Max Lucado Daily: The Purpose In Our Pain
The Purpose In Our Pain
“Your faith makes you offer your lives as a sacrifice in serving God.” Philippians 2:17
When we face struggles, we often wonder, Why? Years from now, though, we may realize that it was those struggles that taught us something we could not have otherwise learned—that there was a purpose in our pain. God’s purpose is greater than your pain, and he has a greater purpose than your problems.
John 10:22-42
New International Version (NIV)
Further Conflict Over Jesus’ Claims
22 Then came the Festival of Dedication[a] at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[b]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’[c]? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Corinthians 5
Dealing With a Case of Incest
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? 3 For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. 4 So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh,[a][b] so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister[c] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”[d]
Purge Out The Old
January 21, 2012 — by Marvin Williams
Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. —1 Corinthians 5:7
Several days before their New Year celebration, many Chinese families give their home a thorough cleaning. There’s a Cantonese saying that goes: “Wash away the dirt on ninyabaat” (28th day of month 12). They practice this tradition because it is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck.
When the apostle Paul wrote to the believers at Corinth, he asked them to give their lives a thorough cleansing—not for good luck but to please God. He told them to “purge out the old leaven” (1 Cor. 5:7).
Paul used the Jewish feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread (Ex. 12:1-28) as a backdrop for this statement. Leaven (yeast) was a symbol of sin and corruption and was to be removed from Jewish homes to celebrate these festivals (Deut. 16:3-4). Because Jesus is the Passover Lamb who cleanses us from sin, the Corinthians were to scour their hearts and remove the leaven of sexual immorality, malice, and wickedness from their lives and their assembly (1 Cor. 5:9-13).
Out of gratitude to Jesus for His sacrifice, let us purge out the sin in our lives and celebrate the holiness that only He can bring.
The holiness of God demands
A heart that’s pure within,
Yet grace unites with holiness
To purge the heart from sin. —D. De Haan
Sin’s contamination requires the Savior’s cleansing.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Recall What God Remembers
Thus says the Lord: ’I remember . . . the kindness of your youth . . .’ —Jeremiah 2:2
Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Does everything in my life fill His heart with gladness, or do I constantly complain because things don’t seem to be going my way? A person who has forgotten what God treasures will not be filled with joy. It is wonderful to remember that Jesus Christ has needs which we can meet— “Give Me a drink” (John 4:7). How much kindness have I shown Him in the past week? Has my life been a good reflection on His reputation?
God is saying to His people, “You are not in love with Me now, but I remember a time when you were.” He says, “I remember . . . the love of your betrothal . . .” (Jeremiah 2:2). Am I as filled to overflowing with love for Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning, when I went out of my way to prove my devotion to Him? Does He ever find me pondering the time when I cared only for Him? Is that where I am now, or have I chosen man’s wisdom over true love for Him? Am I so in love with Him that I take no thought for where He might lead me? Or am I watching to see how much respect I get as I measure how much service I should give Him?
As I recall what God remembers about me, I may also begin to realize that He is not what He used to be to me. When this happens, I should allow the shame and humiliation it creates in my life, because it will bring godly sorrow, and “godly sorrow produces repentance . . .” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Psalm 26, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Disagreeing With God
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:13-15
We sometimes believe a mouse in a lion’s den has better odds of success than we do. You flop miserably and descend yet another level into the basement of self-defeat!
Fear of insignificance creates the results it dreads! It arrives at the destination it tries to avoid. If you pass your days mumbling, “I’ll never make a difference; I’m not worth anything,” then guess what? You sentence yourself to a life of gloom without parole!
Even worse—you’re disagreeing with God. Questioning His judgment. Second-guessing His taste. According to God, you were ‘wonderfully made.’ He can’t stop thinking about you.
Why does He love you so much? The same reason the artist loves his paintings. You’re His idea!
And God only has good ideas!
Psalm 26
Of David.
1 Vindicate me, LORD,
for I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the LORD
and have not faltered.
2 Test me, LORD, and try me,
examine my heart and my mind;
3 for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love
and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.
4 I do not sit with the deceitful,
nor do I associate with hypocrites.
5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers
and refuse to sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands in innocence,
and go about your altar, LORD,
7 proclaiming aloud your praise
and telling of all your wonderful deeds.
8 LORD, I love the house where you live,
the place where your glory dwells.
9 Do not take away my soul along with sinners,
my life with those who are bloodthirsty,
10 in whose hands are wicked schemes,
whose right hands are full of bribes.
11 I lead a blameless life;
deliver me and be merciful to me.
12 My feet stand on level ground;
in the great congregation I will praise the LORD.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 9:9-13
The Calling of Matthew
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Extending Grace
January 20, 2012 — by David C. McCasland
Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. —Matthew 9:12
In the mid-1970s, divorce filings and final decrees appeared in the Public Records section of our local newspaper. Rev. Bill Flanagan, a pastor at our church, read those names week after week and began to picture people, not statistics. So he created a Divorce Recovery Workshop to offer help and healing in Christ to hurting people during a difficult time. When concerned church members told Bill he was condoning divorce, he softly replied that he was simply extending God’s grace to folks in need.
When Jesus invited Matthew the tax collector to follow Him, he accepted. Matthew then invited Jesus to dinner at his house. After the religious leaders criticized Him for eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Matt. 9:12-13). Jesus, the Great Physician, wants to meet each of us at our point of need, offering forgiveness, healing, and hope. What we don’t deserve, He freely gives.
By reaching out to people in need, we can extend to others this grace of God in Christ—guiding them to His healing touch.
There’s advantage in our weakness,
There is blessing in our pain;
It is when we’re feeling helpless
That God’s grace and strength sustain. —Fitzhugh
When you know God’s grace, you’ll want to show God’s grace.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 20, 2012
Are You Fresh for Everything?
Jesus answered and said to him, ’Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’ —John 3:3
Sometimes we are fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?
Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, “I have to do this thing or it will never get done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us “in the light as He is in the light . . .” (1 John 1:7).
Jealously guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We are one”-with nothing in between (John 17:22). Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone.
Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
AWWY - "The Bar Stays Where it Is" (#6530)
Friday, January 20, 2012
One of the most challenging and graceful track and field events has got to be the pole vault. There's this athlete running, then he's airborne on that pole, now he's gliding up and over that bar. Can't you picture it? Well, up at least! Oh, no! The bar comes crashing down; the "vaulter" didn't clear the bar. But wait! Here come the officials! Listen to what they're saying to the unsuccessful "vaulter", "Oh, that a little high for you wasn't it? Listen, why don't we lower the bar a couple of notches? We'll just keep lowering it until you can clear it."
Don't hold your breath looking for a scene like that on the Olympics or any other sports program. They're going to never lower the bar in a track meet. Of course, it's happening all the time in the church.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Bar Stays Where it Is."
There's an interesting trend among God's people today to sort of re-write God's laws when someone I love has violated them. Now, if a friend or family member of yours hasn't cleared God's standards, isn't it interesting how we suddenly find justification for lowering the bar?
In our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Samuel 13:14, David was the one who was described as "a man after God's own heart." And yet we know that by 2 Samuel 12, he has committed a gross sin of adultery with Bathsheba, and then setting up her husband to die on the front lines. Here is the man God loves; the man after His own heart. But listen to what God says through the prophet Nathan. "Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, David, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah to be your own."
This is what the Lord says, "out of your own household I'm going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this in broad daylight before all Israel." See, the man God loved didn't clear the bar. Did God lower it? No. He can't. But apparently we can when it's a choice between the laws of God and our love for someone close to us, well we tend to re-write the laws to fit the one we love; to find a loophole that they can squeeze through.
We can be very clear as to what the Bible says about sex, about abortion, about divorce, about marrying an unbeliever, about revenge, until someone close to us steps outside those boundaries. It's amazing how we suddenly start twisting verses, finding loopholes, re-interpreting Scripture, playing theological games that satisfy our logic but not God's holiness, and we accept some unacceptable compromises.
When sin gets close to home, it can teach us how to be more merciful than we've been before, how to be less judgmental. And it can give us a wonderful opportunity to show God's unconditional love for people whether they clear the bar or not. But we dare not try in the process of loving and forgiving and accepting people in a sinful moment. We dare not try to lower God's standard. He didn't for the man He loved deeply, and we can't either.
To be sure, God picks us up when we fail and when we collapse on the other side of our sin, but He won't bend His laws for anyone. He can't, and neither can we. The bar stays where it is.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:13-15
We sometimes believe a mouse in a lion’s den has better odds of success than we do. You flop miserably and descend yet another level into the basement of self-defeat!
Fear of insignificance creates the results it dreads! It arrives at the destination it tries to avoid. If you pass your days mumbling, “I’ll never make a difference; I’m not worth anything,” then guess what? You sentence yourself to a life of gloom without parole!
Even worse—you’re disagreeing with God. Questioning His judgment. Second-guessing His taste. According to God, you were ‘wonderfully made.’ He can’t stop thinking about you.
Why does He love you so much? The same reason the artist loves his paintings. You’re His idea!
And God only has good ideas!
Psalm 26
Of David.
1 Vindicate me, LORD,
for I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the LORD
and have not faltered.
2 Test me, LORD, and try me,
examine my heart and my mind;
3 for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love
and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.
4 I do not sit with the deceitful,
nor do I associate with hypocrites.
5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers
and refuse to sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands in innocence,
and go about your altar, LORD,
7 proclaiming aloud your praise
and telling of all your wonderful deeds.
8 LORD, I love the house where you live,
the place where your glory dwells.
9 Do not take away my soul along with sinners,
my life with those who are bloodthirsty,
10 in whose hands are wicked schemes,
whose right hands are full of bribes.
11 I lead a blameless life;
deliver me and be merciful to me.
12 My feet stand on level ground;
in the great congregation I will praise the LORD.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 9:9-13
The Calling of Matthew
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Extending Grace
January 20, 2012 — by David C. McCasland
Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. —Matthew 9:12
In the mid-1970s, divorce filings and final decrees appeared in the Public Records section of our local newspaper. Rev. Bill Flanagan, a pastor at our church, read those names week after week and began to picture people, not statistics. So he created a Divorce Recovery Workshop to offer help and healing in Christ to hurting people during a difficult time. When concerned church members told Bill he was condoning divorce, he softly replied that he was simply extending God’s grace to folks in need.
When Jesus invited Matthew the tax collector to follow Him, he accepted. Matthew then invited Jesus to dinner at his house. After the religious leaders criticized Him for eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Matt. 9:12-13). Jesus, the Great Physician, wants to meet each of us at our point of need, offering forgiveness, healing, and hope. What we don’t deserve, He freely gives.
By reaching out to people in need, we can extend to others this grace of God in Christ—guiding them to His healing touch.
There’s advantage in our weakness,
There is blessing in our pain;
It is when we’re feeling helpless
That God’s grace and strength sustain. —Fitzhugh
When you know God’s grace, you’ll want to show God’s grace.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 20, 2012
Are You Fresh for Everything?
Jesus answered and said to him, ’Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’ —John 3:3
Sometimes we are fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?
Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, “I have to do this thing or it will never get done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us “in the light as He is in the light . . .” (1 John 1:7).
