9This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance 10(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.
11Command and teach these things. 12Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
15Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
July 24, 2009
Walk The Walk
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Timothy 4:6-16
Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. —1 Timothy 4:12
The preacher was speaking tongue-in-cheek when he complained, “My wife is absolutely unreasonable. She actually expects me to live everything I preach!” It’s so much easier to tell someone what is right than to practice it personally.
When my son and I play golf together, I can tell him exactly how to play the hole and hit the shots. But my own ability to hit those shots is sadly limited. I suppose this is what is meant when we refer to athletes who “talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk.” Anyone can talk a good game, but actually performing well is far more difficult.
This is particularly true in the challenge of following Jesus Christ. It is not enough for us to talk about faith—we must live out our faith. Perhaps that is why Paul, after giving instructions to his young protégé Timothy about how to preach, included this reminder: “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. . . . Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them” (1 Tim. 4:12,15).
As Christ’s followers, we do not have the luxury of just talking a good game—we must live lives of exemplary faith in Jesus Christ. We must walk the walk. — Bill Crowder
Do others know from how we act
At home, at work, at play,
That we have Jesus in our heart
And live for Him each day? —D. De Haan
We please God when our walk matches our talk.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 24, 2009
His Nature and Our Motives
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven —Matthew 5:20
The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right-doing is right-being. Jesus Christ came to place within anyone who would let Him a new heredity that would have a righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus is saying, "If you are My disciple, you must be right not only in your actions, but also in your motives, your aspirations, and in the deep recesses of the thoughts of your mind." Your motives must be so pure that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke. Who can stand in the eternal light of God and have nothing for Him to rebuke? Only the Son of God, and Jesus Christ claims that through His redemption He can place within anyone His own nature and make that person as pure and as simple as a child. The purity that God demands is impossible unless I can be remade within, and that is exactly what Jesus has undertaken to do through His redemption.
No one can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations— He gives us His teachings which are truths that can only be interpreted by His nature which He places within us. The great wonder of Jesus Christ’s salvation is that He changes our heredity. He does not change human nature— He changes its source, and thereby its motives as well.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Surrounded by Precious - #5880
Friday, July 24, 2009
Why are refrigerator doors important? Well, you probably say, "To keep the cold inside," or "to keep that little light inside from burning out." Yeh, that's true too. But you might be forgetting one of the most valuable functions of a refrigerator door. That's right; it is a great place to display the artwork of your children or your grandchildren! Right! Ours has been covered for years. Now, throughout our house and our offices, you can find pictures drawn by our grandchildren, crafts made by our grandchildren. You may not think they're masterpieces or great works of art, but they're precious to us.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Surrounded by Precious."
And why are these humble artistic creations so valuable to us? Because of who made them, of course! The person who created them is precious to us, so what he created is precious to us. There's a song the children love to sing; I did, too, when I was one of those Sunday School kids. "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world." They're all precious to Him - people of every color, every background, every I.Q., every nationality, every age. And they had better all be precious to us.
Sadly, even though according to the Bible, "God is no respecter of persons" (Romans 2:11), God's children, all too often, are respecters of persons. We judge people by their category. To be honest, most of us secretly, and sometimes openly, think of some people as being "not quite on our level," or not our type, as being "outsiders," or in some way not quite as important as we are.
Don't try telling that to God. In His book, you and I are surrounded by people who are precious. Why? For the same reason our grandson's artwork is precious to us - because of who made them. Every man or woman in our world was made in the image of Almighty God Himself. Every man and woman in our world is "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:13), and is, in the Bible's words, "God's workmanship." Our subtle racism, or prejudice, or feelings of superiority are nothing less than sin to a holy God who "so loved the world that He gave His Son." (John 3:16).
And your Savior went out of His way to be with those everyone considered being of less worth. He'd walk past the religious leaders to express His forgiveness to a repentant prostitute. He'd make a despised Samaritan the example of a good neighbor. He would stop the entire parade around Him for the man everyone else wanted to shut up; blind Bartimaeus. And in Mark 1:40-42, our word for today from the Word of God, it says, "A man with leprosy came to Jesus and begged on his knees, 'If you are willing, you can make me clean.' Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' He said. 'Be clean!'"
What a scandal! Lepers were the lowest of the low - the total outcasts. And no one ever touched them except Jesus. Every person is of equal value to Him. Every person should be of equal value to you and me as His follower. No matter what race, no matter what class, no matter what their limitations, no matter what their education, no matter what nation or religion they come from.
Jesus' followers don't get to choose who they'll treat as precious, because they're all precious to Him. Our mission is to show every person in our personal world how very special they are to Him and to us because of Who made them!
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 24
Reflecting God’s Glory
Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord's glory, and we are being changed to be like him.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NCV)
The purpose of worship is to change the face of the worshiper. That is exactly what happened to Christ on the mountain. Jesus' appearance was changed: "His face became bright like the sun" (Matt. 17:2).
The connection between the face and worship is more than coincidental. Our face is the most public part of our bodies, covered less than any other area. It is also the most recognizable part of our bodies. We don't fill a school annual with photos of people's feet but rather with photos of faces. God desires to take our faces, this exposed and memorable part of our bodies, and use them to reflect his goodness
Galatians 5
Freedom in Christ
1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." 10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
13You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature[l]; rather, serve one another in love. 14The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."[m] 15If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Life by the Spirit
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Timothy 4:6-16 (New International Version)
6If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
9This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance 10(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.
11Command and teach these things. 12Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
15Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
July 24, 2009
Walk The Walk
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Timothy 4:6-16
Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. —1 Timothy 4:12
The preacher was speaking tongue-in-cheek when he complained, “My wife is absolutely unreasonable. She actually expects me to live everything I preach!” It’s so much easier to tell someone what is right than to practice it personally.
When my son and I play golf together, I can tell him exactly how to play the hole and hit the shots. But my own ability to hit those shots is sadly limited. I suppose this is what is meant when we refer to athletes who “talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk.” Anyone can talk a good game, but actually performing well is far more difficult.
This is particularly true in the challenge of following Jesus Christ. It is not enough for us to talk about faith—we must live out our faith. Perhaps that is why Paul, after giving instructions to his young protégé Timothy about how to preach, included this reminder: “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. . . . Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them” (1 Tim. 4:12,15).
As Christ’s followers, we do not have the luxury of just talking a good game—we must live lives of exemplary faith in Jesus Christ. We must walk the walk. — Bill Crowder
Do others know from how we act
At home, at work, at play,
That we have Jesus in our heart
And live for Him each day? —D. De Haan
We please God when our walk matches our talk.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 24, 2009
His Nature and Our Motives
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven —Matthew 5:20
The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right-doing is right-being. Jesus Christ came to place within anyone who would let Him a new heredity that would have a righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus is saying, "If you are My disciple, you must be right not only in your actions, but also in your motives, your aspirations, and in the deep recesses of the thoughts of your mind." Your motives must be so pure that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke. Who can stand in the eternal light of God and have nothing for Him to rebuke? Only the Son of God, and Jesus Christ claims that through His redemption He can place within anyone His own nature and make that person as pure and as simple as a child. The purity that God demands is impossible unless I can be remade within, and that is exactly what Jesus has undertaken to do through His redemption.
No one can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations— He gives us His teachings which are truths that can only be interpreted by His nature which He places within us. The great wonder of Jesus Christ’s salvation is that He changes our heredity. He does not change human nature— He changes its source, and thereby its motives as well.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Surrounded by Precious - #5880
Friday, July 24, 2009
Why are refrigerator doors important? Well, you probably say, "To keep the cold inside," or "to keep that little light inside from burning out." Yeh, that's true too. But you might be forgetting one of the most valuable functions of a refrigerator door. That's right; it is a great place to display the artwork of your children or your grandchildren! Right! Ours has been covered for years. Now, throughout our house and our offices, you can find pictures drawn by our grandchildren, crafts made by our grandchildren. You may not think they're masterpieces or great works of art, but they're precious to us.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Surrounded by Precious."
