Psalm 68, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: Hoarders

”...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…Romans 3:24ff”

You and I save things—a hoarder saves everything! Newspapers, letters, clothing—you name it, they keep it. Bizarre, we say!

Who wants to hoard the trash of the past? You don’t, do you? Or do you?

A tour of your heart might be telling. A pile of rejections stockpiled in one corner. Accumulated insults filling another. Images of unkind people lining the wall, littering the floor. No one can blame you. Innocence takers. Promise breakers. You’ve had your share.

Yet, doesn’t it make sense to get rid of their trash? Want to make this a day-changer?

Romans 3:24 says Out of sheer generosity God put us in right standing with himself. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ!

Choose to make every day—a great day!

Psalm 68[a]

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song.
1 May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
may his foes flee before him.
2 May you blow them away like smoke—
as wax melts before the fire,
may the wicked perish before God.
3 But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.

4 Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds[b];
rejoice before him—his name is the LORD.
5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
6 God sets the lonely in families,[c]
he leads out the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

7 When you, God, went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,[d]
8 the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 You gave abundant showers, O God;
you refreshed your weary inheritance.
10 Your people settled in it,
and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor.

11 The Lord announces the word,
and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng:
12 “Kings and armies flee in haste;
the women at home divide the plunder.
13 Even while you sleep among the sheep pens,[e]
the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,
its feathers with shining gold.”
14 When the Almighty[f] scattered the kings in the land,
it was like snow fallen on Mount Zalmon.

15 Mount Bashan, majestic mountain,
Mount Bashan, rugged mountain,
16 why gaze in envy, you rugged mountain,
at the mountain where God chooses to reign,
where the LORD himself will dwell forever?
17 The chariots of God are tens of thousands
and thousands of thousands;
the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.[g]
18 When you ascended on high,
you took many captives;
you received gifts from people,
even from[h] the rebellious—
that you,[i] LORD God, might dwell there.

19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens.
20 Our God is a God who saves;
from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death.
21 Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
22 The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan;
I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
23 that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes,
while the tongues of your dogs have their share.”

24 Your procession, God, has come into view,
the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
25 In front are the singers, after them the musicians;
with them are the young women playing the timbrels.
26 Praise God in the great congregation;
praise the LORD in the assembly of Israel.
27 There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them,
there the great throng of Judah’s princes,
and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.

28 Summon your power, God[j];
show us your strength, our God, as you have done before.
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings will bring you gifts.
30 Rebuke the beast among the reeds,
the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations.
Humbled, may the beast bring bars of silver.
Scatter the nations who delight in war.
31 Envoys will come from Egypt;
Cush[k] will submit herself to God.

32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth,
sing praise to the Lord,
33 to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens,
who thunders with mighty voice.
34 Proclaim the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
whose power is in the heavens.
35 You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Praise be to God!

Saint Valentine receives a rosary from the Virgin, by David Teniers III

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Benefits Of Friendship

February 14, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. —Ecclesiastes 4:9

Cicero was one of the greatest thinkers of the Roman Empire. He was a skilled orator, lawyer, politician, linguist, and writer. Still today he is quoted for his clear prose and practical wisdom.
For instance, of having friends he wrote: “Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief.” He understood the double benefits of friendship along life’s journey.
Nearly a millennium earlier, King Solomon had written about the value of friends as well. In Ecclesiastes we read, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up” (4:9-10). Certainly a life without friends makes our sojourn lonely and hard to bear.
That famous Roman and that Jewish king were right: Friends are important. Friends serve as confidants, counselors, and burden-sharers.
Think about your friends. Have you been neglecting those God has provided to share your joys and sorrows? If so, seek out one of your friends for fellowship this week. Remember, “two are better than one,” because a friend can double our joy and divide our grief.

A friend is “trust,” a friend is “warmth,”
A friend is “always there”
To add to every happiness,
To lessen every care. —Anon.
Friends are flowers in the garden of life.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Discipline of Hearing

Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops —Matthew 10:27

Sometimes God puts us through the experience and discipline of darkness to teach us to hear and obey Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and God puts us into “the shadow of His hand” until we learn to hear Him (Isaiah 49:2). “Whatever I tell you in the dark. . .”— pay attention when God puts you into darkness, and keep your mouth closed while you are there. Are you in the dark right now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? If so, then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will speak while in the wrong mood— darkness is the time to listen. Don’t talk to other people about it; don’t read books to find out the reason for the darkness; just listen and obey. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else once you are back in the light.
After every time of darkness, we should experience a mixture of delight and humiliation. If there is only delight, I question whether we have really heard God at all. We should experience delight for having heard God speak, but mostly humiliation for having taken so long to hear Him! Then we will exclaim, “How slow I have been to listen and understand what God has been telling me!” And yet God has been saying it for days and even weeks. But once you hear Him, He gives you the gift of humiliation, which brings a softness of heart— a gift that will always cause you to listen to God now.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Sad Success - #6547

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

I won't be going to a Lady Gaga concert soon, but tons of people have and will. To some, that headline-generating singer is just another cultural side show. But at least for now, the entertainer known for her bizarre outfits and her wild performances is an A-list celebrity and a cultural icon.

And it's all too easy to forget she's a person. Like all of us, a person with a story. She's starting to tell some of that story. As I read part of it yesterday, I honestly felt sad. For all of her stratospheric success in the spotlight, there's apparently a lot of hurt offstage.

In a Vanity Fair interview, Lady Gaga says, "If I'm supposed to end up like some crazy casualty, then that's my destiny...I love show business. I need it. It's like breath! When the spotlight goes off, I don't know quite what to do with myself."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Sad Success."

I thought, "Man, that's not just Lady Gaga. The 'spotlight' eventually goes off for all of us. And when it does, it exposes the hollowness inside." The "spotlight" that's "like breath"? Well, that could be a relationship that made you feel valued, or maybe a job - a position that gave you a sense of worth, children who needed you and validated you, an arena of accomplishment that gave you some recognition.

But every spotlight eventually goes off and leaves you with whoever you were and whatever you had before there was a spotlight. As one former Olympian said, "If you don't know who you are before you win the gold, you won't know after the gold is in your hand."

In the interview, Lady Gaga went on to talk about another sadness that many know all too well - disappointing relationships. She said, "I have never felt truly cherished by a lover. I have an inability to know what happiness feels like with a man. It starts out good, and then they hate me. I had a man say to me, 'You will die alone in a house bigger than you know, with all your money and hit records, and you will die alone.'"

That's brutal stuff. Of course, you don't have to have a big house, or big money, or a big name to know how empty a relationship can leave you feeling. Because it was supposed to answer your loneliness and satisfy your heart. But even the best of relationships turns out to be good, but not good enough; not to fill the hole in your heart.