Jealously guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We are one”-with nothing in between (John 17:22). Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone.
Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
AWWY - "The Bar Stays Where it Is" (#6530)
Friday, January 20, 2012
One of the most challenging and graceful track and field events has got to be the pole vault. There's this athlete running, then he's airborne on that pole, now he's gliding up and over that bar. Can't you picture it? Well, up at least! Oh, no! The bar comes crashing down; the "vaulter" didn't clear the bar. But wait! Here come the officials! Listen to what they're saying to the unsuccessful "vaulter", "Oh, that a little high for you wasn't it? Listen, why don't we lower the bar a couple of notches? We'll just keep lowering it until you can clear it."
Don't hold your breath looking for a scene like that on the Olympics or any other sports program. They're going to never lower the bar in a track meet. Of course, it's happening all the time in the church.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Bar Stays Where it Is."
There's an interesting trend among God's people today to sort of re-write God's laws when someone I love has violated them. Now, if a friend or family member of yours hasn't cleared God's standards, isn't it interesting how we suddenly find justification for lowering the bar?
In our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Samuel 13:14, David was the one who was described as "a man after God's own heart." And yet we know that by 2 Samuel 12, he has committed a gross sin of adultery with Bathsheba, and then setting up her husband to die on the front lines. Here is the man God loves; the man after His own heart. But listen to what God says through the prophet Nathan. "Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, David, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah to be your own."
This is what the Lord says, "out of your own household I'm going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this in broad daylight before all Israel." See, the man God loved didn't clear the bar. Did God lower it? No. He can't. But apparently we can when it's a choice between the laws of God and our love for someone close to us, well we tend to re-write the laws to fit the one we love; to find a loophole that they can squeeze through.
We can be very clear as to what the Bible says about sex, about abortion, about divorce, about marrying an unbeliever, about revenge, until someone close to us steps outside those boundaries. It's amazing how we suddenly start twisting verses, finding loopholes, re-interpreting Scripture, playing theological games that satisfy our logic but not God's holiness, and we accept some unacceptable compromises.
When sin gets close to home, it can teach us how to be more merciful than we've been before, how to be less judgmental. And it can give us a wonderful opportunity to show God's unconditional love for people whether they clear the bar or not. But we dare not try in the process of loving and forgiving and accepting people in a sinful moment. We dare not try to lower God's standard. He didn't for the man He loved deeply, and we can't either.
To be sure, God picks us up when we fail and when we collapse on the other side of our sin, but He won't bend His laws for anyone. He can't, and neither can we. The bar stays where it is.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Psalm 25, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: The Wolf Man
Jesus arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So, the men marveled, saying “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey him? Matthew 8:26-27
When I was six, my dad let me watch the movie, The Wolf Man. Boy, did he regret that decision!
I was convinced the wolf man spent each night prowling our den! To reach the kitchen from my bedroom I had to pass perilously close. More than once I woke up my dad. Like Jesus in the boat, dad was sound asleep in the storm.
He’d ask, “Now why are you afraid?”
I’d remind him of the monster. And with super-human courage, he’d escort me through the valley of the shadow of death, and pour me a glass of milk. I’d look at him and think, “What kind of man is this?”
God views our storms the way my father viewed my Wolf Man angst. Jesus got up, gave a command to the wind and the waves, and it became completely calm!
What kind of man is this? What kind of man, indeed!
Psalm 25[d]
Of David.
1 In you, LORD my God,
I put my trust.
2 I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.
4 Show me your ways, LORD,
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, LORD, are good.
8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
12 Who, then, are those who fear the LORD?
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.[e]
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
and their descendants will inherit the land.
14 The LORD confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the LORD,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
and free me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
and how fiercely they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me;
do not let me be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope, LORD,[f] is in you.
22 Deliver Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Hebrews 11:1-10
Faith in Action
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Magic Eye
January 19, 2012 — by Julie Ackerman Link
[God] is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. —Hebrews 11:6
One of my nephews brought a book of Magic Eye images to a family gathering. Magic Eye images look like ordinary two-dimensional patterns, but when viewed in a certain way, the flat surface appears three-dimensional.
We took turns trying to train our eyes to make the three-dimensional image pop out. One family member had trouble seeing the extra dimension. Several times I noticed he had the book open, looking at it from all different distances and directions. But even though he couldn’t see the hidden image, he believed it was there because others had seen it.
His persistence made me think about the importance of having the same tenacity in matters of faith. The danger for those who doubt is that they stop looking for God because they believe He can’t be found. Moses warned the Israelites that future generations would wander from God. He promised, however, that those who seek God with all their heart and soul will find Him (Deut. 4:29). The book of Hebrews confirms that God rewards those who diligently seek Him (11:6).
If you struggle to believe, remember: Just because you don’t see God doesn’t mean He doesn’t exist. He promises to be found by those who seek Him.
I searched with all my heart to know
If God was really there;
He graciously revealed Himself,
His mercy, love, and care. —Cetas
Because God is great, He will be sought;
because God is good, He will be found.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Vision and Darkness
When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him —Genesis 15:12
Whenever God gives a vision to a Christian, it is as if He puts him in “the shadow of His hand” (Isaiah 49:2). The saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a “darkness” that comes from too much light-that is the time to listen. The story of Abram and Hagar in Genesis 16 is an excellent example of listening to so-called good advice during a time of darkness, rather than waiting for God to send the light. When God gives you a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will bring the vision He has given you to reality in your life if you will wait on His timing. Never try to help God fulfill His word. Abram went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all of his self-sufficiency was destroyed. He grew past the point of relying on his own common sense. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not a period of God’s displeasure. There is never any need to pretend that your life is filled with joy and confidence; just wait upon God and be grounded in Him (see Isaiah 50:10-11).
Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I am Almighty God . . .”— El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Hug Them Tightly, But Hold Them Loosely - #6529
Thursday, January 19, 2012
It was Christmas Eve a long time ago, and we got an emergency S.O.S. phone call from a school principal that we knew in Patterson, New Jersey. She actually had promised to supply Christmas toys for some of her students who were burned out families, and I think at that time Patterson was one of the arson capitols of the country. Actually, she had come up short and it was Christmas Eve. So - this emergency call asking if we could help.
Well, I was pretty thrilled to see our kids respond. They started digging into their old toys for things to give, and then came the fire engine. It was my oldest son's favorite. It was this big, new, bright red Tonka fire engine. And with both hands he carried it upstairs and extended it to me to be put in the Christmas bag. And I said, "Oh, son, are you sure you want to give this? I mean, I don't want you to feel bad about this tomorrow." I think he was almost offended. He looked at me with those big, blue eyes and he said, "Dad! Isn't this what Jesus coming here is all about?" Oh, man, I melted. You see, even at his young age, my son knew that even your most precious possessions really belong to the Lord and are to be held loosely, whether they're toy trucks or the children who play with them.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hug Them Tightly, But Hold Them Loosely."
Our word for today from the Word of God, it's from 1 Samuel 1. It's about a mother who could not have wanted her child more. Her name is Hannah. She has suffered many childless years, frustrated years. She gives God a desperate prayer, "Lord, give me a child." And He gives her a glorious answer in the person of a baby - Samuel. She says in verse 20, after the baby comes, "I will name him Samuel because I asked the Lord for him." Then in verse 22, it says, "Hannah did not go up to the temple. She said to her husband, 'After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord and he will live there at the temple always.'" She wants him to be raised for the Lord's service by the High Priest.
Verse 27, "I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord." Man! Hannah loved her child dearly, but she held him loosely. You know, I think many of us Christian parents can say, "Whatever You want, Lord, about everything we have except maybe my son or my daughter."
You see, it's one thing for our children to need us; it's something else for us to need them too much. Had Hannah needed Samuel too much, she would have restricted God's training, and God's movement, and God's plans for his life. Without realizing it, we often end up standing in the way of God's best for our kids because, well, we might lose their attention, or their closeness, or their help that we need. Maybe our dreams for them are different from God's dreams for them. But we continue to press our expectations, maybe even using spiritual language to do it.
It's so easy to let our children become an extension of our ego, our hopes, our dreams rather than letting them simply be God's servants. Maybe you even have a child God is calling into His service and you're kind of standing in the way. We just dare not forget that our children are God's property trusted to us. We dare not hijack them from His service to be in ours.
Oh, love them deeply, but don't hold them back. Hug them tightly, but hold them loosely.
Jesus arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So, the men marveled, saying “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey him? Matthew 8:26-27
When I was six, my dad let me watch the movie, The Wolf Man. Boy, did he regret that decision!
I was convinced the wolf man spent each night prowling our den! To reach the kitchen from my bedroom I had to pass perilously close. More than once I woke up my dad. Like Jesus in the boat, dad was sound asleep in the storm.
He’d ask, “Now why are you afraid?”
I’d remind him of the monster. And with super-human courage, he’d escort me through the valley of the shadow of death, and pour me a glass of milk. I’d look at him and think, “What kind of man is this?”
God views our storms the way my father viewed my Wolf Man angst. Jesus got up, gave a command to the wind and the waves, and it became completely calm!
What kind of man is this? What kind of man, indeed!
Psalm 25[d]
Of David.
1 In you, LORD my God,
I put my trust.
2 I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.
4 Show me your ways, LORD,
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, LORD, are good.
8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
12 Who, then, are those who fear the LORD?
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.[e]
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
and their descendants will inherit the land.
14 The LORD confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the LORD,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
and free me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
and how fiercely they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me;
do not let me be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope, LORD,[f] is in you.
22 Deliver Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Hebrews 11:1-10
Faith in Action
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Magic Eye
January 19, 2012 — by Julie Ackerman Link
[God] is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. —Hebrews 11:6
One of my nephews brought a book of Magic Eye images to a family gathering. Magic Eye images look like ordinary two-dimensional patterns, but when viewed in a certain way, the flat surface appears three-dimensional.
We took turns trying to train our eyes to make the three-dimensional image pop out. One family member had trouble seeing the extra dimension. Several times I noticed he had the book open, looking at it from all different distances and directions. But even though he couldn’t see the hidden image, he believed it was there because others had seen it.
His persistence made me think about the importance of having the same tenacity in matters of faith. The danger for those who doubt is that they stop looking for God because they believe He can’t be found. Moses warned the Israelites that future generations would wander from God. He promised, however, that those who seek God with all their heart and soul will find Him (Deut. 4:29). The book of Hebrews confirms that God rewards those who diligently seek Him (11:6).
If you struggle to believe, remember: Just because you don’t see God doesn’t mean He doesn’t exist. He promises to be found by those who seek Him.
I searched with all my heart to know
If God was really there;
He graciously revealed Himself,
His mercy, love, and care. —Cetas
Because God is great, He will be sought;
because God is good, He will be found.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Vision and Darkness
When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him —Genesis 15:12
Whenever God gives a vision to a Christian, it is as if He puts him in “the shadow of His hand” (Isaiah 49:2). The saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a “darkness” that comes from too much light-that is the time to listen. The story of Abram and Hagar in Genesis 16 is an excellent example of listening to so-called good advice during a time of darkness, rather than waiting for God to send the light. When God gives you a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will bring the vision He has given you to reality in your life if you will wait on His timing. Never try to help God fulfill His word. Abram went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all of his self-sufficiency was destroyed. He grew past the point of relying on his own common sense. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not a period of God’s displeasure. There is never any need to pretend that your life is filled with joy and confidence; just wait upon God and be grounded in Him (see Isaiah 50:10-11).
Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I am Almighty God . . .”— El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Hug Them Tightly, But Hold Them Loosely - #6529
Thursday, January 19, 2012
It was Christmas Eve a long time ago, and we got an emergency S.O.S. phone call from a school principal that we knew in Patterson, New Jersey. She actually had promised to supply Christmas toys for some of her students who were burned out families, and I think at that time Patterson was one of the arson capitols of the country. Actually, she had come up short and it was Christmas Eve. So - this emergency call asking if we could help.
Well, I was pretty thrilled to see our kids respond. They started digging into their old toys for things to give, and then came the fire engine. It was my oldest son's favorite. It was this big, new, bright red Tonka fire engine. And with both hands he carried it upstairs and extended it to me to be put in the Christmas bag. And I said, "Oh, son, are you sure you want to give this? I mean, I don't want you to feel bad about this tomorrow." I think he was almost offended. He looked at me with those big, blue eyes and he said, "Dad! Isn't this what Jesus coming here is all about?" Oh, man, I melted. You see, even at his young age, my son knew that even your most precious possessions really belong to the Lord and are to be held loosely, whether they're toy trucks or the children who play with them.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hug Them Tightly, But Hold Them Loosely."
Our word for today from the Word of God, it's from 1 Samuel 1. It's about a mother who could not have wanted her child more. Her name is Hannah. She has suffered many childless years, frustrated years. She gives God a desperate prayer, "Lord, give me a child." And He gives her a glorious answer in the person of a baby - Samuel. She says in verse 20, after the baby comes, "I will name him Samuel because I asked the Lord for him." Then in verse 22, it says, "Hannah did not go up to the temple. She said to her husband, 'After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord and he will live there at the temple always.'" She wants him to be raised for the Lord's service by the High Priest.
Verse 27, "I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord." Man! Hannah loved her child dearly, but she held him loosely. You know, I think many of us Christian parents can say, "Whatever You want, Lord, about everything we have except maybe my son or my daughter."
You see, it's one thing for our children to need us; it's something else for us to need them too much. Had Hannah needed Samuel too much, she would have restricted God's training, and God's movement, and God's plans for his life. Without realizing it, we often end up standing in the way of God's best for our kids because, well, we might lose their attention, or their closeness, or their help that we need. Maybe our dreams for them are different from God's dreams for them. But we continue to press our expectations, maybe even using spiritual language to do it.
It's so easy to let our children become an extension of our ego, our hopes, our dreams rather than letting them simply be God's servants. Maybe you even have a child God is calling into His service and you're kind of standing in the way. We just dare not forget that our children are God's property trusted to us. We dare not hijack them from His service to be in ours.
Oh, love them deeply, but don't hold them back. Hug them tightly, but hold them loosely.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Psalm 24, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: A Spirit of Fear
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
Fear! It sucks the life out of the soul! And when fear shapes our lives, safety becomes our god. We worship the risk-free life!
The fear-filled cannot love deeply. Love is just too risky. No wonder Jesus wages such a war against fear.
Don’t be afraid. Take courage.
Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.
Jesus steps into the storm and asks, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”
Fear may fill the world, but it doesn’t have to fill your heart! Hysteria is not from God. And Jesus doesn’t want you to live there! The promise of Christ is ... God has not given you a spirit of fear!
Psalm 24
Of David. A psalm.
1 The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.[a]
5 They will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God their Savior.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.[b][c]
7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Ephesians 6:10-18
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Regaining Our Balance
January 18, 2012 — by Bill Crowder
Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. —Ephesians 6:13
For the last few years, my wife, Marlene, has suffered from inner-ear problems that cause her to lose her equilibrium. Without warning, something inside her ear is upset and she becomes dizzy. If she tries to sit or stand, a condition called vertigo makes that impossible—and she has to lie down. No amount of effort can compensate for the power of the inner ear to disrupt and disturb. An active person, Marlene finds these unwelcome episodes frustrating.
Sometimes life is like that. Something unexpected upsets our routine, and we are knocked off-balance. Perhaps it’s bad news about our job being eliminated or disturbing test results from our doctor. It may even be an attack from our spiritual enemy. In each case, our emotional equilibrium is hammered, and we feel as if we can’t stand.
Those moments should cause us to turn to God. When we feel we are losing our balance, He can help. He provides spiritual resources to help us stand. Paul says, “Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Eph. 6:13).
When life knocks us off our feet, we don’t have to be frustrated. With God’s strength lifting us up and God’s armor protecting us, we can still stand strong.
With patience in His love I’ll rest,
And whisper that He knoweth best,
Then, clinging to that guiding hand,
A weakling, in His strength I’ll stand. —Pentecost
We can endure anything if we depend on God for everything.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
"It Is the Lord!"
Thomas answered and said to Him, ’My Lord and my God!’ —John 20:28
Jesus said to her, ’Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.
Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Rebel With the Cause - #6528
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Shades of the '60s: lots of angry, discontented young people, occupying public places, trying to call attention to their cause. Haven't we seen this before?
The '60s demonstrations were about a war, and they turned more violent. The 2011 crowds? Well, they were occupying high-profile public areas like Wall Street, for example, around the world, and with a different cause; claiming that their protest was about jobs, and corporate greed, concentrated wealth, economic injustice. Of course, only time will tell whether this is a game-changer or just a loud blip on the screen.
And while the real goals and agenda of the "Occupy" demonstrators could be debatable, one thing isn't. Once again, the world is watching the power of young people fighting for a cause. We've seen it in passionate revolutions against dictators. And a lot of brokers and traders have been seeing it every day on their way to work in the financial epicenters of the world.
But one day the world is going to be rocked by the greatest youth revolution in the history of the planet. But it won't be about bombs or billionaires. It will be about bringing back the King of all kings.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Rebel With the Cause."
The Jewish prophet Joel said it first, then Simon Peter thought it was worth repeating at Pentecost - the day the Church was born, our word for today from the Word of God. It's Acts 2:17, and God says, "In the last days I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams."
It sounds to me like the most powerful Jesus-movement in history will happen just before He comes back. And apparently, young people will be the point of the spear! Their fervent young passions will be poured into the greatest cause there is - saturating this planet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. They're going to help birth and help lead a bold vision that will touch, as the Bible says, "all people." A young army, backed by older people who share the dream, committed to taking back what the enemy has stolen.
That might seem far-fetched if you're used to seeing church kids who are bored, apathetic, yawning, unengaged. But that's actually unnatural for young people, because they're instinctively fired up, and full of energy, and restless to change things. So maybe some, or most of this counterintuitive complacency is our fault. Maybe they're just rising to the level of our expectations and we haven't expected much.
Today's Christian young people are over-entertained and under-challenged. We give them bread and circuses instead of mobilizing them to make a difference. If you've known me for long, you know what I told my kids every day when they left for school. I challenged them to "GO MAD!" Go Make A Difference! That's what being salt and light is all about. What do salt and light have in common? Well, not much, except for one thing. They both change their environment!
That's what our young people can be doing! Not just going to one youth event after another where we try to keep them entertained and interested. They need a mission; something to do with all that Christian stuff they know.
There are senior citizens whose lives would be illuminated by a teenager who listens to their stories and shows them love. There are kids who struggle in school who could be given a future by a young person who would take time to tutor them. There's that rescue mission downtown...those homeless people...those children in your own church who look up to a teenager and who need one who will show them Jesus. How about a Christian drama team, or band, or choir that they could put together and move out into the community. There's a whole generation in your town who will go to hell unless someone figures out a way to attract them to Jesus. And their best hope is people just like them, except with Christ in their heart.
You've seen what happens to kids on a church missions trip. Suddenly their faith comes alive! So, a truly life-changing youth ministry isn't just going to be meetings to go to; it's going to be a year-round missions trip to meet needs all around us in our own area.
So before the wake-up call reaches our young people, we have to wake up first. To how we've failed to challenge them, to believe in them, to show them what God sees when He looks at them, as leaders who can be examples of the believer.
And who knows, we just might be recruiting warriors for that young army who will one day bring back the King.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
Fear! It sucks the life out of the soul! And when fear shapes our lives, safety becomes our god. We worship the risk-free life!
The fear-filled cannot love deeply. Love is just too risky. No wonder Jesus wages such a war against fear.
Don’t be afraid. Take courage.
Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.
Jesus steps into the storm and asks, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”
Fear may fill the world, but it doesn’t have to fill your heart! Hysteria is not from God. And Jesus doesn’t want you to live there! The promise of Christ is ... God has not given you a spirit of fear!
Psalm 24
Of David. A psalm.
1 The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.[a]
5 They will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God their Savior.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.[b][c]
7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Ephesians 6:10-18
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Regaining Our Balance
January 18, 2012 — by Bill Crowder
Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. —Ephesians 6:13
For the last few years, my wife, Marlene, has suffered from inner-ear problems that cause her to lose her equilibrium. Without warning, something inside her ear is upset and she becomes dizzy. If she tries to sit or stand, a condition called vertigo makes that impossible—and she has to lie down. No amount of effort can compensate for the power of the inner ear to disrupt and disturb. An active person, Marlene finds these unwelcome episodes frustrating.
Sometimes life is like that. Something unexpected upsets our routine, and we are knocked off-balance. Perhaps it’s bad news about our job being eliminated or disturbing test results from our doctor. It may even be an attack from our spiritual enemy. In each case, our emotional equilibrium is hammered, and we feel as if we can’t stand.
Those moments should cause us to turn to God. When we feel we are losing our balance, He can help. He provides spiritual resources to help us stand. Paul says, “Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Eph. 6:13).
When life knocks us off our feet, we don’t have to be frustrated. With God’s strength lifting us up and God’s armor protecting us, we can still stand strong.
With patience in His love I’ll rest,
And whisper that He knoweth best,
Then, clinging to that guiding hand,
A weakling, in His strength I’ll stand. —Pentecost
We can endure anything if we depend on God for everything.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
"It Is the Lord!"
Thomas answered and said to Him, ’My Lord and my God!’ —John 20:28
Jesus said to her, ’Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.
Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Rebel With the Cause - #6528
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Shades of the '60s: lots of angry, discontented young people, occupying public places, trying to call attention to their cause. Haven't we seen this before?
The '60s demonstrations were about a war, and they turned more violent. The 2011 crowds? Well, they were occupying high-profile public areas like Wall Street, for example, around the world, and with a different cause; claiming that their protest was about jobs, and corporate greed, concentrated wealth, economic injustice. Of course, only time will tell whether this is a game-changer or just a loud blip on the screen.
And while the real goals and agenda of the "Occupy" demonstrators could be debatable, one thing isn't. Once again, the world is watching the power of young people fighting for a cause. We've seen it in passionate revolutions against dictators. And a lot of brokers and traders have been seeing it every day on their way to work in the financial epicenters of the world.
But one day the world is going to be rocked by the greatest youth revolution in the history of the planet. But it won't be about bombs or billionaires. It will be about bringing back the King of all kings.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Rebel With the Cause."