And why are these humble artistic creations so valuable to us? Because of who made them, of course! The person who created them is precious to us, so what he created is precious to us. There's a song the children love to sing; I did, too, when I was one of those Sunday School kids. "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world." They're all precious to Him - people of every color, every background, every I.Q., every nationality, every age. And they had better all be precious to us.
Sadly, even though according to the Bible, "God is no respecter of persons" (Romans 2:11), God's children, all too often, are respecters of persons. We judge people by their category. To be honest, most of us secretly, and sometimes openly, think of some people as being "not quite on our level," or not our type, as being "outsiders," or in some way not quite as important as we are.
Don't try telling that to God. In His book, you and I are surrounded by people who are precious. Why? For the same reason our grandson's artwork is precious to us - because of who made them. Every man or woman in our world was made in the image of Almighty God Himself. Every man and woman in our world is "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:13), and is, in the Bible's words, "God's workmanship." Our subtle racism, or prejudice, or feelings of superiority are nothing less than sin to a holy God who "so loved the world that He gave His Son." (John 3:16).
And your Savior went out of His way to be with those everyone considered being of less worth. He'd walk past the religious leaders to express His forgiveness to a repentant prostitute. He'd make a despised Samaritan the example of a good neighbor. He would stop the entire parade around Him for the man everyone else wanted to shut up; blind Bartimaeus. And in Mark 1:40-42, our word for today from the Word of God, it says, "A man with leprosy came to Jesus and begged on his knees, 'If you are willing, you can make me clean.' Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' He said. 'Be clean!'"
What a scandal! Lepers were the lowest of the low - the total outcasts. And no one ever touched them except Jesus. Every person is of equal value to Him. Every person should be of equal value to you and me as His follower. No matter what race, no matter what class, no matter what their limitations, no matter what their education, no matter what nation or religion they come from.
Jesus' followers don't get to choose who they'll treat as precious, because they're all precious to Him. Our mission is to show every person in our personal world how very special they are to Him and to us because of Who made them!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Galatians 4, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 23
A Symbol of Love
He is not here; he has risen from the dead.
Luke 24:6 (NCV)
When John arrived at the empty tomb the burial wraps had not been ripped off and thrown down. They were still in their original state! The linens were undisturbed. The graveclothes were still rolled and folded. How could this be?…
If for some reason friends or foes had unwrapped the body, would they have been so careful as to dispose of the clothing in such an orderly fashion? Of course not! But if neither friend nor foe took the body, who did?…
Through the rags of death, John saw the power of life. Odd, don’t you think, that God would use something as sad as a burial wrap to change a life? But God is given to such practices:
In his hand empty wine jugs at a wedding become a symbol of power.
The coin of a widow becomes a symbol of generosity.
And a tool of death is a symbol of his love.
Galatians 4
1What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. 4But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba,[i] Father." 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
Paul's Concern for the Galatians
8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
12I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. 13As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. 18It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you. 19My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!
Hagar and Sarah
21Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.
24These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27For it is written:
"Be glad, O barren woman,
who bears no children;
break forth and cry aloud,
you who have no labor pains;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband."[j]
28Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. 30But what does the Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son."[k] 31Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Peter 3:13-22 (New International Version)
13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear[a]; do not be frightened."[b] 15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19through whom[c] also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge[d] of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
July 23, 2009
Ready To Speak
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Peter 3:13-22
Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear. —1 Peter 3:15
Lee Eclov and his wife were at a coffee shop in Estes Park, Colorado. At another table sat four men, one of whom was mocking Christianity and the resurrection of Jesus.
Lee could sense the Lord telling him to respond. But his fear kept him from doing so. Finally, he knew he had to make a stand. So he walked over to the men and began giving historical evidence for the resurrection.
How do we respond when we’re in a similar situation? The apostle Peter encouraged his readers to make a commitment to stand up for Jesus, especially during extreme suffering. This commitment meant not remaining speechless when circumstances warranted them to defend their faith. He said, “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). Their readiness to answer required them to know God’s Word. They were to respond in godly meekness and fear, so that their persecutors would be ashamed of their own conduct.
Had Lee Eclov remained silent or responded rudely, the cause of Christ would have suffered. Lee later wrote, “God has a way of flushing us out of our quiet little places, and when He does we must be ready to speak for Him.” — Marvin Williams
When people wonder about our faith,
What answer will we give?
We’ll tell of Jesus who bore our sins
And shows us how to live. —Fitzhugh
To be silent about the Savior and His salvation is a dreadful sin of omission.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 23, 2009
Sanctification (2)
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us . . . sanctification . . . —1 Corinthians 1:30
The Life Side. The mystery of sanctification is that the perfect qualities of Jesus Christ are imparted as a gift to me, not gradually, but instantly once I enter by faith into the realization that He "became for [me] . . . sanctification . . . ." Sanctification means nothing less than the holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.
The most wonderful secret of living a holy life does not lie in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfect qualities of Jesus exhibit themselves in my human flesh. Sanctification is "Christ in you . . ." ( Colossians 1:27 ). It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification— imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His Word?
Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me. It is the gift of His patience, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness that is exhibited in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy— it is drawing from Jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him, and that He now exhibits in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is something altogether different. The perfection of everything is in Jesus Christ, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfect qualities of Jesus are at my disposal. Consequently, I slowly but surely begin to live a life of inexpressible order, soundness, and holiness— ". . . kept by the power of God . . ." ( 1 Peter 1:5 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Falling Down, but Not Staying Down - #5879
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Our 18-month-old grandson rapidly became a bulldozer on two legs. He didn't actually walk anywhere; he ran everywhere. And no comments about being like his grandfather! Of course, he didn't always get around like that. First, he only went where one of us carried him. Then the crawling started. He didn't do that for long. He graduated to walking real fast. And, like every baby who ever learned to walk, he began by taking a step or two and then falling down. I guess he could have said to himself after a couple of falls, "Oh well, I guess I wasn't cut out to walk. It's just too hard. I keep falling down. I think I'll just lie here from now on." Oh, great! So now he's 18 years old, his mother has to vacuum around him, and his friends come over and he says, "Hey, you want to roll into my room with me?" No, it didn't work that way. After he went "step-boom," he got back up and he went "step-step-boom." And then "step-step-step-step-boom." And now I can't stop him! I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Falling Down, but Not Staying Down."
God's children have something to learn from their own children. When you fall down, you don't stay down. You get up and you start walking again. Sadly, when many of us take a spiritual fall, we quit trying to walk. We just stay down. Maybe that's where you are right now.
I love the defiant recovery cry in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Micah 7:8. "Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light." That's powerful. He acknowledges that he's fallen, but he declares that he doesn't have to stay down. And he's declaring that to his "enemy."
We know, of course, that our enemy is Satan himself who is very angry that he couldn't keep you from giving yourself to Jesus so you would be in hell with him forever. He lost that big battle. Now he's determined to keep you from living for Jesus, from experiencing victory over the things that have beaten you over and over, from enjoying the peace and security of a consistent walk with Jesus. So he keeps pushing buttons to get you to do things or think things or feel things that will bring you down. And, maybe it's worked.
So you're down. Are you just going to stay down and say, "Well, it's too hard; I guess I'll never change, I tried and I failed. What's the use?" No! No! You're not going to let the devil succeed in one of his most cynical strategies - trying to turn one defeat into many defeats. OK, you fell. But that doesn't mean you have to stay there. Satan starts pouring on the shame and saying, "Look at what you did. You might as well give it up and just keep going down." But Jesus says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
Proverbs 24:16 says, "Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again." Notice, it doesn't say the righteous man never falls. It says when he falls, he keeps getting right back up and doing what's right. The only person who never falls down, by the way, is the person who isn't trying to walk!
