2 Corinthians 10 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Has God spoken to you lately if not click to listen to God's teaching?)

Max Lucado Daily: God Uses People

Sinners, the ungodly, the imperfect, the fearful!  Why does God choose such losers to change the world? I’m thinking it’s because there’s a lot more of us to choose from!

God uses people to change the world.  Abraham the liar.  David the adulterer and murderer.  Are you getting the picture?  What they lacked in perfection, God made up for in love. How can God possibly use you to make a difference?  Look at those He’s already used and take heart!  Because you are imperfect, you can speak of making mistakes. Because you’re a sinner, you can give testimony to forgiveness.  God restores the broken and the brittle, then parades them before the world as trophies of his love and strength!  If God chose only righteous people, you could count them all on one finger—Jesus!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

From Max on Life

2 Corinthians 10
New International Version (NIV)
Paul’s Defense of His Ministry

10 By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away! 2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

7 You are judging by appearances.[a] If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do. 8 So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it. 9 I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. 10 For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.” 11 Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.

12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. 14 We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. 15 Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, 16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. 17 But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”[b] 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Joshua 24:14-18

14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! 17 It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18 And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”

Choose Your God

January 22, 2013 — by Bill Crowder

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . . But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. —Joshua 24:15

I recently saw a commercial for an online game based on Greek mythology. It spoke about armies, mythological gods, heroes, and quests. What got my attention was the description of how to get the game started. You go online to register, choose your god, then build your empire.

Wow! “Choose your god.” Those words, though presented casually in the ad, struck me as being characteristic of one of the most dangerous things about our world. In a game, it may be insignificant what “god” you choose; but in the real world that choice has eternal consequences.

To a generation of Israelites surrounded by the gods of their day, Joshua declared that they must choose their god—but it must not be done in a cavalier way. He set the example as he said, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).

Today, as in the days of Joshua, there are many options. But there is only one wise choice—the true God. Joshua made the right choice. “We will serve the Lord.”

The gods of this world are empty and vain,
They cannot give peace to one’s heart;
The living and true One deserves all our love—
From Him may we never depart. —D. DeHaan
Nothing can fill the emptiness in your heart except God.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 22, 2013

Am I Looking To God?

Look to Me, and be saved . . . —Isaiah 45:22

Do we expect God to come to us with His blessings and save us? He says, “Look to Me, and be saved . . . .” The greatest difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and His blessings are what make it so difficult. Troubles almost always make us look to God, but His blessings tend to divert our attention elsewhere. The basic lesson of the Sermon on the Mount is to narrow all your interests until your mind, heart, and body are focused on Jesus Christ. “Look to Me . . . .”

Many of us have a mental picture of what a Christian should be, and looking at this image in other Christians’ lives becomes a hindrance to our focusing on God. This is not salvation— it is not simple enough. He says, in effect, “Look to Me and you are saved,” not “You will be saved someday.” We will find what we are looking for if we will concentrate on Him. We get distracted from God and irritable with Him while He continues to say to us, “Look to Me, and be saved . . . .” Our difficulties, our trials, and our worries about tomorrow all vanish when we look to God.

Wake yourself up and look to God. Build your hope on Him. No matter how many things seem to be pressing in on you, be determined to push them aside and look to Him. “Look to Me . . . .” Salvation is yours the moment you look.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

He's Never Lost a Rescue - #6792

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Buck Helm - yeah, that name was one light in the darkness of October 17, 1989, which was the day of a tragic San Francisco earthquake. It was the day that the whole freeway collapsed, burying scores of people. And just when the rescuers thought there was no life left to find, an engineer spotted movement under one heavily damaged section. Under there they found, still alive miraculously, Buck Helm, a 57-year-old longshoreman. Now, he had survived for four days in that rubble. It was such good news, and I think that's why we felt so sad when word came four weeks later that Buck Helm had died suddenly in the hospital. He was rescued, but he was lost. We can't always hang onto what we save.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "He's Never Lost a Rescue."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 10. I'll begin reading at verse 27. "My sheep (Jesus is talking here) listen to My voice. I know them and they follow Me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Well, we learned in San Francisco, and we've learned over and over again that any physical rescue is temporary. Anyone who is rescued now, well is certainly going to die someday - sooner or later. When Jesus talks about His sheep, though, He's talking about those He has rescued from eternal death. And it was expensive for Him to do that. Earlier in the chapter He says, "I am the Good Shepherd, and the Good Shepherd lays down his life for His sheep." "I'll die for my sheep." Jesus said that, and Jesus did it. He did it for you.

Those who have come to Christ to have their sins forgiven because of what He did for them on the cross become His sheep at that point. And what He's saying here, "Those that He rescues, He will never lose." Once He's saved them, they will never die. It's eternal life! "No one can take them out of My hand," He says.

Now, I asked Jesus into my heart at an early age, and I found myself often saying, "Jesus, in case you're not there, would You come in? I'm going to accept You again, and then I'm going to accept You again. I'm going to accept You again." Actually, I didn't need to do that. There's only one rescue. Once you've asked Christ to come into your life, He's there; He's there to stay. At that point, saving faith takes my eternity out of my hand and places it into Jesus' hands. Then He keeps His people in His family.

Sometimes we're close to Him, and sometimes we drift far away. Sometimes we're obedient, and sometimes we're disobedient. But we're always His child. Is that an excuse for sinning? No, it's a motive for obeying. Besides, if you're really reborn, you may get away from Him for a little while. But you can't stay away. And if you do and you can, you're probably just proving you never really were reborn in the first place.

When a little child starts to run out into the street...as, you know, they've been walking along with Dad's hand holding on, he'll start to run away, but he'll find out that he is saved. That truck's bearing down, the traffic's coming, but he's saved; not because he's holding onto his father's hand. That's when he finds out that his father's holding onto his. That's why your relationship with Christ is safe and eternal, because He holds you.

Maybe you've never opened up to that love for yourself and been to that cross where He died for you and said, "For me." Why not let today be the day you begin that relationship with Him that will be your one anchor in an otherwise insecure world? Go to YoursForLife.net and we'll show you how.

For you - for those you love - isn't it great to know that Christ rescues you from the death sentence of sin, and that He has never lost a rescue?