The Jewish prophet Joel said it first, then Simon Peter thought it was worth repeating at Pentecost - the day the Church was born, our word for today from the Word of God. It's Acts 2:17, and God says, "In the last days I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams."
It sounds to me like the most powerful Jesus-movement in history will happen just before He comes back. And apparently, young people will be the point of the spear! Their fervent young passions will be poured into the greatest cause there is - saturating this planet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. They're going to help birth and help lead a bold vision that will touch, as the Bible says, "all people." A young army, backed by older people who share the dream, committed to taking back what the enemy has stolen.
That might seem far-fetched if you're used to seeing church kids who are bored, apathetic, yawning, unengaged. But that's actually unnatural for young people, because they're instinctively fired up, and full of energy, and restless to change things. So maybe some, or most of this counterintuitive complacency is our fault. Maybe they're just rising to the level of our expectations and we haven't expected much.
Today's Christian young people are over-entertained and under-challenged. We give them bread and circuses instead of mobilizing them to make a difference. If you've known me for long, you know what I told my kids every day when they left for school. I challenged them to "GO MAD!" Go Make A Difference! That's what being salt and light is all about. What do salt and light have in common? Well, not much, except for one thing. They both change their environment!
That's what our young people can be doing! Not just going to one youth event after another where we try to keep them entertained and interested. They need a mission; something to do with all that Christian stuff they know.
There are senior citizens whose lives would be illuminated by a teenager who listens to their stories and shows them love. There are kids who struggle in school who could be given a future by a young person who would take time to tutor them. There's that rescue mission downtown...those homeless people...those children in your own church who look up to a teenager and who need one who will show them Jesus. How about a Christian drama team, or band, or choir that they could put together and move out into the community. There's a whole generation in your town who will go to hell unless someone figures out a way to attract them to Jesus. And their best hope is people just like them, except with Christ in their heart.
You've seen what happens to kids on a church missions trip. Suddenly their faith comes alive! So, a truly life-changing youth ministry isn't just going to be meetings to go to; it's going to be a year-round missions trip to meet needs all around us in our own area.
So before the wake-up call reaches our young people, we have to wake up first. To how we've failed to challenge them, to believe in them, to show them what God sees when He looks at them, as leaders who can be examples of the believer.
And who knows, we just might be recruiting warriors for that young army who will one day bring back the King.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
John 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: You Are Not Alone
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3
God said, “I will not forsake my people!”
The Lord is with us. And with Him near—everything is different. Everything!
Even a serious illness. Even death. You aren’t facing illness or death alone—the Lord is with you.
You may be facing marital struggles, but you aren’t facing them alone. The Lord is with you!
You may be facing debt, but you aren’t facing debt alone. The Lord is with you.
Your family may turn against you, but God won’t.
Your friends may betray you, but God won’t.
You may feel alone in the wilderness, but you are not. He is with you!
John 10
The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
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. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided. 20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”
21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Exodus 18:13-24
13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”
15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”
17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
A Time For Good Counsel
January 17, 2012 — by Randy Kilgore
So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. —Exodus 18:24
Because of the busy lives many of us lead, it’s not hard to recognize ourselves in the over-extended situation of Moses in Exodus 18. As the sole judge for the masses, he was surrounded “from morning until evening” (v.13) by people who needed his help.
In fact, I’ve had people—particularly young parents—tell me that they identify with Moses. It seems that we need to learn two life skills for survival: an eagerness to listen (v.24) and the willingness to accept help (v.25). Sometimes we don’t accept help because of pride, but that’s not always the case.
With Moses, and often with us, it’s simply that life is moving so quickly and making so many demands on us (vv.13-15) that we barely have time to react—let alone to contemplate or go to someone else for advice. Perhaps this is one reason the Scriptures remind us to surround ourselves with counselors who will offer their experience and wisdom even when we’re too busy to ask for it. We see this in the story of what Jethro did for Moses when he told his son-in-law to delegate some of his responsibilities (vv.17-23).
Don’t be overwhelmed. Instead, seek godly counsel and then follow through on what you are told.
Lord, give us ears to hear advice
From loved ones wise and humble;
So when life’s challenges appear,
We will not have to stumble. —Sper
He who will not be counseled will not be helped.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Call of the Natural Life
When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me . . . —Galatians 1:15-16
The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles . . . .”
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wimpy Death - #6527
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Years ago a friend of mine told me this, "If people who don't know Jesus want to know the difference Jesus makes, let them come to our funerals."
Well, I thought of that again this week as I joined one of our dear friends in mourning the loss of his precious wife and our precious friend. They've poured out their lives for other people in one of the world's most troubled places. And because of the violence around them, one of their little daughter's first words was "rocket." But a year ago the bomb that changed everything was a word that they heard in the doctor's office - "cancer." Last week, after a brave fight against that killer, Nancy breathed her last. And that little daughter, who is now a beautiful young woman who really mirrors her mother, and she sang at Nancy's memorial service. And she had this glow that defied the grief. The song said:
"Still, my soul, be still, and do not fear
Though winds of change may rage tomorrow
God is at your side, no longer dread
The fires of unexpected sorrow.
God, You are my God, and I will trust in You and not be shaken."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Wimpy Death."
Was there grieving? Yeah, I was there; you bet there was. Were there tears? Of course. Was Nancy's absence felt in the midst of all these people that she loved and who really loved her? Oh, painfully so. But grief did not carry the day. Or the days when both John and Nancy knew she was dying. Death won a skirmish, but death lost the battle a long time ago, at a grave that was vacated forever after only three days' occupancy.
Our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Corinthians 15:3. It declares the victory this way: "Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day...Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?...Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:3; 54-56).
I saw the impotence of death! I saw the power of Jesus' victory everywhere I looked during those difficult days around Nancy's death and funeral. Just like at my mother's funeral, my father's funeral, countless funerals of people I have loved, because they had each taken Jesus up on the gift that He bought with His blood when He paid for their sins on the cross. I mean, the Bible says, "Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Only someone who's conquered death Himself can give eternal life to other people. And someone did, but only one someone, and His name is Jesus.
And Jesus was all over the place again this week as loved ones mourned the temporary absence of one who belonged to Him. Because we all knew that death hadn't won. All death could do was see Nancy home; the same home her husband will be promoted to some day, and her daughter, and her son, and her family. Oh yeah, and my wife and me, because of Jesus...only Jesus.
Yeah, there was grief, but there was much more hope and celebration. Because every funeral of a Jesus-forgiven child of God is the ultimate declaration of what a Savior He is. This "hope" isn't wishful thinking or sympathy card sentiments. It's the surest of all sure things because it's anchored to the Man who blew death away when He walked out of His grave. It is a hope; it is an anchor that is one prayer away for you to say, "Jesus, You died for me. You walked out of Your grave for me. I am Yours." Do that today! Get this done. Get this settled. Our website's there to help you do just that. Would you visit us there today at YoursForLife.net?
See, even in "the valley of the shadow of death," "we have this hope," the Bible says, "as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19). In the deepest, in the darkest hour, the anchor held, and it always will.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3
God said, “I will not forsake my people!”
The Lord is with us. And with Him near—everything is different. Everything!
Even a serious illness. Even death. You aren’t facing illness or death alone—the Lord is with you.
You may be facing marital struggles, but you aren’t facing them alone. The Lord is with you!
You may be facing debt, but you aren’t facing debt alone. The Lord is with you.
Your family may turn against you, but God won’t.
Your friends may betray you, but God won’t.
You may feel alone in the wilderness, but you are not. He is with you!
John 10
The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
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. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided. 20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”
21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Exodus 18:13-24
13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”
15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”
17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
A Time For Good Counsel
January 17, 2012 — by Randy Kilgore
So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. —Exodus 18:24
Because of the busy lives many of us lead, it’s not hard to recognize ourselves in the over-extended situation of Moses in Exodus 18. As the sole judge for the masses, he was surrounded “from morning until evening” (v.13) by people who needed his help.
In fact, I’ve had people—particularly young parents—tell me that they identify with Moses. It seems that we need to learn two life skills for survival: an eagerness to listen (v.24) and the willingness to accept help (v.25). Sometimes we don’t accept help because of pride, but that’s not always the case.
With Moses, and often with us, it’s simply that life is moving so quickly and making so many demands on us (vv.13-15) that we barely have time to react—let alone to contemplate or go to someone else for advice. Perhaps this is one reason the Scriptures remind us to surround ourselves with counselors who will offer their experience and wisdom even when we’re too busy to ask for it. We see this in the story of what Jethro did for Moses when he told his son-in-law to delegate some of his responsibilities (vv.17-23).
Don’t be overwhelmed. Instead, seek godly counsel and then follow through on what you are told.
Lord, give us ears to hear advice
From loved ones wise and humble;
So when life’s challenges appear,
We will not have to stumble. —Sper
He who will not be counseled will not be helped.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Call of the Natural Life
When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me . . . —Galatians 1:15-16
The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles . . . .”
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wimpy Death - #6527
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Years ago a friend of mine told me this, "If people who don't know Jesus want to know the difference Jesus makes, let them come to our funerals."
Well, I thought of that again this week as I joined one of our dear friends in mourning the loss of his precious wife and our precious friend. They've poured out their lives for other people in one of the world's most troubled places. And because of the violence around them, one of their little daughter's first words was "rocket." But a year ago the bomb that changed everything was a word that they heard in the doctor's office - "cancer." Last week, after a brave fight against that killer, Nancy breathed her last. And that little daughter, who is now a beautiful young woman who really mirrors her mother, and she sang at Nancy's memorial service. And she had this glow that defied the grief. The song said:
"Still, my soul, be still, and do not fear
Though winds of change may rage tomorrow
God is at your side, no longer dread
The fires of unexpected sorrow.
God, You are my God, and I will trust in You and not be shaken."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Wimpy Death."
Was there grieving? Yeah, I was there; you bet there was. Were there tears? Of course. Was Nancy's absence felt in the midst of all these people that she loved and who really loved her? Oh, painfully so. But grief did not carry the day. Or the days when both John and Nancy knew she was dying. Death won a skirmish, but death lost the battle a long time ago, at a grave that was vacated forever after only three days' occupancy.
Our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Corinthians 15:3. It declares the victory this way: "Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day...Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?...Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:3; 54-56).
I saw the impotence of death! I saw the power of Jesus' victory everywhere I looked during those difficult days around Nancy's death and funeral. Just like at my mother's funeral, my father's funeral, countless funerals of people I have loved, because they had each taken Jesus up on the gift that He bought with His blood when He paid for their sins on the cross. I mean, the Bible says, "Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Only someone who's conquered death Himself can give eternal life to other people. And someone did, but only one someone, and His name is Jesus.
And Jesus was all over the place again this week as loved ones mourned the temporary absence of one who belonged to Him. Because we all knew that death hadn't won. All death could do was see Nancy home; the same home her husband will be promoted to some day, and her daughter, and her son, and her family. Oh yeah, and my wife and me, because of Jesus...only Jesus.