Our word for today from the Word of God, John 4:13-14. They tell us that this is where Jesus comes in. He met a woman at a desert well. Her restless heart had never found rest in her serial relationships with men. Jesus told her that whoever kept trying to satisfy their thirst from human "wells," He called them, would always be "thirsty again." "But those who drink the water I give him," He said, "will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." What you cannot find at the top of the mountain, what you cannot find in the depths of a relationship, can be found in the love of Jesus Christ.

For 2,000 years, Jesus has been the sustaining fulfillment for millions of us when life's spotlights go off. He's been the one love that's cherished us like no other, to the point of laying down His life so we wouldn't have to die for our sins. Until we commit ourselves to this God who gave His life for us and then rose from the grave to be alive to come into our life, our hearts are, in the Bible's words, "like the tossing sea which cannot rest...there is no peace" (Isaiah 57:20-21).


You tired of that? You tired of the restlessness? You tired of empty? You tired of disappointing? It's time for you to walk into the love you were made for; the love that sent Jesus Christ to a cross for every wrong thing you've ever done. Today, reach out and embrace Him. Grab Him! Go to our website would you? It's called YoursForLife.net, and there we'll walk you through beginning your personal relationship with Him.

There's good news! At the point when we are feeling the aching hole in our heart, we're one step away from the only One who can fill it.

John 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: Lift Your Eyes Off the Weeds

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. I Chronicles 16:34”

It’s so easy to be ungrateful—to make the mistake my friend’s caddie made.

Scott’s a professional golfer who plays at the Masters Golf Tournament hosted by the Augusta National Golf Club. The Augusta National is to golfers what the Smithsonian is to history buffs: the ultimate experience! You’d think you walked into an oil painting. Groomers manicure that course as if she’s a wedding-day bride.

Scott said, “You won’t see a single weed all week!”

Imagine Scott’s surprise when his caddie announced, “I found one!”

Don’t we do the same? We walk in a garden of grace. God’s love sprouts around us like lilacs—but we go on weed hunts. How many flowers do we miss in the process?

Lift your eyes off the weeds. Collect your blessings—His kindnesses.

Assemble your reasons for gratitude. And choose to make every day—a great day!

John 13:21-38
New International Version (NIV)
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”

22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”

25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

31 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him,[a] God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!



Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Psalm 55:4-22

4 My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen on me.
5 Fear and trembling have beset me;
horror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
7 I would flee far away
and stay in the desert;[a]
8 I would hurry to my place of shelter,
far from the tempest and storm.”

9 Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,
for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls;
malice and abuse are within it.
11 Destructive forces are at work in the city;
threats and lies never leave its streets.

12 If an enemy were insulting me,
I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
I could hide.
13 But it is you, a man like myself,
my companion, my close friend,
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
at the house of God,
as we walked about
among the worshipers.

15 Let death take my enemies by surprise;
let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,
for evil finds lodging among them.

16 As for me, I call to God,
and the LORD saves me.
17 Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.
18 He rescues me unharmed
from the battle waged against me,
even though many oppose me.
19 God, who is enthroned from of old,
who does not change—
he will hear them and humble them,
because they have no fear of God.

20 My companion attacks his friends;
he violates his covenant.
21 His talk is smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn swords.

22 Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken.

Wings Like A Dove

February 13, 2012 — by David H. Roper

Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. —Psalm 55:6

David sighed, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest” (Ps. 55:6). As for me, I’d build a cabin in the Sawtooths, or take a permanent post in a fire-lookout tower. When life weighs on me, I too yearn to fly away and be at rest.
David wrote freely about his circumstances: Violence, oppression, and strife surrounded him on all sides, stirred up by the disloyalty of an old friend (55:8-14). Fear and terror, pain and trembling, anxiety and restlessness overwhelmed him (vv.4-5). Is it any wonder he longed to fly away?
But escape was impossible. He could not evade his lot. He could only give his circumstances to God: “As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (vv.16-17).
Whatever our circumstances—a burdensome ministry, a difficult marriage, joblessness, or a deep loneliness—we can give them to God. He has lifted the burden of our sins; will He not lift the weight of our sorrows? We have trusted Him with our eternal souls; can we not entrust our present circumstances to Him? “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you” (55:22).

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by. —Oatman
Because God cares about us, we can leave our cares with Him.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 13, 2012

Samuel answered, ’Speak, for Your servant hears’ —1 Samuel 3:10

Just because I have listened carefully and intently to one thing from God does not mean that I will listen to everything He says. I show God my lack of love and respect for Him by the insensitivity of my heart and mind toward what He says. If I love my friend, I will instinctively understand what he wants. And Jesus said, “You are My friends . . .” (John 15:14). Have I disobeyed some command of my Lord’s this week? If I had realized that it was a command of Jesus, I would not have deliberately disobeyed it. But most of us show incredible disrespect to God because we don’t even hear Him. He might as well never have spoken to us.
The goal of my spiritual life is such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will always hear God and know that God always hears me (see John 11:41). If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God all the time through the devotion of hearing. A flower, a tree, or a servant of God may convey God’s message to me. What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things. It is not that I don’t want to hear God, but I am not devoted in the right areas of my life. I am devoted to things and even to service and my own convictions. God may say whatever He wants, but I just don’t hear Him. The attitude of a child of God should always be, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” If I have not developed and nurtured this devotion of hearing, I can only hear God’s voice at certain times. At other times I become deaf to Him because my attention is to other things— things which I think I must do. This is not living the life of a child of God. Have you heard God’s voice today?


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

A Boom, A Battler, and A Brother - #6546

Monday, February 13, 2012

Have you ever noticed how a baby learns to walk? Yeah, it's the "step, boom" method. Someone comes along and says, "I think it's about time", sets them up on their legs - you know, kind of spaghetti legs - and they take one step, boom. And, of course, they get up again, and the next time it's step, step, boom. And then step, step, step, boom, etc. You know.

Now, we have family movies of our oldest son learning to walk years ago. It was pretty much by that method. And when he went down, you could see him grabbing something and battling to get his muscles going all in one direction so he could get up. And then you saw his big sister reaching over to give him a hand. Actually, that's what it takes whenever you go step, boom.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Boom, A Battler, and A Brother."

We're going to look today at a man who stepped out to serve the Lord and went "boom." His name is John Mark. Acts 15 is our word for today from the Word of God, where we're hearing about a missionary journey that Barnabas and Paul were launching. "Barnabas," it says, "wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it was wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus."

Now, in order to get the full story, realize you need to turn to 2 Timothy 4, where at the end of Paul's life he is now alone in a Roman prison. He will soon be executed for his loyalty to Jesus Christ, and guess who he mentions? Mark - this guy who bombed out earlier in his Christian work, and Paul said, "Boy, I don't think this guy's going to make it." Now Paul writes, "Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful for me in my ministry." Wow!

You know what the message is? When you're following Christ, failure is not final! But it takes two kinds of people to recover someone from a fall. It takes a battler and a brother. Mark was the battler. You know, if that baby goes "step, boom" he can't just say, "Well, I fell down. I guess I'll never walk. I'm not cut out for this." He can't just keep lying there helpless on the floor. No! He'll still be there when he's 18; his Mom will be vacuuming around him. No, he gets up and he says in his own little brain, "I will walk again."