So when you fall down, be as defiant about getting up and walking again as a baby is. When you belong to Jesus, there is no such thing as a knockout. When you belong to Jesus, failure is never final. Listen to God's words, "Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise!"
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 23
A Symbol of Love
He is not here; he has risen from the dead.
Luke 24:6 (NCV)
When John arrived at the empty tomb the burial wraps had not been ripped off and thrown down. They were still in their original state! The linens were undisturbed. The graveclothes were still rolled and folded. How could this be?…
If for some reason friends or foes had unwrapped the body, would they have been so careful as to dispose of the clothing in such an orderly fashion? Of course not! But if neither friend nor foe took the body, who did?…
Through the rags of death, John saw the power of life. Odd, don’t you think, that God would use something as sad as a burial wrap to change a life? But God is given to such practices:
In his hand empty wine jugs at a wedding become a symbol of power.
The coin of a widow becomes a symbol of generosity.
And a tool of death is a symbol of his love.
Galatians 4
1What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. 4But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba,[i] Father." 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
Paul's Concern for the Galatians
8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
12I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. 13As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. 18It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you. 19My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!
Hagar and Sarah
21Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.
24These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27For it is written:
"Be glad, O barren woman,
who bears no children;
break forth and cry aloud,
you who have no labor pains;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband."[j]
28Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. 30But what does the Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son."[k] 31Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Peter 3:13-22 (New International Version)
13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear[a]; do not be frightened."[b] 15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19through whom[c] also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge[d] of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
July 23, 2009
Ready To Speak
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Peter 3:13-22
Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear. —1 Peter 3:15
Lee Eclov and his wife were at a coffee shop in Estes Park, Colorado. At another table sat four men, one of whom was mocking Christianity and the resurrection of Jesus.
Lee could sense the Lord telling him to respond. But his fear kept him from doing so. Finally, he knew he had to make a stand. So he walked over to the men and began giving historical evidence for the resurrection.
How do we respond when we’re in a similar situation? The apostle Peter encouraged his readers to make a commitment to stand up for Jesus, especially during extreme suffering. This commitment meant not remaining speechless when circumstances warranted them to defend their faith. He said, “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). Their readiness to answer required them to know God’s Word. They were to respond in godly meekness and fear, so that their persecutors would be ashamed of their own conduct.
Had Lee Eclov remained silent or responded rudely, the cause of Christ would have suffered. Lee later wrote, “God has a way of flushing us out of our quiet little places, and when He does we must be ready to speak for Him.” — Marvin Williams
When people wonder about our faith,
What answer will we give?
We’ll tell of Jesus who bore our sins
And shows us how to live. —Fitzhugh
To be silent about the Savior and His salvation is a dreadful sin of omission.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 23, 2009
Sanctification (2)
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us . . . sanctification . . . —1 Corinthians 1:30
The Life Side. The mystery of sanctification is that the perfect qualities of Jesus Christ are imparted as a gift to me, not gradually, but instantly once I enter by faith into the realization that He "became for [me] . . . sanctification . . . ." Sanctification means nothing less than the holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.
The most wonderful secret of living a holy life does not lie in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfect qualities of Jesus exhibit themselves in my human flesh. Sanctification is "Christ in you . . ." ( Colossians 1:27 ). It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification— imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His Word?
Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me. It is the gift of His patience, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness that is exhibited in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy— it is drawing from Jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him, and that He now exhibits in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is something altogether different. The perfection of everything is in Jesus Christ, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfect qualities of Jesus are at my disposal. Consequently, I slowly but surely begin to live a life of inexpressible order, soundness, and holiness— ". . . kept by the power of God . . ." ( 1 Peter 1:5 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Falling Down, but Not Staying Down - #5879
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Our 18-month-old grandson rapidly became a bulldozer on two legs. He didn't actually walk anywhere; he ran everywhere. And no comments about being like his grandfather! Of course, he didn't always get around like that. First, he only went where one of us carried him. Then the crawling started. He didn't do that for long. He graduated to walking real fast. And, like every baby who ever learned to walk, he began by taking a step or two and then falling down. I guess he could have said to himself after a couple of falls, "Oh well, I guess I wasn't cut out to walk. It's just too hard. I keep falling down. I think I'll just lie here from now on." Oh, great! So now he's 18 years old, his mother has to vacuum around him, and his friends come over and he says, "Hey, you want to roll into my room with me?" No, it didn't work that way. After he went "step-boom," he got back up and he went "step-step-boom." And then "step-step-step-step-boom." And now I can't stop him! I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Falling Down, but Not Staying Down."
God's children have something to learn from their own children. When you fall down, you don't stay down. You get up and you start walking again. Sadly, when many of us take a spiritual fall, we quit trying to walk. We just stay down. Maybe that's where you are right now.
I love the defiant recovery cry in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Micah 7:8. "Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light." That's powerful. He acknowledges that he's fallen, but he declares that he doesn't have to stay down. And he's declaring that to his "enemy."
We know, of course, that our enemy is Satan himself who is very angry that he couldn't keep you from giving yourself to Jesus so you would be in hell with him forever. He lost that big battle. Now he's determined to keep you from living for Jesus, from experiencing victory over the things that have beaten you over and over, from enjoying the peace and security of a consistent walk with Jesus. So he keeps pushing buttons to get you to do things or think things or feel things that will bring you down. And, maybe it's worked.
So you're down. Are you just going to stay down and say, "Well, it's too hard; I guess I'll never change, I tried and I failed. What's the use?" No! No! You're not going to let the devil succeed in one of his most cynical strategies - trying to turn one defeat into many defeats. OK, you fell. But that doesn't mean you have to stay there. Satan starts pouring on the shame and saying, "Look at what you did. You might as well give it up and just keep going down." But Jesus says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
Proverbs 24:16 says, "Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again." Notice, it doesn't say the righteous man never falls. It says when he falls, he keeps getting right back up and doing what's right. The only person who never falls down, by the way, is the person who isn't trying to walk!
So when you fall down, be as defiant about getting up and walking again as a baby is. When you belong to Jesus, there is no such thing as a knockout. When you belong to Jesus, failure is never final. Listen to God's words, "Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise!"
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Galatians 3, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 22
God Hears Our Prayers
The LORD hears good people when they cry out to him, and he saves them from all their troubles.
Psalm 34:17 (NCV)
When [a friend] told Jesus of the illness [of Lazarus] he said, "Lord, the one you love is sick." He doesn't base his appeal on the imperfect love of the one in need, but on the perfect love of the Savior. He doesn't say, "The one who loves you is sick." He says, "The one you love is sick." The power of the prayer, in other words, does not depend on the one who makes the prayer, but on the one who hears the prayer.
We can and must repeat the phrase in manifold ways. "The one you love is tired, sad, hungry, lonely, fearful, depressed." The words of the prayer vary, but the response never changes. The Savior hears the prayer. He silences heaven, so he won't miss a word. He hears the prayer.
Galatians 3
Faith or Observance of the Law
1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
6Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."[a] 7Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you."[b] 9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
10All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."[c] 11Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."[d] 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them."[e] 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."[f] 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
The Law and the Promise
15Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed,"[g] meaning one person, who is Christ. 17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.
21Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ[h] that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
Sons of God
26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Isaiah 42:1-4
Listen to this passage
Isaiah 42
The Servant of the Lord
1 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope."
Isaiah 42:23-25
23 Which of you will listen to this
or pay close attention in time to come?
24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the LORD,
against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow his ways;
they did not obey his law.
25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,
the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;
it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.
July 22, 2009
Who Is Deaf?