Yeah, there was grief, but there was much more hope and celebration. Because every funeral of a Jesus-forgiven child of God is the ultimate declaration of what a Savior He is. This "hope" isn't wishful thinking or sympathy card sentiments. It's the surest of all sure things because it's anchored to the Man who blew death away when He walked out of His grave. It is a hope; it is an anchor that is one prayer away for you to say, "Jesus, You died for me. You walked out of Your grave for me. I am Yours." Do that today! Get this done. Get this settled. Our website's there to help you do just that. Would you visit us there today at YoursForLife.net?
See, even in "the valley of the shadow of death," "we have this hope," the Bible says, "as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19). In the deepest, in the darkest hour, the anchor held, and it always will.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Psalm 22, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Where’s the Path?
Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20
There’s a story of a man on an African safari deep in the jungle. The guide assigned to him had a machete and was whacking away the tall weeds and thick underbrush.
The traveler, tired and hot, and a bit frustrated said, “Where are we? Do you know where you’re taking me? Where’s the path?”
The seasoned guide stopped—looked back at the man and said, “I am the path!”
We ask the same questions, don’t we? We ask God, “Where are you taking me? Where’s the path?”
And he, like the guide, doesn’t tell us. Oh he may give us a hint or two, but that’s all.
If he did, would we understand? Would we comprehend? No, like the traveler, we’re unacquainted with this jungle.
Jesus gives us a far greater gift. He says, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
He gives us himself!
Psalm 22[e]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.[f]
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.[g]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the LORD,” they say,
“let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth[h] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[i] my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, LORD, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you[j] I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 1:18-24
God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
The Book Of Nature
January 16, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher
Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. —Romans 1:20
Scottish-American John Muir (1838– 1914) was raised by a Christian father who placed great emphasis on Scripture memory. By young adulthood, John allegedly could recite from memory all of the New Testament and large portions of the Old Testament.
As a young man, Muir developed a great love for God’s creation and viewed it as a source for understanding God. Historian Dennis Williams says that Muir referred to creation as the “Book of Nature.” While exploring the wilderness, he was able to study the plants and animals in an environment that “came straight from the hand of God, uncorrupted by civilization and domestication.” Muir went on to lead the forest conservation movement and was instrumental in creating many US national parks, including Yosemite, Sequoia, and Mount Rainier.
To nurture the spiritual interest of children and youth, we should primarily focus on the Bible. But we can also take them to God’s outdoor classroom, where we can cultivate their love for the Creator by showing the majesty of creation: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead” (Rom. 1:20).
O Lord, we can see all around us each day
The wisdom the creatures of nature display;
O help us to learn from Your marvelous world
The wonder and beauty Your hands have unfurled. —Bosch
In God’s pattern book of nature
we can trace many valuable lessons.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 16, 2012
The Voice of the Nature of God
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ’Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ —Isaiah 6:8
When we talk about the call of God, we often forget the most important thing, namely, the nature of Him who calls. There are many things calling each of us today. Some of these calls will be answered, and others will not even be heard. The call is the expression of the nature of the One who calls, and we can only recognize the call if that same nature is in us. The call of God is the expression of God’s nature, not ours. God providentially weaves the threads of His call through our lives, and only we can distinguish them. It is the threading of God’s voice directly to us over a certain concern, and it is useless to seek another person’s opinion of it. Our dealings over the call of God should be kept exclusively between ourselves and Him.
The call of God is not a reflection of my nature; my personal desires and temperament are of no consideration. As long as I dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am suited for, I will never hear the call of God. But when God brings me into the right relationship with Himself, I will be in the same condition Isaiah was. Isaiah was so attuned to God, because of the great crisis he had just endured, that the call of God penetrated his soul. The majority of us cannot hear anything but ourselves. And we cannot hear anything God says. But to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God is to be profoundly changed.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Man's Forest and Woman's Trees - #6526
Monday, January 16, 2012
This is not going to really come as a news flash to anybody who's been around very long, but the differences between men and women aren't just biological. For example, the difference between how a man and woman tell a story or relate an incident. The man sort of skims the surface; kind of does the from 30,000 feet view of things, and usually he can't even remember a lot of details. I often have to ask my wife, "When did that happen? Where were we? Who were we with?"
Now, when a woman tells the same story, oh, we get the color of the drapes, the weather forecast for the day, the expressions people had on their faces. And the man's going, "Okay, so what's the point? Where's this going?" Actually, this underscores an important difference between men and women; one that I think God designed. And the sooner we understand it, the sooner we'll really appreciate each other.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Man's Forest and Woman's Trees."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God goes back to the very creation of man and woman, Genesis 2:15. Notice what man's assignment was. "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." Adam, run the garden! That's no small job; he's got a big challenge. God has set him up to deal with the big picture.
Now notice the creation of woman only a few verses later. It says, "The man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the air, the beasts of the field." Okay, he's busy running the big operation. "But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman..." I personally am very glad He did. And it says, "He made her from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man."
Notice, He's created Eve now; not to run the garden, but with a focused concern. In this case, her concern is to be Adam's. He would care about the big picture; she would care about the details. He would see the forest (or the garden); she would see the trees. And, you know, it's still that way today and we really need each other's perspective!
See, if a man doesn't have a woman's perspective, he tends to trample over people without even knowing it while pursuing his conquest, his big deal. And the man without a woman, he misses the journey because all he can see is the destination. He doesn't see the problems until they are crisis; maybe too late to deal with. A woman tends to see them sooner and soon enough to solve them.
But see, if a woman doesn't have a man's perspective, she could be overwhelmed with worry over the details. She could tend to overreact to a bad situation because she's so close to it. To panic, maybe even make short-sighted decisions. But, man, it's dynamite when you put the two perspectives together. A man has this objective distance, and he's able to say, "Honey, come over here and let's look at the whole forest and we'll probably make a better decision and better choices." Created by God for that big picture, and there's nothing wrong with that.
But then you put that with a woman's sensitive closeness, where she says, "Honey, come over here. Did you notice that there are trees dying and falling down in the forest? You've got to come and look at the smaller picture with me, because if more of these trees die there ain't going to be no forest anymore." See, put us together; we've got the whole story.
Let's celebrate the fact that we're different. She needs to see his forest, and he needs to see her trees.
Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20
There’s a story of a man on an African safari deep in the jungle. The guide assigned to him had a machete and was whacking away the tall weeds and thick underbrush.
The traveler, tired and hot, and a bit frustrated said, “Where are we? Do you know where you’re taking me? Where’s the path?”
The seasoned guide stopped—looked back at the man and said, “I am the path!”
We ask the same questions, don’t we? We ask God, “Where are you taking me? Where’s the path?”
And he, like the guide, doesn’t tell us. Oh he may give us a hint or two, but that’s all.
If he did, would we understand? Would we comprehend? No, like the traveler, we’re unacquainted with this jungle.
Jesus gives us a far greater gift. He says, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
He gives us himself!
Psalm 22[e]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.[f]
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.[g]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the LORD,” they say,
“let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth[h] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[i] my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, LORD, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you[j] I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 1:18-24
God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
The Book Of Nature
January 16, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher
Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. —Romans 1:20
Scottish-American John Muir (1838– 1914) was raised by a Christian father who placed great emphasis on Scripture memory. By young adulthood, John allegedly could recite from memory all of the New Testament and large portions of the Old Testament.
As a young man, Muir developed a great love for God’s creation and viewed it as a source for understanding God. Historian Dennis Williams says that Muir referred to creation as the “Book of Nature.” While exploring the wilderness, he was able to study the plants and animals in an environment that “came straight from the hand of God, uncorrupted by civilization and domestication.” Muir went on to lead the forest conservation movement and was instrumental in creating many US national parks, including Yosemite, Sequoia, and Mount Rainier.
To nurture the spiritual interest of children and youth, we should primarily focus on the Bible. But we can also take them to God’s outdoor classroom, where we can cultivate their love for the Creator by showing the majesty of creation: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead” (Rom. 1:20).
O Lord, we can see all around us each day
The wisdom the creatures of nature display;
O help us to learn from Your marvelous world
The wonder and beauty Your hands have unfurled. —Bosch
In God’s pattern book of nature
we can trace many valuable lessons.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 16, 2012
The Voice of the Nature of God
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ’Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ —Isaiah 6:8
When we talk about the call of God, we often forget the most important thing, namely, the nature of Him who calls. There are many things calling each of us today. Some of these calls will be answered, and others will not even be heard. The call is the expression of the nature of the One who calls, and we can only recognize the call if that same nature is in us. The call of God is the expression of God’s nature, not ours. God providentially weaves the threads of His call through our lives, and only we can distinguish them. It is the threading of God’s voice directly to us over a certain concern, and it is useless to seek another person’s opinion of it. Our dealings over the call of God should be kept exclusively between ourselves and Him.
The call of God is not a reflection of my nature; my personal desires and temperament are of no consideration. As long as I dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am suited for, I will never hear the call of God. But when God brings me into the right relationship with Himself, I will be in the same condition Isaiah was. Isaiah was so attuned to God, because of the great crisis he had just endured, that the call of God penetrated his soul. The majority of us cannot hear anything but ourselves. And we cannot hear anything God says. But to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God is to be profoundly changed.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Man's Forest and Woman's Trees - #6526
Monday, January 16, 2012
This is not going to really come as a news flash to anybody who's been around very long, but the differences between men and women aren't just biological. For example, the difference between how a man and woman tell a story or relate an incident. The man sort of skims the surface; kind of does the from 30,000 feet view of things, and usually he can't even remember a lot of details. I often have to ask my wife, "When did that happen? Where were we? Who were we with?"
Now, when a woman tells the same story, oh, we get the color of the drapes, the weather forecast for the day, the expressions people had on their faces. And the man's going, "Okay, so what's the point? Where's this going?" Actually, this underscores an important difference between men and women; one that I think God designed. And the sooner we understand it, the sooner we'll really appreciate each other.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Man's Forest and Woman's Trees."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God goes back to the very creation of man and woman, Genesis 2:15. Notice what man's assignment was. "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." Adam, run the garden! That's no small job; he's got a big challenge. God has set him up to deal with the big picture.
Now notice the creation of woman only a few verses later. It says, "The man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the air, the beasts of the field." Okay, he's busy running the big operation. "But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman..." I personally am very glad He did. And it says, "He made her from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man."
Notice, He's created Eve now; not to run the garden, but with a focused concern. In this case, her concern is to be Adam's. He would care about the big picture; she would care about the details. He would see the forest (or the garden); she would see the trees. And, you know, it's still that way today and we really need each other's perspective!
See, if a man doesn't have a woman's perspective, he tends to trample over people without even knowing it while pursuing his conquest, his big deal. And the man without a woman, he misses the journey because all he can see is the destination. He doesn't see the problems until they are crisis; maybe too late to deal with. A woman tends to see them sooner and soon enough to solve them.
But see, if a woman doesn't have a man's perspective, she could be overwhelmed with worry over the details. She could tend to overreact to a bad situation because she's so close to it. To panic, maybe even make short-sighted decisions. But, man, it's dynamite when you put the two perspectives together. A man has this objective distance, and he's able to say, "Honey, come over here and let's look at the whole forest and we'll probably make a better decision and better choices." Created by God for that big picture, and there's nothing wrong with that.