Joel 3 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Has God spoken to you lately if not click to listen to God's teaching?)

Max Lucado Daily: Suffering With Dignity
 
This question has been asked of me: "It breaks my heart to see patients who pray every day for miracles, and still they suffer. What do I tell them?"
The last years of my dad's life were scarred by ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It took him from a healthy mechanic to a bed-ridden paralytic. He lost his voice and his muscles. But he never lost his faith. It wasn't so much what he said, but more what he didn't say. Never outwardly angry or bitter, Jack Lucado suffered with dignity.
After my dad's funeral, a man told me it was because of my dad's example that he became a Jesus follower. I've wondered, did God orchestrate my father's illness for that very reason? Knowing the value God places on one soul-I wouldn't be surprised. And imaging the splendor of heaven, I know my dad is not complaining!
"Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine." (I Peter 1:6-7)
From Max on Life

Joel 3

The Nations Judged

3 [d]“In those days and at that time,
    when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather all nations
    and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[e]
There I will put them on trial
    for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,
because they scattered my people among the nations
    and divided up my land.
3 They cast lots for my people
    and traded boys for prostitutes;
    they sold girls for wine to drink.
4 “Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon and all you regions of Philistia? Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done. 5 For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.[f] 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland.

7 “See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them, and I will return on your own heads what you have done. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.

9 Proclaim this among the nations:
    Prepare for war!
Rouse the warriors!
    Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
    and your pruning hooks into spears.
Let the weakling say,
    “I am strong!”
11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
    and assemble there.
Bring down your warriors, Lord!
12 “Let the nations be roused;
    let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit
    to judge all the nations on every side.
13 Swing the sickle,
    for the harvest is ripe.
Come, trample the grapes,
    for the winepress is full
    and the vats overflow—
so great is their wickedness!”
14 Multitudes, multitudes
    in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
    in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will be darkened,
    and the stars no longer shine.
16 The Lord will roar from Zion
    and thunder from Jerusalem;
    the earth and the heavens will tremble.
But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,
    a stronghold for the people of Israel.
Blessings for God’s People

17 “Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,
    dwell in Zion, my holy hill.
Jerusalem will be holy;
    never again will foreigners invade her.
18 “In that day the mountains will drip new wine,
    and the hills will flow with milk;
    all the ravines of Judah will run with water.
A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house
    and will water the valley of acacias.[g]
19 But Egypt will be desolate,
    Edom a desert waste,
because of violence done to the people of Judah,
    in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20 Judah will be inhabited forever
    and Jerusalem through all generations.
21 Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged?
    No, I will not.”
The Lord dwells in Zion!


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Luke 15:11-24

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to[a] one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’[b] 22 But the father said to his servants,[c] ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

Open Arms

January 21, 2013 — by David C. McCasland

When he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. —Luke 15:20

At the funeral of former US First Lady Betty Ford, her son Steven said, “She was the one with the love and the comfort, and she was the first one there to put her arms around you. Nineteen years ago when I went through my alcoholism, my mother . . . gave me one of the greatest gifts, and that was how to surrender to God, and to accept the grace of God in my life. And truly in her arms I felt like the prodigal son coming home, and I felt God’s love through her. And that was a good gift.”

Jesus’ parable about a young man who asked for and squandered his inheritance and then in humiliation returned home leaves us amazed at his father’s response: “When he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). Instead of a lecture or punishment, the father expressed love and forgiveness by giving him a party. Why? Because “this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (v.24).

Steven Ford concluded his tribute with the words, “Thank you, Mom, for loving us, loving your husband, loving us kids, loving the nation, with the heart of God.”

May God enable us to open our arms to others, just as His are open wide to all who turn to Him.

Lord, help me be kind and forgiving—
Your loving forgiveness You’ve shown
To me for the sins I’ve committed;
Lord, grant me a love like Your own. —Anon.
Forgiven sinners know love and show love.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 21, 2013

Recall What God Remembers

Thus says the Lord: ’I remember . . . the kindness of your youth . . .’ —Jeremiah 2:2

Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Does everything in my life fill His heart with gladness, or do I constantly complain because things don’t seem to be going my way? A person who has forgotten what God treasures will not be filled with joy. It is wonderful to remember that Jesus Christ has needs which we can meet— “Give Me a drink” (John 4:7). How much kindness have I shown Him in the past week? Has my life been a good reflection on His reputation?

God is saying to His people, “You are not in love with Me now, but I remember a time when you were.” He says, “I remember . . . the love of your betrothal . . .” (Jeremiah 2:2). Am I as filled to overflowing with love for Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning, when I went out of my way to prove my devotion to Him? Does He ever find me pondering the time when I cared only for Him? Is that where I am now, or have I chosen man’s wisdom over true love for Him? Am I so in love with Him that I take no thought for where He might lead me? Or am I watching to see how much respect I get as I measure how much service I should give Him?

As I recall what God remembers about me, I may also begin to realize that He is not what He used to be to me. When this happens, I should allow the shame and humiliation it creates in my life, because it will bring godly sorrow, and “godly sorrow produces repentance . . .” (2 Corinthians 7:10).


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Living Between Trapezes - #6791

Monday, January 21, 2013

Oh, every child loves a circus. And I think there's a child inside of all of us that never grows up. I still love the circus, don't you? I've always been personally fascinated by those death-defying artists from the high trapeze. Hey, wait a minute, I feel like a ring master. I'm trying to get the job, anyway, today. They leap, perfect poise, grace, one trapeze to another, until they end up safe on that platform all the way across the arena from where they started. And I guess you could eventually get used to hanging onto a trapeze, and you'd feel comparatively secure as soon as you reached the next one. My problem would be the time between trapezes. Yeah, that would bother me. Actually, it bothers all of us.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Living Between Trapezes."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Jeremiah 29. And you might, like God's people in this passage, be living between trapezes right now. One phase of your life is behind you, and you're counting on a new one up ahead. But right now you're in one of life's great like in-between times. We all go through those. Well, so were the people of God that he was advising in Jeremiah 29. The Jews were in a temporary spot, so to speak, between two permanent spots. They had started out in Israel, they will end up back in Israel, but right now they're between trapezes. They are in-between in captivity in Babylon. It's a temporary place.