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Isaiah 42:1-4,23-25
The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save . . . . [But] your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. —Isaiah 59:1-2
A man told his doctor that he thought his wife was going deaf. The doctor told him to conduct a simple test. When the man reached the front door of his home, he called out, “Darling, is dinner ready?” Hearing no response, he walked inside and repeated himself. Still no reply. On the third try, when he was just behind her, he finally heard her say, “For the third time, yes!”
Similarly, the ancient Israelites thought God was deaf when the problem was actually with them. Isaiah was a prophet sent to warn God’s people about impending judgment, but his message fell on deaf ears. Instead of being God’s covenant people, who were to bring light to those in darkness and release them from the dungeons of sin (42:7), they refused to hear Him. “They would not walk in His ways, nor were they obedient to His law” (v.24).
The prophet explained why their prayers seemed to fall on deaf ears: “The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God” (Isa. 59:1-2). One reason for not receiving answers from God is that sin may be blocking our hearing. Let’s examine ourselves carefully.
Our God isn’t hard of hearing. — C. P. Hia
Nothing between my soul and the Savior,
Naught of this world’s delusive dream;
I have renounced all sinful pleasure,
Jesus is mine; there’s nothing between. —Tindley
God speaks through His Word to those who listen with their heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 22, 2009
Sanctification (1)
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
This is the will of God, your sanctification. . . —1 Thessalonians 4:3
The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Sanctification requires our coming to the place of death, but many of us spend so much time there that we become morbid. There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized— something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately. Jesus said, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate . . . his own life . . . he cannot be My disciple" ( Luke 14:26 ).
In the process of sanctification, the Spirit of God will strip me down until there is nothing left but myself, and that is the place of death. Am I willing to be myself and nothing more? Am I willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest— simply to be ready for death? That is the condition required for sanctification. No wonder Jesus said, "I did not come to bring peace but a sword" ( Matthew 10:34 ). This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us falter. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ on this point. We say, "But this is so strict. Surely He does not require that of me." Our Lord is strict, and He does require that of us.
Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply "me"? Am I determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that I think of myself? Am I willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once I am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ).
When I pray, "Lord, show me what sanctification means for me," He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts in me— it is Himself in me (see 1 Corinthians 1:30 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Your Answer - #5878
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Our youngest son had waited a long time for this. He had loved this girl for a long time and she had loved him. And now it was time to ask her to spend the rest of her life with him. So, he asked her to go with him on an old horse-drawn carriage ride along some beautiful mountain paths. In cahoots with the driver, he asked if they could stop to take a picture on a nearby footbridge - just out of sight, of course. Well, the driver was loving every minute of this. On that bridge, overlooking a picturesque little stream, our son declared his lifetime love and he asked the woman he loves to become his wife. She was not surprised that he would ask someday, but this day she was overwhelmed. He awaited her answer and it was more beautiful than our son could have ever scripted. She just said, "It would be my highest honor." P.S. - the wedding was awesome.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Answer."
There's someone who loves you very much, who has dramatically declared His love for you, and whose offer of a lifelong relationship requires an answer. He is the One who said in Revelation 3:20, our word for today from the Word of God, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in..." And while that invitation was initially addressed to some people who already belonged to Jesus, it's also a powerful picture of His offer of His love to those who have never begun a personal relationship with Him - maybe that's you.
If you have any doubt about Jesus' love for you and His commitment to you, just pay a visit in your heart to an old rugged cross where He is nailed to that cross, bleeding and dying to pay for every wrong thing you have ever done. That's how much He loves you. That's how much He wants you to be in heaven with Him forever. That's how much He does not want to lose you.
His love for you and me isn't based on how good we are. The Bible says we've chosen to hijack the running of our life from our Creator, and all our religiousness doesn't cover up our rebellion against a holy God. We deserve the hell that sin requires, but we're offered a heaven we could never deserve because Jesus took our hell for us.
And now He awaits your response to His blood-bought offer of forgiveness and eternal life. In the words of the Bible, "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life...Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" (John 3:16, 36). See, there is just no neutral response. It's "Jesus, I'm Yours" or "Jesus, forget about it."
When our son said, "Will you marry me?" what if his beloved had said, "Sure. You're a nice guy" or "You have some great points" or "We get along great." Well, those are polite answers, but no commitment. Well, that's how it is when Jesus knocks on the door of your heart, as He may be doing even now. Anything other than "Yes, I'm Yours" is just polite rejection. And "whoever rejects the Son will not see life."
Jesus has dramatically declared His love for you. Look at the nail prints in His hands. He is offering to forgive every sin, to never leave you, and to take you to heaven when you die. You must give Him your answer. If you want this to be your Jesus-day, the day that you consciously say "yes" to Him, you begin your personal relationship with Him, why don't you tell Him that right now where you are. And let me encourage you to go visit our website, where you'll find there information that's been really helpful to people at the point of giving their answer to Jesus. The website is YoursForLife.net. You can call toll free at 877-741-1200.
The words of an old hymn pretty much sum up the choice that's in front of you, "What will you do with Jesus? Neutral you cannot be. For some day your heart will be asking, 'What will He do with me?'"
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 22
God Hears Our Prayers
The LORD hears good people when they cry out to him, and he saves them from all their troubles.
Psalm 34:17 (NCV)
When [a friend] told Jesus of the illness [of Lazarus] he said, "Lord, the one you love is sick." He doesn't base his appeal on the imperfect love of the one in need, but on the perfect love of the Savior. He doesn't say, "The one who loves you is sick." He says, "The one you love is sick." The power of the prayer, in other words, does not depend on the one who makes the prayer, but on the one who hears the prayer.
We can and must repeat the phrase in manifold ways. "The one you love is tired, sad, hungry, lonely, fearful, depressed." The words of the prayer vary, but the response never changes. The Savior hears the prayer. He silences heaven, so he won't miss a word. He hears the prayer.
Galatians 3
Faith or Observance of the Law
1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
6Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."[a] 7Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you."[b] 9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
10All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."[c] 11Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."[d] 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them."[e] 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."[f] 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
The Law and the Promise
15Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed,"[g] meaning one person, who is Christ. 17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.
21Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ[h] that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
Sons of God
26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Isaiah 42:1-4
Listen to this passage
Isaiah 42
The Servant of the Lord
1 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope."
Isaiah 42:23-25
23 Which of you will listen to this
or pay close attention in time to come?
24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the LORD,
against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow his ways;
they did not obey his law.
25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,
the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;
it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.
July 22, 2009
Who Is Deaf?
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Isaiah 42:1-4,23-25
The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save . . . . [But] your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. —Isaiah 59:1-2
A man told his doctor that he thought his wife was going deaf. The doctor told him to conduct a simple test. When the man reached the front door of his home, he called out, “Darling, is dinner ready?” Hearing no response, he walked inside and repeated himself. Still no reply. On the third try, when he was just behind her, he finally heard her say, “For the third time, yes!”
Similarly, the ancient Israelites thought God was deaf when the problem was actually with them. Isaiah was a prophet sent to warn God’s people about impending judgment, but his message fell on deaf ears. Instead of being God’s covenant people, who were to bring light to those in darkness and release them from the dungeons of sin (42:7), they refused to hear Him. “They would not walk in His ways, nor were they obedient to His law” (v.24).
The prophet explained why their prayers seemed to fall on deaf ears: “The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God” (Isa. 59:1-2). One reason for not receiving answers from God is that sin may be blocking our hearing. Let’s examine ourselves carefully.
Our God isn’t hard of hearing. — C. P. Hia
Nothing between my soul and the Savior,
Naught of this world’s delusive dream;
I have renounced all sinful pleasure,
Jesus is mine; there’s nothing between. —Tindley
God speaks through His Word to those who listen with their heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 22, 2009
Sanctification (1)
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
This is the will of God, your sanctification. . . —1 Thessalonians 4:3
The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Sanctification requires our coming to the place of death, but many of us spend so much time there that we become morbid. There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized— something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately. Jesus said, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate . . . his own life . . . he cannot be My disciple" ( Luke 14:26 ).
