Max Lucado Daily: Ambition
The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. Job 28:28, NKJV
Ambition is that grit in the soul that creates disenchantment with the ordinary and puts the dare into dreams.
But left unchecked it becomes an insatiable addiction to power and prestige; a roaring hunger for achievement that devours people as a lion devours an animal, leaving behind only the skeletal remains of relationships ...
God won’t tolerate it.
Psalm 63[a]
A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.
1 You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Leviticus 19:11-18
11 “‘Do not steal.
“‘Do not lie.
“‘Do not deceive one another.
12 “‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
13 “‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.
“‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.
14 “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.
15 “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.
17 “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.
18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Zero Tolerance
October 27, 2011 — by Marvin Williams
You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people. —Leviticus 19:16
When Shayla McKnight applied for a job for an online printing company, she was surprised to learn that they had a zero-tolerance policy for gossip. The employees are encouraged to confront one another, instead of gossip about their fellow employees. If employees are caught gossiping, they are reprimanded, and if they continue, they are fired.
Long before this kind of policy was ever implemented by a company, God spoke of His own zero-tolerance policy for gossip and slander among His people (Lev. 19:16). Idle talk that foolishly or maliciously spreads rumors or facts about another person was forbidden.
Solomon said that speaking badly of others could have disastrous effects. It betrays confidence (Prov. 11:13), separates close friends (16:28; 17:9), shames and saddles you with a bad reputation (25:9-10), and perpetually fuels the embers of a quarrel (26:20-22). People rarely can undo the damage their untrue words have done to a neighbor.
Let’s ask the Lord to help us not to engage in harmful talk about others. He wants us to set a guard over our mouths so that we’ll instead speak all the good we know about everybody.
Many things that others say
Are not for us to tell;
Help us, Lord, to watch our tongue—
We need to guard it well. —Branon
Destroy gossip by ignoring it.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 27, 2011
The Method of Missions
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . . —Matthew 28:19
Jesus Christ did not say, “Go and save souls” (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but He said, “Go . . . make disciples of all the nations . . . .” Yet you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. When the disciples returned from their first mission, they were filled with joy because even the demons were subject to them. But Jesus said, in effect, “Don’t rejoice in successful service— the great secret of joy is that you have the right relationship with Me” (see Luke 10:17-20). The missionary’s great essential is remaining true to the call of God, and realizing that his one and only purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus. Remember that there is a passion for souls that does not come from God, but from our desire to make converts to our point of view.
The challenge to the missionary does not come from the fact that people are difficult to bring to salvation, that backsliders are difficult to reclaim, or that there is a barrier of callous indifference. No, the challenge comes from the perspective of the missionary’s own personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28). Our Lord unwaveringly asks us that question, and it confronts us in every individual situation we encounter. The one great challenge to us is— do I know my risen Lord? Do I know the power of His indwelling Spirit? Am I wise enough in God’s sight, but foolish enough according to the wisdom of the world, to trust in what Jesus Christ has said? Or am I abandoning the great supernatural position of limitless confidence in Christ Jesus, which is really God’s only call for a missionary? If I follow any other method, I depart altogether from the methods prescribed by our Lord— “All authority has been given to Me . . . . Gotherefore. . .” (Matthew 28:18-19).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Big Men, Big Mistakes - #6469
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Wait! I thought Humpty Dumpty was just a nursery rhyme. You know, the big egg who sat on a wall, but had a great fall. Turns out he's got a lot of company these days--sitting on a high wall, and smashed by a big fall.
Take one of the world's most powerful financial figures, for example, in a $3,000-a-night Manhattan hotel suite one night, and then the next night, in a tough New York jail. He stood accused of serious sexual violation of a hotel maid. Now, those accusations had to be proven in court, but they did resonate with a reputation for mixing power with sexual aggression.
But then that story isn't what we want to focus on. That's just the latest of many high-profile stories of a powerful man who has taken a precipitous Dumpty crash. You can think about athletes, politicians, financial high-rollers, yeah, and even prominent men in ministry.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Big Men, Big Mistakes."
Now, at the root is a time-bomb mindset identified by a man who knows this scenario all too well--Tiger Woods. After his darkest secrets spilled out of the closets for all the world to see, here's what he said: "I convinced myself that normal rules didn't apply. I felt I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me." Now, listen to this key word: "I felt I was entitled."
Entitlement: that's the gateway to moral disaster. "My position means the rules don't apply to me. I have a right to go out of bounds." You know, in 2 Chronicles 26:16, our word for today from the Word of God, The Jewish king Uzziah had led his nation to a new pinnacle of greatness, all the while, he was deeply reliant on God until it says, "He became successful" and "pride became his downfall." He walked into the temple and began to take privileges that God had clearly given only to His priests. And like Icarus flying too close to the sun, Uzziah came crashing down.
Even the great King David must have felt that he'd won so many victories and done so much good that, well; he was entitled to sex with the wife of a trusted friend. His life was never the same.
It's just all too easy to succumb to that feeling of entitlement. Some feel entitled because of the position they've achieved, or some because of the pressures they face. "If you only knew what I'm going through." Some because of the pain they're going through. It can be a high-flying leader, a lonely wife, a much-loved pastor, or a very busy, very tired man. Entitled to some relief, some attention, some affection, some stolen pleasure, some reward, a spiritual "day off." And it is those detours at Entitlement Junction where lives and families and reputations and ministries are ripped apart.
God really is "no respecter of persons." And, as Warren Wiersbe says, "A lifetime of obedience will not buy you one hour of disobedience." Just ask King David.
God's made it clear "your sin will find you out." He loves you too much to let you keep getting away with what will ultimately destroy you. We have to build our walls high around the places where we're vulnerable. And fall to our knees in repentance where we've strayed out of bounds before any more damage is done.
Sins of entitlement are not just some harmless "three-hour tour." They're a surging tide that will carry you and those you love right onto the rocks.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Luke 22, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Miracles Await
Don’t judge other people or you will be judged. Matthew 7:1
Rather than see the man born blind as an opportunity for discussion, Jesus saw him as an opportunity for God. Why was he blind? “So God’s power could be shown in him” (John 9:3).
What a perspective! The man wasn’t a victim of fate; he was a miracle waiting to happen. Jesus didn’t label him. He helped him. Jesus was more concerned about the future than the past.
Luke 22:47-71
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Arrested
47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”
Peter Disowns Jesus
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”
57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.
58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.
59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
The Guards Mock Jesus
63 The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” 65 And they said many other insulting things to him.
Jesus Before Pilate and Herod
66 At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67 “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.”
Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68 and if I asked you, you would not answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”
70 They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”
He replied, “You say that I am.”
71 Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 131
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 My heart is not proud, LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.
3 Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.
Why Me?
October 28, 2011 — by David H. Roper
The secret things belong to the Lord our God. —Deuteronomy 29:29
Recently I read Psalm 131, one of my favorite psalms. In the past, I viewed it as an encouragement to understand that mystery is one of the hallmarks of God’s character. It challenged me to let my mind be at rest, since I am unable to understand all that God is doing in His universe.
But then I saw another side of David’s calm spirit: I am unable to understand all that God is doing in me, and it is impossible to try.
David draws a comparison between a weaned child that no longer frets for what it once demanded, and a soul that has learned the same lesson. It is a call to learn humility, patient endurance, and contentment in all my circumstances—whatever they are—though I do not understand God’s reasons. Divine logic is beyond the grasp of my mind.
I ask, “Why this affliction? Why this anguish?” The Father answers, “Hush, child. You wouldn’t understand if I explained it to you. Just trust Me!”
So, I turn from contemplating David’s example to ask myself: Can I, in my circumstances, “hope in the Lord”? (v.3). Can I wait in faith and patience without fretting and without questioning God’s wisdom? Can I trust Him while He works in me His good, acceptable, and perfect will?
It may not be for me to see
The meaning and the mystery
Of all that God has planned for me
Till “afterward”! —Anon.
In a world of mystery, it’s a comfort
to know the God who knows all things.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 28, 2011
Justification by Faith
If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life —Romans 5:10
I am not saved by believing— I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance that saves me— repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural miracle of God’s grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, or because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings justification with a shattering, radiant light, and I know that I am saved, even though I don’t know how it was accomplished.
The salvation that comes from God is not based on human logic, but on the sacrificial death of Jesus. We can be born again solely because of the atonement of our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creations, not through their repentance or their belief, but through the wonderful work of God in Christ Jesus which preceded all of our experience (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19). The unconquerable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We do not have to accomplish these things ourselves— they have been accomplished through the atonement of the Cross of Christ. The supernatural becomes natural to us through the miracle of God, and there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done— “It is finished!” (John 19:30).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Question That Settles the Questions - #6470
Friday, October 28, 2011
Well, as the years go by, we get more and more perspective on the presidency of Ronald Reagan. For example, people who were in his administration began writing books like crazy, telling everything they knew. And people, you know, have started to feel free to tell us what they saw, what they heard, especially behind the scenes.
It's kind of interesting to learn about the late President's style of leadership. One of his close associates told us about some of the major decisions that President Reagan had to make and how he approached them. He said, "When the decision was particularly tough, President Reagan would ask a key question." Now, don't laugh; this is serious. "What would John Wayne do?" That's right. Oh, now, we can laugh and say, "Oh, come on! What would John Wayne do?"
Well, whether or not you agree with all of President Reagan's decisions, I think we have to agree he made some good ones along the way that helped part of our economy, and helped resolve some very difficult international conflicts, and changed the world. Now, I don't know how much the John Wayne question contributed to the process, but President Reagan was on the track of the right kind of question anyway. Not just for his decisions, but for the ones that you're facing right now.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Question That Settles the Questions."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Peter 2:21, "To this you were called..." Wow! Okay, I guess here's your destiny. This is an important verse. "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps." Actually that word example in the original Greek in the New Testament? It's the word for the copy head that was on the top of a child's slate when he was learning to do the alphabet. So, like you make an A like the A you see at the top on the copy head. You make your B like the B at the top, and it will come out just right.
Well, this passage was written to some slaves with harsh masters. Now how should they respond? This is an unfair, painful situation they were in. Basically, Peter says, "Do what Jesus would do; copy Him. He gave you an example, now follow in His steps," which suggests the question that settles so many of life's questions. Not what would John Wayne do, with all respects to Ronald Reagan, but "What would Jesus do?"
Charles Sheldon wrote one of the great classics of Christian fiction years ago called In His Steps after the words of this verse. It was about a community that was transformed because the people in one church made their bottom line that question, "What would Jesus do?" And the publisher of the newspaper said, "Okay, what would Jesus do in a newspaper?" And a wealthy lady said, "Well, what would Jesus do about the poor in this town?" And the pastor said, "What would Jesus preach about?" And an ambitious musician said, "What would Jesus do?" And it changed everything. It literally is your destiny to live by that simple question, "What would Jesus do?"
Put Jesus into the choices you're facing now. What would Jesus do in that business transaction you're in the middle of? How would He respond to that difficult person? How would He respond to that stressful situation? What would Jesus do if He knew about the wrong thing that's going on; the one that you know about? What would He do about that need that you could do something about? What would He do about the poor people in your community? What would He do about the lost people you know? What would Jesus do? Start to pray that way. I think a lot of the fog in your decisions will start to clear. It will simplify greatly what could otherwise be a confusing decision.
And then risk it! Have the courage to do what Jesus would do. What would John Wayne do? Well, that's a little shaky basis for a decision. But what would Jesus do? If that's your bottom line all day every day, you won't go wrong.
Don’t judge other people or you will be judged. Matthew 7:1
Rather than see the man born blind as an opportunity for discussion, Jesus saw him as an opportunity for God. Why was he blind? “So God’s power could be shown in him” (John 9:3).
What a perspective! The man wasn’t a victim of fate; he was a miracle waiting to happen. Jesus didn’t label him. He helped him. Jesus was more concerned about the future than the past.