Here are instructions given by God for people between trapezes. He says, "Build houses, settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce, marry and have sons and daughters, find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage. Increase in number there and do not decrease. Also, seek the prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

Now, the message seems to be this: when you're in-between, don't hold back. Live as if you're going to be there the rest of your life. He uses words like build, settle, plant, increase, work for the good of that city, improve where you are. I can hear you saying, "But Lord, this isn't where we want to be. We just want to 'get by' until we, you know, get to where we want to be." Well, Jeremiah 29:11 is that great verse that so many people quote, where God says, "I know the plans I have for you..." (Now remember, it just follows everything I read before.) "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future."

See, God's good plans for tomorrow come from you living whole-heartedly today between trapezes. Today maybe you're not where you want to end up, you're between jobs, or you're in one that's just a stop-gap. Or you're single, waiting, wanting to be married. Maybe you're living in a temporary situation or waiting for some breakthrough. Well, like the Jews of old, it's just an in-between place. But like them, God expects you to build there, to plant there, to increase, to improve that place. And as you do, you give God the attitude that He can use to ultimately bring you His very best.

If you're in between trapezes right now, remember, this is a terrible place to lose your concentration. Bloom where you're planted. Be all you can be right where you are. Actually that's the best way to get safely to the destination that you want so much.

Joel 2 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Has God spoken to you lately if not click to listen to God's teaching?)

Max Lucado Daily: The Purpose In Our Pain

“Your faith makes you offer your lives as a sacrifice in serving God.” Philippians 2:17

When we face struggles, we often wonder, Why? Years from now, though, we may realize that it was those struggles that taught us something we could not have otherwise learned—that there was a purpose in our pain. God’s purpose is greater than your pain, and he has a greater purpose than your problems.

Joel 2

An Army of Locusts

2 Blow the trumpet in Zion;
    sound the alarm on my holy hill.
Let all who live in the land tremble,
    for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand—
2     a day of darkness and gloom,
    a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
    a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was in ancient times
    nor ever will be in ages to come.
3 Before them fire devours,
    behind them a flame blazes.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
    behind them, a desert waste—
    nothing escapes them.
4 They have the appearance of horses;
    they gallop along like cavalry.
5 With a noise like that of chariots
    they leap over the mountaintops,
like a crackling fire consuming stubble,
    like a mighty army drawn up for battle.
6 At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;
    every face turns pale.
7 They charge like warriors;
    they scale walls like soldiers.
They all march in line,
    not swerving from their course.
8 They do not jostle each other;
    each marches straight ahead.
They plunge through defenses
    without breaking ranks.
9 They rush upon the city;
    they run along the wall.
They climb into the houses;
    like thieves they enter through the windows.
10 Before them the earth shakes,
    the heavens tremble,
the sun and moon are darkened,
    and the stars no longer shine.
11 The Lord thunders
    at the head of his army;
his forces are beyond number,
    and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the Lord is great;
    it is dreadful.
    Who can endure it?
Rend Your Heart

12 “Even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return to me with all your heart,
    with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
13 Rend your heart
    and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
    and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent
    and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
    for the Lord your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
    declare a holy fast,
    call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people,
    consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
    gather the children,
    those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
    and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,
    weep between the portico and the altar.
Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord.
    Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
    a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
    ‘Where is their God?’”
The Lord’s Answer

18 Then the Lord was jealous for his land
    and took pity on his people.
19 The Lord replied[a] to them:

“I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil,
    enough to satisfy you fully;
never again will I make you
    an object of scorn to the nations.
20 “I will drive the northern horde far from you,
    pushing it into a parched and barren land;
its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea
    and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.
And its stench will go up;
    its smell will rise.”
Surely he has done great things!
21     Do not be afraid, land of Judah;
    be glad and rejoice.
Surely the Lord has done great things!
22     Do not be afraid, you wild animals,
    for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.
The trees are bearing their fruit;
    the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.
23 Be glad, people of Zion,
    rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
    because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers,
    both autumn and spring rains, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
    the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
    the great locust and the young locust,
    the other locusts and the locust swarm[b]—
my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
    and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
    who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,
    that I am the Lord your God,
    and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.
The Day of the Lord

28 “And afterward,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
    and on the earth,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
32 And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
    there will be deliverance,
    as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors
    whom the Lord calls.[c]


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Deuteronomy 31:16-22

16 And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. 17 And in that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and calamities will come on them, and in that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come on us because our God is not with us?’ 18 And I will certainly hide my face in that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.

19 “Now write down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them. 20 When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their ancestors, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant. 21 And when many disasters and calamities come on them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath.” 22 So Moses wrote down this song that day and taught it to the Israelites.

A Song To Remember

January 20, 2013 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect. —Deuteronomy 32:3-4

I was delighted when I received a free gift in the mail—a CD of Scripture set to music. After listening to it several times, some of the melodies took root in my mind. Before long, I could sing the words to a couple of verses in the book of Psalms without the help of the recording.

Music can help us recall words and ideas we might otherwise forget. God knew that the Israelites would forget Him when they entered the Promised Land (Deut. 31:20). They would forsake Him, turn to idols, and trouble would follow (vv.16-18). Because of this, He asked Moses to compose a song and teach it to the Israelites so they could remember their past closeness with Him and the sin that hurt their relationship (31:19-22). Perhaps most important, God wanted His nation to recall His character: “[God] is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He” (32:4).

Consider what God might want you to remember about Him today. Is it His power, His holiness, His love, or His faithfulness? Can you think of a song that celebrates God’s character? Sing it in your heart to the Lord (Eph. 5:19).

Give me a spirit of praise, dear Lord,
That I may adore Your name,
Sing praises from the depths of a grateful heart
To the One who is always the same. —Dawe
Remembering God’s goodness puts a song in your heart.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 20, 2013

Are You Fresh for Everything?

Jesus answered and said to him, ’Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’ —John 3:3

Sometimes we are fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?

Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, “I have to do this thing or it will never get done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us “in the light as He is in the light . . .” (1 John 1:7).

Jealously guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We are one”-with nothing in between (John 17:22). Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone.

Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.

2 Chronicles 23 Bible reading and Daily Devotions

(Has God spoken to you latelyif not click to listen to God’s teaching?)