In the process of sanctification, the Spirit of God will strip me down until there is nothing left but myself, and that is the place of death. Am I willing to be myself and nothing more? Am I willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest— simply to be ready for death? That is the condition required for sanctification. No wonder Jesus said, "I did not come to bring peace but a sword" ( Matthew 10:34 ). This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us falter. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ on this point. We say, "But this is so strict. Surely He does not require that of me." Our Lord is strict, and He does require that of us.
Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply "me"? Am I determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that I think of myself? Am I willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once I am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ).
When I pray, "Lord, show me what sanctification means for me," He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts in me— it is Himself in me (see 1 Corinthians 1:30 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Your Answer - #5878
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Our youngest son had waited a long time for this. He had loved this girl for a long time and she had loved him. And now it was time to ask her to spend the rest of her life with him. So, he asked her to go with him on an old horse-drawn carriage ride along some beautiful mountain paths. In cahoots with the driver, he asked if they could stop to take a picture on a nearby footbridge - just out of sight, of course. Well, the driver was loving every minute of this. On that bridge, overlooking a picturesque little stream, our son declared his lifetime love and he asked the woman he loves to become his wife. She was not surprised that he would ask someday, but this day she was overwhelmed. He awaited her answer and it was more beautiful than our son could have ever scripted. She just said, "It would be my highest honor." P.S. - the wedding was awesome.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Answer."
There's someone who loves you very much, who has dramatically declared His love for you, and whose offer of a lifelong relationship requires an answer. He is the One who said in Revelation 3:20, our word for today from the Word of God, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in..." And while that invitation was initially addressed to some people who already belonged to Jesus, it's also a powerful picture of His offer of His love to those who have never begun a personal relationship with Him - maybe that's you.
If you have any doubt about Jesus' love for you and His commitment to you, just pay a visit in your heart to an old rugged cross where He is nailed to that cross, bleeding and dying to pay for every wrong thing you have ever done. That's how much He loves you. That's how much He wants you to be in heaven with Him forever. That's how much He does not want to lose you.
His love for you and me isn't based on how good we are. The Bible says we've chosen to hijack the running of our life from our Creator, and all our religiousness doesn't cover up our rebellion against a holy God. We deserve the hell that sin requires, but we're offered a heaven we could never deserve because Jesus took our hell for us.
And now He awaits your response to His blood-bought offer of forgiveness and eternal life. In the words of the Bible, "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life...Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" (John 3:16, 36). See, there is just no neutral response. It's "Jesus, I'm Yours" or "Jesus, forget about it."
When our son said, "Will you marry me?" what if his beloved had said, "Sure. You're a nice guy" or "You have some great points" or "We get along great." Well, those are polite answers, but no commitment. Well, that's how it is when Jesus knocks on the door of your heart, as He may be doing even now. Anything other than "Yes, I'm Yours" is just polite rejection. And "whoever rejects the Son will not see life."
Jesus has dramatically declared His love for you. Look at the nail prints in His hands. He is offering to forgive every sin, to never leave you, and to take you to heaven when you die. You must give Him your answer. If you want this to be your Jesus-day, the day that you consciously say "yes" to Him, you begin your personal relationship with Him, why don't you tell Him that right now where you are. And let me encourage you to go visit our website, where you'll find there information that's been really helpful to people at the point of giving their answer to Jesus. The website is YoursForLife.net. You can call toll free at 877-741-1200.
The words of an old hymn pretty much sum up the choice that's in front of you, "What will you do with Jesus? Neutral you cannot be. For some day your heart will be asking, 'What will He do with me?'"
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Acts 14, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 21
A Yoke of Kindness
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:29 (NKJV)
Farmers in ancient Israel used to train an inexperienced ox by yoking it to an experienced one with a wooden harness. The straps around the older animal were tightly drawn. He carried the load. But the yoke around the younger animal was loose. He walked alongside the more mature ox, but his burden was light. In this verse Jesus is saying, "I walk alongside you. We are yoked together. But I pull the weight and carry the burden."
I wonder, how many burdens is Jesus carrying for us that we know nothing about? We're aware of some. He carries our sin. He carries our shame. He carries our external debt. But are there others? Has he lifted fears before we felt them? Has he carried our confusion so we wouldn't have to? Those times when we have been surprised by our own sense of peace? Could it be that Jesus has lifted our anxiety onto his shoulders and placed a yoke of kindness on ours?
Acts 14
In Iconium
1At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. 2But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. 4The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7where they continued to preach the good news.
In Lystra and Derbe
8In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." 18Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
19Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
The Return to Antioch in Syria
21They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said. 23Paul and Barnabas appointed elders[a] for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. 24After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, 25and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.
26From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Ecclesiastes 3:9-17 (New International Version)
9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
15 Whatever is has already been,
and what will be has been before;
and God will call the past to account. [a]
16 And I saw something else under the sun:
In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
in the place of justice—wickedness was there.
17 I thought in my heart,
"God will bring to judgment
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time for every deed."
July 21, 2009
Eternity In Our Hearts
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Ecclesiastes 3:9-17
He has put eternity in their hearts. —Ecclesiastes 3:11
I once came across a scene of beauty outside Anchorage, Alaska. Against a slate-gray sky, the water of an ocean inlet had a slight greenish cast, interrupted by small whitecaps. Soon I saw these were not whitecaps at all but whales—silvery white beluga whales in a pod feeding no more than 50 feet offshore. I stood with other onlookers, listening to the rhythmic motion of the sea, following the graceful, ghostly crescents of surfacing whales. The crowd was hushed, even reverent. For just a moment, nothing else mattered.
The author of Ecclesiastes would have understood the crowd’s response. He sees with dazzling clarity the beauty in the created world and that God “has put eternity in their hearts” (3:11). Such an elegant phrase applies to much in human experience. Surely it hints at a religious instinct. Our hearts perceive eternity in ways other than the religious.
Ecclesiastes presents both sides of life on this planet: the promise of pleasures so alluring that we may devote our lives to their pursuit, and the haunting realization that these pleasures ultimately do not satisfy. God’s tantalizing world is too big for us. Unless we acknowledge our limits and subject ourselves to God’s rule, unless we trust the Giver of all good gifts, we will end up in despair. — Philip Yancey
Amid the measured music
What watchful ear can hear
God’s voice amidst the garden?
Yet hush! for He is here! —Charles
To make the most of today, keep eternity in mind.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 21, 2009
The Doorway to the Kingdom
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READ:
Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . —Matthew 5:3
Beware of thinking of our Lord as only a teacher. If Jesus Christ is only a teacher, then all He can do is frustrate me by setting a standard before me I cannot attain. What is the point of presenting me with such a lofty ideal if I cannot possibly come close to reaching it? I would be happier if I never knew it. What good is there in telling me to be what I can never be— to be "pure in heart" ( Matthew 5:8 ), to do more than my duty, or to be completely devoted to God? I must know Jesus Christ as my Savior before His teaching has any meaning for me other than that of a lofty ideal which only leads to despair. But when I am born again by the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come only to teach— He came to make me what He teaches I should be. The redemption means that Jesus Christ can place within anyone the same nature that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives us are based on that nature.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces a sense of despair in the natural man— exactly what Jesus means for it to do. As long as we have some self-righteous idea that we can carry out our Lord’s teaching, God will allow us to continue until we expose our own ignorance by stumbling over some obstacle in our way. Only then are we willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him. "Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . ." This is the first principle in the kingdom of God. The underlying foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possessions; not making decisions for Jesus, but having such a sense of absolute futility that we finally admit, "Lord, I cannot even begin to do it." Then Jesus says, "Blessed are you . . ." ( Matthew 5:11 ). This is the doorway to the kingdom, and yet it takes us so long to believe that we are actually poor! The knowledge of our own poverty is what brings us to the proper place where Jesus Christ accomplishes His work.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Blindness that Makes You Crash - #5877
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
When you've driven as much as I have over the years, you know when it's time to stop. I've been driving along at night, for example, and suddenly I'm enveloped in this thick fog; usually in the mountains. Semis are pulled over to the side of the road, and they're professional drivers. They know well enough not to go on. It's definitely time to stop before I hit something. Same thing when I suddenly find myself in one of those driving rainstorms, or I've been in a snow storm "whiteout" - those times when you literally can't see a car length in front of you. It's like you're temporarily blind, and you'd better not keep pushing ahead.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Blindness that Makes You Crash."
