Isaiah 51 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

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

Max Lucado Daily: It is Finished

Picture if you will, a blank check.   The amount of the check is “sufficient grace.”  The signer of the check is Jesus.  The only blank line is for the payee.  That part is for you!  May I urge you to spend a few moments with your Savior receiving this check?  Reflect on the work of God’s grace. The nails that once held a Savior to the cross.  His sacrifice was for you.  Express your thanks for His grace.  Whether for the first time or the thousandth, let Him hear you whisper, “Forgive us our debts.” And let Him answer your prayer as you imagine writing your name on the check.

No more deposits are necessary.  So complete was the payment that Jesus used a banking term to proclaim your salvation.  “It is finished!”  (John 19:30)  Perhaps I best slip out now and leave the two of you to talk.

from The Great House of God

Isaiah 51

Everlasting Salvation for Zion

51 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
    and who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
    and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
2 look to Abraham, your father,
    and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
    and I blessed him and made him many.
3 The Lord will surely comfort Zion
    and will look with compassion on all her ruins;
he will make her deserts like Eden,
    her wastelands like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
    thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
4 “Listen to me, my people;
    hear me, my nation:
Instruction will go out from me;
    my justice will become a light to the nations.
5 My righteousness draws near speedily,
    my salvation is on the way,
    and my arm will bring justice to the nations.
The islands will look to me
    and wait in hope for my arm.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,
    the earth will wear out like a garment
    and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
    my righteousness will never fail.
7 “Hear me, you who know what is right,
    you people who have taken my instruction to heart:
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
    or be terrified by their insults.
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment;
    the worm will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,
    my salvation through all generations.”
9 Awake, awake, arm of the Lord,
    clothe yourself with strength!
Awake, as in days gone by,
    as in generations of old.
Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces,
    who pierced that monster through?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,
    the waters of the great deep,
who made a road in the depths of the sea
    so that the redeemed might cross over?
11 Those the Lord has rescued will return.
    They will enter Zion with singing;
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
12 “I, even I, am he who comforts you.
    Who are you that you fear mere mortals,
    human beings who are but grass,
13 that you forget the Lord your Maker,
    who stretches out the heavens
    and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror every day
    because of the wrath of the oppressor,
    who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?
14     The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;
they will not die in their dungeon,
    nor will they lack bread.
15 For I am the Lord your God,
    who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
    the Lord Almighty is his name.
16 I have put my words in your mouth
    and covered you with the shadow of my hand—
I who set the heavens in place,
    who laid the foundations of the earth,
    and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath

17 Awake, awake!
    Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
    the cup of his wrath,
you who have drained to its dregs
    the goblet that makes people stagger.
18 Among all the children she bore
    there was none to guide her;
among all the children she reared
    there was none to take her by the hand.
19 These double calamities have come upon you—
    who can comfort you?—
ruin and destruction, famine and sword—
    who can[a] console you?
20 Your children have fainted;
    they lie at every street corner,
    like antelope caught in a net.
They are filled with the wrath of the Lord,
    with the rebuke of your God.
21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted one,
    made drunk, but not with wine.
22 This is what your Sovereign Lord says,
    your God, who defends his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
    the cup that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
    you will never drink again.
23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,
    who said to you,
    ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’
And you made your back like the ground,
    like a street to be walked on.”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: John 14:1-6

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

All The Comforts Of Home

April 17, 2013 — by Randy Kilgore

In My Father’s house are many mansions; . . . I go to prepare a place for you. —John 14:2

Once, during my tenure as a human resource officer for a construction company, we took some jobs in a neighboring state. This meant our workers were faced with a 2-hour commute each way, plus a full workday. To ease the burden, we booked motel rooms for the week, but we also arranged vans and drivers to transport those who decided to commute. Almost every worker took the vans!

One of our grumpiest workers discarded his usual demeanor as he described the thrill and surprise of his wife and four boys on the first night. He hadn’t told them he had an option to come home, so he showed up unexpectedly to surprise them. Later his wife called to thank the company owner, telling him their family was “loyal for life” to anyone who understood how important home was to workers.

Anyone who has been deprived of home, even for a short time, will understand the comfort Jesus’ disciples drew from His words when He promised that an eternal home awaited them (John 14:2). Then, to make their joy complete, Jesus told them He would prepare and guide them to that home, and, joy of joys, He would be there too (v.3).

Remember the greatest comfort of this life: Jesus promised that one day we will go home to be with Him.

Heavenly Father, we praise You for these words
from Jesus that touch the deepest longing in
our soul—the hope and comfort of home. We
want to be with You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
There is no place like home— especially when home is heaven.