Maybe that's you. Maybe you've been giving up because you failed. But the gospel of Mark's life is that you can be restored. You can be useful again if you're willing to battle back. But recovery also requires a brother; one like Barnabas, who will work with you patiently, who will deal with your weaknesses, who will give you an extra chance. And it takes a brother like Paul, who though he had his doubts, is willing to accept him once he's restored, and not to continue to say, "Oh, yeah, he's the failure."


Now, one of these is you, or it needs to be. Maybe you're a Mark and you feel that you've fallen. But now ask the Lord for the courage and the patience to battle back. Maybe you're a Barnabas who reaches out to that person that others have given up on, maybe even a member of your own family. Or maybe you're Paul, who can make or break somebody's comeback by whether you greet them with open arms or folded arms.

When one of God's kids goes "step, boom" there is hope if there's a battler determined to walk again and a brother who's offering a hand.

Psalm 65, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: More Than Forgiveness

“This is my commitment to my people: removal of their sins.” Romans 11:27, The Message

God does more than forgive our mistakes; he removes them! We simply have to take them to him.

He not only wants the mistakes we’ve made. He wants the ones we are making. Are you making some? . . .

If so, don’t pretend nothing is wrong . . . Go first to God. The first step after a stumble must be in the direction of the cross.



Psalm 65[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.
1 Praise awaits[b] you, our God, in Zion;
to you our vows will be fulfilled.
2 You who answer prayer,
to you all people will come.
3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,
you forgave[c] our transgressions.
4 Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.

5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,
6 who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength,
7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.

9 You care for the land and water it;
you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain,
for so you have ordained it.[d]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,
and your carts overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
the hills are clothed with gladness.
13 The meadows are covered with flocks
and the valleys are mantled with grain;
they shout for joy and sing.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Romans 11:26-36

26 and in this way[a] all Israel will be saved. As it is written:
“The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is[b] my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”[c]

28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now[d] receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

Doxology

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[e] knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”[f]
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”[g]
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Unanswered Prayer

February 12, 2012 — by Philip Yancey

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways. —Isaiah 55:9

The apostle Paul had one overriding desire: that fellow Jews would embrace the Messiah he had encountered. “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart,” he said. “For I could wish that I myself were . . . cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers” (Rom. 9:2-3 NIV). Yet in city after city his fellow Jews rejected him and the Christ he preached.
In his most elegant letter, Paul set as his centerpiece (Rom. 9–11) a passionate passage in which he struggled openly with this great unanswered prayer of his life. He acknowledged one important side benefit of this distressing development: The Jews’ rejection of Jesus led to His acceptance by the Gentiles. Paul concluded that God hadn’t rejected the Jews; to the contrary, they had the same opportunity as Gentiles. God had widened, not closed, the embrace of humanity.
Paul’s prose began to soar as he stepped back to consider the big picture. And then came this burst of doxology:
Oh, the depth of the riches
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments
and His ways past finding out! (Rom. 11:33).
The unsolved mysteries and unanswered prayers all fade to gray against the panorama of God’s plan for the ages.
In the end, unanswered prayer brings me face to face with the mystery that silenced Paul: the profound difference between my perspective and God’s.

Prayer imparts the power to walk and not faint. —Chambers


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, February 12, 2012

Are You Listening to God?

They said to Moses, ’You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die’ `—Exodus 20:19

We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God— we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them— not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.
“You speak with us, . . . but let not God speak with us . . . .” We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, “Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth.”
Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, “Lord, why was I so insensitive and obstinate?” This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.

Psalm 62, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: A Likeable Savior

“Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble.” I Peter 3:8, The Message

They called Jesus a blasphemer, but they never called him a braggart. They accused him of heresy, but never arrogance. He was branded as a radical, but never unapproachable.

There is no hint that he ever used his heavenly status for personal gain. Ever. You just don’t get the impression that his neighbors grew sick of his haughtiness and asked, “Well, who do you think made you God?”

His faith made him likeable.



Psalm 62[c]

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
1 Truly my soul finds rest in God;
my salvation comes from him.
2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

3 How long will you assault me?
Would all of you throw me down—
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4 Surely they intend to topple me
from my lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.[d]

5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God[e];
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.

9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion
or put vain hope in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.

11 One thing God has spoken,
two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,
12 and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;
and, “You reward everyone
according to what they have done.”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Job 31:1-4

1 “I made a covenant with my eyes
not to look lustfully at a young woman.
2 For what is our lot from God above,
our heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Is it not ruin for the wicked,
disaster for those who do wrong?
4 Does he not see my ways
and count my every step?

A Covenant With My Eyes

February 11, 2012 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

I have made a covenant with my eyes. —Job 31:1

Our friend is a computer “techie.” One night when our family was at his house, I noticed a verse taped to his monitor: “I have made a covenant with my eyes” (Job 31:1). Evidently, he understood the potential danger of spending hours alone in front of a computer with easy access to indecent images.
Our friend’s “reminder verse” is a quote from Job, and it continues, “Why then should I look upon a young woman?” Like many of us, Job had promised himself to stay free of lust. Reflecting on that oath, he said, “Does [God] not see my ways, and count all my steps?” (v.4). The Bible assures us that God does (Heb. 4:13), and that we are accountable to Him. This is why believers must “abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thess. 4:3). While some want to debate the boundaries of morality, the Bible says, “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28).
If you have made a covenant with your eyes, consider how Scripture might help you keep this pledge. Post a verse on your computer screen, television, or the dashboard of your car, and remember, “God did not call us to uncleanness” but to holiness (1 Thess. 4:7).

When lustful thoughts assail your mind
To play with immorality,
Remember that God’s will for you
Is holiness and purity. —Sper
A look that lingers can lead to lust.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, February 11, 2012

Is Your Mind Stayed on God?

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You —Isaiah 26:3

Is your mind stayed on God or is it starved? Starvation of the mind, caused by neglect, is one of the chief sources of exhaustion and weakness in a servant’s life. If you have never used your mind to place yourself before God, begin to do it now. There is no reason to wait for God to come to you. You must turn your thoughts and your eyes away from the face of idols and look to Him and be saved (see Isaiah 45:22).
Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. You should seek to be “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ . . .” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This will be one of the greatest assets of your faith when a time of trial comes, because then your faith and the Spirit of God will work together. When you have thoughts and ideas that are worthy of credit to God, learn to compare and associate them with all that happens in nature-the rising and the setting of the sun, the shining of the moon and the stars, and the changing of the seasons. You will begin to see that your thoughts are from God as well, and your mind will no longer be at the mercy of your impulsive thinking, but will always be used in service to God.
“We have sinned with our fathers . . . [and] . . . did not remember . . .” (Psalm 106:6-7). Then prod your memory and wake up immediately. Don’t say to yourself, “But God is not talking to me right now.” He ought to be. Remember whose you are and whom you serve. Encourage yourself to remember, and your affection for God will increase tenfold. Your mind will no longer be starved, but will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright.