Fog can make you temporarily blind. So can rain or snow. And so can your hormones. It happened even to King David, who God called "a man after God's own heart." David's hormonal blindness, which led to so many devastating crashes, is described in one of the saddest chapters in the Bible. In 2 Samuel 11, beginning with verse 2, our word for today from the Word of God, the Bible says, "One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her." Right about here you feel like screaming at the Bible, "David, don't do it, man!"
But he did do it. "The man said, 'Isn't this Bathsheba...the wife of Uriah the Hittite?'" Uriah, by the way, was one of David's most trusted and most loyal soldiers. The Bible goes on: "Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her." Here's David - God's man, God's king, but his sexual desires started pumping, and he followed them all the way to disaster. From these few moments of sexual pleasure will come a baby who dies, David's murder of his loyal associate to cover up his sin, rape and incest and even an attempt to overthrow him among his own children, and an agony of soul that David could have never imagined that night.
That's what is so dangerous about lust, sexual fantasies, about pornography, about flirting with sexual sin; your hormones blind you, just like they did David. You let your lust keep pulling you toward a crash, and it makes you blind to so many things you cannot afford to forget: the consequences, what you stand to lose, who you're going to hurt, the agony of a broken relationship with God. But you don't care much about all that; you just care about satisfying your sexual desires, about following your passions, about meeting your needs.
But God has sent you this way today to send you a wakeup call. Please, consider where your passions and your desires are taking you. Count the cost. Think about all you have to lose if you keep driving down this road. Think about the price that you will pay in your soul - maybe the price you're already paying. Think about the hurt this can cause. And don't make the deadly mistake that millions of people have made, underestimating the power of sin and overestimating your power to control it.
Sexual desire is blinding. It can blind you like a thick fog. Please, don't keep going this way. Pull over now! Stop before you crash.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 21
A Yoke of Kindness
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:29 (NKJV)
Farmers in ancient Israel used to train an inexperienced ox by yoking it to an experienced one with a wooden harness. The straps around the older animal were tightly drawn. He carried the load. But the yoke around the younger animal was loose. He walked alongside the more mature ox, but his burden was light. In this verse Jesus is saying, "I walk alongside you. We are yoked together. But I pull the weight and carry the burden."
I wonder, how many burdens is Jesus carrying for us that we know nothing about? We're aware of some. He carries our sin. He carries our shame. He carries our external debt. But are there others? Has he lifted fears before we felt them? Has he carried our confusion so we wouldn't have to? Those times when we have been surprised by our own sense of peace? Could it be that Jesus has lifted our anxiety onto his shoulders and placed a yoke of kindness on ours?
Acts 14
In Iconium
1At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. 2But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. 4The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7where they continued to preach the good news.
In Lystra and Derbe
8In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." 18Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
19Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
The Return to Antioch in Syria
21They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said. 23Paul and Barnabas appointed elders[a] for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. 24After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, 25and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.
26From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Ecclesiastes 3:9-17 (New International Version)
9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
15 Whatever is has already been,
and what will be has been before;
and God will call the past to account. [a]
16 And I saw something else under the sun:
In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
in the place of justice—wickedness was there.
17 I thought in my heart,
"God will bring to judgment
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time for every deed."
July 21, 2009
Eternity In Our Hearts
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READ: Ecclesiastes 3:9-17
He has put eternity in their hearts. —Ecclesiastes 3:11
I once came across a scene of beauty outside Anchorage, Alaska. Against a slate-gray sky, the water of an ocean inlet had a slight greenish cast, interrupted by small whitecaps. Soon I saw these were not whitecaps at all but whales—silvery white beluga whales in a pod feeding no more than 50 feet offshore. I stood with other onlookers, listening to the rhythmic motion of the sea, following the graceful, ghostly crescents of surfacing whales. The crowd was hushed, even reverent. For just a moment, nothing else mattered.
The author of Ecclesiastes would have understood the crowd’s response. He sees with dazzling clarity the beauty in the created world and that God “has put eternity in their hearts” (3:11). Such an elegant phrase applies to much in human experience. Surely it hints at a religious instinct. Our hearts perceive eternity in ways other than the religious.
Ecclesiastes presents both sides of life on this planet: the promise of pleasures so alluring that we may devote our lives to their pursuit, and the haunting realization that these pleasures ultimately do not satisfy. God’s tantalizing world is too big for us. Unless we acknowledge our limits and subject ourselves to God’s rule, unless we trust the Giver of all good gifts, we will end up in despair. — Philip Yancey
Amid the measured music
What watchful ear can hear
God’s voice amidst the garden?
Yet hush! for He is here! —Charles
To make the most of today, keep eternity in mind.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 21, 2009
The Doorway to the Kingdom
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READ:
Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . —Matthew 5:3
Beware of thinking of our Lord as only a teacher. If Jesus Christ is only a teacher, then all He can do is frustrate me by setting a standard before me I cannot attain. What is the point of presenting me with such a lofty ideal if I cannot possibly come close to reaching it? I would be happier if I never knew it. What good is there in telling me to be what I can never be— to be "pure in heart" ( Matthew 5:8 ), to do more than my duty, or to be completely devoted to God? I must know Jesus Christ as my Savior before His teaching has any meaning for me other than that of a lofty ideal which only leads to despair. But when I am born again by the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come only to teach— He came to make me what He teaches I should be. The redemption means that Jesus Christ can place within anyone the same nature that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives us are based on that nature.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces a sense of despair in the natural man— exactly what Jesus means for it to do. As long as we have some self-righteous idea that we can carry out our Lord’s teaching, God will allow us to continue until we expose our own ignorance by stumbling over some obstacle in our way. Only then are we willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him. "Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . ." This is the first principle in the kingdom of God. The underlying foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possessions; not making decisions for Jesus, but having such a sense of absolute futility that we finally admit, "Lord, I cannot even begin to do it." Then Jesus says, "Blessed are you . . ." ( Matthew 5:11 ). This is the doorway to the kingdom, and yet it takes us so long to believe that we are actually poor! The knowledge of our own poverty is what brings us to the proper place where Jesus Christ accomplishes His work.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Blindness that Makes You Crash - #5877
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
When you've driven as much as I have over the years, you know when it's time to stop. I've been driving along at night, for example, and suddenly I'm enveloped in this thick fog; usually in the mountains. Semis are pulled over to the side of the road, and they're professional drivers. They know well enough not to go on. It's definitely time to stop before I hit something. Same thing when I suddenly find myself in one of those driving rainstorms, or I've been in a snow storm "whiteout" - those times when you literally can't see a car length in front of you. It's like you're temporarily blind, and you'd better not keep pushing ahead.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Blindness that Makes You Crash."
Fog can make you temporarily blind. So can rain or snow. And so can your hormones. It happened even to King David, who God called "a man after God's own heart." David's hormonal blindness, which led to so many devastating crashes, is described in one of the saddest chapters in the Bible. In 2 Samuel 11, beginning with verse 2, our word for today from the Word of God, the Bible says, "One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her." Right about here you feel like screaming at the Bible, "David, don't do it, man!"