Max Lucado Daily: God’s Gift To You

“Every perfect gift is from God.” James 1:17

An itinerant preacher from Nazareth can do something for the hurt that is in your heart. Maybe you’re trying to rebuild an estranged relationship . . . Maybe you’ve been trying to find God for longer than you can remember. There was something about this Nazarene preacher that made people cluster around him like he was God’s gift to humanity. He is your gift as well.

2 Chronicles 23
New International Version (NIV)
23 In the seventh year Jehoiada showed his strength. He made a covenant with the commanders of units of a hundred: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zikri. 2 They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites and the heads of Israelite families from all the towns. When they came to Jerusalem, 3 the whole assembly made a covenant with the king at the temple of God.

Jehoiada said to them, “The king’s son shall reign, as the Lord promised concerning the descendants of David. 4 Now this is what you are to do: A third of you priests and Levites who are going on duty on the Sabbath are to keep watch at the doors, 5 a third of you at the royal palace and a third at the Foundation Gate, and all the others are to be in the courtyards of the temple of the Lord. 6 No one is to enter the temple of the Lord except the priests and Levites on duty; they may enter because they are consecrated, but all the others are to observe the Lord’s command not to enter.[a] 7 The Levites are to station themselves around the king, each with weapon in hand. Anyone who enters the temple is to be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes.”

8 The Levites and all the men of Judah did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each one took his men—those who were going on duty on the Sabbath and those who were going off duty—for Jehoiada the priest had not released any of the divisions. 9 Then he gave the commanders of units of a hundred the spears and the large and small shields that had belonged to King David and that were in the temple of God. 10 He stationed all the men, each with his weapon in his hand, around the king—near the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.

11 Jehoiada and his sons brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; they presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him and shouted, “Long live the king!”

12 When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and cheering the king, she went to them at the temple of the Lord. 13 She looked, and there was the king, standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and musicians with their instruments were leading the praises. Then Athaliah tore her robes and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”

14 Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of units of a hundred, who were in charge of the troops, and said to them: “Bring her out between the ranks[b] and put to the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not put her to death at the temple of the Lord.” 15 So they seized her as she reached the entrance of the Horse Gate on the palace grounds, and there they put her to death.

16 Jehoiada then made a covenant that he, the people and the king[c] would be the Lord’s people. 17 All the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.

18 Then Jehoiada placed the oversight of the temple of the Lord in the hands of the Levitical priests, to whom David had made assignments in the temple, to present the burnt offerings of the Lord as written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and singing, as David had ordered. 19 He also stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the Lord’s temple so that no one who was in any way unclean might enter.

20 He took with him the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people and all the people of the land and brought the king down from the temple of the Lord. They went into the palace through the Upper Gate and seated the king on the royal throne. 21 All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was calm, because Athaliah had been slain with the sword.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Philippians 1:12-23

Paul’s Chains Advance the Gospel

12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,[a] that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[b] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.[c] 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;

Ready For Glory

January 19, 2013 — by Dennis Fisher

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. —Psalm 116:15

On March 1, 1981, preacher and Bible commentator D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones lay on his deathbed. From 1939 to 1968, he had served as the pastor of London’s Westminster Chapel. Now at the end of his life, Lloyd-Jones had lost the ability to speak. Indicating that he did not want any more prayers for his recovery, he wrote on a piece of paper: “Do not hold me back from glory.”

Because life is precious, it can be hard to let our loved ones go when the time comes for them to depart this earth and go to heaven. And yet God has set a time when He plans to call us home. Psalm 116:15 tells us, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”

When Paul saw that death was near, he was encouraged by what awaited him in heaven: “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8).

No matter where Christians are in life’s journey, their ultimate destination is to “be with Christ, which is far better” (Phil. 1:23). This should give us confidence in facing life’s challenges and comfort when other believers leave us for that glorious home Christ has prepared.

The glories of heaven await
All those who believe in God’s Son;
The trials of this life will fade
When we see the Heavenly One. —Sper
Life’s greatest joy is the sure hope of heaven.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 19, 2013

Vision and Darkness

When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him —Genesis 15:12

Whenever God gives a vision to a Christian, it is as if He puts him in “the shadow of His hand” (Isaiah 49:2). The saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a “darkness” that comes from too much light-that is the time to listen. The story of Abram and Hagar in Genesis 16 is an excellent example of listening to so-called good advice during a time of darkness, rather than waiting for God to send the light. When God gives you a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will bring the vision He has given you to reality in your life if you will wait on His timing. Never try to help God fulfill His word. Abram went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all of his self-sufficiency was destroyed. He grew past the point of relying on his own common sense. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not a period of God’s displeasure. There is never any need to pretend that your life is filled with joy and confidence; just wait upon God and be grounded in Him (see Isaiah 50:10-11).

Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I am Almighty God . . .”— El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.

2 Corinthians 9 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Has God spoken to you lately if not click to listen to God's teaching?)

Max Lucado Daily: Grace Makes All the Difference

If life is…  "because I have to"-where's the joy in that?  Too often I hear folks rejecting Christ because they think the Christian life is all about rules and regulations-all about stifling and suffocating ritual.
This happens when we confuse Christ with legalism.  Legalism is joyless because it's endless.  There's always another class to attend.  Inmates incarcerated in self-salvation find work, but never joy!
Grace!  It makes all the difference.  I like this quote: "Gone are the exertions of law-keeping, gone the disciplines of legalism, the anxiety that having done everything we might not have done enough.  We reach the goal, not by the stairs, but by the lift-God pledges his promised righteousness to those who will stop trying to save themselves!"1
Grace offers rest.  Legalism?  Never!
From GRACE

2 Corinthians 9
New International Version (NIV)
9 There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the Lord’s people. 2 For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. 3 But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. 4 For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say anything about you—would be ashamed of having been so confident. 5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.

Generosity Encouraged

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
    their righteousness endures forever.”[a]
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: 1 Corinthians 12:14-26

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts,[a] yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

You’re Necessary

January 18, 2013 — by Marvin Williams

But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it. —1 Corinthians 12:24

The story has been told about a conductor who was rehearsing his orchestra. The organ was giving a beautiful melody, the drums were thundering, the trumpets were blaring, and the violins were singing beautifully. But the conductor noticed something missing—the piccolo. The piccolo player had gotten distracted and hoped his instrument wouldn’t be missed. The conductor reminded him: “Each one of us is necessary.”