Psalm 61, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: Don’t Miss the Headline

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I Thessalonians 5:16

God notices the grateful heart!

Don’t miss the headline here. God notices the grateful heart.

Does God have an ego problem? No. But we do. Gratitude lifts our eyes off the things we lack, so we can see the blessings we possess. Nothing blows the winter out of the day like a Caribbean breeze of thankfulness.

If you look long enough and hard enough, you’ll find something to bellyache about. So quit looking! Take your eyes off the weeds. Collect your blessings.

I Thessalonians 5:16 says “Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks—whatever happens. That’s what God wants for you in Christ Jesus.”

Gratitude is always an option. Make it your default emotion—and you’ll find yourself giving thanks for the problems of life.

Impossible you say? How do you know? How do you know until you give every day a chance?

Psalm 61[a]

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.
1 Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.

2 From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.

4 I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.[b]
5 For you, God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

6 Increase the days of the king’s life,
his years for many generations.
7 May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever;
appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.

8 Then I will ever sing in praise of your name
and fulfill my vows day after day.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Genesis 27:6-23

6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the LORD before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: 9 Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. 10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.”
11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.”

13 His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.”

14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. 17 Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.

18 He went to his father and said, “My father.”

“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”

19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”

20 Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”

“The LORD your God gave me success,” he replied.

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”

22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him.

Flawed

February 10, 2012 — by Cindy Hess Kasper

My strength is made perfect in weakness. —2 Corinthians 12:9

A well-known actor commented that he enjoyed playing “flawed” characters in movies because people could relate better to an imperfect character. Most of us would agree that it’s easier for us to understand people who aren’t perfect because we know that we are imperfect.
God included stories in the Bible of people who were deceitful, weak, unreliable, and angry. Take Jacob, for example, who deceived his father so that he would receive a blessing (Gen. 27:1-29). Then there was Gideon, who was so unsure of God that he asked Him twice for proof that He would be faithful to do what He said He would do (Judg. 6:39). And then there’s Peter, who for fear of his own safety, denied even knowing his friend and Lord (Mark 14:66-72).
But when we read the rest of their stories, we observe that these people were able, with God’s help, to overcome their shortcomings and ultimately be useful to Him. That happened when they depended not on themselves but on God.
Just like the people who lived thousands of years ago, each of us comes with flaws. But by God’s grace we can overcome those imperfections by embracing His “strength [which] is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).

God’s strength is made perfect in weakness,
For when we are weak He is strong;
He gives us His grace and His power
To overcome in us what’s wrong. —Sper
It’s good to learn of our weakness
if it drives us to lean on God’s strength.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 10, 2012

Is Your Ability to See God Blinded?

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things . . . —Isaiah 40:26

The people of God in Isaiah’s time had blinded their minds’ ability to see God by looking on the face of idols. But Isaiah made them look up at the heavens; that is, he made them begin to use their power to think and to visualize correctly. If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades, if we will only begin to use our blinded thinking to visualize it.
The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need. Go beyond yourself and away from the faces of your idols and away from everything else that has been blinding your thinking. Wake up and accept the ridicule that Isaiah gave to his people, and deliberately turn your thoughts and your eyes to God.
One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have lost our power to visualize. We can no longer even imagine putting ourselves deliberately before God. It is actually more important to be broken bread and poured-out wine in the area of intercession than in our personal contact with others. The power of visualization is what God gives a saint so that he can go beyond himself and be firmly placed into relationships he never before experienced.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

A Refreshing Change in the Atmosphere - #6545

Friday, February 10, 2012

It was one of those 3-H summer days: hazy, hot, and humid. It's not advisable to sweat on those days, because there's really no place to go. You keep running into your own sweat. And you know how it is on those days; you kind of feel "ugh"...you feel like doing nothing. Well, it was one of those days, and a brief storm went through. It was the leading edge of a cold front the weather man said, and the temperature dropped almost 25 degrees in a four-hour period of time. That heavy, muggy, hazy air suddenly cleared out; people started moving around again. I'll tell you, the view all of a sudden was crystal clear; no haze. The atmosphere was refreshing finally. Did you know a person can actually have that affect?

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Refreshing Change in the Atmosphere."

There was, in that upper room where Jesus held The Last Supper, a very tense atmosphere that night. There was an argument brewing in the corners of the room as to who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Several people were fighting over the job of Assistant Messiah, I guess, and it was a climate of real selfishness. "Me first." "King of the hill." And then a refreshing front moved through the room and changed everything.

Our word for today from the Word of God is in John 13, and I'll begin at verse 4. "Jesus got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing and wrapped a towel around His waist. And after that He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples' feet; drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him." Later on in the chapter it says, "When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place."

"Do you understand what I've done for you?" He asked them. You call me teacher and Lord, and rightly for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. No servant is greater than his master. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." Man, the atmosphere changed that night because of one thing Jesus did. He did the job no one else wanted to do; the lowly, smelly, dirty job that usually a slave did - washing feet.

Jesus did the job no one else wanted to do, and in so doing, He displayed the power of one person who decides he will be the servant in his little corner of the world. "I will be the servant in my family, I will be the servant in my business, I will be the servant in my church, in my circle of friends. You say, "Well, not me. I don't want to do it." Well, not Him, the Lord Jesus, the Son of God. But He did it. Think about the tasks that everyone avoids where you are.

Well, what if, in the name of Jesus, you just quietly started to do one of those? Notice, Jesus didn't say anything at first. He just unselfishly moved out and started doing it. When you do that, it defuses an atmosphere that's heavy with conflict and self-centeredness. It puts your faith into the kind of action that even your worst critic can appreciate, including a non-Christian family. They may not understand your beliefs, but they understand someone who will pitch in on what no one wants to do.


See, that makes you the Jesus-person in your situation. Just try it. Don't announce it; do it joyfully, do it consistently, and pretty soon you're going to win the special influence that only a servant has. See, you're a help and you're not a threat to people, so they'll listen to you. Now you said at one point in your life you would follow Jesus, right? And He's a foot washer.

Do the jobs no one else wants to do, and let God use you to clear out the oppressive heat of selfishness. What a refreshing change in the atmosphere you could bring to the place where you live.

John 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: Everyday Blessings

“Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:1”

Imagine with me, the diary of a dog.

8:00 a.m.— Oh boy! Dog food—my favorite!
9:40 a.m.— Oh boy! A walk—my favorite!
And so it goes—Oh boy!—my favorite!

On the other hand consider the cat!

Day 283 of my captivity. While they dine lavishly on fresh meat, I’m forced to eat dry cereal. I’m sustained by the mild satisfaction I derive from ruining a few pieces of furniture.