Luke 22:47-71
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Arrested
47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”
Peter Disowns Jesus
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”
57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.
58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.
59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
The Guards Mock Jesus
63 The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” 65 And they said many other insulting things to him.
Jesus Before Pilate and Herod
66 At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67 “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.”
Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68 and if I asked you, you would not answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”
70 They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”
He replied, “You say that I am.”
71 Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 131
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 My heart is not proud, LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.
3 Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.
Why Me?
October 28, 2011 — by David H. Roper
The secret things belong to the Lord our God. —Deuteronomy 29:29
Recently I read Psalm 131, one of my favorite psalms. In the past, I viewed it as an encouragement to understand that mystery is one of the hallmarks of God’s character. It challenged me to let my mind be at rest, since I am unable to understand all that God is doing in His universe.
But then I saw another side of David’s calm spirit: I am unable to understand all that God is doing in me, and it is impossible to try.
David draws a comparison between a weaned child that no longer frets for what it once demanded, and a soul that has learned the same lesson. It is a call to learn humility, patient endurance, and contentment in all my circumstances—whatever they are—though I do not understand God’s reasons. Divine logic is beyond the grasp of my mind.
I ask, “Why this affliction? Why this anguish?” The Father answers, “Hush, child. You wouldn’t understand if I explained it to you. Just trust Me!”
So, I turn from contemplating David’s example to ask myself: Can I, in my circumstances, “hope in the Lord”? (v.3). Can I wait in faith and patience without fretting and without questioning God’s wisdom? Can I trust Him while He works in me His good, acceptable, and perfect will?
It may not be for me to see
The meaning and the mystery
Of all that God has planned for me
Till “afterward”! —Anon.
In a world of mystery, it’s a comfort
to know the God who knows all things.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 28, 2011
Justification by Faith
If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life —Romans 5:10
I am not saved by believing— I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance that saves me— repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural miracle of God’s grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, or because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings justification with a shattering, radiant light, and I know that I am saved, even though I don’t know how it was accomplished.
The salvation that comes from God is not based on human logic, but on the sacrificial death of Jesus. We can be born again solely because of the atonement of our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creations, not through their repentance or their belief, but through the wonderful work of God in Christ Jesus which preceded all of our experience (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19). The unconquerable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We do not have to accomplish these things ourselves— they have been accomplished through the atonement of the Cross of Christ. The supernatural becomes natural to us through the miracle of God, and there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done— “It is finished!” (John 19:30).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Question That Settles the Questions - #6470
Friday, October 28, 2011
Well, as the years go by, we get more and more perspective on the presidency of Ronald Reagan. For example, people who were in his administration began writing books like crazy, telling everything they knew. And people, you know, have started to feel free to tell us what they saw, what they heard, especially behind the scenes.
It's kind of interesting to learn about the late President's style of leadership. One of his close associates told us about some of the major decisions that President Reagan had to make and how he approached them. He said, "When the decision was particularly tough, President Reagan would ask a key question." Now, don't laugh; this is serious. "What would John Wayne do?" That's right. Oh, now, we can laugh and say, "Oh, come on! What would John Wayne do?"
Well, whether or not you agree with all of President Reagan's decisions, I think we have to agree he made some good ones along the way that helped part of our economy, and helped resolve some very difficult international conflicts, and changed the world. Now, I don't know how much the John Wayne question contributed to the process, but President Reagan was on the track of the right kind of question anyway. Not just for his decisions, but for the ones that you're facing right now.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Question That Settles the Questions."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Peter 2:21, "To this you were called..." Wow! Okay, I guess here's your destiny. This is an important verse. "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps." Actually that word example in the original Greek in the New Testament? It's the word for the copy head that was on the top of a child's slate when he was learning to do the alphabet. So, like you make an A like the A you see at the top on the copy head. You make your B like the B at the top, and it will come out just right.
Well, this passage was written to some slaves with harsh masters. Now how should they respond? This is an unfair, painful situation they were in. Basically, Peter says, "Do what Jesus would do; copy Him. He gave you an example, now follow in His steps," which suggests the question that settles so many of life's questions. Not what would John Wayne do, with all respects to Ronald Reagan, but "What would Jesus do?"
Charles Sheldon wrote one of the great classics of Christian fiction years ago called In His Steps after the words of this verse. It was about a community that was transformed because the people in one church made their bottom line that question, "What would Jesus do?" And the publisher of the newspaper said, "Okay, what would Jesus do in a newspaper?" And a wealthy lady said, "Well, what would Jesus do about the poor in this town?" And the pastor said, "What would Jesus preach about?" And an ambitious musician said, "What would Jesus do?" And it changed everything. It literally is your destiny to live by that simple question, "What would Jesus do?"
Put Jesus into the choices you're facing now. What would Jesus do in that business transaction you're in the middle of? How would He respond to that difficult person? How would He respond to that stressful situation? What would Jesus do if He knew about the wrong thing that's going on; the one that you know about? What would He do about that need that you could do something about? What would He do about the poor people in your community? What would He do about the lost people you know? What would Jesus do? Start to pray that way. I think a lot of the fog in your decisions will start to clear. It will simplify greatly what could otherwise be a confusing decision.
And then risk it! Have the courage to do what Jesus would do. What would John Wayne do? Well, that's a little shaky basis for a decision. But what would Jesus do? If that's your bottom line all day every day, you won't go wrong.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Psalm 54, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: A Holy Gift
Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross. I Peter 2:24
In an act that broke the heart of the Father, yet honored the holiness of heaven, sin-purging judgment flowed over the sinless Son of the ages.
And heaven gave earth her finest gift. The Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world.
“My God, my God, why did you abandon me?” Why did Christ scream those words?
So you’ll never have to.
Psalm 54[a]
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil[b] of David. When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hiding among us?”
1 Save me, O God, by your name;
vindicate me by your might.
2 Hear my prayer, O God;
listen to the words of my mouth.
3 Arrogant foes are attacking me;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
people without regard for God.[c]
4 Surely God is my help;
the Lord is the one who sustains me.
5 Let evil recoil on those who slander me;
in your faithfulness destroy them.
6 I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;
I will praise your name, LORD, for it is good.
7 You have delivered me from all my troubles,
and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Acts 16:9-31
9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi
11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district[a] of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
Paul and Silas in Prison
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Divine Appointments
October 26, 2011 — by Dave Branon
Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. —Acts 16:25
Have you ever been stuck in an airport? For 24 hours? In a city where you can’t speak the language? Four thousand miles from home?
It happened to a friend recently, and we can learn from his response. While most of us would find such an inconvenience intolerable, my friend John saw God’s hand in his delay. As he waited out his forced stay, he looked for opportunities to connect with fellow passengers. He “happened” to find some fellow Christians from India—and in talking to them he heard about a ministry they were involved with. In fact, because John’s interests matched his new friends’ ministry, they invited him to India to participate in a short-term project.
How often do we experience delays, changes of plans, and redirections and treat them as intrusions? It could be that God is detouring us so we can do something different or new for Him. Consider Paul’s trip to Philippi in Acts 16. He had gone to Macedonia because of a God-directed vision (vv.9-10). How could he know that he would end up in prison there? But even that trip to jail was God-led, because He used Paul to bring salvation to a jailer and his family (vv.25-34).
God can use inconveniences in our lives if we look at them as divine appointments.
“Disappointment—His appointment,”
Change one letter, then I see
That the thwarting of my purpose
Is God’s better choice for me. —Young
God can turn obstacles into opportunities.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
What is a Missionary?
Jesus said to them again, ’. . . As the Father has sent Me, I also send you’ —John 20:21
A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God. The great controlling factor is not the needs of people, but the command of Jesus. The source of our inspiration in our service for God is behind us, not ahead of us. The tendency today is to put the inspiration out in front— to sweep everything together in front of us and make it conform to our definition of success. But in the New Testament the inspiration is put behind us, and is the Lord Jesus Himself. The goal is to be true to Him— to carry out His plans.
Personal attachment to the Lord Jesus and to His perspective is the one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary work the great danger is that God’s call will be replaced by the needs of the people, to the point that human sympathy for those needs will absolutely overwhelm the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, and the conditions so difficult, that every power of the mind falters and fails. We tend to forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary work is not primarily the elevation of the people, their education, nor their needs, but is first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ— “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . .” (Matthew 28:19).
When looking back on the lives of men and women of God, the tendency is to say, “What wonderfully keen and intelligent wisdom they had, and how perfectly they understood all that God wanted!” But the keen and intelligent mind behind them was the mind of God, not human wisdom at all. We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the divine guidance of God being exhibited through childlike people who were “foolish” enough to trust God’s wisdom and His supernatural equipment.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Still There After the Storm - #6468
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The land is flat around Joplin, Missouri. And then after the great tornado that hit there, much of the town was leveled by that F-5. It was just heartbreaking devastation as far as the eye could see. But you know what? In the midst of all that devastation, there was still one thing still standing. A reporter commented on it as the camera scanned across this sea of wreckage, and you couldn't miss it. It was a cross, and his words went right to my heart, "The church is gone, but the cross is still standing."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Still There After the Storm."
My mind flashed back to a brutally painful funeral that I attended years ago. It was on Indian reservation; it was in this windswept graveyard out in kind of the middle of nowhere. The young man we buried died a sudden and violent death. He had been on one of our Native teams. And as Indian men filed by that open grave to throw a handful of dirt on a coffin, I watched that young man's brother, who we knew and loved very well too, do something he seldom if ever did. He was weeping.
But there was a simple rugged, wooden cross at the head of that open grave. And this grieving brother was hanging onto that cross and hugging it like it was his only hope. His brother was gone, but the cross was still standing. It was still there for him to hang onto with everything he had.
Well, our word for today from the Word of God is from Hebrews 6:19. The cross of Jesus has been, for millions, the only hope still standing after the storm has leveled everything else. I've seen it more times than I can count. The love of your life is gone, but the cross is still there. Your health is gone, your job is gone, your money is gone, your anchor person is gone, all medical hope is gone, but still, there is in Jesus as it says in this verse, "...this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."
The cross still stands, proclaiming that God still loves me when it's too dark to see His face. The cross is there, assuring me I am forgiven when the guilt and the regret are trying to drag me into their pit. The cross remains, reminding me that Jesus has beaten death when death seems to be winning. The cross stands tall, declaring "This is not the end. There is a future beyond this darkness, and I'll be there to build that future with you."
I wonder if you have ever personally gone to that cross where Jesus loved you so very much that He bled and died for your sin. Have you ever gone there and said those two words that make this cross your anchor; your one sure thing to say, "Jesus, for me"? In the words of the Bible, "He loved me and gave Himself for me." Have you ever gone and said, "Jesus, I believe that what You did was for my sin, and I no longer want to live one more day without You in my life. I want to be forgiven, and only You can do that. I want to go to heaven, and only You can take me there. I want the hole in my heart filled, and it was made by You and for You, and only You can fill it. So, Jesus, beginning today I'm yours."
I've put on our website in several forms that you can read, or you can look at, or you can listen to some information there that will show you how to begin life's most important relationship on the road to that cross and on the road to being forgiven. The website is YoursForLife.net. Please check it out today.
Oh yeah, life has its nearly unbearable Good Fridays. But Good Friday isn't the end. Remember, it's the long night before the blazing sun of Easter.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
1 Samuel 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Saved by Faith
Be a worker who is not ashamed and who uses the true teaching in the right way. 2 Timothy 2:15
Timothy never had another teacher like Paul. The world has never had another teacher like Paul. He was convinced of two facts—he was once lost but then saved. He spent a lifetime telling every person who would listen.
In the end it cost him everything. For in the end, all he had was his faith. But in the end, his faith was all he needed.
1 Samuel 23
David Saves Keilah
1 When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,” 2 he inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”
The LORD answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”
3 But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!”
4 Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.” 5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. 6 (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelek had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)
Saul Pursues David
7 Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.” 8 And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.