This was essentially the same message Paul communicated to the Corinthian believers in his first letter to them (12:4-7). Every Christian plays an important role in the body of Christ. Paul gave a list of gifts of the Spirit and compared their use to the functioning of the various parts of the human body for the good of the whole (vv.8-10). The Corinthian believers may have had different cultural backgrounds, gifts, and personalities, but they were filled with the same Spirit and belonged to the same body of Christ. Paul made special mention of the parts of the body that were weak and obscure, and taught that all believers play a necessary and significant role. No one part was more necessary than any other.

Remember, Jesus has given you a significant part to play and will use you to build up His people.

The church, a living body, containing all the parts—
It lives, it moves, it functions, and touches many hearts;
When each part is committed to do the Savior’s will,
His members are united, His purpose they fulfill. —Fitzhugh
As a member of the body of Christ,
you are a necessary part of the whole.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 18, 2013

“It Is the Lord!”

Thomas answered and said to Him, ’My Lord and my God!’ —John 20:28

Jesus said to her, ’Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.

Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Emotional Clearasil - #6790

Friday, January 18, 2013

I think I first remember hearing about it on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. And most people listening are going, "Say what?" Yeah, we're talking the 1950s, and it was a show that most teenagers watched. And I of course, was only two at the time. But it was predictable that a teenage show was going to have as their primary advertiser a company called Clearasil.

Okay, like every kid, my pimples looked like mountains to me, so after I heard about it on American Bandstand, I tried it out. Got a tube, got another tube, and another, and I hoped it would do the job. Well, American Bandstand is long gone, but Clearasil has lived on for many years, and kids bought it for a long time. I guess as long as there are blemishes, we'll be interested in some product that removes blemishes...or better yet, a person that does.

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

Now, how do you get a woman so she is without blemish? No, no, not give her some cream to put on. I'm not talking about physical blemishes. I'm talking more about emotional blemishes - personality blemishes. We've all got them.

Well, Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians 5, beginning at verse 25, and God is giving us here a parallel between how a man treats a woman and how Christ treats His people. Oh, and guess what it mentions? Blemishes.

Here's what it says: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other" - what's this? Oh - "blemish, but holy and blameless." The message? If a man loves a woman selflessly, he'll remove her blemishes. She'll be radiant.

See, an unselfish husband is like emotional Clearasil for the woman he's married to. Every man marries an imperfect woman, and it's a good thing or he couldn't be married to her, because he's probably at least if not more imperfect. And there are things that may frustrate you about the woman in your life. She nags, she's too bossy, she's not expressive enough, maybe she's too expressive - talks too much, she's demanding, she's impatient, or she's preoccupied. Well, whatever the blemishes are, according to this scripture, you have as the Christ figure in your family, the power to change that over a period of time through your love.

See, when a woman feels like royalty, she starts to act like it. You won't change her by nagging, and yelling, ignoring her, name-calling, being harsh with her, attacking her, criticizing her. In fact, all you will probably do is delay the change. You change your wife as Christ changes us. And how does He do it? By patient, attentive, self-sacrificing, dying on a cross love. That means you listen patiently to her words and you listen to her heart. You give her prime time, not the leftovers of your time. That's the sacrifice. You praise her. You pitch in on her responsibilities. You give her some surprises. You court her. You treat her like a queen in front of other people.

See, you can tell the women who are loved that this. They're radiant! A woman blossoms in the love of a man who puts her first.

Joel 1 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Has God spoken to you lately if not click to listen to God's teaching?)

Max Lucado Daily: What’s Your Task?

The Bible says the Lord has assigned to each a task!  So what’s yours?

I’m kind of like the airplane pilot before takeoff—I go over my preflight checklist before I take any trips into the unknown.  Where has God taken me before?  I look at my passport.  I remember my experiences.  What trips am I passionate about?

We all have different passions and burdens.  What’s mine? Am I the pilot, the flight attendant, a mechanic, or a baggage handler?  You never see the pilot fixing coffee or the attendant with a screwdriver under the airplane hood.  Why?  Because we all have something we’re good at.  And we’re expected to do that one thing well.  What’s your purpose?  What task has God assigned to you?

“Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful.” (I Cor 12:5-10 The Message)

From: Max on Life

Joel 1
New International Version (NIV)
1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel.

An Invasion of Locusts

2 Hear this, you elders;
    listen, all who live in the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
    or in the days of your ancestors?
3 Tell it to your children,
    and let your children tell it to their children,
    and their children to the next generation.
4 What the locust swarm has left
    the great locusts have eaten;
what the great locusts have left
    the young locusts have eaten;
what the young locusts have left
    other locusts[a] have eaten.
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
    Wail, all you drinkers of wine;
wail because of the new wine,
    for it has been snatched from your lips.
6 A nation has invaded my land,
    a mighty army without number;
it has the teeth of a lion,
    the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has laid waste my vines
    and ruined my fig trees.
It has stripped off their bark
    and thrown it away,
    leaving their branches white.
8 Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth
    grieving for the betrothed of her youth.
9 Grain offerings and drink offerings
    are cut off from the house of the Lord.
The priests are in mourning,
    those who minister before the Lord.
10 The fields are ruined,
    the ground is dried up;
the grain is destroyed,
    the new wine is dried up,
    the olive oil fails.
11 Despair, you farmers,
    wail, you vine growers;
grieve for the wheat and the barley,
    because the harvest of the field is destroyed.
12 The vine is dried up
    and the fig tree is withered;
the pomegranate, the palm and the apple[b] tree—
    all the trees of the field—are dried up.
Surely the people’s joy
    is withered away.
A Call to Lamentation

13 Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn;
    wail, you who minister before the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
    you who minister before my God;
for the grain offerings and drink offerings
    are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Declare a holy fast;
    call a sacred assembly.
Summon the elders
    and all who live in the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
    and cry out to the Lord.
15 Alas for that day!
    For the day of the Lord is near;
    it will come like destruction from the Almighty.[c]
16 Has not the food been cut off
    before our very eyes—
joy and gladness
    from the house of our God?
17 The seeds are shriveled
    beneath the clods.[d]
The storehouses are in ruins,
    the granaries have been broken down,
    for the grain has dried up.
18 How the cattle moan!
    The herds mill about
because they have no pasture;
    even the flocks of sheep are suffering.
19 To you, Lord, I call,
    for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness
    and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.
20 Even the wild animals pant for you;
    the streams of water have dried up
    and fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: John 16:25-33

I Have Overcome the World

25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.[a] 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Trouble

January 17, 2013 — by Cindy Hess Kasper

In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. —John 16:33

I was glad to see the final days of the year draw to a close. It had held so much sorrow, sickness, and sadness. I was ready to welcome January with its very own brass band!