But then you put that with a woman's sensitive closeness, where she says, "Honey, come over here. Did you notice that there are trees dying and falling down in the forest? You've got to come and look at the smaller picture with me, because if more of these trees die there ain't going to be no forest anymore." See, put us together; we've got the whole story.
Let's celebrate the fact that we're different. She needs to see his forest, and he needs to see her trees.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Psalm 21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: You Need A Savior
“What is impossible with men is possible with God.” Luke 18:27 NIV
The rich young ruler thought heaven was just a payment away. It only made sense. You work hard, pay your dues, and “zap”—your account is credited as paid in full. Jesus said, “No way.” What you want costs way more than you can pay. You don’t need a system, you need a Savior. You don’t need a resume, you need a Redeemer. For “what is impossible with me is possible with God.”
Psalm 21[c]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The king rejoices in your strength, LORD.
How great is his joy in the victories you give!
2 You have granted him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips.[d]
3 You came to greet him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, for ever and ever.
5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the LORD;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.
8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
your right hand will seize your foes.
9 When you appear for battle,
you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace.
The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath,
and his fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from mankind.
11 Though they plot evil against you
and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed.
12 You will make them turn their backs
when you aim at them with drawn bow.
13 Be exalted in your strength, LORD;
we will sing and praise your might.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 139:1-16
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Each Life A Gift
January 15, 2012 — by Dave Branon
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. —Psalm 139:14
A young woman was pregnant but unmarried. And even though she lived in a society that didn’t place a high value on unborn life, she wisely chose to allow her baby to live.
The child, whom she generously made available for adoption, became part of a loving Christian family who nurtured their precious daughter, loved her, and showed her the way to Christ.
Before that girl reached adulthood, however, she died. Her death left a massive void in her family’s life, but it also left behind memories of childhood joy and youthful enthusiasm. Sure, her death created a gaping hole in the hearts of all who loved her, but imagine what they would have missed had they never held her in their arms, shared Jesus with her, laughed with her, taught her, and cherished her.
Every life—every child—is a wonderfully made sample of God’s handiwork (Ps. 139). Every human is an image-bearing likeness of God (Gen. 1:27) and a descendant of our first God-breathed parent, Adam.
Death robs us of a certain completion we desire in a life, but it also reminds us of the value of each life God creates (Col. 1:16). Cherish the gift of life and savor the joy of God’s handiwork.
Every life has been created—
God’s handiwork displayed;
When we cherish His creation,
We value what He’s made. —Sper
All life is created by God and bears His autograph.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Do You Walk In White?
We were buried with Him . . . that just as Christ was raised from the dead . . . even so we also should walk in newness of life —Romans 6:4
No one experiences complete sanctification without going through a “white funeral”-the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crucial moment of change through death, sanctification will never be more than an elusive dream. There must be a “white funeral,” a death with only one resurrection-a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can defeat a life like this. It has oneness with God for only one purpose— to be a witness for Him.
Have you really come to your last days? You have often come to them in your mind, but have you really experienced them? You cannot die or go to your funeral in a mood of excitement. Death means you stop being. You must agree with God and stop being the intensely striving kind of Christian you have been. We avoid the cemetery and continually refuse our own death. It will not happen by striving, but by yielding to death. It is dying— being “baptized into His death” (Romans 6:3).
Have you had your “white funeral,” or are you piously deceiving your own soul? Has there been a point in your life which you now mark as your last day? Is there a place in your life to which you go back in memory with humility and overwhelming gratitude, so that you can honestly proclaim, “Yes, it was then, at my ’white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God.”
“This is the will of God, your sanctification . . .” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Once you truly realize this is God’s will, you will enter into the process of sanctification as a natural response. Are you willing to experience that “white funeral” now? Will you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends on you.
“What is impossible with men is possible with God.” Luke 18:27 NIV
The rich young ruler thought heaven was just a payment away. It only made sense. You work hard, pay your dues, and “zap”—your account is credited as paid in full. Jesus said, “No way.” What you want costs way more than you can pay. You don’t need a system, you need a Savior. You don’t need a resume, you need a Redeemer. For “what is impossible with me is possible with God.”
Psalm 21[c]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The king rejoices in your strength, LORD.
How great is his joy in the victories you give!
2 You have granted him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips.[d]
3 You came to greet him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, for ever and ever.
5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the LORD;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.
8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
your right hand will seize your foes.
9 When you appear for battle,
you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace.
The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath,
and his fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from mankind.
11 Though they plot evil against you
and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed.
12 You will make them turn their backs
when you aim at them with drawn bow.
13 Be exalted in your strength, LORD;
we will sing and praise your might.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 139:1-16
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Each Life A Gift
January 15, 2012 — by Dave Branon
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. —Psalm 139:14
A young woman was pregnant but unmarried. And even though she lived in a society that didn’t place a high value on unborn life, she wisely chose to allow her baby to live.
The child, whom she generously made available for adoption, became part of a loving Christian family who nurtured their precious daughter, loved her, and showed her the way to Christ.
Before that girl reached adulthood, however, she died. Her death left a massive void in her family’s life, but it also left behind memories of childhood joy and youthful enthusiasm. Sure, her death created a gaping hole in the hearts of all who loved her, but imagine what they would have missed had they never held her in their arms, shared Jesus with her, laughed with her, taught her, and cherished her.
Every life—every child—is a wonderfully made sample of God’s handiwork (Ps. 139). Every human is an image-bearing likeness of God (Gen. 1:27) and a descendant of our first God-breathed parent, Adam.
Death robs us of a certain completion we desire in a life, but it also reminds us of the value of each life God creates (Col. 1:16). Cherish the gift of life and savor the joy of God’s handiwork.
Every life has been created—
God’s handiwork displayed;
When we cherish His creation,
We value what He’s made. —Sper
All life is created by God and bears His autograph.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Do You Walk In White?
We were buried with Him . . . that just as Christ was raised from the dead . . . even so we also should walk in newness of life —Romans 6:4
No one experiences complete sanctification without going through a “white funeral”-the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crucial moment of change through death, sanctification will never be more than an elusive dream. There must be a “white funeral,” a death with only one resurrection-a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can defeat a life like this. It has oneness with God for only one purpose— to be a witness for Him.
Have you really come to your last days? You have often come to them in your mind, but have you really experienced them? You cannot die or go to your funeral in a mood of excitement. Death means you stop being. You must agree with God and stop being the intensely striving kind of Christian you have been. We avoid the cemetery and continually refuse our own death. It will not happen by striving, but by yielding to death. It is dying— being “baptized into His death” (Romans 6:3).
Have you had your “white funeral,” or are you piously deceiving your own soul? Has there been a point in your life which you now mark as your last day? Is there a place in your life to which you go back in memory with humility and overwhelming gratitude, so that you can honestly proclaim, “Yes, it was then, at my ’white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God.”
“This is the will of God, your sanctification . . .” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Once you truly realize this is God’s will, you will enter into the process of sanctification as a natural response. Are you willing to experience that “white funeral” now? Will you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends on you.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Psalm 20, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Let Him
“Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does.” I Corinthians 14:1 The Message
Loosen up. Don’t you have some people to hug, rocks to skip, or lips to kiss? . . .
It’s time to retire. Not from your job, just retire from your attitude. Honestly, has complaining ever made the day better? Has grumbling ever paid the bills? Has worrying about tomorrow ever changed it?
Let someone else run the world for a while.
Psalm 20[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.[b]
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.
6 Now this I know:
The LORD gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
9 LORD, give victory to the king!
Answer us when we call!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Ephesians 4:25-32
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Grieve Not The Spirit
January 14, 2012 — by Albert Lee
I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever. —John 14:16
If money were missing mysteriously from your wallet, you would be angry. But if you discovered that your child was the one who stole it, your anger would quickly turn into grief. One use of the word grief is to describe the sorrow we feel when those we love disappoint us.
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Eph. 4:30) essentially means not to hurt the One who loves us and is here to help us. For we read Jesus’ words in John 14:26 that the Holy Spirit is sent to us by the Father to be our Helper.
When the Holy Spirit in us is grieved by our actions or attitudes, the result can be tremendous tension. The Spirit pulls us in one direction, but the lusts of the flesh pulls us in another. Paul describes this in Galatians 5:17, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” If this continues, we may begin to feel guilty and dissatisfied with life. Soon, joy and vigor may diminish within us, only to be replaced by listlessness and lethargy (Ps. 32:3-4).
So do not grieve the Holy Spirit who was given in love to help you. “Put away” the bad choices of the flesh (Eph. 4:31), and live faithfully for God.
Holy Spirit, all divine,
Dwell within this heart of mine;
Cast down every idol throne,
Reign supreme and reign alone. —Reed
The Christian’s heart is the Spirit’s home.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Called By God
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ’Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ’Here am I! Send me’ —Isaiah 6:8
God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, “. . . who will go for Us?” The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear “the voice of the Lord” continually asking, “. . . who will go for Us?” However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, “Now, you go.” He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, “Here am I! Send me.”
Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His “Follow Me” was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard-”the voice of the Lord.” In perfect freedom we too will say, “Here am I! Send me.”
“Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does.” I Corinthians 14:1 The Message
Loosen up. Don’t you have some people to hug, rocks to skip, or lips to kiss? . . .
It’s time to retire. Not from your job, just retire from your attitude. Honestly, has complaining ever made the day better? Has grumbling ever paid the bills? Has worrying about tomorrow ever changed it?
Let someone else run the world for a while.
Psalm 20[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.[b]
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.
6 Now this I know:
The LORD gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
9 LORD, give victory to the king!
Answer us when we call!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Ephesians 4:25-32
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Grieve Not The Spirit
January 14, 2012 — by Albert Lee
I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever. —John 14:16
If money were missing mysteriously from your wallet, you would be angry. But if you discovered that your child was the one who stole it, your anger would quickly turn into grief. One use of the word grief is to describe the sorrow we feel when those we love disappoint us.
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Eph. 4:30) essentially means not to hurt the One who loves us and is here to help us. For we read Jesus’ words in John 14:26 that the Holy Spirit is sent to us by the Father to be our Helper.
When the Holy Spirit in us is grieved by our actions or attitudes, the result can be tremendous tension. The Spirit pulls us in one direction, but the lusts of the flesh pulls us in another. Paul describes this in Galatians 5:17, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” If this continues, we may begin to feel guilty and dissatisfied with life. Soon, joy and vigor may diminish within us, only to be replaced by listlessness and lethargy (Ps. 32:3-4).
So do not grieve the Holy Spirit who was given in love to help you. “Put away” the bad choices of the flesh (Eph. 4:31), and live faithfully for God.
Holy Spirit, all divine,
Dwell within this heart of mine;
Cast down every idol throne,
Reign supreme and reign alone. —Reed
The Christian’s heart is the Spirit’s home.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Called By God
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ’Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ’Here am I! Send me’ —Isaiah 6:8
God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, “. . . who will go for Us?” The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear “the voice of the Lord” continually asking, “. . . who will go for Us?” However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, “Now, you go.” He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, “Here am I! Send me.”
Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His “Follow Me” was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard-”the voice of the Lord.” In perfect freedom we too will say, “Here am I! Send me.”