One grateful, the other grumpy. Same house. Same master. Yet two entirely different attitudes.

So which diary reads more like yours?

Gratitude! It’s the firstborn child of grace, the appropriate response of the blessed. Immerse yourself in the curriculum of grace! It’s so easy to be distracted. So easy to be ungrateful!

Oh boy! My favorite! It’s a day changer!

Choose to make every day—a great day.

John 13

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

18 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned[a] against me.’[b]
19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. 20 Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”



Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: John 21:12-19

New International Version (NIV)
12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus Reinstates Peter

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

Glorifying God In Life And Death

February 9, 2012 — by David C. McCasland

This [Jesus] spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. —John 21:19

It seems we most often think about how we can glorify God through our lives when we are active and strong. But I wonder if we should also consider how we might glorify God through our death.
After Peter denied Jesus three times (John 18:15-27), the Lord gave him an opportunity to reaffirm his love (21:15-17). Three times, Jesus asked, “Peter, do you love Me?” Then in a surprising change of subject, Jesus said: “‘When you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.’ This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me’” (vv.18-19). Jesus told Peter that others would take him where he didn’t want to go, yet by that unchosen way of dying, he would glorify God.
Paul said that it was his “earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death” (Phil. 1:20).
We can bring honor and glory to God as we live—and as we die.

Lord, I want to bring You and Your name praise
in my daily life till the end. May I glorify You
even in the valley of the shadow as I pass from
this life into the next. Amen.
You are one of a kind—designed to glorify God as only you can.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 09, 2012

Are You Exhausted Spiritually?

The everlasting God . . . neither faints nor is weary —Isaiah 40:28

Exhaustion means that our vital energies are completely worn out and spent. Spiritual exhaustion is never the result of sin, but of service. Whether or not you experience exhaustion will depend on where you get your supplies. Jesus said to Peter, “Feed My sheep,” but He gave him nothing with which to feed them (John 21:17). The process of being made broken bread and poured-out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other people’s souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you completely— to the very last drop. But be careful to replenish your supply, or you will quickly be utterly exhausted. Until others learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus directly, they will have to draw on His life through you. You must literally be their source of supply, until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and sheep, as well as for Him.
Have you delivered yourself over to exhaustion because of the way you have been serving God? If so, then renew and rekindle your desires and affections. Examine your reasons for service. Is your source based on your own understanding or is it grounded on the redemption of Jesus Christ? Continually look back to the foundation of your love and affection and remember where your Source of power lies. You have no right to complain, “O Lord, I am so exhausted.” He saved and sanctified you to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that He is your supply. “All my springs are in you” (Psalm 87:7).


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

The Right Word For Sex - #6544

Thursday, February 9, 2012

It's amazing how creative parents can become when it's time to explain the facts of life to a child, and they really get creative when it comes to the vocabulary they choose. Now, we tell our kids that an ear is an ear, a leg is a leg, an elbow is an elbow and so on. But when it comes time to explain the male and female parts of the body and the facts of life talk, we have a hard time using the right words. Frankly, I've heard some pretty weird names for human anatomy. Words invented, I guess, by a red-faced parent, but not recognized by any doctor on the planet. You know, it's good to use the right words when it comes to sex, especially the one that really counts - the Bible does.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Right Word For Sex."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the very beginning of man and woman, Genesis 4:1. It says, "Adam knew his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain." Now, the word "knew" obviously is referring to their sexual relationship - sexual intercourse between a man and a woman - Adam and Eve. We are looking in the book of Genesis at sex before it got spoiled, and ruined, and devalued; sex as it was meant to be, still unspoiled, still the best. And the word that's used for a sexual relationship between a man and woman is the word "know"..."Adam knew Eve."

When two people join themselves together physically, it's designed to be the ultimate "knowing" of two people. And when two people have sex that isn't based on a deep, intimate friendship and commitment, they don't go all the way. They don't go one-eighth of the way, because they don't have a lifetime of knowing each other that they're expressing with this awesome language of love. The Hebrew word is "yadah." It speaks of an intimacy of two people who know each other as they really are; a deep, personal, intimate, experiential knowledge of another person. That's why God designed sex for a lifetime commitment. He put a fence around sex called marriage.

And ironically, when you take sex out of marriage, outside the fence, it actually slows down or even eliminates the "knowing" process. It keeps you from getting to know a person, because the physical just takes over. The relationship becomes more self-centered. Couples stop talking, and often they end up marrying a stranger, because they've never really had a friend of the opposite sex. It's not knowing, it's using. The result is lonely relationships and even lonely marriages; people who have never had a friendship with the opposite sex and maybe never will.


And when the physical starts to be strong in a relationship, it will often mask the weaknesses in that relationship. Many people have married the wrong person because their passion blinded them. They were kept from really ever knowing the other person, and they made a life-long mistake. Remember, the Inventor always knows best, and the Inventor of sex knows best: two people in a lifetime knowing experience.

Anything less is a cheap, twisted, disappointing counterfeit. The Bible says to know someone as your best friend forever...now, that's the right word for sex.

Psalm 58, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: New Every Morning

“The Lord’s love never ends; his mercies never stop. They are new every morning. Lamentations 3:22-23”

You said the wrong words, took the wrong turns, loved the wrong person, reacted the wrong way.

You spoke when you should’ve listened, judged when you should’ve trusted, indulged when you should have resisted.

But don’t let yesterday’s mistakes sabotage today’s attitude!

So, what makes the difference?

Daily drenching rains! Deluges keep the ground moist, the trees wet, and the lightning impotent.

Lightning strikes you as well. Thunderbolts of regret can ignite and consume you. Counter them with downpours of God’s grace, daily washings of forgiveness.

Once a year won’t do. Once a month is insufficient. Weekly showers leave you dry. Sporadic misting leaves you combustible! You need a solid soaking every day!

Choose to make it a great day—every day!

Psalm 58[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[b]
1 Do you rulers indeed speak justly?
Do you judge people with equity?
2 No, in your heart you devise injustice,
and your hands mete out violence on the earth.

3 Even from birth the wicked go astray;
from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
5 that will not heed the tune of the charmer,
however skillful the enchanter may be.

6 Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;
LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions!
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away;
when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.
8 May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,
like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.

9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.[c]
10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,
when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then people will say,
“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;
surely there is a God who judges the earth.”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Psalm 100

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Just Because He’s Good

February 8, 2012 — by Anne Cetas

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! —Psalm 136:1

Joel and Lauren decided to move from Washington State back home to Michigan. Wanting to make one last special memory, they bought coffee from their favorite cafe and then stopped at their favorite bookstore. There they picked up two bumper stickers with a favorite motto of the town they were saying goodbye to: “It’s an Edmonds kind of day.”
After 2 weeks and a 3,000-mile drive, they entered Michigan. Hungry and wanting to celebrate their arrival, they stopped and asked about where to find a restaurant. Although they had to backtrack a few miles, they found a quaint little cafe. Emma, their waitress, excited to learn they were from her home state of Washington, asked, “What city?” “Edmonds,” they replied. “That’s where I’m from!” she said. Wanting to share the joy, Joel got their extra bumper sticker from the car and handed it to her. Amazingly, the sticker was from her mother’s store! It had gone from her mom’s hands to theirs, across 3,000 miles, to her hands.
Mere coincidence? Or were these experiences good gifts orchestrated by a good God who loves to encourage His children? Proverbs tells us, “A man’s steps are directed by the Lord” (20:24 NIV). In response, let’s “bless His name. For the Lord is good” (Ps. 100:4-5).