9 When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” 10 David said, “LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant.”
And the LORD said, “He will.”
12 Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?”
And the LORD said, “They will.”
13 So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.
14 David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.
15 While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that[a] Saul had come out to take his life. 16 And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 17 “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” 18 The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.
19 The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? 20 Now, Your Majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving him into your hands.”
21 Saul replied, “The LORD bless you for your concern for me. 22 Go and get more information. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty. 23 Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah.”
24 So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. 25 Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.
26 Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27 a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land.” 28 Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth.[b] 29 And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.[c]
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Esther 3:1-11; 7:1-10
Haman’s Plot to Destroy the Jews
1 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. 2 All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.
3 Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” 4 Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. 6 Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
7 In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on[a] the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
8 Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents[b] of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”
10 So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 “Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.”
Esther 7
Haman Impaled
1 So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, 2 and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”
3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. 4 For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.[a]”
5 King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?”
6 Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!”
Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7 The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.
8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.
The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”
As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits[b] stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”
The king said, “Impale him on it!” 10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.
Poetic Justice
October 25, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link
“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. —Romans 12:19
For nearly a year, a former publishing colleague lived under a cloud of fear that he would be fired. A new boss in the department, for reasons unknown, began filling his personnel file with negative comments. Then, on the day my friend expected to lose his job, the new boss was fired instead.
When the Israelites were taken as captives to Babylon, a Jew named Mordecai found himself in this kind of situation. Haman, the highest noble of King Xerxes, expected every royal official to kneel down and honor him, but Mordecai refused to bow to anyone but God (Est. 3:1-2). This outraged Haman and he set out to destroy not only Mordecai but every Jew in the whole Persian empire (vv.5-6). Haman convinced Xerxes to sign a decree authorizing the destruction of all Jews and started building a gallows for the execution of Mordecai (5:14). But, in a startling turn of events, Haman was executed on the gallows he had built for Mordecai, and the Jewish people were spared (7:9-10; 8).
In literature, this is called poetic justice. Not everyone gets justice in such dramatic fashion, but Scripture promises that God will one day avenge all injustice (Rom. 12:19). While we wait, we are to do what we can to work for justice and leave the results in God’s hands.
The call for justice must be strong
To show what’s right, to thwart what’s wrong,
But let’s reject the smallest part
Of vengeance harbored in the heart. —D. De Haan
The scales of Divine justice always balance—
if not here, then hereafter.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Submitting to God’s Purpose
I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some —1 Corinthians 9:22
A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. Never protest by saying, “If only I were somewhere else!” All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them. Unless we have the right purpose intellectually in our minds and lovingly in our hearts, we will very quickly be diverted from being useful to God. We are not workers for God by choice. Many people deliberately choose to be workers, but they have no purpose of God’s almighty grace or His mighty Word in them. Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul were consumed with the great purpose of what Jesus Christ came to do, and he never lost sight of that one thing. We must continually confront ourselves with one central fact— “. . . Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
“I chose you . . .” (John 15:16). Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose— that He may be able to say, “This is My man, and this is My woman.” We have to be in God’s hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ, just as He has placed us.
Never choose to be a worker, but once God has placed His call upon you, woe be to you if you “turn aside . . . to the right or the left . . .” (Deuteronomy 28:14). He will do with you what He never did before His call came to you, and He will do with you what He is not doing with other people. Let Him have His way.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Terminator - #6467
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
My three kids once gave me the most unique gift. It was called The Terminator. It wasn't as bad as it sounds. It was this little black, plastic control device. It looked sort of like uh...that remote control switch for a television, and it had three buttons on it. One said Missile Launcher, and when you press that button, it was supposed to make the appropriate sound of a missile being fired and exploding. Then you had a button for Machine Gun. And that had the appropriate rat-a-tat-tat of a machine gun. And if all else failed, you had the Death Ray. That was the other button, and it made sort of a surreal type of sound that lets you know that you've got the ultimate weapon in your hand.
Now, The Terminator was very helpful when you're behind slow traffic for example. Now, you wonder what the use is? Well, if the drivers in front of you were really making you impatient, you just launched a missile, or let go with your machine gun, or you hit them with a death ray. Now, it really didn't do anything, but it felt good. Or maybe someone was coming into your office or your house that you didn't want to see. All you need to do: hit that machine gun; get the message right away to them. It was terrific! Somebody was making big money providing us with this harmless weapon for letting out our frustrations. I actually have had a Terminator long before they gave me that gift. Actually, we all have a terminator, and it really terminates.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Terminator."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 12:18. It says this: "Reckless words pierce like a sword." It talks about the ability of our tongue and our words to cut very deeply. Now, the "cutter" seldom knows how deeply the "cut-ee" has been wounded or for how long that wound may last. We can all remember the names we've been called, we remember criticism that was been leveled against us, put-downs that were aimed our direction. You know what? I'll bet you the person who said them has long forgotten them, but they're still a part of our personality. Reckless words pierce like a sword; they go deep. In fact, so deep that Proverbs 18:21 goes on to say, "The tongue has the power of life and death."
All day long you and I are giving out life sentences and death sentences; sentences that either make people feel more alive or feel like they're dying inside. There are some life sentences like, "Man, you look great today!" Or, "Thanks for what you've been doing." Or, "You know, what you're doing is really important. How can I help you?"
But it's the death sentences I'm concerned about; the ones that make people feel like they're dying inside when we say them. We terminate people inwardly without even realizing it. In fact, research shows that it takes seven positives to bring a person back to zero from one negative they've had in their life.
I wonder if that's the ratio at your house. Do you have seven praises for every one negative? How about the rest of your relationships? We're piercing people deeply with the names we call them, the accusations against them, the put-downs, the sarcasm, the criticisms, even well intended criticisms. It's no wonder that David said to the Lord, "Put a watch in front of my mouth." We should too.
Oh, I could push buttons on my plastic terminator, and I can make some noises that did no real damage. But you and I have a real terminator. This tongue we've got is daily either making people feel more alive or more destroyed inside.
So, hold the put-downs, swallow the sarcasm, and cushion the criticism. Remember, your tongue can be The Terminator.
Be a worker who is not ashamed and who uses the true teaching in the right way. 2 Timothy 2:15
Timothy never had another teacher like Paul. The world has never had another teacher like Paul. He was convinced of two facts—he was once lost but then saved. He spent a lifetime telling every person who would listen.
In the end it cost him everything. For in the end, all he had was his faith. But in the end, his faith was all he needed.
1 Samuel 23
David Saves Keilah
1 When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,” 2 he inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”
The LORD answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”
3 But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!”
4 Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.” 5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. 6 (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelek had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)
Saul Pursues David
7 Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.” 8 And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.
9 When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” 10 David said, “LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant.”
And the LORD said, “He will.”
12 Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?”
And the LORD said, “They will.”
13 So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.
14 David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.
15 While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that[a] Saul had come out to take his life. 16 And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 17 “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” 18 The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.
19 The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? 20 Now, Your Majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving him into your hands.”
21 Saul replied, “The LORD bless you for your concern for me. 22 Go and get more information. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty. 23 Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah.”
24 So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. 25 Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.
26 Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27 a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land.” 28 Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth.[b] 29 And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.[c]
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Esther 3:1-11; 7:1-10
Haman’s Plot to Destroy the Jews
1 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. 2 All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.
3 Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” 4 Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. 6 Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
7 In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on[a] the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
8 Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents[b] of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”
10 So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 “Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.”
Esther 7
Haman Impaled
1 So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, 2 and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”
3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. 4 For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.[a]”
5 King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?”
6 Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!”
Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7 The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.
8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.
The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”
As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits[b] stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”
The king said, “Impale him on it!” 10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.
Poetic Justice
October 25, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link
“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. —Romans 12:19
For nearly a year, a former publishing colleague lived under a cloud of fear that he would be fired. A new boss in the department, for reasons unknown, began filling his personnel file with negative comments. Then, on the day my friend expected to lose his job, the new boss was fired instead.
When the Israelites were taken as captives to Babylon, a Jew named Mordecai found himself in this kind of situation. Haman, the highest noble of King Xerxes, expected every royal official to kneel down and honor him, but Mordecai refused to bow to anyone but God (Est. 3:1-2). This outraged Haman and he set out to destroy not only Mordecai but every Jew in the whole Persian empire (vv.5-6). Haman convinced Xerxes to sign a decree authorizing the destruction of all Jews and started building a gallows for the execution of Mordecai (5:14). But, in a startling turn of events, Haman was executed on the gallows he had built for Mordecai, and the Jewish people were spared (7:9-10; 8).
In literature, this is called poetic justice. Not everyone gets justice in such dramatic fashion, but Scripture promises that God will one day avenge all injustice (Rom. 12:19). While we wait, we are to do what we can to work for justice and leave the results in God’s hands.
The call for justice must be strong
To show what’s right, to thwart what’s wrong,
But let’s reject the smallest part
Of vengeance harbored in the heart. —D. De Haan
The scales of Divine justice always balance—
if not here, then hereafter.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Submitting to God’s Purpose
I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some —1 Corinthians 9:22
A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. Never protest by saying, “If only I were somewhere else!” All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them. Unless we have the right purpose intellectually in our minds and lovingly in our hearts, we will very quickly be diverted from being useful to God. We are not workers for God by choice. Many people deliberately choose to be workers, but they have no purpose of God’s almighty grace or His mighty Word in them. Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul were consumed with the great purpose of what Jesus Christ came to do, and he never lost sight of that one thing. We must continually confront ourselves with one central fact— “. . . Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
“I chose you . . .” (John 15:16). Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose— that He may be able to say, “This is My man, and this is My woman.” We have to be in God’s hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ, just as He has placed us.
Never choose to be a worker, but once God has placed His call upon you, woe be to you if you “turn aside . . . to the right or the left . . .” (Deuteronomy 28:14). He will do with you what He never did before His call came to you, and He will do with you what He is not doing with other people. Let Him have His way.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Terminator - #6467
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
My three kids once gave me the most unique gift. It was called The Terminator. It wasn't as bad as it sounds. It was this little black, plastic control device. It looked sort of like uh...that remote control switch for a television, and it had three buttons on it. One said Missile Launcher, and when you press that button, it was supposed to make the appropriate sound of a missile being fired and exploding. Then you had a button for Machine Gun. And that had the appropriate rat-a-tat-tat of a machine gun. And if all else failed, you had the Death Ray. That was the other button, and it made sort of a surreal type of sound that lets you know that you've got the ultimate weapon in your hand.
Now, The Terminator was very helpful when you're behind slow traffic for example. Now, you wonder what the use is? Well, if the drivers in front of you were really making you impatient, you just launched a missile, or let go with your machine gun, or you hit them with a death ray. Now, it really didn't do anything, but it felt good. Or maybe someone was coming into your office or your house that you didn't want to see. All you need to do: hit that machine gun; get the message right away to them. It was terrific! Somebody was making big money providing us with this harmless weapon for letting out our frustrations. I actually have had a Terminator long before they gave me that gift. Actually, we all have a terminator, and it really terminates.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Terminator."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 12:18. It says this: "Reckless words pierce like a sword." It talks about the ability of our tongue and our words to cut very deeply. Now, the "cutter" seldom knows how deeply the "cut-ee" has been wounded or for how long that wound may last. We can all remember the names we've been called, we remember criticism that was been leveled against us, put-downs that were aimed our direction. You know what? I'll bet you the person who said them has long forgotten them, but they're still a part of our personality. Reckless words pierce like a sword; they go deep. In fact, so deep that Proverbs 18:21 goes on to say, "The tongue has the power of life and death."
All day long you and I are giving out life sentences and death sentences; sentences that either make people feel more alive or feel like they're dying inside. There are some life sentences like, "Man, you look great today!" Or, "Thanks for what you've been doing." Or, "You know, what you're doing is really important. How can I help you?"