Friday, January 13, 2012
John 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Pray About Everything
Call to me in times of trouble. I will save you, and you will honor me. Psalm 50:15
Want to worry less? Then pray more!
Rather than look forward in fear—in worry—look to God. Jesus taught people that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit.
Paul told believers, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”
James said, “Are any among you suffering? Keep on praying about it!”
Regarding prayer, the Bible never blushes. Rather than worry about anything, “pray about everything!”
Everything? Diaper changes and dates? Business meetings and stopped up bathtubs?
Schedules and flight delays? Procrastinations and prognostications?
Really?
Pray about everything!
John 9:24-41
New International Version (NIV)
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
Spiritual Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said,[a] “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: John 14:15-24
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
Unhook The Chain
January 13, 2012 — by David C. Egner
If you love Me, keep My commandments. —John 14:15
Jesus made it clear to His disciples that He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He is the only way to the Father, and our belief and commitment to Him results in love and obedience—and leads to an eternal home in heaven.
Christina, a Bible student in Minsk, Belarus, wrote this testimony: “Jesus died for everyone, even the most desperate sinner. The worst criminal who comes to Him in faith, the Lord will accept.
“For a very long time, Jesus had been knocking at my door. Figuratively speaking, the door to my heart was open. I was a believer. But I kept the safety chain in place. I would not turn my life over to Him.”
Christina knew this was not right, and she felt that God was compelling her to make a change. “I knelt before Him and opened the door as wide as I could.” She took off the chain.
Committed followers of Jesus will do what He commands—without safety chains or back doors. No reserving little corners of our lives all for ourselves. No secret sins.
If, like Christina, you’ve been holding back from surrendering to God, it’s time to unhook that safety chain. Let go of those reservations. Throw open the doors of your life, and experience the joy of obedient discipleship.
Less of self and more of Jesus,
More and more each day like Thee;
Just to live in full surrender
For my Lord who ransomed me. —Wonder
No life is more secure than a life surrendered to God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 13, 2012
Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (2)
When He was alone . . . the twelve asked Him about the parable —Mark 4:10
His Solitude with Us. When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted desires, a broken friendship, or a new friendship— when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us. Notice Jesus Christ’s training of the Twelve. It was the disciples, not the crowd outside, who were confused. His disciples constantly asked Him questions, and He constantly explained things to them, but they didn’t understand until after they received the Holy Spirit (see John 14:26).
As you journey with God, the only thing He intends to be clear is the way He deals with your soul. The sorrows and difficulties in the lives of others will be absolutely confusing to you. We think we understand another person’s struggle until God reveals the same shortcomings in our lives. There are vast areas of stubbornness and ignorance the Holy Spirit has to reveal in each of us, but it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone. Are we alone with Him now? Or are we more concerned with our own ideas, friendships, and cares for our bodies? Jesus cannot teach us anything until we quiet all our intellectual questions and get alone with Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Breaking Rules, Saving Lives - #6525
Friday, January 13, 2012
No living Marine has ever received the Congressional Medal of Honor from the war in Afghanistan...until recently. Dakota Meyer's 23 years old, but he has been awarded this nation's highest military honor for saving 36 lives during a vicious, six-hour firefight in the mountains of Afghanistan.
It actually started with an enemy ambush that very quickly pinned down a lot of Meyer's unit. Amazingly, this Kentucky farm boy made a total of five trips into the kill zone to rescue his comrades. And you know what? He had to disobey orders to do it. His superiors told him he couldn't go in. He went in anyway, because people would die if he didn't.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Breaking Rules, Saving Lives."
It hit me as I read this story, sometimes you really do have to kind of go "out-of-bounds" to save dying people; spiritually dying people, that is - people without my Jesus. Our word for today from the Word of God is from Ephesians 2:12. It describes these people as "without hope" and "perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18). Now with so many so far from the world of the church, so clueless about all this Christian stuff we take for granted, we will never rescue them unless we I guess you might say, "break some of the rules."
I don't mean God's rules, of course. It's never right to do something displeasing to God in order to bring somebody to Him. But I'm talking about the unspoken "rules" of our Christian "cocoon." The fact is, our conventional means of reaching people for Jesus are rescuing less and less. And if we keep on doing what we have been doing, we'll keep on reaching who we have been reaching, and countless souls will be lost forever and we'll be accountable.
Coloring outside the line, going outside the box - call it whatever you want. We'll have to go beyond those methodological boundaries that a lot of God's people have considered acceptable. We won't see the church as the primary place to rescue people, because most lost folks are, and they plan to stay, outside those walls. We'll "seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10). The new front-lines in spiritual rescue are places like our living rooms...the gym, the golf course, a locker room, the PTA, the restaurant, the carpool, maybe the hospital, school events, the funeral home. How about on our Facebook page, our smartphone, our personal notes?
You know, lost people don't speak "Christianese," which is all those rich religious words that us church folks speak without thinking. We just can't afford for people to miss our Jesus because we won't leave our "safe" vocabulary and explain Jesus in everyday language. It's time to break out of the boundaries of Christianese to say it so they get it.
If we hope to reach the dying folks through an event we're having, we're going to have to go out-of-bounds and make it a non-religious event - Christ-focused, but non-religious, in a non-religious place, with a non-religious program, addressing needs and issues that aren't just "religious."
Paul got in trouble for "disobeying the rules" in order to help people go to heaven. A lot of the religious folks slammed him for becoming "all things to all men that by all possible means I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22). But saving the lost was his non-negotiable, not pleasing the found.
And remember, they said, "Jesus, you're a friend of sinners." I imagine He said, "Why, thank you for the compliment." Indeed He was, and He had trouble with the religious folks too. They didn't like the fact that He was going out-of-bounds because that's where the dying people were.
Rescuing? It always means risking, including the misunderstanding, the criticism of people who love the "rules" but aren't reaching the lost. Jesus knows about that. Remember? Yeah, He made the "rules people" very uncomfortable.
So they crucified Him, and we were saved.
Call to me in times of trouble. I will save you, and you will honor me. Psalm 50:15
Want to worry less? Then pray more!
Rather than look forward in fear—in worry—look to God. Jesus taught people that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit.
Paul told believers, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”
James said, “Are any among you suffering? Keep on praying about it!”
Regarding prayer, the Bible never blushes. Rather than worry about anything, “pray about everything!”
Everything? Diaper changes and dates? Business meetings and stopped up bathtubs?
Schedules and flight delays? Procrastinations and prognostications?
Really?
Pray about everything!
John 9:24-41
New International Version (NIV)
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
Spiritual Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said,[a] “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: John 14:15-24
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
Unhook The Chain
January 13, 2012 — by David C. Egner
If you love Me, keep My commandments. —John 14:15
Jesus made it clear to His disciples that He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He is the only way to the Father, and our belief and commitment to Him results in love and obedience—and leads to an eternal home in heaven.
Christina, a Bible student in Minsk, Belarus, wrote this testimony: “Jesus died for everyone, even the most desperate sinner. The worst criminal who comes to Him in faith, the Lord will accept.
“For a very long time, Jesus had been knocking at my door. Figuratively speaking, the door to my heart was open. I was a believer. But I kept the safety chain in place. I would not turn my life over to Him.”
Christina knew this was not right, and she felt that God was compelling her to make a change. “I knelt before Him and opened the door as wide as I could.” She took off the chain.
Committed followers of Jesus will do what He commands—without safety chains or back doors. No reserving little corners of our lives all for ourselves. No secret sins.
If, like Christina, you’ve been holding back from surrendering to God, it’s time to unhook that safety chain. Let go of those reservations. Throw open the doors of your life, and experience the joy of obedient discipleship.
Less of self and more of Jesus,
More and more each day like Thee;
Just to live in full surrender
For my Lord who ransomed me. —Wonder
No life is more secure than a life surrendered to God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 13, 2012
Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (2)
When He was alone . . . the twelve asked Him about the parable —Mark 4:10
His Solitude with Us. When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted desires, a broken friendship, or a new friendship— when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us. Notice Jesus Christ’s training of the Twelve. It was the disciples, not the crowd outside, who were confused. His disciples constantly asked Him questions, and He constantly explained things to them, but they didn’t understand until after they received the Holy Spirit (see John 14:26).
As you journey with God, the only thing He intends to be clear is the way He deals with your soul. The sorrows and difficulties in the lives of others will be absolutely confusing to you. We think we understand another person’s struggle until God reveals the same shortcomings in our lives. There are vast areas of stubbornness and ignorance the Holy Spirit has to reveal in each of us, but it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone. Are we alone with Him now? Or are we more concerned with our own ideas, friendships, and cares for our bodies? Jesus cannot teach us anything until we quiet all our intellectual questions and get alone with Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Breaking Rules, Saving Lives - #6525
Friday, January 13, 2012
No living Marine has ever received the Congressional Medal of Honor from the war in Afghanistan...until recently. Dakota Meyer's 23 years old, but he has been awarded this nation's highest military honor for saving 36 lives during a vicious, six-hour firefight in the mountains of Afghanistan.
It actually started with an enemy ambush that very quickly pinned down a lot of Meyer's unit. Amazingly, this Kentucky farm boy made a total of five trips into the kill zone to rescue his comrades. And you know what? He had to disobey orders to do it. His superiors told him he couldn't go in. He went in anyway, because people would die if he didn't.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Breaking Rules, Saving Lives."
It hit me as I read this story, sometimes you really do have to kind of go "out-of-bounds" to save dying people; spiritually dying people, that is - people without my Jesus. Our word for today from the Word of God is from Ephesians 2:12. It describes these people as "without hope" and "perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18). Now with so many so far from the world of the church, so clueless about all this Christian stuff we take for granted, we will never rescue them unless we I guess you might say, "break some of the rules."
I don't mean God's rules, of course. It's never right to do something displeasing to God in order to bring somebody to Him. But I'm talking about the unspoken "rules" of our Christian "cocoon." The fact is, our conventional means of reaching people for Jesus are rescuing less and less. And if we keep on doing what we have been doing, we'll keep on reaching who we have been reaching, and countless souls will be lost forever and we'll be accountable.
Coloring outside the line, going outside the box - call it whatever you want. We'll have to go beyond those methodological boundaries that a lot of God's people have considered acceptable. We won't see the church as the primary place to rescue people, because most lost folks are, and they plan to stay, outside those walls. We'll "seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10). The new front-lines in spiritual rescue are places like our living rooms...the gym, the golf course, a locker room, the PTA, the restaurant, the carpool, maybe the hospital, school events, the funeral home. How about on our Facebook page, our smartphone, our personal notes?
You know, lost people don't speak "Christianese," which is all those rich religious words that us church folks speak without thinking. We just can't afford for people to miss our Jesus because we won't leave our "safe" vocabulary and explain Jesus in everyday language. It's time to break out of the boundaries of Christianese to say it so they get it.
If we hope to reach the dying folks through an event we're having, we're going to have to go out-of-bounds and make it a non-religious event - Christ-focused, but non-religious, in a non-religious place, with a non-religious program, addressing needs and issues that aren't just "religious."
Paul got in trouble for "disobeying the rules" in order to help people go to heaven. A lot of the religious folks slammed him for becoming "all things to all men that by all possible means I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22). But saving the lost was his non-negotiable, not pleasing the found.