But he did do it. "The man said, 'Isn't this Bathsheba...the wife of Uriah the Hittite?'" Uriah, by the way, was one of David's most trusted and most loyal soldiers. The Bible goes on: "Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her." Here's David - God's man, God's king, but his sexual desires started pumping, and he followed them all the way to disaster. From these few moments of sexual pleasure will come a baby who dies, David's murder of his loyal associate to cover up his sin, rape and incest and even an attempt to overthrow him among his own children, and an agony of soul that David could have never imagined that night.
That's what is so dangerous about lust, sexual fantasies, about pornography, about flirting with sexual sin; your hormones blind you, just like they did David. You let your lust keep pulling you toward a crash, and it makes you blind to so many things you cannot afford to forget: the consequences, what you stand to lose, who you're going to hurt, the agony of a broken relationship with God. But you don't care much about all that; you just care about satisfying your sexual desires, about following your passions, about meeting your needs.
But God has sent you this way today to send you a wakeup call. Please, consider where your passions and your desires are taking you. Count the cost. Think about all you have to lose if you keep driving down this road. Think about the price that you will pay in your soul - maybe the price you're already paying. Think about the hurt this can cause. And don't make the deadly mistake that millions of people have made, underestimating the power of sin and overestimating your power to control it.
Sexual desire is blinding. It can blind you like a thick fog. Please, don't keep going this way. Pull over now! Stop before you crash.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Acts 13, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 20
The Branch and the Vine
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine.
John 15:4 (NCV)
God wants to be as close to us as a branch is to a vine. One is an extension of the other. It's impossible to tell where one starts and the other ends. The branch isn't connected only at the moment of bearing fruit. The gardener doesn't keep the branches in a box and then, on the day he wants grapes, glue them to the vine. No, the branch constantly draws nutrition from the vine....
God also uses the temple to depict the intimacy he desires. "Don't you know," Paul writes, "that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?" (1 Cor. 6:19 TEV). Think with me about the temple for a moment....God didn't come and go, appear and disappear. He was a permanent presence, always available.
What incredibly good news for us! We are NEVER away from God!
Acts 13
Barnabas and Saul Sent Off
1In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
On Cyprus
4The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
6They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10"You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun."
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
In Pisidian Antioch
13From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak."
16Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, 18he endured their conduct[b] for about forty years in the desert, 19he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance. 20All this took about 450 years.
"After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'
23"From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25As John was completing his work, he said: 'Who do you think I am? I am not that one. No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.'
26"Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. 27The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. 28Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30But God raised him from the dead, 31and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.
32"We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers 33he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:
" 'You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.[c]'[d] 34The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words:
" 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.'[e] 35So it is stated elsewhere:
" 'You will not let your Holy One see decay.'[f]
36"For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. 37But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.
38"Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. 40Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:
41" 'Look, you scoffers,
wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
that you would never believe,
even if someone told you.'[g]"
42As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying.
46Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
" 'I have made you[h] a light for the Gentiles,
that you[i] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'[j]"
48When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
49The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Ephesians 4:17-24 (New International Version)
Living as Children of Light
17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
July 20, 2009
Small Step—Giant Leap
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READ: Ephesians 4:17-24
Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. —Ephesians 4:23
In July 1969, I was at Fort Benning, Georgia, training to become a US Army officer. Infantry Officer Candidate School was intense and highly regimented with only rare moments of free time. Surprisingly, on the evening of July 20, we were ordered to our company Day Room, seated in front of a flickering television set, and told simply, “This is history.”
Amazed, we watched Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong become the first human to set foot on the moon as he said, “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” Our usual curfew was suspended and we talked late into the night—not only about what we had witnessed but about life, God, and eternity. Our demanding routine had been interrupted, and our attention was shifted to what truly matters.
All of us need to shift our focus on a daily basis. Maintaining a regular time alone with God allows us to step away from our demanding jobs, break the routine, and concentrate on Him through the Bible and prayer. Our thoughts and actions will change as we follow Paul’s urging to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Eph. 4:23).
What may seem like a small step can be a giant leap each day in our life of faith in Christ. — David C. McCasland
A small step is a giant leap
In growth and faith each day
If this step is your time with God
To read His Word and pray. —Sper
Each small step of faith is a giant step of growth.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 20, 2009
Dependent on God’s Presence
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READ:
Those who wait on the Lord . . . shall walk and not faint —Isaiah 40:31
There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all of our steady and enduring qualities. To "walk and not faint" is the highest stretch possible as a measure of strength. The word walk is used in the Bible to express the character of a person— ". . . John . . . looking at Jesus as He walked. . . said, ’Behold the Lamb of God!’ " ( John 1:35-36 ). There is nothing abstract or obscure in the Bible; everything is vivid and real. God does not say, "Be spiritual," but He says, "Walk before Me. . ." ( Genesis 17:1 ).
When we are in an unhealthy condition either physically or emotionally, we always look for thrills in life. In our physical life this leads to our efforts to counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit; in our emotional life it leads to obsessions and to the destruction of our morality; and in our spiritual life, if we insist on pursuing only thrills, on mounting up "with wings like eagles" ( Isaiah 40:31 ), it will result in the destruction of our spirituality.
Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence. The experience the psalmist speaks of— "We will not fear, even though . . ." ( Psalm 46:2 )— will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the reality of God’s presence, not just a simple awareness of it, but an understanding of the reality of it. Then we will exclaim, "He has been here all the time!" At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, "Oh, Lord, direct me in this, and in that." Of course He will, and in fact, He is doing it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Most Agonizing Race of All - #5876
Monday, July 20, 2009
"The wall." I don't know what you think of when I say that; maybe it's the surface you're looking at across the room, or maybe you think about the Berlin Wall that used to separate East and West Berlin. If you're a marathon runner, I'm pretty sure what you think of when you think about "the wall" is that point in a grueling 26-mile run where you feel like your body is shutting down and you can't go another step. You've used up most of what you body has to give, and everything in you seems to be saying, "Quit now!" But the champions don't.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Most Agonizing Race of All."
Champions hit the wall and they keep on running to the finish line, no matter how much they want to give it up. Finishing your race takes everything you've got and more, even if you're the Son of God - especially if you're the Son of God.
For three years of public ministry, Jesus had poured Himself out to meet the endless needs that were brought to Him, often with amazing miracles. He lived a life that was so perfect that even His enemies couldn't find anything wrong with Him, even after watching Him day and night. And He had given Himself fully to teaching the truths of His kingdom everywhere He went. He ran a perfect race.
But He hit the wall in the last lap, in a garden called Gethsemane; named after the olive press that crushed olives until the last of their juice had been squeezed out. Jesus knew that Judas, His betrayer, would soon be arriving with troops who were coming to arrest Him for the mock trial that would end in His brutal beating, and then in His crucifixion. As we watch Jesus hit the wall in this most agonizing race any man has ever run, I want you to remember He did not have to do this. He chose to do it. He chose to do it for you.
In Luke 22, beginning with verse 41, our word for today from the Word of God, we read that "He knelt down and prayed, 'Father if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.'...And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." A doctor friend explained to me that sweating blood is a condition known today as hemadrosis - capillaries, in essence, exploding from unbearable stress. Was it the nails that Jesus was agonizing over? Or the spear they would thrust into His side? Not ultimately.
The horror that Jesus dreaded was having all the shame and degradation and destruction of your sin and mine heaped on Him on that cross. He would experience, in a brutally compressed period of time, all the eternal hell of every one of us - worst of all, the chill of having God the Father turn His back on His Son because of your sin and mine. But Jesus finished that race, in spite of unbearable, hellish suffering for you. And just before He breathed His last, He shouted triumphantly from that cross, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). Everything needed to forgive the sin of your life and get you into God's heaven - finished as Jesus died.