But it's the death sentences I'm concerned about; the ones that make people feel like they're dying inside when we say them. We terminate people inwardly without even realizing it. In fact, research shows that it takes seven positives to bring a person back to zero from one negative they've had in their life.
I wonder if that's the ratio at your house. Do you have seven praises for every one negative? How about the rest of your relationships? We're piercing people deeply with the names we call them, the accusations against them, the put-downs, the sarcasm, the criticisms, even well intended criticisms. It's no wonder that David said to the Lord, "Put a watch in front of my mouth." We should too.
Oh, I could push buttons on my plastic terminator, and I can make some noises that did no real damage. But you and I have a real terminator. This tongue we've got is daily either making people feel more alive or more destroyed inside.
So, hold the put-downs, swallow the sarcasm, and cushion the criticism. Remember, your tongue can be The Terminator.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Luke 22, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Encourage One Another
When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need—words that will help others become stronger. Ephesians 4:29
You have the ability, with your words, to make a person stronger. Your words are to their soul what a vitamin is to their body.
Do not withhold encouragement from the discouraged. Do not keep affirmation from the beaten down! Speak words that make people stronger. Believe in them as God has believed in you.
Luke 22:24-46
New International Version (NIV)
24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”
“Nothing,” they answered.
36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. 37 It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’[a]; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”
38 The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.”
“That’s enough!” he replied.
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[b]
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Jeremiah 20:7-13
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 You deceived[a] me, LORD, and I was deceived[b];
you overpowered me and prevailed.
I am ridiculed all day long;
everyone mocks me.
8 Whenever I speak, I cry out
proclaiming violence and destruction.
So the word of the LORD has brought me
insult and reproach all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word
or speak anymore in his name,”
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.
10 I hear many whispering,
“Terror on every side!
Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friends
are waiting for me to slip, saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we will prevail over him
and take our revenge on him.”
11 But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;
their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous
and probe the heart and mind,
let me see your vengeance on them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
13 Sing to the LORD!
Give praise to the LORD!
He rescues the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked.
Stuck In The Mire
October 24, 2011 — by Dennis Fisher
His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back. —Jeremiah 20:9
Jeremiah has been called “the weeping prophet.” He may have had a sensitive and melancholic disposition that was compounded by his heartbreak over God’s judgment on disobedient Israel. His capacity for sorrow is amazing: “Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night!” (Jer. 9:1).
As if sorrow for his nation were not enough, Jeremiah was persecuted for his prophetic message of judgment. In one instance, Jeremiah was imprisoned in a cistern filled with mire (Jer. 38:6). Opposition to his ministry had gotten the great prophet stuck in a place of despair.
Sometimes in our attempts to serve the Lord, we can feel stuck in painful circumstances and surprising heartache. But the prophet’s resilience should inspire us to persevere. Jeremiah’s sense of divine call was so strong that he could not be deterred from serving the Lord. “But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not” (Jer. 20:9).
Have the results of your service for the Lord been disappointing? Ask Him to renew your heart by His Spirit, and continue to serve God despite your setbacks.
Be not weary in your serving;
Do your best for those in need;
Kindnesses will be rewarded
By the Lord who prompts the deed. —Anon.
No service for Christ is insignificant.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, October 24, 2011
Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ . . . —2 Corinthians 2:14
The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.
The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose— to be captives marching in the procession of Christ’s triumphs. We are not on display in God’s showcase— we are here to exhibit only one thing— the “captivity [of our lives] to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). How small all the other perspectives are! For example, the ones that say, “I am standing all alone, battling for Jesus,” or, “I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold down this fort for Him.” But Paul said, in essence, “I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph.” Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive— and that became his purpose. It was Paul’s joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and “we are more than conquerors through Him . . .” (Romans 8:37).
“We are to God the fragrance of Christ . . .” (2 Corinthians 2:15). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
How to Handle Frustrating People - #6466
Monday, October 24, 2011
There's a mountain in northern New Jersey that has the most intriguing view in the area I think. It's called Garrett Mountain; it's right over the city of Patterson, New Jersey. Patterson happened to be at least when we lived near there, the fourth poorest, middle-sized city in America. Now, if you just drove around Patterson--that's all you saw--you would think that that whole area of north Jersey is poor. But just beyond Patterson on the horizon, you can see Bergen County, New Jersey--some of the bedroom communities of New York City--some of the wealthiest communities in America.
Now, if you just drove around some of those towns, you'd think this whole area is rich. If all you saw was Patterson, you'd say, "Boy, there's no countryside around here, is there?" If all you saw was Bergen County, you'd say, "There's no city here, is there?" See, I like Garrett Mountain, because it gives me a bigger view than I can get when I'm right in the middle of things. Oh, you might need a mountain like that right now.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Handle Frustrating People."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Samuel 8:4-10. "All the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel. They said to him, 'You're old and your sons don't walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us such as all the other nations have.' But when they said, 'Give us a king to lead us' this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: 'Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they've rejected, they have rejected Me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now, listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.' Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king."
Okay, Samuel has a very frustrating situation here. All of a sudden, the structure of the judge ruling Israel on God's behalf is coming unglued. He's being very unappreciated by the people that he has given so much for. Does that sound familiar to anybody? These people are off on a total tangent that He knows is wrong. They're trying to get a king, when all they really need is God ruling through the judges. Now, maybe you've got some frustrating people in your life? You know how Samuel felt.
Do you notice what he did when the people frustrated him? It says, "So, he prayed to the Lord." The people...what they did displeased Samuel, "So he prayed to the Lord." Doesn't say he told them off--didn't blow up. Doesn't say they displeased him and he gave up or pouted. He takes the people and his feelings straight to the Lord when he's frustrated. Do you?
See, it has two good results when you do that. First, the Lord gives Samuel the big picture. He says, "This isn't against you. It's not personal. It's nothing new. It's part of a pattern." And he defuses the emotions. It's kind of like me on that mountain overlooking both the suburbs and the city in our area. You can see the whole picture when you take the frustration to the Lord. You can see where things are coming from; you can see where things are going. You're above that limited view you have when you're right in the middle of it.
When you take the frustrating people to the Lord, He gives you the big picture instead of you just reacting to an incident. Secondly, He gives you a balanced response. He told Samuel to listen to them and then warn them. See, listening to frustrating people gives you credibility. They'll listen to you if you've listened to them. Then warning them fulfills your responsibility to tell them the results of the way they're going. See, some people listen without warning people. Some people warn people without listening to them.
When people's actions displease you, frustrate you and hurt you, would you go to the Lord first? You know what He'll do? He'll take you up on a mountain where you can see the whole picture, and He'll help you respond in a balanced way. When people frustrate you, well, go over their head. Go straight to the Throne Room of the King.
When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need—words that will help others become stronger. Ephesians 4:29
You have the ability, with your words, to make a person stronger. Your words are to their soul what a vitamin is to their body.
Do not withhold encouragement from the discouraged. Do not keep affirmation from the beaten down! Speak words that make people stronger. Believe in them as God has believed in you.
Luke 22:24-46
New International Version (NIV)
24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”
“Nothing,” they answered.
36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. 37 It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’[a]; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”
38 The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.”
“That’s enough!” he replied.
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[b]
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Jeremiah 20:7-13
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 You deceived[a] me, LORD, and I was deceived[b];
you overpowered me and prevailed.
I am ridiculed all day long;
everyone mocks me.
8 Whenever I speak, I cry out
proclaiming violence and destruction.
So the word of the LORD has brought me
insult and reproach all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word
or speak anymore in his name,”
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.
10 I hear many whispering,
“Terror on every side!
Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friends
are waiting for me to slip, saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we will prevail over him
and take our revenge on him.”
11 But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;
their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous
and probe the heart and mind,
let me see your vengeance on them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
13 Sing to the LORD!
Give praise to the LORD!
He rescues the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked.
Stuck In The Mire
October 24, 2011 — by Dennis Fisher
His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back. —Jeremiah 20:9
Jeremiah has been called “the weeping prophet.” He may have had a sensitive and melancholic disposition that was compounded by his heartbreak over God’s judgment on disobedient Israel. His capacity for sorrow is amazing: “Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night!” (Jer. 9:1).
As if sorrow for his nation were not enough, Jeremiah was persecuted for his prophetic message of judgment. In one instance, Jeremiah was imprisoned in a cistern filled with mire (Jer. 38:6). Opposition to his ministry had gotten the great prophet stuck in a place of despair.
Sometimes in our attempts to serve the Lord, we can feel stuck in painful circumstances and surprising heartache. But the prophet’s resilience should inspire us to persevere. Jeremiah’s sense of divine call was so strong that he could not be deterred from serving the Lord. “But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not” (Jer. 20:9).
Have the results of your service for the Lord been disappointing? Ask Him to renew your heart by His Spirit, and continue to serve God despite your setbacks.
Be not weary in your serving;
Do your best for those in need;
Kindnesses will be rewarded
By the Lord who prompts the deed. —Anon.
No service for Christ is insignificant.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, October 24, 2011
Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ . . . —2 Corinthians 2:14
The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.
The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose— to be captives marching in the procession of Christ’s triumphs. We are not on display in God’s showcase— we are here to exhibit only one thing— the “captivity [of our lives] to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). How small all the other perspectives are! For example, the ones that say, “I am standing all alone, battling for Jesus,” or, “I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold down this fort for Him.” But Paul said, in essence, “I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph.” Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive— and that became his purpose. It was Paul’s joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and “we are more than conquerors through Him . . .” (Romans 8:37).
“We are to God the fragrance of Christ . . .” (2 Corinthians 2:15). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
How to Handle Frustrating People - #6466
Monday, October 24, 2011
There's a mountain in northern New Jersey that has the most intriguing view in the area I think. It's called Garrett Mountain; it's right over the city of Patterson, New Jersey. Patterson happened to be at least when we lived near there, the fourth poorest, middle-sized city in America. Now, if you just drove around Patterson--that's all you saw--you would think that that whole area of north Jersey is poor. But just beyond Patterson on the horizon, you can see Bergen County, New Jersey--some of the bedroom communities of New York City--some of the wealthiest communities in America.
Now, if you just drove around some of those towns, you'd think this whole area is rich. If all you saw was Patterson, you'd say, "Boy, there's no countryside around here, is there?" If all you saw was Bergen County, you'd say, "There's no city here, is there?" See, I like Garrett Mountain, because it gives me a bigger view than I can get when I'm right in the middle of things. Oh, you might need a mountain like that right now.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Handle Frustrating People."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Samuel 8:4-10. "All the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel. They said to him, 'You're old and your sons don't walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us such as all the other nations have.' But when they said, 'Give us a king to lead us' this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: 'Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they've rejected, they have rejected Me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now, listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.' Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king."
Okay, Samuel has a very frustrating situation here. All of a sudden, the structure of the judge ruling Israel on God's behalf is coming unglued. He's being very unappreciated by the people that he has given so much for. Does that sound familiar to anybody? These people are off on a total tangent that He knows is wrong. They're trying to get a king, when all they really need is God ruling through the judges. Now, maybe you've got some frustrating people in your life? You know how Samuel felt.
Do you notice what he did when the people frustrated him? It says, "So, he prayed to the Lord." The people...what they did displeased Samuel, "So he prayed to the Lord." Doesn't say he told them off--didn't blow up. Doesn't say they displeased him and he gave up or pouted. He takes the people and his feelings straight to the Lord when he's frustrated. Do you?
See, it has two good results when you do that. First, the Lord gives Samuel the big picture. He says, "This isn't against you. It's not personal. It's nothing new. It's part of a pattern." And he defuses the emotions. It's kind of like me on that mountain overlooking both the suburbs and the city in our area. You can see the whole picture when you take the frustration to the Lord. You can see where things are coming from; you can see where things are going. You're above that limited view you have when you're right in the middle of it.