But as the first month of the new year arrived, so did one bit of sad news after another. Several friends lost their parents. My dad’s brother slipped away in his sleep. Friends discovered they had cancer. A colleague’s brother and a friend’s son both died tragically and abruptly. Rather than the sad times ceasing, the new year seemed to bring a whole new tsunami of sorrow.

John 16:33 tells us, “In the world you will have tribulation.” Even God’s children are not promised a life of ease, of prosperity, nor of good health. Yet we are never alone in our trouble. Isaiah 43:2 reminds us that when we pass through deep waters, God is with us. Although we don’t always understand God’s purposes in the trials we experience, we can trust His heart because we know Him.

Our God is a God of abundant love and “neither death nor life. . . nor things present nor things to come [will ever] separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39). When trouble comes, His presence is His promise.

Swift cometh His answer, so clear and so sweet;
“Yea, I will be with thee, thy troubles to meet;
I will not forget thee, nor fail thee, nor grieve;
I will not forsake thee, I never will leave.” —Flint
Faith is believing that God is present
when all we hear is silence.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 17, 2013

The Call of the Natural Life
When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me . . . —Galatians 1:15-16

The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles . . . .”

Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Intent, Not Tentative - #6789

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Now, as a good football coach prepares his high school players for the season, he's going to bring up the dangers of what he will call playing tentatively. I know no one's anxious to get hurt, and so there's a natural tendency to hold back a little in a contact sport; to hold back when you hit, when you block, when you tackle. But the coach is going to tell you that the best way to get hurt is to play tentatively, half-heartedly. Either give it all you've got or don't play.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Intent, Not Tentative."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God is from Ecclesiastes 9:10; a verse that could be one of those life-principle verses like maybe a good wall plaque. It's almost a motto that you could repeat to yourself at work, and in sports, or while you're doing your homework, while you're doing dirty work, while you're listening to someone, or you're trying to finish a job. It's one of those repeat over and over statements. Okay, why don't we find out what it is? Ecclesiastes 9:10, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might."

Well, that's consistent with four words that appear over and over in the Bible, "with all your heart." Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, or in this case with all your might. One of my personal heroes is Jim Elliott, who was a missionary that in the 1950s was one of five American missionaries martyred as they went to a tribe that had never even heard the name of God. And out of that martyrdom came a flow of missionaries and people in Christian service. Honestly, I'm one of them.

Well, one of Jim Elliott's mottos went like this (you ready?), "Wherever you are, be all there." Somebody may have said to you, "You're not all there." Well, yes, wherever you are, be all there. If you've got something to do anyway, why not do it with all you've got? If you've got to be there, why not be there with all your heart?

There's a little wisdom up on a plaque in our kitchen. It says, "Lord, help me do with a smile the things I have to do anyway." Got to do them anyway, might as well really do them. A Christian should be known as a "hundred percenter" in everything he or she does. You listen with all your might. When it's time to work, you work with all your might. When you pray, you pray with all your might. When you play, you play with all your might. When you goof off, you goof off with all your might. When you help somebody, you help with all your might. When you study, oh yeah, you know by now, yeah, you do it with all your might.

You can do that because you know that you are leading a God-planned life. Psalm 37 says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in His way." Psalm 16 says, "The Lord has assigned me my portion and my cup." Now, you know that every situation has been brought into your life by a God who loves you and knows best. So you make every situation the best it can be. And you do that when you tackle it with all your might; not just the things you like to do or not just the things you feel like doing.

This says "everything your hand finds to do." Don't play tentatively. Do it with intensity. In football, in everyday life, playing tentatively invites injury and defeat. Either give it all you've got or don't play.

2 Chronicles 22 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Has God spoken to you lately if not click to listen to God's teaching?)

Max Lucado Daily: How Can I Know?

Some say, “I have doubts—lots of them.  What I want to know is, how can I know I’m truly saved?”

You can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life! Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

First, confess that Jesus is Lord.  Say it out loud or quietly in your heart—just believe that Jesus was resurrected.  He’s not in the grave.  He’s God in the flesh, with power over death! Confess.  Believe.  You will have salvation!

But remember what the verse doesn’t say!  Live perfectly. Can’t do it.  Impossible. Just confess and believe.   Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

From: Max on Life

2 Chronicles 22
New International Version (NIV)
Ahaziah King of Judah

22 The people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram’s youngest son, king in his place, since the raiders, who came with the Arabs into the camp, had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.

2 Ahaziah was twenty-two[a] years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.

3 He too followed the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother encouraged him to act wickedly. 4 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for after his father’s death they became his advisers, to his undoing. 5 He also followed their counsel when he went with Joram[b] son of Ahab king of Israel to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram; 6 so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they had inflicted on him at Ramoth[c] in his battle with Hazael king of Aram.

Then Ahaziah[d] son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab because he had been wounded.

7 Through Ahaziah’s visit to Joram, God brought about Ahaziah’s downfall. When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. 8 While Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s relatives, who had been attending Ahaziah, and he killed them. 9 He then went in search of Ahaziah, and his men captured him while he was hiding in Samaria. He was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, “He was a son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” So there was no one in the house of Ahaziah powerful enough to retain the kingdom.

Athaliah and Joash

10 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah. 11 But Jehosheba,[e] the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehosheba,[f] the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, was Ahaziah’s sister, she hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him. 12 He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Isaiah 55:6-13

“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way,
    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “For you shall go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
    shall break forth into singing,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
    an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Upside Down

January 16, 2013 — by Joe Stowell

My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways. —Isaiah 55:8

There are a lot of things that intrigue me about Jesus. One of the aspects of His ministry that has always produced jaw-dropping, head-scratching responses is His upside-down teaching about life.