The greatest tragedy of all would be if somehow you missed all He died for and you ended up in the hell that He died to save you from. But you have to take for yourself what He died to give you. You abandon all your faith in your religion, or your goodness, or anything else and you give yourself totally in total faith to Jesus Christ. The stakes of this choice are so high, they are so eternal, that it does not make sense to risk one more day without Jesus. Do you want to belong to Him? You want to be sure you do? You want to get this done and begin this relationship, would you say to Him, "Jesus, I am Yours. I'm not running things anymore. You died for me. I belong to You. I do it your way from today on."
If you'd like to know more about how to be sure you belong to Him, check out our website will you? Will you just go to YoursForLife.net. That's what it's there for. Make sure that you've surrendered to His love, because to miss Him is an awful, eternal mistake.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 20
The Branch and the Vine
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine.
John 15:4 (NCV)
God wants to be as close to us as a branch is to a vine. One is an extension of the other. It's impossible to tell where one starts and the other ends. The branch isn't connected only at the moment of bearing fruit. The gardener doesn't keep the branches in a box and then, on the day he wants grapes, glue them to the vine. No, the branch constantly draws nutrition from the vine....
God also uses the temple to depict the intimacy he desires. "Don't you know," Paul writes, "that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?" (1 Cor. 6:19 TEV). Think with me about the temple for a moment....God didn't come and go, appear and disappear. He was a permanent presence, always available.
What incredibly good news for us! We are NEVER away from God!
Acts 13
Barnabas and Saul Sent Off
1In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
On Cyprus
4The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
6They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10"You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun."
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
In Pisidian Antioch
13From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak."
16Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, 18he endured their conduct[b] for about forty years in the desert, 19he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance. 20All this took about 450 years.
"After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'
23"From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25As John was completing his work, he said: 'Who do you think I am? I am not that one. No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.'
26"Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. 27The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. 28Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30But God raised him from the dead, 31and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.
32"We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers 33he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:
" 'You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.[c]'[d] 34The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words:
" 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.'[e] 35So it is stated elsewhere:
" 'You will not let your Holy One see decay.'[f]
36"For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. 37But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.
38"Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. 40Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:
41" 'Look, you scoffers,
wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
that you would never believe,
even if someone told you.'[g]"
42As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying.
46Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
" 'I have made you[h] a light for the Gentiles,
that you[i] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'[j]"
48When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
49The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Ephesians 4:17-24 (New International Version)
Living as Children of Light
17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
July 20, 2009
Small Step—Giant Leap
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READ: Ephesians 4:17-24
Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. —Ephesians 4:23
In July 1969, I was at Fort Benning, Georgia, training to become a US Army officer. Infantry Officer Candidate School was intense and highly regimented with only rare moments of free time. Surprisingly, on the evening of July 20, we were ordered to our company Day Room, seated in front of a flickering television set, and told simply, “This is history.”
Amazed, we watched Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong become the first human to set foot on the moon as he said, “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” Our usual curfew was suspended and we talked late into the night—not only about what we had witnessed but about life, God, and eternity. Our demanding routine had been interrupted, and our attention was shifted to what truly matters.
All of us need to shift our focus on a daily basis. Maintaining a regular time alone with God allows us to step away from our demanding jobs, break the routine, and concentrate on Him through the Bible and prayer. Our thoughts and actions will change as we follow Paul’s urging to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Eph. 4:23).
What may seem like a small step can be a giant leap each day in our life of faith in Christ. — David C. McCasland
A small step is a giant leap
In growth and faith each day
If this step is your time with God
To read His Word and pray. —Sper
Each small step of faith is a giant step of growth.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 20, 2009
Dependent on God’s Presence
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READ:
Those who wait on the Lord . . . shall walk and not faint —Isaiah 40:31
There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all of our steady and enduring qualities. To "walk and not faint" is the highest stretch possible as a measure of strength. The word walk is used in the Bible to express the character of a person— ". . . John . . . looking at Jesus as He walked. . . said, ’Behold the Lamb of God!’ " ( John 1:35-36 ). There is nothing abstract or obscure in the Bible; everything is vivid and real. God does not say, "Be spiritual," but He says, "Walk before Me. . ." ( Genesis 17:1 ).
When we are in an unhealthy condition either physically or emotionally, we always look for thrills in life. In our physical life this leads to our efforts to counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit; in our emotional life it leads to obsessions and to the destruction of our morality; and in our spiritual life, if we insist on pursuing only thrills, on mounting up "with wings like eagles" ( Isaiah 40:31 ), it will result in the destruction of our spirituality.
Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence. The experience the psalmist speaks of— "We will not fear, even though . . ." ( Psalm 46:2 )— will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the reality of God’s presence, not just a simple awareness of it, but an understanding of the reality of it. Then we will exclaim, "He has been here all the time!" At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, "Oh, Lord, direct me in this, and in that." Of course He will, and in fact, He is doing it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Most Agonizing Race of All - #5876
Monday, July 20, 2009
"The wall." I don't know what you think of when I say that; maybe it's the surface you're looking at across the room, or maybe you think about the Berlin Wall that used to separate East and West Berlin. If you're a marathon runner, I'm pretty sure what you think of when you think about "the wall" is that point in a grueling 26-mile run where you feel like your body is shutting down and you can't go another step. You've used up most of what you body has to give, and everything in you seems to be saying, "Quit now!" But the champions don't.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Most Agonizing Race of All."
Champions hit the wall and they keep on running to the finish line, no matter how much they want to give it up. Finishing your race takes everything you've got and more, even if you're the Son of God - especially if you're the Son of God.
For three years of public ministry, Jesus had poured Himself out to meet the endless needs that were brought to Him, often with amazing miracles. He lived a life that was so perfect that even His enemies couldn't find anything wrong with Him, even after watching Him day and night. And He had given Himself fully to teaching the truths of His kingdom everywhere He went. He ran a perfect race.
But He hit the wall in the last lap, in a garden called Gethsemane; named after the olive press that crushed olives until the last of their juice had been squeezed out. Jesus knew that Judas, His betrayer, would soon be arriving with troops who were coming to arrest Him for the mock trial that would end in His brutal beating, and then in His crucifixion. As we watch Jesus hit the wall in this most agonizing race any man has ever run, I want you to remember He did not have to do this. He chose to do it. He chose to do it for you.
In Luke 22, beginning with verse 41, our word for today from the Word of God, we read that "He knelt down and prayed, 'Father if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.'...And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." A doctor friend explained to me that sweating blood is a condition known today as hemadrosis - capillaries, in essence, exploding from unbearable stress. Was it the nails that Jesus was agonizing over? Or the spear they would thrust into His side? Not ultimately.
The horror that Jesus dreaded was having all the shame and degradation and destruction of your sin and mine heaped on Him on that cross. He would experience, in a brutally compressed period of time, all the eternal hell of every one of us - worst of all, the chill of having God the Father turn His back on His Son because of your sin and mine. But Jesus finished that race, in spite of unbearable, hellish suffering for you. And just before He breathed His last, He shouted triumphantly from that cross, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). Everything needed to forgive the sin of your life and get you into God's heaven - finished as Jesus died.
The greatest tragedy of all would be if somehow you missed all He died for and you ended up in the hell that He died to save you from. But you have to take for yourself what He died to give you. You abandon all your faith in your religion, or your goodness, or anything else and you give yourself totally in total faith to Jesus Christ. The stakes of this choice are so high, they are so eternal, that it does not make sense to risk one more day without Jesus. Do you want to belong to Him? You want to be sure you do? You want to get this done and begin this relationship, would you say to Him, "Jesus, I am Yours. I'm not running things anymore. You died for me. I belong to You. I do it your way from today on."
If you'd like to know more about how to be sure you belong to Him, check out our website will you? Will you just go to YoursForLife.net. That's what it's there for. Make sure that you've surrendered to His love, because to miss Him is an awful, eternal mistake.
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