When you take the frustrating people to the Lord, He gives you the big picture instead of you just reacting to an incident. Secondly, He gives you a balanced response. He told Samuel to listen to them and then warn them. See, listening to frustrating people gives you credibility. They'll listen to you if you've listened to them. Then warning them fulfills your responsibility to tell them the results of the way they're going. See, some people listen without warning people. Some people warn people without listening to them.
When people's actions displease you, frustrate you and hurt you, would you go to the Lord first? You know what He'll do? He'll take you up on a mountain where you can see the whole picture, and He'll help you respond in a balanced way. When people frustrate you, well, go over their head. Go straight to the Throne Room of the King.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Psalm 142, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen)
Max Lucado Daily: Live to Please God
Teach me how to live to please you, because you are my God. Psalm 143:8, The Message
If God has called you to be a Martha, then serve! Remind the rest of us that there is evangelism in feeding the poor and there is worship in nursing the sick.
If God has called you to be a Mary, then worship! Remind the rest of us that we don’t have to be busy to be holy. Urge us with your example to put down our clipboards and megaphones and be quiet in worship.
Psalm 142[a]
A maskil[b] of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.
1 I cry aloud to the LORD;
I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.
2 I pour out before him my complaint;
before him I tell my trouble.
3 When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who watch over my way.
In the path where I walk
people have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look and see, there is no one at my right hand;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;
no one cares for my life.
5 I cry to you, LORD;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Listen to my cry,
for I am in desperate need;
rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.
7 Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: John 10:7-15
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
He Guards Me Well
October 23, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
I lay down My life for the sheep. —John 10:15
During the quiet moments before a Sunday morning service, the organist played a hymn that was new to me. I turned to the page noted in the hymnal and read the words of the song “The Lord My Shepherd Guards Me Well,” a beautiful paraphrase of Psalm 23:
The Lord my Shepherd guards me well,
And all my wants are fed:
Amid green pastures made to lie,
Beside still waters led.
My care-worn soul grows strong and whole
When God’s true path I tread.
No matter how often we read or hear the familiar 23rd Psalm, it seems to come with a fresh message of God’s care for us.
Though I should walk in darkest ways
Through valleys like the grave,
No evil shall I ever fear;
Your presence makes me brave.
On my behalf Your rod and staff
Assure me You will save. (© Hope Publishing Co.)
This image was familiar to the people who heard Jesus say, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Unlike a hired person who runs away from danger, the true shepherd stays with the sheep to protect them. “But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd . . . sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees . . . . I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep” (vv.12-14).
No matter what you’re facing today, Jesus knows your name, He knows the danger, and He will not leave your side. You can say with confidence: The Lord my Shepherd guards me well!
The Lamb who died to save us
is the Shepherd who lives to lead us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Nothing of the Old Life!
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new —2 Corinthians 5:17
Our Lord never tolerates our prejudices— He is directly opposed to them and puts them to death. We tend to think that God has some special interest in our particular prejudices, and are very sure that He will never deal with us as He has to deal with others. We even say to ourselves, “God has to deal with other people in a very strict way, but of course He knows that my prejudices are all right.” But we must learn that God accepts nothing of the old life! Instead of being on the side of our prejudices, He is deliberately removing them from us. It is part of our moral education to see our prejudices put to death by His providence, and to watch how He does it. God pays no respect to anything we bring to Him. There is only one thing God wants of us, and that is our unconditional surrender.
When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begins to work His new creation in us, and there will come a time when there is nothing remaining of the old life. Our old gloomy outlook disappears, as does our old attitude toward things, and “all things are of God” (2 Corinthians 5:18). How are we going to get a life that has no lust, no self-interest, and is not sensitive to the ridicule of others? How will we have the type of love that “is kind . . . is not provoked, [and] thinks no evil”? (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). The only way is by allowing nothing of the old life to remain, and by having only simple, perfect trust in God— such a trust that we no longer want God’s blessings, but only want God Himself. Have we come to the point where God can withdraw His blessings from us without our trust in Him being affected? Once we truly see God at work, we will never be concerned again about the things that happen, because we are actually trusting in our Father in heaven, whom the world cannot see.
Teach me how to live to please you, because you are my God. Psalm 143:8, The Message
If God has called you to be a Martha, then serve! Remind the rest of us that there is evangelism in feeding the poor and there is worship in nursing the sick.
If God has called you to be a Mary, then worship! Remind the rest of us that we don’t have to be busy to be holy. Urge us with your example to put down our clipboards and megaphones and be quiet in worship.
Psalm 142[a]
A maskil[b] of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.
1 I cry aloud to the LORD;
I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.
2 I pour out before him my complaint;
before him I tell my trouble.
3 When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who watch over my way.
In the path where I walk
people have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look and see, there is no one at my right hand;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;
no one cares for my life.
5 I cry to you, LORD;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Listen to my cry,
for I am in desperate need;
rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.
7 Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: John 10:7-15
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
He Guards Me Well
October 23, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
I lay down My life for the sheep. —John 10:15
During the quiet moments before a Sunday morning service, the organist played a hymn that was new to me. I turned to the page noted in the hymnal and read the words of the song “The Lord My Shepherd Guards Me Well,” a beautiful paraphrase of Psalm 23:
The Lord my Shepherd guards me well,
And all my wants are fed:
Amid green pastures made to lie,
Beside still waters led.
My care-worn soul grows strong and whole
When God’s true path I tread.
No matter how often we read or hear the familiar 23rd Psalm, it seems to come with a fresh message of God’s care for us.
Though I should walk in darkest ways
Through valleys like the grave,
No evil shall I ever fear;
Your presence makes me brave.
On my behalf Your rod and staff
Assure me You will save. (© Hope Publishing Co.)
This image was familiar to the people who heard Jesus say, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Unlike a hired person who runs away from danger, the true shepherd stays with the sheep to protect them. “But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd . . . sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees . . . . I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep” (vv.12-14).
No matter what you’re facing today, Jesus knows your name, He knows the danger, and He will not leave your side. You can say with confidence: The Lord my Shepherd guards me well!
The Lamb who died to save us
is the Shepherd who lives to lead us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Nothing of the Old Life!
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new —2 Corinthians 5:17
Our Lord never tolerates our prejudices— He is directly opposed to them and puts them to death. We tend to think that God has some special interest in our particular prejudices, and are very sure that He will never deal with us as He has to deal with others. We even say to ourselves, “God has to deal with other people in a very strict way, but of course He knows that my prejudices are all right.” But we must learn that God accepts nothing of the old life! Instead of being on the side of our prejudices, He is deliberately removing them from us. It is part of our moral education to see our prejudices put to death by His providence, and to watch how He does it. God pays no respect to anything we bring to Him. There is only one thing God wants of us, and that is our unconditional surrender.
When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begins to work His new creation in us, and there will come a time when there is nothing remaining of the old life. Our old gloomy outlook disappears, as does our old attitude toward things, and “all things are of God” (2 Corinthians 5:18). How are we going to get a life that has no lust, no self-interest, and is not sensitive to the ridicule of others? How will we have the type of love that “is kind . . . is not provoked, [and] thinks no evil”? (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). The only way is by allowing nothing of the old life to remain, and by having only simple, perfect trust in God— such a trust that we no longer want God’s blessings, but only want God Himself. Have we come to the point where God can withdraw His blessings from us without our trust in Him being affected? Once we truly see God at work, we will never be concerned again about the things that happen, because we are actually trusting in our Father in heaven, whom the world cannot see.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Psalm 57, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen)
Max Lucado Daily: The Big Choice
I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. Psalm 119:30, NIV
Think about it. There are many things in life we can’t choose. We can’t, for example, choose the weather. We can’t control the economy. We can’t choose whether or not we are born with a big nose or blue eyes or a lot of hair ... but we can choose where we spend eternity.
The big choice, God leaves to us.
Psalm 57[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[b] When he had fled from Saul into the cave.
1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who vindicates me.
3 He sends from heaven and saves me,
rebuking those who hotly pursue me—[c]
God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.
4 I am in the midst of lions;
I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
6 They spread a net for my feet—
I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path—
but they have fallen into it themselves.
7 My heart, O God, is steadfast,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.
8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Believers Who Have Died
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
So Long
October 22, 2011 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt
[Do not] sorrow as others who have no hope. —1 Thessalonians 4:13
My grandfather refused to say “goodbye”; he felt the word was too final. So, when we would drive away after family visits, his farewell ritual was always the same. Standing in front of the green ferns that lined his house, he would wave and call out, “So long”!
As believers, we never have to say “goodbye” to the ones we love, as long as they have placed their trust in Jesus as Savior. The Bible promises that we will see them again.
The apostle Paul said that we should not “sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13), because when Jesus returns, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves and—together with the believers who are still alive—will meet the Lord in the air (vv.15-17). We have confidence that one day in heaven there will be “no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying” (Rev. 21:4). It’s in that wonderful place that “we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17).
Christians have the hope of an eternal reunion with Christ and with believing loved ones who have passed away. That’s why Paul exhorted us to “comfort one another with these words” (v.18). Today, encourage someone with the hope that allows us to say “so long,” instead of “goodbye.”
Beyond the sunset, O glad reunion
With our dear loved ones who’ve gone before;
In that fair homeland we’ll know no parting—
Beyond the sunset forevermore. —Brock
At death, God’s people don’t say “Goodbye,”
but “We’ll see you later.”
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, October 22, 2011
he Witness of the Spirit
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit . . . —Romans 8:16
We are in danger of getting into a bargaining spirit with God when we come to Him—we want the witness of the Spirit before we have done what God tells us to do.
Why doesn’t God reveal Himself to you? He cannot. It is not that He will not, but He cannot, because you are in the way as long as you won’t abandon yourself to Him in total surrender. Yet once you do, immediately God witnesses to Himself—He cannot witness to you, but He instantly witnesses to His own nature in you. If you received the witness of the Spirit before the reality and truth that comes from obedience, it would simply result in sentimental emotion. But when you act on the basis of redemption, and stop the disrespectfulness of debating with God, He immediately gives His witness. As soon as you abandon your own reasoning and arguing, God witnesses to what He has done, and you are amazed at your total disrespect in having kept Him waiting. If you are debating as to whether or not God can deliver from sin, then either let Him do it or tell Him that He cannot. Do not quote this or that person to Him. Simply obey Matthew 11:28 , “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden . . . .” Come, if you are weary, and ask, if you know you are evil (see Luke 11:9-13).
The Spirit of God witnesses to the redemption of our Lord, and to nothing else. He cannot witness to our reason. We are inclined to mistake the simplicity that comes from our natural commonsense decisions for the witness of the Spirit, but the Spirit witnesses only to His own nature, and to the work of redemption, never to our reason. If we are trying to make Him witness to our reason, it is no wonder that we are in darkness and uncertainty. Throw it all overboard, trust in Him, and He will give you the witness of the Spirit.
I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. Psalm 119:30, NIV
Think about it. There are many things in life we can’t choose. We can’t, for example, choose the weather. We can’t control the economy. We can’t choose whether or not we are born with a big nose or blue eyes or a lot of hair ... but we can choose where we spend eternity.
The big choice, God leaves to us.
Psalm 57[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[b] When he had fled from Saul into the cave.
1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who vindicates me.
3 He sends from heaven and saves me,
rebuking those who hotly pursue me—[c]
God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.
4 I am in the midst of lions;
I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
6 They spread a net for my feet—
I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path—
but they have fallen into it themselves.
7 My heart, O God, is steadfast,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.
8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Believers Who Have Died
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
So Long
October 22, 2011 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt
[Do not] sorrow as others who have no hope. —1 Thessalonians 4:13
My grandfather refused to say “goodbye”; he felt the word was too final. So, when we would drive away after family visits, his farewell ritual was always the same. Standing in front of the green ferns that lined his house, he would wave and call out, “So long”!
As believers, we never have to say “goodbye” to the ones we love, as long as they have placed their trust in Jesus as Savior. The Bible promises that we will see them again.