Bestowed with benefits daily,
Sent from the Father above;
Mercies and blessings abounding,
Gifts of His marvelous love. —Anon.
Every good gift comes from the Father.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 08, 2012

The Cost of Sanctification

May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely . . . —1 Thessalonians 5:23

When we pray, asking God to sanctify us, are we prepared to measure up to what that really means? We take the word sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared to pay the cost of sanctification? The cost will be a deep restriction of all our earthly concerns, and an extensive cultivation of all our godly concerns. Sanctification means to be intensely focused on God’s point of view. It means to secure and to keep all the strength of our body, soul, and spirit for God’s purpose alone. Are we really prepared for God to perform in us everything for which He separated us? And after He has done His work, are we then prepared to separate ourselves to God just as Jesus did? “For their sakes I sanctify Myself . . .” (John 17:19). The reason some of us have not entered into the experience of sanctification is that we have not realized the meaning of sanctification from God’s perspective. Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God.
Are we prepared to be caught up into the full meaning of Paul’s prayer in this verse? Are we prepared to say, “Lord, make me, a sinner saved by grace, as holy as You can”? Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him, just as He is one with the Father (see John 17:21-23). The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything which is not like Him. Are we prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirit’s work in us?


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

None of the Above - #6543

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

I can't remember the names of all seven of Snow White's dwarfs, but I don't feel bad about that. I do remember one - Grumpy. Actually I've heard that the Grumpy shirt is one of Disney's big sellers these days. I might know why. Grumpy is kind of the mood of a whole lot of people these days.

I mean, you know, when you take just the state of politics in America, most people don't seem to be very excited about anybody. We've got one group who wants us to stop spending money, and then there are some who want people to stop making money. And there are some who don't like what the President's doing, and some don't like what Congress is doing. And a lot of people aren't impressed with any candidate so far. "Hello, Grumpy!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "None of the Above."

See, if there was a "none of the above" choice on the ballot, he might just win. I mean, it doesn't matter whether you're in America or many other countries of the world, we're just hurting for a leader who won't let us down; who can actually do something about the baffling tangle of problems we have. And it's not just politicians who've let us down. Sometimes parents fail us...a church or a pastor fails us...a leader that we've looked to disappoints us...betrays us.

I guess we shouldn't be surprised. Our leaders are a lot like us. And I know I sure haven't been everything people needed me to be. I'm sure I've disappointed folks along the way.

As much as human leaders may have let us down, it doesn't change the fact that our hearts are hungry for someone to look to; someone who can take us where we haven't been able to go ourselves. Who totally lives what he says...who not only promises hope but delivers it...who can fix the unfixable...who we can follow with the confidence that they care about us more than they care about themselves.

That's Jesus, and only Jesus. As our word for today from the Word of God in Romans 10:11 tells us, "Anyone who believes in Him will never be disappointed." I sure haven't been. This Man who had the power to walk out of His grave has had more than enough power to change what I couldn't; people I couldn't change, problems I couldn't fix, dark parts of me that I couldn't control. He's led me on roads that didn't always make sense on the first mile, but always ended up putting me in a better place.

And there's no doubt about Him caring more about me than about Himself. He offered Himself to be nailed to a cross and separated from God so my sins could be erased and I could be with Him in heaven forever. And anybody who loves me enough to die for me will never do me wrong.

There really is a hole in our hearts that's starved for a loving leader for our life. A "shepherd" as Jesus said. He said, "My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me." And where does following Him end up? He said, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish" (John 10:27-28). That's a promise that only Jesus can make, and only Jesus can keep. And it may be that in a heart that's listening today that feels lost inside, needing someone to look to, looking for that person who can fix what you can't fix, take you where you've never been able to go, make sense out of the scattered pieces of the puzzle, then you're ready for Jesus and He's ready for you.

Why don't you reach out to Him today and say, "Jesus, I'm Yours. You died for me; I can trust You. I'm Yours." Go to our website. Find out there how to be sure you've begun your personal relationship with Him. Go to YoursForLife.net.

Remember a couple of years ago, we heard a plane crashed in the Hudson River? And I thought it was just going to be massive carnage. Instead we saw "the miracle on the Hudson." This jetliner's engines had been totally disabled, it looked like there was going to be a tragic crash. But their captain, Captain "Sully" Sullenberger, was a veteran fighter pilot, airline pilot and crash investigator; probably one of the few pilots who could bring them in safely. And he was the one at the controls.


I've been on some flights where I wish I could have picked the captain in the cockpit. I've never been able to pick the pilot for my flight, but I got to pick the pilot for my life, and it's Captain Jesus.

He's the one Pilot who can bring you in safely...no matter what happens.

Psalm 55, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: Yesterday’s Gone

In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Psalm 33:21

You no longer have yesterday. It slipped away as you slept.

Sorry, what’s gone is gone. The second hand of the clock refuses to tick backward. You no longer have yesterday.

This is the day the Lord has made! Live in it. You must be present to win!

This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it! Let the words sink in. God made this day, ordained this hour, designed the details of this wrenching moment.

Each day emerges from God’s drawing room. Including this one!

Eighty-four thousand heartbeats. One thousand, four hundred and forty minutes. A complete rotation of the earth. A gift of twenty-four unlived, unexplored hours.

Here’s a day changer for you… If you can stack one good day on another and another, you’ll link together a good life!

Choose to make it a great day—every day!

Psalm 55[a]

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil[b] of David.
1 Listen to my prayer, O God,
do not ignore my plea;
2 hear me and answer me.
My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught
3 because of what my enemy is saying,
because of the threats of the wicked;
for they bring down suffering on me
and assail me in their anger.

4 My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen on me.
5 Fear and trembling have beset me;
horror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
7 I would flee far away
and stay in the desert;[c]
8 I would hurry to my place of shelter,
far from the tempest and storm.”

9 Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,
for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls;
malice and abuse are within it.
11 Destructive forces are at work in the city;
threats and lies never leave its streets.

12 If an enemy were insulting me,
I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
I could hide.
13 But it is you, a man like myself,
my companion, my close friend,
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
at the house of God,
as we walked about
among the worshipers.

15 Let death take my enemies by surprise;
let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,
for evil finds lodging among them.