And remember, they said, "Jesus, you're a friend of sinners." I imagine He said, "Why, thank you for the compliment." Indeed He was, and He had trouble with the religious folks too. They didn't like the fact that He was going out-of-bounds because that's where the dying people were.
Rescuing? It always means risking, including the misunderstanding, the criticism of people who love the "rules" but aren't reaching the lost. Jesus knows about that. Remember? Yeah, He made the "rules people" very uncomfortable.
So they crucified Him, and we were saved.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Psalm 19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Only One You
From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works. Psalm 33:14-15 NKJV
The truth is—you were a brand-new idea from the mind of God!
Psalm 33:14-15 says, “From the place of His dwelling, He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually.”
You’re the only you God made! He made you and broke the mold! No one can duplicate your life.
Scan history for your replica—you won’t find it! You’re tailor made by God. God personally formed and made you. You’re not one of many! You’re it!
And if you don’t take full advantage of how God made you, we don’t get you. We miss out!
Think of it this way: you’re heaven’s Halley’s comet. And we have one shot at seeing you shine!
Psalm 19
Psalm 19[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the LORD are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Corinthians 5:12-21
12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Attracting The Lost
January 12, 2012 — by Julie Ackerman Link
I have come as a light into the world. —John 12:46
My friend Anna often has people stop her on the street and ask for directions. This has happened to her even in countries where she is a foreigner. She wonders if it’s because she has an honest face and looks trustworthy. I suggested that perhaps it’s because she looks as if she knows where she’s going. Another friend said that maybe she attracts the lost.
All of those attributes should be true of God’s people in the spiritual sense. As believers, we have purpose and direction, we know where we’re going, and we know how to get there. This gives us confidence as we go about fulfilling God’s call in our lives. When this kind of confidence is evident to others, the lost will look to us for direction.
God has always maintained a presence on earth so that people could find Him. His first light for the world was the nation of Israel (Isa. 42:6). Then Solomon prayed that God’s great name would draw people to Himself (1 Kings 8:41-43). The light of the Jewish nation culminated in Jesus, “the light of the world” (John 9:5). And now, followers of Jesus are to be the light of the world (Matt. 5:14). As such, it is our responsibility to show people the way to be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18).
You are called with a holy calling
The light of the world to be;
To lift up the lamp of the Savior
That others His light may see. —Anon.
To lead others out of the darkness of sin, let them see your light.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (1)
When they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples —Mark 4:34
Our Solitude with Him. Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We don’t even recognize the envy, laziness, or pride within us when we see it. But Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look inwardly with courage?
We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we will never say, “Oh, I’m so unworthy.” We will understand that this goes without saying. But as long as there is any doubt that we are unworthy, God will continue to close us in until He gets us alone. Whenever there is any element of pride or conceit remaining, Jesus can’t teach us anything. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment we feel when our intellectual pride is wounded. He will reveal numerous misplaced affections or desires— things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. Many things are shown to us, often without effect. But when God gets us alone over them, they will be clear.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Leadership Lifestyle - #6524
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Every summer we used to take a large delegation to a great youth conference in Ocean City, New Jersey. One of our veteran staff was in charge of that delegation, and it was a big responsibility at the shore. When my son was old enough to go to that conference, he commented on Greg's leadership. He said, "You know, Greg's really serious." Well my wife and I kind of laughed. We said, "Oh, you should hear some of the crazy things he's done down at Ocean City." And then my son said, "Not any more. He's in charge now." Well, my son was making a pretty valid observation. As your authority increases, so does your responsibility. Followers, I guess, can goof off, but leadership; oh, that's serious business.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Leadership Lifestyle."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is about leaders, and you might be one whether you realize it or not. Hebrews 13:17 - "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority." Now, I've always thought "Hey, wouldn't it be great to be one of those leaders? You get to be obeyed and submitted to." Yeah, wait until you hear the rest of the verse. "...they keep watch over you as men who must give an account." Whoa.
That means that if you have anyone looking to you, you will one day have the privilege and the opportunity to explain to God what you did with those people. Man! "God, here's how I influenced those people and why they ended up as they did."
Well see, God's looking for people that He can trust with a promotion. He's looking for teachers and leaders, and musicians, and shepherds for His Kingdom. And maybe He's trusted you with some influence: a class, or a study group, a church, maybe a musical ministry, a position of authority in God's work. Well, then, be careful how you live. You can do so much good, and you can do so much harm.
In a letter that James Dobson wrote years ago he told about an incident that occurred when he went to a Christian book seller's convention and for the first time he saw all of his materials displayed and his picture all over the place. And he said, "I heard as it were almost an audible voice saying, 'Jim, look around you. I have chosen for reasons that you don't understand to make you visible and influential with My people. And in that sense, I am preparing to make the work of My Kingdom vulnerable to you. That's why I'm telling you to be careful; think before you act; hold a tighter reign on your tongue and on your thought life than ever before. When your natural impulse is to become angry or vindictive, resist the temptation as much as possible, and keep your life free of willful and deliberate sin. You will soon be in a position to hurt my people. See that it doesn't happen.'" Whew! Man!
Now, you're not a Dobson, or some spiritual star perhaps, but maybe God's lifted you to a place where others are looking at you or to you. And it's exciting, but it's a heavy responsibility; one for which you must give account the Bible says. Exercise care in what you say, what you laugh at, what you joke about. Be careful what you watch. Be careful what you listen to. Stop with the negative comments, the critical comments before anybody can hear them, those displays of anger, those double-meaning comments. Huh-uh, not for you; not now.
God has called you to some measure of leadership and the responsible lifestyle that goes with that. I think that's an awfully powerful incentive to be all you were meant to be in Christ. It's a good thing; a good reason to live up to what Jesus wants all of His kids to live up to. But He has put trust in your hands. He's put His reputation in your hands. He has made His Kingdom vulnerable to you. You are in a position to hurt some of God's people. See that it doesn't happen.
From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works. Psalm 33:14-15 NKJV
The truth is—you were a brand-new idea from the mind of God!
Psalm 33:14-15 says, “From the place of His dwelling, He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually.”
You’re the only you God made! He made you and broke the mold! No one can duplicate your life.
Scan history for your replica—you won’t find it! You’re tailor made by God. God personally formed and made you. You’re not one of many! You’re it!
And if you don’t take full advantage of how God made you, we don’t get you. We miss out!
Think of it this way: you’re heaven’s Halley’s comet. And we have one shot at seeing you shine!
Psalm 19
Psalm 19[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the LORD are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Corinthians 5:12-21
12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Attracting The Lost
January 12, 2012 — by Julie Ackerman Link
I have come as a light into the world. —John 12:46
My friend Anna often has people stop her on the street and ask for directions. This has happened to her even in countries where she is a foreigner. She wonders if it’s because she has an honest face and looks trustworthy. I suggested that perhaps it’s because she looks as if she knows where she’s going. Another friend said that maybe she attracts the lost.
All of those attributes should be true of God’s people in the spiritual sense. As believers, we have purpose and direction, we know where we’re going, and we know how to get there. This gives us confidence as we go about fulfilling God’s call in our lives. When this kind of confidence is evident to others, the lost will look to us for direction.
God has always maintained a presence on earth so that people could find Him. His first light for the world was the nation of Israel (Isa. 42:6). Then Solomon prayed that God’s great name would draw people to Himself (1 Kings 8:41-43). The light of the Jewish nation culminated in Jesus, “the light of the world” (John 9:5). And now, followers of Jesus are to be the light of the world (Matt. 5:14). As such, it is our responsibility to show people the way to be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18).
You are called with a holy calling
The light of the world to be;
To lift up the lamp of the Savior
That others His light may see. —Anon.
To lead others out of the darkness of sin, let them see your light.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (1)
When they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples —Mark 4:34
Our Solitude with Him. Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We don’t even recognize the envy, laziness, or pride within us when we see it. But Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look inwardly with courage?
We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we will never say, “Oh, I’m so unworthy.” We will understand that this goes without saying. But as long as there is any doubt that we are unworthy, God will continue to close us in until He gets us alone. Whenever there is any element of pride or conceit remaining, Jesus can’t teach us anything. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment we feel when our intellectual pride is wounded. He will reveal numerous misplaced affections or desires— things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. Many things are shown to us, often without effect. But when God gets us alone over them, they will be clear.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Leadership Lifestyle - #6524
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Every summer we used to take a large delegation to a great youth conference in Ocean City, New Jersey. One of our veteran staff was in charge of that delegation, and it was a big responsibility at the shore. When my son was old enough to go to that conference, he commented on Greg's leadership. He said, "You know, Greg's really serious." Well my wife and I kind of laughed. We said, "Oh, you should hear some of the crazy things he's done down at Ocean City." And then my son said, "Not any more. He's in charge now." Well, my son was making a pretty valid observation. As your authority increases, so does your responsibility. Followers, I guess, can goof off, but leadership; oh, that's serious business.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Leadership Lifestyle."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is about leaders, and you might be one whether you realize it or not. Hebrews 13:17 - "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority." Now, I've always thought "Hey, wouldn't it be great to be one of those leaders? You get to be obeyed and submitted to." Yeah, wait until you hear the rest of the verse. "...they keep watch over you as men who must give an account." Whoa.
That means that if you have anyone looking to you, you will one day have the privilege and the opportunity to explain to God what you did with those people. Man! "God, here's how I influenced those people and why they ended up as they did."
Well see, God's looking for people that He can trust with a promotion. He's looking for teachers and leaders, and musicians, and shepherds for His Kingdom. And maybe He's trusted you with some influence: a class, or a study group, a church, maybe a musical ministry, a position of authority in God's work. Well, then, be careful how you live. You can do so much good, and you can do so much harm.
In a letter that James Dobson wrote years ago he told about an incident that occurred when he went to a Christian book seller's convention and for the first time he saw all of his materials displayed and his picture all over the place. And he said, "I heard as it were almost an audible voice saying, 'Jim, look around you. I have chosen for reasons that you don't understand to make you visible and influential with My people. And in that sense, I am preparing to make the work of My Kingdom vulnerable to you. That's why I'm telling you to be careful; think before you act; hold a tighter reign on your tongue and on your thought life than ever before. When your natural impulse is to become angry or vindictive, resist the temptation as much as possible, and keep your life free of willful and deliberate sin. You will soon be in a position to hurt my people. See that it doesn't happen.'" Whew! Man!
Now, you're not a Dobson, or some spiritual star perhaps, but maybe God's lifted you to a place where others are looking at you or to you. And it's exciting, but it's a heavy responsibility; one for which you must give account the Bible says. Exercise care in what you say, what you laugh at, what you joke about. Be careful what you watch. Be careful what you listen to. Stop with the negative comments, the critical comments before anybody can hear them, those displays of anger, those double-meaning comments. Huh-uh, not for you; not now.
God has called you to some measure of leadership and the responsible lifestyle that goes with that. I think that's an awfully powerful incentive to be all you were meant to be in Christ. It's a good thing; a good reason to live up to what Jesus wants all of His kids to live up to. But He has put trust in your hands. He's put His reputation in your hands. He has made His Kingdom vulnerable to you. You are in a position to hurt some of God's people. See that it doesn't happen.
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