The apostle Paul said that we should not “sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13), because when Jesus returns, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves and—together with the believers who are still alive—will meet the Lord in the air (vv.15-17). We have confidence that one day in heaven there will be “no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying” (Rev. 21:4). It’s in that wonderful place that “we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17).
Christians have the hope of an eternal reunion with Christ and with believing loved ones who have passed away. That’s why Paul exhorted us to “comfort one another with these words” (v.18). Today, encourage someone with the hope that allows us to say “so long,” instead of “goodbye.”
Beyond the sunset, O glad reunion
With our dear loved ones who’ve gone before;
In that fair homeland we’ll know no parting—
Beyond the sunset forevermore. —Brock
At death, God’s people don’t say “Goodbye,”
but “We’ll see you later.”
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, October 22, 2011
he Witness of the Spirit
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit . . . —Romans 8:16
We are in danger of getting into a bargaining spirit with God when we come to Him—we want the witness of the Spirit before we have done what God tells us to do.
Why doesn’t God reveal Himself to you? He cannot. It is not that He will not, but He cannot, because you are in the way as long as you won’t abandon yourself to Him in total surrender. Yet once you do, immediately God witnesses to Himself—He cannot witness to you, but He instantly witnesses to His own nature in you. If you received the witness of the Spirit before the reality and truth that comes from obedience, it would simply result in sentimental emotion. But when you act on the basis of redemption, and stop the disrespectfulness of debating with God, He immediately gives His witness. As soon as you abandon your own reasoning and arguing, God witnesses to what He has done, and you are amazed at your total disrespect in having kept Him waiting. If you are debating as to whether or not God can deliver from sin, then either let Him do it or tell Him that He cannot. Do not quote this or that person to Him. Simply obey Matthew 11:28 , “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden . . . .” Come, if you are weary, and ask, if you know you are evil (see Luke 11:9-13).
The Spirit of God witnesses to the redemption of our Lord, and to nothing else. He cannot witness to our reason. We are inclined to mistake the simplicity that comes from our natural commonsense decisions for the witness of the Spirit, but the Spirit witnesses only to His own nature, and to the work of redemption, never to our reason. If we are trying to make Him witness to our reason, it is no wonder that we are in darkness and uncertainty. Throw it all overboard, trust in Him, and He will give you the witness of the Spirit.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Psalm 52, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: You are Unique
Each of us is an original. Galatians 5:26, The Message
There are certain things you can do that no one else can. Perhaps it is parenting, or constructing houses, or encouraging the discouraged. There are things that only you can do, and you are alive to do them.
In the great orchestra we call life, you have an instrument and a song, and you owe it to God to play them both sublimely.
Psalm 52
For the director of music. A maskil[b] of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”
1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
Why do you boast all day long,
you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
2 You who practice deceit,
your tongue plots destruction;
it is like a sharpened razor.
3 You love evil rather than good,
falsehood rather than speaking the truth.[c]
4 You love every harmful word,
you deceitful tongue!
5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.
6 The righteous will see and fear;
they will laugh at you, saying,
7 “Here now is the man
who did not make God his stronghold
but trusted in his great wealth
and grew strong by destroying others!”
8 But I am like an olive tree
flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
for ever and ever.
9 For what you have done I will always praise you
in the presence of your faithful people.
And I will hope in your name,
for your name is good.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Philemon 1:12-22
12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
22 And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.
One Heart At A Time
October 21, 2011 — by Dennis Fisher
. . . no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother. —Philemon 1:16
Quaker John Woolman was an itinerant preacher who waged his own personal campaign to end slavery in colonial America. Woolman met with slave-holders to speak of the injustice of holding other human beings as property. Although Woolman did not eradicate slavery completely, he did persuade many masters to free their slaves. His success was due to individual, personal persuasion.
The book of Philemon contains a similar one-on-one appeal. Onesimus was a runaway slave who had escaped from his Christian master Philemon. Onesimus had come to faith through Paul’s ministry, and now Paul was sending him back to Philemon with these words: “Perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother” (vv.15-16). Although we don’t know if Onesimus was set free from slavery, his new faith in Jesus had changed his relationship with his Christian master. He was now also a brother in Christ. Paul was influencing his world one heart at a time.
By the transforming power of the gospel, people and situations can change. Like Woolman and like Paul, let’s seek to influence our world one heart at a time.
If I can help some wounded heart,
If I can by my love impart
Some blessing that will help more now—
Lord, just show me how. —Brandt
The kindest thing you can do for another is to show him the truth.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 21, 2011
Impulsiveness or Discipleship?
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith . . . —Jude 20
There was nothing of the nature of impulsive or thoughtless action about our Lord, but only a calm strength that never got into a panic. Most of us develop our Christianity along the lines of our own nature, not along the lines of God’s nature. Impulsiveness is a trait of the natural life, and our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple. Watch how the Spirit of God gives a sense of restraint to impulsiveness, suddenly bringing us a feeling of self-conscious foolishness, which makes us instantly want to vindicate ourselves. Impulsiveness is all right in a child, but is disastrous in a man or woman—an impulsive adult is always a spoiled person. Impulsiveness needs to be trained into intuition through discipline.
Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy to someone with impulsive boldness, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is something altogether different. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, but he “followed Him at a distance” on dry land (Mark 14:54). We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises—human nature and pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain magnificently. But it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God—but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people—and this is not learned in five minutes.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Watching Him Drown - #6465
Friday, October 21, 2011
It was a 911 call that alerted the first responders. A man was slowly wading out into San Francisco Bay, inching his way to ending his life there. Pretty soon a group of firefighters, along with a crowd of 75 people, were watching as this desperate man went a little deeper and a little deeper, and sadly occasionally glancing back at the shore. They stood there watching for an hour...and they watched him die, without anyone making a move to help him.
I can only imagine this man looking back at those spectators, wondering if anyone cared if he lived or died. And I wonder how life-changing it might have been if someone had been willing to try to save him. It's just kind of sickening.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Watching Him Drown."
You know, understandably, everyone was pretty quick to jump on those firefighters and onlookers who did nothing while a man died in front of them. And you know they all had their reasons; some maybe more valid than others. But I'm seeing something else in this horribly sad incident. I see something of myself and so many of my fellow Jesus-followers in that scene by the bay. Because all too often, we stand idly by as people around us go steadily to their death. Oh, this is an eternal death, forever away from God, because that is the penalty for hijacking the running of our life from Him, and every single human has done that.
God tells us that He has "given us eternal life and this life is in His Son" because His Son did the dying for all our sinning. Now our word for today from the Word of God is in 1 John 5:11-12. Here's what they say: "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." In other words, there is no way the people we care about will get into heaven without Jesus. And He has left us with that life-or-death information that their eternity depends on.
So, our orders from God in Proverbs 24:11 are to "rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter." See, to remain silent about my Jesus to someone without Him is the equivalent to watching them slowly die in front of me when I have, hidden in my heart, what could save them.
I'm sure those people on the shore each had their reasons, or excuses, for doing nothing. But is there an excuse for standing by when it is within your power to save someone who's dying--certainly spiritually? We all know the reasons or the excuses that we offer for our silence about the Rescuer who came from heaven.
The fear of offending, or the fear of damaging a relationship, the fear of not being liked, the fear of messing it up. If you notice, those fears all have one thing in common. They're all about me. Isn't it time I had a greater fear than what might happen to me if I go in for the rescue; the fear of what will happen to them if I don't. Because life now without Jesus is hard, and life forever without Him is horrible; it's unthinkable.
I know this: I know that Jesus jumped in to rescue me at the cost of His life. How can I, then, stay on the shore any longer and watch people I know slip away without Him; without a chance to live forever? And I am their chance.
Each of us is an original. Galatians 5:26, The Message
There are certain things you can do that no one else can. Perhaps it is parenting, or constructing houses, or encouraging the discouraged. There are things that only you can do, and you are alive to do them.
In the great orchestra we call life, you have an instrument and a song, and you owe it to God to play them both sublimely.
Psalm 52
For the director of music. A maskil[b] of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”
1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
Why do you boast all day long,
you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
2 You who practice deceit,
your tongue plots destruction;
it is like a sharpened razor.
3 You love evil rather than good,
falsehood rather than speaking the truth.[c]
4 You love every harmful word,
you deceitful tongue!
5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.
6 The righteous will see and fear;
they will laugh at you, saying,
7 “Here now is the man
who did not make God his stronghold
but trusted in his great wealth
and grew strong by destroying others!”
8 But I am like an olive tree
flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
for ever and ever.
9 For what you have done I will always praise you
in the presence of your faithful people.
And I will hope in your name,
for your name is good.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Philemon 1:12-22
12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
22 And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.
One Heart At A Time
October 21, 2011 — by Dennis Fisher
. . . no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother. —Philemon 1:16
Quaker John Woolman was an itinerant preacher who waged his own personal campaign to end slavery in colonial America. Woolman met with slave-holders to speak of the injustice of holding other human beings as property. Although Woolman did not eradicate slavery completely, he did persuade many masters to free their slaves. His success was due to individual, personal persuasion.
The book of Philemon contains a similar one-on-one appeal. Onesimus was a runaway slave who had escaped from his Christian master Philemon. Onesimus had come to faith through Paul’s ministry, and now Paul was sending him back to Philemon with these words: “Perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother” (vv.15-16). Although we don’t know if Onesimus was set free from slavery, his new faith in Jesus had changed his relationship with his Christian master. He was now also a brother in Christ. Paul was influencing his world one heart at a time.
By the transforming power of the gospel, people and situations can change. Like Woolman and like Paul, let’s seek to influence our world one heart at a time.
If I can help some wounded heart,
If I can by my love impart
Some blessing that will help more now—
Lord, just show me how. —Brandt
The kindest thing you can do for another is to show him the truth.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 21, 2011
Impulsiveness or Discipleship?
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith . . . —Jude 20
There was nothing of the nature of impulsive or thoughtless action about our Lord, but only a calm strength that never got into a panic. Most of us develop our Christianity along the lines of our own nature, not along the lines of God’s nature. Impulsiveness is a trait of the natural life, and our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple. Watch how the Spirit of God gives a sense of restraint to impulsiveness, suddenly bringing us a feeling of self-conscious foolishness, which makes us instantly want to vindicate ourselves. Impulsiveness is all right in a child, but is disastrous in a man or woman—an impulsive adult is always a spoiled person. Impulsiveness needs to be trained into intuition through discipline.
Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy to someone with impulsive boldness, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is something altogether different. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, but he “followed Him at a distance” on dry land (Mark 14:54). We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises—human nature and pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain magnificently. But it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God—but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people—and this is not learned in five minutes.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Watching Him Drown - #6465
Friday, October 21, 2011
It was a 911 call that alerted the first responders. A man was slowly wading out into San Francisco Bay, inching his way to ending his life there. Pretty soon a group of firefighters, along with a crowd of 75 people, were watching as this desperate man went a little deeper and a little deeper, and sadly occasionally glancing back at the shore. They stood there watching for an hour...and they watched him die, without anyone making a move to help him.
I can only imagine this man looking back at those spectators, wondering if anyone cared if he lived or died. And I wonder how life-changing it might have been if someone had been willing to try to save him. It's just kind of sickening.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Watching Him Drown."
You know, understandably, everyone was pretty quick to jump on those firefighters and onlookers who did nothing while a man died in front of them. And you know they all had their reasons; some maybe more valid than others. But I'm seeing something else in this horribly sad incident. I see something of myself and so many of my fellow Jesus-followers in that scene by the bay. Because all too often, we stand idly by as people around us go steadily to their death. Oh, this is an eternal death, forever away from God, because that is the penalty for hijacking the running of our life from Him, and every single human has done that.
God tells us that He has "given us eternal life and this life is in His Son" because His Son did the dying for all our sinning. Now our word for today from the Word of God is in 1 John 5:11-12. Here's what they say: "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." In other words, there is no way the people we care about will get into heaven without Jesus. And He has left us with that life-or-death information that their eternity depends on.