16 As for me, I call to God,
and the LORD saves me.
17 Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.
18 He rescues me unharmed
from the battle waged against me,
even though many oppose me.
19 God, who is enthroned from of old,
who does not change—
he will hear them and humble them,
because they have no fear of God.

20 My companion attacks his friends;
he violates his covenant.
21 His talk is smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn swords.

22 Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken.
23 But you, God, will bring down the wicked
into the pit of decay;
the bloodthirsty and deceitful
will not live out half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

Giving to the Needy

1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Prayer

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:16-18
New International Version (NIV)
Fasting

16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Great Is Your Reward

Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. —Matthew 6:4

Many businesses have “points programs” that offer rewards to loyal customers. You can stack up these rewards by using their companies’ services, like eating at local restaurants, staying at certain hotels, or flying on particular airlines. Choosing to spend your money this way makes a lot of sense.
God has a rewards program as well. Jesus often spoke of His desire to reward us for loyally serving Him. When we are persecuted for His sake, for example, He says to “rejoice . . . for great is your reward in heaven” (Matt. 5:12). In contrast to the Pharisees’ pious habit of giving, praying, and fasting in public, Jesus instructed us to do these things privately, because “your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (6:4,6,18). When it comes to living for Jesus, faithfulness never ultimately puts your life in a deficit position, regardless of what it costs.
But we don’t serve Jesus for the rewards. When He died for us on the cross, He did far more for us than we deserve. Loyalty to Him is an act of worship that expresses our loving gratitude for His love toward us. In return, He delights to encourage us with the assurance that ultimately His rewards will outweigh whatever we have given up for Him.
Live for Jesus—regardless of the cost.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Spiritual Dejection

We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened —Luke 24:21

Every fact that the disciples stated was right, but the conclusions they drew from those facts were wrong. Anything that has even a hint of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If I am depressed or burdened, I am to blame, not God or anyone else. Dejection stems from one of two sources— I have either satisfied a lust or I have not had it satisfied. In either case, dejection is the result. Lust means “I must have it at once.” Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer. What have I been hoping or trusting God would do? Is today “the third day” and He has still not done what I expected? Am I therefore justified in being dejected and in blaming God? Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer. It is impossible to be well physically and to be dejected, because dejection is a sign of sickness. This is also true spiritually. Dejection spiritually is wrong, and we are always to blame for it.
We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God’s power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

When You Know the Final Score - #6542

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

We're pretty avid New York Giants football fans at our house. Don't hold that against us. You know, you can understand it if you follow football at all. We're eager after a long basketball season and a baseball season to see the first games, even when they're exhibition games. Now, when my children were growing up, there was a particular game on one season that we really wanted to see, because it was against a top NFL team.

There was one problem! That particular exhibition game wasn't aired live in the New York area. It was a home game. However, it was shown twice on tape late that night and then again the next morning. Now, we knew the score; we had heard the score of the game; we knew the outcome. My son was watching it and he said, "Well, Dad, it's sure exciting to watch a game when you already know the outcome." Well actually we did know the ending. We just didn't know how they got to that ending. It was fun to watch how they did it, but there wasn't much suspense.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You Know the Final Score."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 3, and I'm going to begin reading at verse 16. It's the familiar story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Now, whether or not you recognize the names, you remember the story of the three men who were commanded by King Nebuchadnezzar to bow down to his 90-foot gold statue of himself. They refused to do it, and he said, "Then I'll have to throw you into this very, very hot fire," an oven prepared just for them. What a way to die, huh? They said to the king, "O, King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves... If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king."

Now, I like this. They're saying, "We don't know how God's going to do, but we know He will. We're not sure all the plays He's going to call, we just know He's going to win." Now, you may be in a pretty bleak situation right now. Maybe the fire is heating up for you, and there's no apparent solution; there's no apparent way out.

One of my favorite passages of scripture is in Romans 8, where Paul speaks of some of the greatest stresses in life. And verse 35 talks about "trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, not enough food on the table, nakedness, no clothes, danger, sword, even death." Then right after all that in verse 37 he says this - and this is my life verse: "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Wow! As a soldier of Jesus Christ, you're in the same position I am when I'm watching a Giants victory being replayed. I know the final score; I know we win. I just don't know how.


In Christ, the question is never whether He will win in a situation, the only question is how. Our problem is if we can't see how victory will come, a lot of times we don't believe it will. "There's no money in sight, so I guess we're not going to make it." Or, "There's no person in sight, so I guess I'll be lonely." "There's no change in sight, so well, I guess it will always be this way." "Well, there's no progress I can see and there's no way to make any. I guess we'll always be in this mess." Read the scoreboard again! He wins all His battles. Live expectantly! The battle is not yours; it is God's. You can be more than conqueror, and He says it's in the middle of life's most intense moments.

After all, you're sitting back watching how God is going to win this one, because you know the final score, and your Father will decide the outcome.

Psalm 53, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: Give the Day a Shot

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. Psalm 84:5

“This is the day the Lord has made! Rejoice and be glad in it!”

This one, Lord? This surgery day? This exam day? This sending my firstborn off to college day?

That last one took the starch out of my shirt! We packed Jenna’s stuff, loaded up the car, and left life as we’d known it for eighteen years.

The day was necessary. The day was planned. But the day undid me! I was a mess.

But God made this day. So I decided to give the day a chance, change my view and imitate the Psalmist, “I will rejoice and be glad in it!”

Give the day a shot. An audition. A swing at the plate.

An hour is too short, a year too long. Days are the bite-sized portions of life, the God-designed segments of life management.

A day changer! Choose to make it a great day—every day!



Psalm 53[a]

For the director of music. According to mahalath.[b] A maskil[c] of David.
1 The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
there is no one who does good.

2 God looks down from heaven
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.

4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?

They devour my people as though eating bread;
they never call on God.
5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
where there was nothing to dread.
God scattered the bones of those who attacked you;
you put them to shame, for God despised them.

6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: James 1:12-18

12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Consider The Source

February 6, 2012 — by Bill Crowder

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights. —James 1:17

I love cinnamon. I love cinnamon rolls, cinnamon graham crackers, cinnamon candies, cinnamon toast, cinnamon apples, and cinnamon pretzels. Cinnamon is one of those spices that makes other things taste better. However, it never crossed my mind to think about where cinnamon comes from. Then, on a recent trip to Sri Lanka, I learned that 90 percent of all the cinnamon in the world comes from that island nation located in the Indian Ocean. For all of the cinnamon I’ve enjoyed over the years, I never stopped to consider its source.
Sadly, my walk with Christ is sometimes like that. God has blessed me with a wonderful wife, five children, and grandchildren who are more fun than a barrel of monkeys. In the midst of my enjoyment of them, however, I sometimes fail to consider the source of those blessings—what the hymnwriter called the “fount of every blessing.” James put it like this: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (1:17).
How ungrateful we would be to enjoy the rich blessings of life without thanking the Father who is the source of all of creation.