As we journey through life, we may get to the point where we think we’ve got it figured out and our thought patterns and responses for navigating through life are deeply engrained. Yet Jesus interrupts us in the midst of our routines and calls us to a new and better way. But beware! This encounter with the ways of Jesus will be challenging.

Consider these paradoxical propositions: to live you must die (Mark 8:35); to gain you must give (Matt. 19:21); “blessed are those who mourn” (5:4); to rule you must serve (Luke 22:26); and suffering has purpose (5:10-11).

It is pronouncements like these that make people think Christ is strangely out of touch. But we are the ones out of touch. He is not upside down, we are! We’re like children who think they know better than their parents what is best.

No wonder God has told us, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (Isa. 55:8). So, rather than relying on our mixed-up instincts, let’s ask Him to help us reflect His ways.

Lord, You know what is best, and You desire to lead
us in paths that are right and good. Give us the
courage to trust and to follow You in the ways
of righteousness for Your name’s sake. Amen.
What may seem upside down to us is right side up to God.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 16, 2013

The Voice of the Nature of God

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ’Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ —Isaiah 6:8

When we talk about the call of God, we often forget the most important thing, namely, the nature of Him who calls. There are many things calling each of us today. Some of these calls will be answered, and others will not even be heard. The call is the expression of the nature of the One who calls, and we can only recognize the call if that same nature is in us. The call of God is the expression of God’s nature, not ours. God providentially weaves the threads of His call through our lives, and only we can distinguish them. It is the threading of God’s voice directly to us over a certain concern, and it is useless to seek another person’s opinion of it. Our dealings over the call of God should be kept exclusively between ourselves and Him.

The call of God is not a reflection of my nature; my personal desires and temperament are of no consideration. As long as I dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am suited for, I will never hear the call of God. But when God brings me into the right relationship with Himself, I will be in the same condition Isaiah was. Isaiah was so attuned to God, because of the great crisis he had just endured, that the call of God penetrated his soul. The majority of us cannot hear anything but ourselves. And we cannot hear anything God says. But to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God is to be profoundly changed.



A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

What the Storm Left Behind - #6788

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Well, I did it again; managed to head right into a storm. Like the family vacation that got slammed by a hurricane. Yeah. The record rainstorm that swamped the airport when we took our daughter to college. Yeah. Oh, and the Halloween "Snowmageddon" I think they called it that we met me in Connecticut when we were there, and then Hurricane Sandy in New York.

Being a part of that "week like no other" in New York and New Jersey? Well, it ended up having God-marks all over it. Oh, it shut down some ministry opportunities, but it clearly opened up others. And, honestly, I got to see in the storm some lessons I think I'll carry with me for years to come.

Like that lady in a store who loudly and kind of Jersey-style brazenly blurted, "Ya know, I'm not a religious freak, but you gotta wonder if God's trying to make us stop and think." And I turned to her and I said, "Hey, let's go with that idea, ma'am. I think you're onto something there!"

You know, my definition of a storm has grown - because the storms that affect us most deeply are not on the Weather Channel. They're those deeply personal storms that come with things like a layoff at work, or bad news at the doctor's office, that crisis with your spouse or your child, the death that changes everything. So, a storm is "a life-altering event, beyond your control." Well, I've lived a few of those: In the surgery waiting room, the funeral home, the times with no money and no groceries, the near-deadly accident. One online news source had a day-after-storm one-word headline that said it all: "Powerless."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What The Storm Left Behind."

Now, the Bible talks about "lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do His bidding" (Psalm 148:8). And it reveals that "the Lord has His way in the whirlwind and the storm" (Nahum 1:3). I'm glad for verses like that. Because they tell me that beyond the mayhem and the pain of a storm, there's some meaning; there's some purpose. As hard as it is to see at the moment, storms serve God's higher purposes. I'm left feeling powerless so I can experience His power as never before, because suddenly there's no "me" to depend on. I meet God at the end of my rope.

Storms force us to reevaluate everything; get the things that really matter from the margins of our life and back to the middle. And they expose weaknesses in a levee or building materials or emergency systems, or in a marriage, a family, priorities, a superficial faith. The storm isn't meant to destroy those things. It's to get us to fix them while there's time.

And those "beyond my control" events birth some qualities that might not blossom any other way, like compassion, a tender heart for the hurting, patience and endurance. And sometimes, the fury of the storm blows away junk I've allowed in my life - sin, attitudes, and compromises that I would never face any other way.

During Hurricane Sandy, I read an amazingly timely description of another storm on the Sea of Galilee, and it spun the lives of Jesus' disciples "out of control." Well, their control anyway. A few phrases say it all: "It was dark...a strong wind was blowing...the waters grew rough." We've all lived that; if not physically, at least emotionally or spiritually, dark, wind blowing, waters rough.

But in their dark and dangerous moment, three little words changed everything - our word today from the Word of God in John 6 beginning in verse 17, "They saw Jesus." That's exactly when you do see Jesus coming to you. Saying to us as He said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid."

It's in those powerless moments that we realize, "I'm not enough. I can't do this." And we reach for the nail-pierced hand of the Man who took all the storm of all the judgment for my sin so I could go to His heaven. Jesus is the One who can finally calm that lifelong storm in your restless soul with His storm-proof peace. Because you're safe, no matter what the wind and waves may do. Yes, the storm is bigger than you are, but your Jesus is bigger than your storm!

You want to be sure you belong to Him - to the Lord of the storm? Would you visit our website at YoursForLife.net. There's life-changing news there!

2 Corinthians 8 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Has God spoken to you lately if not click to listen to God's teaching?)

Max Lucado Daily: Called to Minister

If you don’t feel called to be a minister and you’re wondering if your life counts for Christ—it does!  And you don’t have to put a collar around your neck, eat at every potluck that comes around, or preach long sermons to prove it!