So, our orders from God in Proverbs 24:11 are to "rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter." See, to remain silent about my Jesus to someone without Him is the equivalent to watching them slowly die in front of me when I have, hidden in my heart, what could save them.
I'm sure those people on the shore each had their reasons, or excuses, for doing nothing. But is there an excuse for standing by when it is within your power to save someone who's dying--certainly spiritually? We all know the reasons or the excuses that we offer for our silence about the Rescuer who came from heaven.
The fear of offending, or the fear of damaging a relationship, the fear of not being liked, the fear of messing it up. If you notice, those fears all have one thing in common. They're all about me. Isn't it time I had a greater fear than what might happen to me if I go in for the rescue; the fear of what will happen to them if I don't. Because life now without Jesus is hard, and life forever without Him is horrible; it's unthinkable.
I know this: I know that Jesus jumped in to rescue me at the cost of His life. How can I, then, stay on the shore any longer and watch people I know slip away without Him; without a chance to live forever? And I am their chance.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Luke 22, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Holiness
God, examine me and know my heart…Lead me on the road to everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24
You don’t have to be like the world to have an impact on the world. You don’t have to be like the crowd to change the crowd. You don’t have to lower yourself down to their level to lift them up to your level. Holiness doesn’t seek to be odd. Holiness seeks to be like God.
Luke 22
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
1 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, 2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
The Last Supper
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”
9 “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.
10 He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”
13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.[a] 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 37:23-26
23 The LORD makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.[a]
My Fingernails Or His Hand?
October 20, 2011 — by Dave Branon
The Lord upholds him with His hand. —Psalm 37:24
Tough times can cause us to get our perspective turned around. I was reminded of this recently as I talked to a fellow-griever—another parent who, like Sue and me, lost a teenage daughter to death suddenly and without warning.
She told me she had been missing her daughter terribly, and she told God she felt as if she were hanging on by her fingernails. Then she felt as if God reminded her that His hand of protection was there to hold her up—that she could let go, and He would catch her.
That’s a better perspective, isn’t it? This picture reminds us that when troubles come and we feel least able to hold on to our faith, it’s not up to us. It’s up to God to support us with His mighty hand.
Psalm 37:23-24 says: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord . . . . Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” And Psalm 63:8 tells us: “My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.”
In tough times, we can become so preoccupied with our role in “clinging to God” that we forget about His promised protection. It’s not our fingernails that sustain us—it’s His loving, upholding hand.
God’s hand that holds the ocean’s depths
Can hold my small affairs;
His hand that guides the universe,
Can carry all my cares. —Anon.
No one is more secure than the one who is held in God’s hand.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Is God’s Will My Will?
This is the will of God, your sanctification . . . —1 Thessalonians 4:3
Sanctification is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me— is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me everything that has been made possible through the atonement of the Cross of Christ? Am I willing to let Jesus become sanctification to me, and to let His life be exhibited in my human flesh? (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). Beware of saying, “Oh, I am longing to be sanctified.” No, you are not. Recognize your need, but stop longing and make it a matter of action. Receive Jesus Christ to become sanctification for you by absolute, unquestioning faith, and the great miracle of the atonement of Jesus will become real in you.
All that Jesus made possible becomes mine through the free and loving gift of God on the basis of what Christ accomplished on the cross. And my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound, humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness). It is a holiness based on agonizing repentance, a sense of inexpressible shame and degradation, and also on the amazing realization that the love of God demonstrated itself to me while I cared nothing about Him (see Romans 5:8). He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification. No wonder Paul said that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).
Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God, and it is accomplished only through the magnificent atonement of Christ. Never confuse the effect with the cause. The effect in me is obedience, service, and prayer, and is the outcome of inexpressible thanks and adoration for the miraculous sanctification that has been brought about in me because of the atonement through the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Surprises in the Storm - #6464
Thursday, October 20, 2011
It was some years ago, but I remember when they closed our local airport. Yeah, there was a violent storm at Newark airport, and thousands of people had their plans suddenly changed. Storms have a way of doing that. Did you ever notice that? There's a snow storm, for example, and schools and businesses oh, they all had their plans made for the day, and suddenly all those plans are out the window. Meetings that had to be today are amazingly rescheduled. Planes and ships are diverted or blown off course. You see, a storm is a classic embodiment of that familiar phrase, "Due to circumstances beyond our control..." Maybe you're in the middle of a storm right now. Your life, your plans are being blown around, and it seems like everything is out of control. I've got good news for you today.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Surprises in the Storm."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is going to come from Acts 27. It's about surprises in the storm. Now, I don't know where your storm is right now, but maybe there's something that is just blowing your life out of control. By the way, if you're not in a storm, well just stay tuned; you'll have yours pretty soon. That's just the way life is. You're just waiting and yours is on the way, because we all get them. Now maybe in your life right now things are just suddenly out of control financially or at work. Or there's a family situation that you just can't seem to change. Or it could be that your health has suddenly become turbulent. Somehow there's an out-of-control time in your life. Well, you'll be able to relate to Paul's storm in Acts 27.
What was happening was that he was being taken by Roman soldiers on a grain ship from Israel to Rome. They had a lot of water to cross to get from where Israel is and to cross the ocean and to get over to Italy where they needed to be, and in the middle of all this they encountered a terrible storm that lasted for fourteen days. Hurricane strength, we're told in Acts 27:20, "When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved."
Now, if you've ever felt like all your points of reference were gone, you couldn't see the sun, the moon, the stars--all the things you usually count on, the storm was that bad. The things you were able to hang on to before, they're not there. Well, maybe you're there right now, and you know what, it is easy to give up hope. Well the outcome of the story you need to take note of. It says, "Everyone reached land in safety." They were blown into the rocks after two weeks, but it says they were on an island. And in chapter 28 we found out the island was called Malta. Do you know where Malta is? It's on the southern coast of Italy.
It's right where they had been heading all the time. Oh, they'd been out of control for two weeks or so it seemed, but the whole time they had been out of control they had been right on course and so are you. Nahum 1:3 says, "The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and the storm."
Now it may feel like you're either going nowhere right now or you're on the verge of disaster; maybe on the verge of being blown on the rocks. But remember, the surprise in the storm is this: that God uses these out-of-control times. He uses them to blow His children right where they were supposed to go all along. I know it feels like your life is out of control, but you know what? You're really right on course.
God, examine me and know my heart…Lead me on the road to everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24
You don’t have to be like the world to have an impact on the world. You don’t have to be like the crowd to change the crowd. You don’t have to lower yourself down to their level to lift them up to your level. Holiness doesn’t seek to be odd. Holiness seeks to be like God.
Luke 22
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
1 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, 2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
The Last Supper
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”
9 “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.
10 He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”
13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.[a] 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 37:23-26
23 The LORD makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.[a]
My Fingernails Or His Hand?
October 20, 2011 — by Dave Branon
The Lord upholds him with His hand. —Psalm 37:24
Tough times can cause us to get our perspective turned around. I was reminded of this recently as I talked to a fellow-griever—another parent who, like Sue and me, lost a teenage daughter to death suddenly and without warning.
She told me she had been missing her daughter terribly, and she told God she felt as if she were hanging on by her fingernails. Then she felt as if God reminded her that His hand of protection was there to hold her up—that she could let go, and He would catch her.
That’s a better perspective, isn’t it? This picture reminds us that when troubles come and we feel least able to hold on to our faith, it’s not up to us. It’s up to God to support us with His mighty hand.
Psalm 37:23-24 says: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord . . . . Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” And Psalm 63:8 tells us: “My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.”
In tough times, we can become so preoccupied with our role in “clinging to God” that we forget about His promised protection. It’s not our fingernails that sustain us—it’s His loving, upholding hand.
God’s hand that holds the ocean’s depths
Can hold my small affairs;
His hand that guides the universe,
Can carry all my cares. —Anon.
No one is more secure than the one who is held in God’s hand.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Is God’s Will My Will?
This is the will of God, your sanctification . . . —1 Thessalonians 4:3
Sanctification is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me— is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me everything that has been made possible through the atonement of the Cross of Christ? Am I willing to let Jesus become sanctification to me, and to let His life be exhibited in my human flesh? (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). Beware of saying, “Oh, I am longing to be sanctified.” No, you are not. Recognize your need, but stop longing and make it a matter of action. Receive Jesus Christ to become sanctification for you by absolute, unquestioning faith, and the great miracle of the atonement of Jesus will become real in you.
All that Jesus made possible becomes mine through the free and loving gift of God on the basis of what Christ accomplished on the cross. And my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound, humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness). It is a holiness based on agonizing repentance, a sense of inexpressible shame and degradation, and also on the amazing realization that the love of God demonstrated itself to me while I cared nothing about Him (see Romans 5:8). He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification. No wonder Paul said that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).
Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God, and it is accomplished only through the magnificent atonement of Christ. Never confuse the effect with the cause. The effect in me is obedience, service, and prayer, and is the outcome of inexpressible thanks and adoration for the miraculous sanctification that has been brought about in me because of the atonement through the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Surprises in the Storm - #6464
Thursday, October 20, 2011
It was some years ago, but I remember when they closed our local airport. Yeah, there was a violent storm at Newark airport, and thousands of people had their plans suddenly changed. Storms have a way of doing that. Did you ever notice that? There's a snow storm, for example, and schools and businesses oh, they all had their plans made for the day, and suddenly all those plans are out the window. Meetings that had to be today are amazingly rescheduled. Planes and ships are diverted or blown off course. You see, a storm is a classic embodiment of that familiar phrase, "Due to circumstances beyond our control..." Maybe you're in the middle of a storm right now. Your life, your plans are being blown around, and it seems like everything is out of control. I've got good news for you today.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Surprises in the Storm."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is going to come from Acts 27. It's about surprises in the storm. Now, I don't know where your storm is right now, but maybe there's something that is just blowing your life out of control. By the way, if you're not in a storm, well just stay tuned; you'll have yours pretty soon. That's just the way life is. You're just waiting and yours is on the way, because we all get them. Now maybe in your life right now things are just suddenly out of control financially or at work. Or there's a family situation that you just can't seem to change. Or it could be that your health has suddenly become turbulent. Somehow there's an out-of-control time in your life. Well, you'll be able to relate to Paul's storm in Acts 27.
What was happening was that he was being taken by Roman soldiers on a grain ship from Israel to Rome. They had a lot of water to cross to get from where Israel is and to cross the ocean and to get over to Italy where they needed to be, and in the middle of all this they encountered a terrible storm that lasted for fourteen days. Hurricane strength, we're told in Acts 27:20, "When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved."
Now, if you've ever felt like all your points of reference were gone, you couldn't see the sun, the moon, the stars--all the things you usually count on, the storm was that bad. The things you were able to hang on to before, they're not there. Well, maybe you're there right now, and you know what, it is easy to give up hope. Well the outcome of the story you need to take note of. It says, "Everyone reached land in safety." They were blown into the rocks after two weeks, but it says they were on an island. And in chapter 28 we found out the island was called Malta. Do you know where Malta is? It's on the southern coast of Italy.
It's right where they had been heading all the time. Oh, they'd been out of control for two weeks or so it seemed, but the whole time they had been out of control they had been right on course and so are you. Nahum 1:3 says, "The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and the storm."
Now it may feel like you're either going nowhere right now or you're on the verge of disaster; maybe on the verge of being blown on the rocks. But remember, the surprise in the storm is this: that God uses these out-of-control times. He uses them to blow His children right where they were supposed to go all along. I know it feels like your life is out of control, but you know what? You're really right on course.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Psalm 56, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen)
Max Lucado Daily: The Holy One
I am the Holy One, and I am among you. Hosea 11:9
You can claim courage from God’s promises. May I give you a few examples?