Dear Lord, from whom all blessings flow,
Most precious gifts dost Thou bestow;
So truly faithful may I be
As Thou art gracious unto me. —Roworth
Gratitude is a God-honoring attitude.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 06, 2012

Are You Ready To Be Poured Out As an Offering? (2)

I am already being poured out as a drink offering . . . —2 Timothy 4:6

Are you ready to be poured out as an offering? It is an act of your will, not your emotions. Tell God you are ready to be offered as a sacrifice for Him. Then accept the consequences as they come, without any complaints, in spite of what God may send your way. God sends you through a crisis in private, where no other person can help you. From the outside your life may appear to be the same, but the difference is taking place in your will. Once you have experienced the crisis in your will, you will take no thought of the cost when it begins to affect you externally. If you don’t deal with God on the level of your will first, the result will be only to arouse sympathy for yourself.
“Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar” (Psalm 118:27). You must be willing to be placed on the altar and go through the fire; willing to experience what the altar represents-burning, purification, and separation for only one purpose-the elimination of every desire and affection not grounded in or directed toward God. But you don’t eliminate it, God does. You “bind the sacrifice . . . to the horns of the altar” and see to it that you don’t wallow in self-pity once the fire begins. After you have gone through the fire, there will be nothing that will be able to trouble or depress you. When another crisis arises, you will realize that things cannot touch you as they used to do. What fire lies ahead in your life?
Tell God you are ready to be poured out as an offering, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

First Snow Faith - #6541

Monday, February 6, 2012

Our pre-school grandson? I think he overheard the weather forecast recently before his bedtime. It went something like this, "Chance of rain, maybe a few snow flurries." I guess that's all he needed to hear, because he began to pray fervently that night, "Jesus, please make it snow tomorrow." Now, flurries are barely snow, but apparently the mention of them is enough for fuel for hope, you know, and for faith...especially faith. And when he went to bed that night, his mom and dad...they prayed too. They said, "Dear Jesus, would you please answer a little boy's prayer?"

Well, the next morning, this great scene: the little guy is standing in his jammies, in front of the big window in the living room, staring out at a day that was not white. It was just plain old gray. And then suddenly, there they were. The first flurries. Well actually, flakes. He started running around the living room shouting, "Thank You, Jesus! Thank You, Jesus! You made it snow!" And it kept snowing, by the way, appreciably more than the weatherman had forecast.

Not only did Jesus answer a little boy's prayer, but a little boy showed us what faith looks like, asking God for what only He can do, then expecting Him to do it. Actually watching for the answer to come.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "First Snow Faith."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God is Psalm 5:3. It's a verse we've had up in our prayer chapel for years. David says, "O Lord, You hear my voice...I lay my requests before You,..." Well, that's not the end of it. Here comes the faith part, "...and wait in expectation."

Oh, you know, I regularly "lay my request before" Him. But how often do I "go to the window," looking out for that answer; expecting Him to answer? You know, you can come to Jesus and you can talk to Him about something, but you can walk away and you've still got it. You haven't left it with Him. You haven't trusted it to Him. I've done that way too many times.

See, faith works this way. It walks into the Throne Room of Almighty God, who we know now created and controls a hundred billion galaxies. That's your Heavenly Father. But you walk into that Throne Room and you're all bent over. You're carrying the heavy burden that you've been carrying, but faith walks out standing tall. The burden isn't there any more. You know why? You left it at His Throne. Now, if I'm all bent over when I walk out of the Throne Room; if I'm still carrying that heavy backpack after I've prayed about it, then I talked to Him about it but I didn't trust Him with it. And that's where faith comes in.

You know, Jesus made this incredible promise. He said, "If you ask anything in prayer, believe that you have received it..." Now, that's past tense. You haven't got it yet, but "...believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Sure, the "snow" doesn't always come, and it doesn't always come on my schedule. But I have got a Father who loves me and Who only says no if He's working on something that's for my good and better than I have asked for.


I wonder how many times the answer didn't come because I didn't really believe Him for it? After all, the Bible says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please Him" (Hebrews 11:6).

I know who I want to be. I want to be the little boy at the window.

John 12, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: Go To God

“Anyone who is having troubles should pray.” James 5:13

Have you taken your disappointments to God? You’ve shared them with your neighbor, your relatives, your friends. But have you taken them to God?

Before you go anywhere else with your disappointments, go to God.

John 12:27-50
New International Version (NIV)
27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up[a] from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

34 The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

Belief and Unbelief Among the Jews

37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:
“Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”[b]

39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”[c]

41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”



Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: 1 Corinthians 3:1-17

The Church and Its Leaders

1 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?
5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

Making Music

February 5, 2012 — by Julie Ackerman Link

Be filled with the Spirit, . . . singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. —Ephesians 5:18-19

On a lovely summer evening, a capacity crowd gathered in a beautiful outdoor venue for a concert by one of my college friends. It happened to be his birthday, so the emcee hinted that we might want to sing “Happy Birthday” to him. One by one, people started singing, each in a different key, each at a different tempo. As the jumble of notes and words joined together, the result was, well, less than harmonic. It wasn’t even melodious. It was in fact downright pitiful. When my friend took the stage, he gave us another chance. He didn’t give us the pitch, but he did give us a downbeat, so at least we were singing together. By the end of the song most people were somewhat close to the same key.
The noise that was supposed to be a song reminded me of a problem in a first-century church. They couldn’t agree on their leader. Some followed Paul; others Apollos (1 Cor. 3:4). The result was conflict and division (v.3). Instead of music, they were making noise. When people don’t agree on a leader, they all “sing” (I’m speaking metaphorically here) at the pace and pitch most comfortable for them.
To make beautiful music that will attract unbelievers to Jesus, all believers must follow the same leader, and that leader must be Christ.

Lord, give us wisdom. We know it’s good to follow
the example of our godly leaders, but help us not to
think so highly of them that we worship them
instead of You. Amen.
Keeping in tune with Christ keeps harmony in the church.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, February 05, 2012

Are You Ready To Be Poured Out As an Offering? (1)

If I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all—Philippians 2:17

Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the work of another believer—to pour out your life sacrificially for the ministry and faith of others? Or do you say, “I am not willing to be poured out right now, and I don’t want God to tell me how to serve Him. I want to choose the place of my own sacrifice. And I want to have certain people watching me and saying, ’Well done.’ “
It is one thing to follow God’s way of service if you are regarded as a hero, but quite another thing if the road marked out for you by God requires becoming a “doormat” under other people’s feet. God’s purpose may be to teach you to say, “I know how to be abased . . .” (Philippians 4:12). Are you ready to be sacrificed like that? Are you ready to be less than a mere drop in the bucket—to be so totally insignificant that no one remembers you even if they think of those you served? Are you willing to give and be poured out until you are used up and exhausted—not seeking to be ministered to, but to minister? Some saints cannot do menial work while maintaining a saintly attitude, because they feel such service is beneath their dignity.