According to Paul, ministers proclaim the gospel everywhere they go; they testify to God’s work in their lives.When you arrive in heaven, I wonder if Christ might say to you, “I’m so proud you let me use you.  Because of you, others are here today.  Wanna meet’em?”  Neighbors, co-workers, friends, strangers, parents, spouse, children, grandchildren—all step forward!  Even great-grandchildren, ones you never met are there because you ministered to your kids and to your grandchildren.

Are you a minister?  You bet!  Can you make a difference?  Absolutely.

“I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” (Romans 15:14)

From: Max on Life

2 Corinthians 8
New International Version (NIV)
The Collection for the Lord’s People

8 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. 6 So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

10 And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11 Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.

13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, 15 as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”[b]

Titus Sent to Receive the Collection

16 Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. 17 For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. 18 And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. 19 What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. 20 We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21 For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.

22 In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. 24 Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: James 5:13-18

The Prayer of Faith

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.[a] 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

There’s Power

January 15, 2013 — by Anne Cetas

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. —James 5:16

When my sister found out she had cancer, I asked my friends to pray. When she had surgery, we prayed that the surgeon would be able to remove all of the cancer and that she wouldn’t have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation. And God answered yes! When I reported the news, one friend remarked, “I’m so glad there’s power in prayer.” I responded, “I’m thankful that God answered with a yes this time.”

James says that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (5:16). But does “effective” and “fervent” mean the harder we pray, or the more people we ask to pray, the more likely God is to answer with a yes? I’ve had enough “no” and “wait” answers to wonder about that.

Prayer is powerful, but it’s such a mystery. We’re taught to have faith, to ask earnestly and boldly, to persevere, to be surrendered to His will. Yet God answers in His wisdom and His answers are best. I’m just thankful that God wants to hear our hearts and that no matter the answer, He is still good.

I like Ole Hallesby’s words: “Prayer and helplessness are inseparable. Only those who are helpless can truly pray. . . . Your helplessness is your best prayer.” We can do helplessness quite well.

Lord, I’ve been taught many things about prayer—be
specific, be bold, be surrendered, be strong in faith,
be persistent. Today I recognize my helplessness and
Your power as I share my heart with You. Amen.
Prayer is the child’s helpless cry to the Father’s attentive ear.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 15, 2013

Do You Walk In White?

We were buried with Him . . . that just as Christ was raised from the dead . . . even so we also should walk in newness of life —Romans 6:4

No one experiences complete sanctification without going through a “white funeral”-the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crucial moment of change through death, sanctification will never be more than an elusive dream. There must be a “white funeral,” a death with only one resurrection-a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can defeat a life like this. It has oneness with God for only one purpose— to be a witness for Him.

Have you really come to your last days? You have often come to them in your mind, but have you really experienced them? You cannot die or go to your funeral in a mood of excitement. Death means you stop being. You must agree with God and stop being the intensely striving kind of Christian you have been. We avoid the cemetery and continually refuse our own death. It will not happen by striving, but by yielding to death. It is dying— being “baptized into His death” (Romans 6:3).

Have you had your “white funeral,” or are you piously deceiving your own soul? Has there been a point in your life which you now mark as your last day? Is there a place in your life to which you go back in memory with humility and overwhelming gratitude, so that you can honestly proclaim, “Yes, it was then, at my ’white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God.”

“This is the will of God, your sanctification . . .” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Once you truly realize this is God’s will, you will enter into the process of sanctification as a natural response. Are you willing to experience that “white funeral” now? Will you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends on you.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Being a Winning Head Coach - #6787

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

I was reminiscing with my son the other day about when he was four and learned to play baseball. He was standing there in his little shorts, and he had his Wiffle bat and his Wiffle ball. (I mean when he was little; not the other day.) And I stood just a few feet away from him and I gently threw the ball underhanded. And he would sort of chop at it like an ax, and I didn't know if he'd ever learn to play.

Well, of course, I gave him the Dad's typical, gentle coaching and said, "Now, don't chop at it. Swing evenly. Here's how to follow through. Here's how to plant your feet. And then times changed. It got to where I couldn't pitch it fast enough, and he was hitting it all over the place. Yeah, he was good. I enjoyed coaching. I hope I'm one of the reasons, at least, that he learned to do it right in the early stages. Actually, coaching comes almost naturally to dads; they're pretty good coaches. And I want to be sure today, dad, that that you've got your Head Coach hat on and that you're making the difference.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Being a Winning Head Coach."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God is found in Ephesians 6:4. Coaches, pay attention! It says, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children. Instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Let me summarize the Hutchcraft translation of that verse. It says two things to dads. With your children, don't put them down, and do bring them up.

Let's take the first part. There's the negative, and it's addressed particularly to fathers. And I thought, "Now, why is it said to fathers 'do not exasperate your children'?" Of course mothers shouldn't do that either, but it's stated to fathers. I think sometimes dads have awfully high expectations of kids, and we just tend to exasperate our children through setting the bar so high, and then they have to clear it higher and they've got to go higher all the time. And Dad's so hard to please.

Sometimes our cutting remarks only notice what needs improving, and we don't tell them what they've done right. I know kids who have literally been defeated and decided not to even try any more because they just couldn't please Dad.

And in this call to coaching, it says here that the first thing you do is to make sure that your child is never put down by you. There's nothing so cutting, so destroying to a self-image and even your hope for your own achievement than a dad's perceived rejection. But this is a call to spiritual coaching. It doesn't just say just don't put them down, it says, "Do bring them up." Are you leading spiritually in your family? Are you the one who gets everybody together to pray, Dad; who leads the way in scripture memorization? Are you the one who gets the sharing time going around the dinner table about the God-sightings you've each had today? Are you the one who teaches the Bible stories and applies them to everyday life; make sure everybody gets to church, and who models Christian conduct?

You say, "Well, I'm not real good at that." You know, men tend to avoid what they're not good at. If we're not good at a sport, we usually don't show up for that sport. I'm good at softball and I'm not good at football. I'll play softball. I won't play football. Listen, don't wait until you're good at it or you'll never start. Start spending some time getting your family together spiritually and getting with the Lord together. Get them in the Lord's presence together. The only way you can fail at this is to not try.

Remember, God has assigned you as the man of the house, the head coaching job in your family. Do you know what that means? Yeah, don't ever put them down, and always bring them up - in Christ.