When you are confused: “‘I know what I am planning for you’ says the Lord. ‘I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you’” (Jeremiah 29:11).
On those nights when you wonder where God is: “I am the Holy One, and I am among you” (Hosea 11:9).
Psalm 56
For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam.[b] When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.
1 Be merciful to me, my God,
for my enemies are in hot pursuit;
all day long they press their attack.
2 My adversaries pursue me all day long;
in their pride many are attacking me.
3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
5 All day long they twist my words;
all their schemes are for my ruin.
6 They conspire, they lurk,
they watch my steps,
hoping to take my life.
7 Because of their wickedness do not[c] let them escape;
in your anger, God, bring the nations down.
8 Record my misery;
list my tears on your scroll[d]—
are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
when I call for help.
By this I will know that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise—
11 in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I am under vows to you, my God;
I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 6:19-24
Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[a] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[b] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Investing In The Future
October 19, 2011 — by Bill Crowder
Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. —Matthew 6:20
Jason Bohn was a college student when he made a hole-in-one golf shot that won him a million dollars. While others may have squandered that money, Bohn had a plan. Wanting to be a pro golfer, he used the money as a living-and-training fund to improve his golf skills. The cash became an investment in his future—an investment that paid off when Bohn won the PGA Tour’s 2005 B.C. Open. Bohn’s decision to invest in the future instead of living for the moment was a wise one indeed.
In a sense, that is what Jesus calls us to do. We have been entrusted with resources—time, ability, opportunity— and we decide how to use them. Our challenge is to see those resources as an opportunity to invest long-term. “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,” is how Jesus put it in Matthew 6:20. Those protected treasures cannot be destroyed nor taken away, Jesus assures us.
Think of your resources: talent, time, knowledge. These are temporal and limited. But if you invest them with an eye toward eternity, these temporary things can have enduring impact. What is your focus? Now or forever? Invest in the future. It will not only have an eternal impact, but it will also change the way you view life each day.
Whatever is done in love for Christ
Will one day have heaven’s reward;
Today let’s do what we can for Him,
Our loving Savior and Lord. —Hess
The richest people on earth
are those who invest their lives in heaven.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
October 19th, 2011
The Unheeded Secret
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world —John 18:36
The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the systems of the world. This work insists upon endless energy and activities, but no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation . . . . For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). It is a hidden, obscure thing. An active Christian worker too often lives to be seen by others, while it is the innermost, personal area that reveals the power of a person’s life.
We must get rid of the plague of the spirit of this religious age in which we live. In our Lord’s life there was none of the pressure and the rushing of tremendous activity that we regard so highly today, and a disciple is to be like His Master. The central point of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship with Him, not public usefulness to others.
It is not the practical activities that are the strength of this Bible Training College— its entire strength lies in the fact that here you are immersed in the truths of God to soak in them before Him. You have no idea of where or how God is going to engineer your future circumstances, and no knowledge of what stress and strain is going to be placed on you either at home or abroad. And if you waste your time in overactivity, instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God’s redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be impractical, then you will remain true to Him whatever happens.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Spiritual Termites - #6463
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Let's say that someone steps on the wooden backstairs of your house. Imagine what they do when all of a sudden one of those stairs caves in. Okay, whose fault is it the stair caved in? Well you could blame it on your friend and say, "'Bout time you went on a diet, isn't it buddy?" Or could it be that it wasn't their weight that really made it collapse? Could it be that those little bugs got in and ate it from the inside; and it was already weakened? In fact, even a skinny friend might have made it cave in.
Well, when they call termites a pest, they are really right about that. If you've ever had them in your house, you know what it means to try to get rid of them and you know the damage they can do. You seldom if ever see them, but they quietly, subversively eat away at that wood; and one day beams can cave in, houses can sag, steps can collapse. Not so much because of the weight put on them, but because of the weakness on the inside.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Spiritual Termites."
Our word for today from the Word of God about spiritual termites is found in the book of Joshua 7, where they had a problem with them, and I'm reading in verse 8. You need to know the context first. The Israelites have been winners at the battle of Jericho when the walls caved in. They have then gone on to the battle of Ai and have been defeated by a much smaller force, and a number of their people have been killed. What many of them don't realize is that there is among them a family that has disobeyed God's orders. God's orders were to take no loot out of the city of Jericho, but Achan and his family did it and hid it. And that is ultimately the reason for Israel's defeat.
Joshua is now on his knees and saying, "Lord, what's happened, how come we lost? I thought we were going to be given this Promised Land," and here's what he says. "O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies. The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this. They will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will You do for your own great name?" The Lord said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?" and then in three words He tells what the real problem is. It's not the Canaanites; it's not military defeat; that's what Joshua thinks the problem is. Here's the three word summary of the problem; God simply says, "Israel has sinned" (Joshua 7:8-11).
See, Joshua was doing what we do a lot of times; he was misinterpreting the setback in his life. He thought it was the situation, it was the pressure, it was the enemy that was the problem, but it's not the enemy's strength. It's the not the problem without that defeats us, it's the weakness within--like that stair that collapses because of the termite damage. It's a sin that we've been tolerating and it suddenly becomes noticeable when there's a major setback or a defeat, and you have been weakened, eaten away, corroded by that sin. That's the reason things are collapsing.
Don't blame the pressure. Don't blame the problem. Don't blame the people. It might be a mistake to be looking at the financial problem or the medical problem or the personnel problem or whatever the frustration is as being the issue. It's the result not the cause. Maybe you have, without realizing it, become careless with the truth. Or you've been putting things ahead of people, neglecting some people. Or it could be that you've been slowly seduced by materialism, and your values are all inverted. There's a sin maybe you just won't repent of, or you've been flirting with immorality. Whatever it is, the termites of sin have weakened you.
And the defeat you're experiencing--it's not to bury you, it's to draw your attention to the sin you've consistently ignored. So exterminate the sin; do a little rebuilding, and you'll be stronger than ever. With the weakness inside corrected, you can be a winner again.
I am the Holy One, and I am among you. Hosea 11:9
You can claim courage from God’s promises. May I give you a few examples?
When you are confused: “‘I know what I am planning for you’ says the Lord. ‘I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you’” (Jeremiah 29:11).
On those nights when you wonder where God is: “I am the Holy One, and I am among you” (Hosea 11:9).
Psalm 56
For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam.[b] When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.
1 Be merciful to me, my God,
for my enemies are in hot pursuit;
all day long they press their attack.
2 My adversaries pursue me all day long;
in their pride many are attacking me.
3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
5 All day long they twist my words;
all their schemes are for my ruin.
6 They conspire, they lurk,
they watch my steps,
hoping to take my life.
7 Because of their wickedness do not[c] let them escape;
in your anger, God, bring the nations down.
8 Record my misery;
list my tears on your scroll[d]—
are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
when I call for help.
By this I will know that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise—
11 in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I am under vows to you, my God;
I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 6:19-24
Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[a] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[b] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Investing In The Future
October 19, 2011 — by Bill Crowder
Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. —Matthew 6:20
Jason Bohn was a college student when he made a hole-in-one golf shot that won him a million dollars. While others may have squandered that money, Bohn had a plan. Wanting to be a pro golfer, he used the money as a living-and-training fund to improve his golf skills. The cash became an investment in his future—an investment that paid off when Bohn won the PGA Tour’s 2005 B.C. Open. Bohn’s decision to invest in the future instead of living for the moment was a wise one indeed.
In a sense, that is what Jesus calls us to do. We have been entrusted with resources—time, ability, opportunity— and we decide how to use them. Our challenge is to see those resources as an opportunity to invest long-term. “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,” is how Jesus put it in Matthew 6:20. Those protected treasures cannot be destroyed nor taken away, Jesus assures us.
Think of your resources: talent, time, knowledge. These are temporal and limited. But if you invest them with an eye toward eternity, these temporary things can have enduring impact. What is your focus? Now or forever? Invest in the future. It will not only have an eternal impact, but it will also change the way you view life each day.
Whatever is done in love for Christ
Will one day have heaven’s reward;
Today let’s do what we can for Him,
Our loving Savior and Lord. —Hess
The richest people on earth
are those who invest their lives in heaven.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
October 19th, 2011
The Unheeded Secret
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world —John 18:36
The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the systems of the world. This work insists upon endless energy and activities, but no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation . . . . For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). It is a hidden, obscure thing. An active Christian worker too often lives to be seen by others, while it is the innermost, personal area that reveals the power of a person’s life.
We must get rid of the plague of the spirit of this religious age in which we live. In our Lord’s life there was none of the pressure and the rushing of tremendous activity that we regard so highly today, and a disciple is to be like His Master. The central point of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship with Him, not public usefulness to others.
It is not the practical activities that are the strength of this Bible Training College— its entire strength lies in the fact that here you are immersed in the truths of God to soak in them before Him. You have no idea of where or how God is going to engineer your future circumstances, and no knowledge of what stress and strain is going to be placed on you either at home or abroad. And if you waste your time in overactivity, instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God’s redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be impractical, then you will remain true to Him whatever happens.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Spiritual Termites - #6463
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Let's say that someone steps on the wooden backstairs of your house. Imagine what they do when all of a sudden one of those stairs caves in. Okay, whose fault is it the stair caved in? Well you could blame it on your friend and say, "'Bout time you went on a diet, isn't it buddy?" Or could it be that it wasn't their weight that really made it collapse? Could it be that those little bugs got in and ate it from the inside; and it was already weakened? In fact, even a skinny friend might have made it cave in.
Well, when they call termites a pest, they are really right about that. If you've ever had them in your house, you know what it means to try to get rid of them and you know the damage they can do. You seldom if ever see them, but they quietly, subversively eat away at that wood; and one day beams can cave in, houses can sag, steps can collapse. Not so much because of the weight put on them, but because of the weakness on the inside.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Spiritual Termites."
Our word for today from the Word of God about spiritual termites is found in the book of Joshua 7, where they had a problem with them, and I'm reading in verse 8. You need to know the context first. The Israelites have been winners at the battle of Jericho when the walls caved in. They have then gone on to the battle of Ai and have been defeated by a much smaller force, and a number of their people have been killed. What many of them don't realize is that there is among them a family that has disobeyed God's orders. God's orders were to take no loot out of the city of Jericho, but Achan and his family did it and hid it. And that is ultimately the reason for Israel's defeat.
Joshua is now on his knees and saying, "Lord, what's happened, how come we lost? I thought we were going to be given this Promised Land," and here's what he says. "O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies. The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this. They will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will You do for your own great name?" The Lord said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?" and then in three words He tells what the real problem is. It's not the Canaanites; it's not military defeat; that's what Joshua thinks the problem is. Here's the three word summary of the problem; God simply says, "Israel has sinned" (Joshua 7:8-11).
See, Joshua was doing what we do a lot of times; he was misinterpreting the setback in his life. He thought it was the situation, it was the pressure, it was the enemy that was the problem, but it's not the enemy's strength. It's the not the problem without that defeats us, it's the weakness within--like that stair that collapses because of the termite damage. It's a sin that we've been tolerating and it suddenly becomes noticeable when there's a major setback or a defeat, and you have been weakened, eaten away, corroded by that sin. That's the reason things are collapsing.
Don't blame the pressure. Don't blame the problem. Don't blame the people. It might be a mistake to be looking at the financial problem or the medical problem or the personnel problem or whatever the frustration is as being the issue. It's the result not the cause. Maybe you have, without realizing it, become careless with the truth. Or you've been putting things ahead of people, neglecting some people. Or it could be that you've been slowly seduced by materialism, and your values are all inverted. There's a sin maybe you just won't repent of, or you've been flirting with immorality. Whatever it is, the termites of sin have weakened you.
And the defeat you're experiencing--it's not to bury you, it's to draw your attention to the sin you've consistently ignored. So exterminate the sin; do a little rebuilding, and you'll be stronger than ever. With the weakness inside corrected, you can be a winner again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)