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

All or Nothing?

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment . . . and plunged into the sea —John 21:7

Have you ever had a crisis in your life in which you deliberately, earnestly, and recklessly abandoned everything? It is a crisis of the will. You may come to that point many times externally, but it will amount to nothing. The true deep crisis of abandonment, or total surrender, is reached internally, not externally. The giving up of only external things may actually be an indication of your being in total bondage.

Have you deliberately committed your will to Jesus Christ? It is a transaction of the will, not of emotion; any positive emotion that results is simply a superficial blessing arising out of the transaction. If you focus your attention on the emotion, you will never make the transaction. Do not ask God what the transaction is to be, but make the determination to surrender your will regarding whatever you see, whether it is in the shallow or the deep, profound places internally.

If you have heard Jesus Christ’s voice on the waves of the sea, you can let your convictions and your consistency take care of themselves by concentrating on maintaining your intimate relationship to Him.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

The Freedom Chain - #6853

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

My daughter went on a trip some years ago to a part of the world that she brought home with her in her heart and brought into the hearts of our family. It was back when the Soviet Union was beginning to collapse, as it was known as the Communist Empire and the Iron Curtain was coming down. It was right at the beginning of that. She was on a Christian music team on a tour to Estonia and Latvia. They were actually pursuing some historic opportunities to present Christ in public settings. But what really impressed them was the Soviet believers. And that impressed them even more than the meetings that they were able to hold. And they saw in those people a hope of freedom.

About two weeks after the teams returned, those hopes of freedom were channeled into a very powerful demonstration. Now, it's 370 miles from the northern point in the Baltic States to the southern point. That's from the northern border of Estonia by the Gulf of Finland to the southern border of Lithuania. OK, there's your geography lesson for today. Amazingly, one million people formed an unbroken line (try to imagine this) hand-in-hand from one end of that 370 miles to the other, and they just passed one word from the first person in Estonia by the Gulf of Finland to that last person on the southern border of Lithuania. Each person turned to the next and simply said, "Freedom." Wow! Did you know you're in a line like that?

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Freedom Chain."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Timothy 1:6, where Paul says to Timothy, "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord." And then he talks to him about the freedom chain. "And the things you've heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." Well, there's the chain.

The Freedom Chain

Paul says, "God sent me to touch your life, Timothy, with the claims of Christ. Now I want you to pass that on to reliable men. They in turn will pass it on to others."

Thank the Lord that chain has made it across the centuries and it links you and me. It's really a freedom chain. Because of what Christ has done we can say to people, "You don't have to live as a slave to sin and selfishness. There's forgiveness that will release you from your guilt. There's love to release you from a lonely lifetime. There's a personal presence of God to release you from the darkness that's in you and all around you."

Over 2,000 years one person has turned to another and said, "There's freedom in Jesus" And someone turned to you and said it. Now, who are you saying it to? That long line of people who worked, as it says in Timothy here, "Do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord." They got the message to you. Whether it gets to your family, your friends, to your coworkers, your personal world now depends on you.

Haven't you been ashamed long enough, silent long enough? Let God lay on your heart one person He wants you to turn to. Ask Him to get them ready for your message and to change your silence to boldness. And then, join God's freedom chain. Someone grabbed your hand. Now, you grab someone else's and proclaim, "Freedom!" because of what Jesus did.

Isaiah 50 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

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

Max Lucado Daily: In Debt

Debt.  To be in debt is to owe someone something.  If that’s true, isn’t it appropriate for us to speak of debt in our prayer, for aren’t we all in debt to God? Aren’t we in God’s debt when we disobey His commands?  Rather than love our neighbor, we hurt our neighbor. Aren’t we in God’s debt when we disregard Him? He makes the universe and we applaud science.  Maybe if I wave at my neighbor or go to church next Sunday, I’ll get caught up. But how do you know when you’ve made enough? That’s the problem.  You never can.

Romans 4:5 says, “People cannot do any work that will make them right with God.”

You’re going to spend the rest of your days huffing and puffing to get to the drive-through window before the bank closes.  Just try this– trust His grace!  It is God who justifies your account!

from The Great House of God

Isaiah 50

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

50 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce
    with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
    did I sell you?
Because of your sins you were sold;
    because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 When I came, why was there no one?
    When I called, why was there no one to answer?
Was my arm too short to deliver you?
    Do I lack the strength to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea,
    I turn rivers into a desert;
their fish rot for lack of water
    and die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with darkness
    and make sackcloth its covering.”
4 The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,
    to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
    wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
5 The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;
    I have not been rebellious,
    I have not turned away.
6 I offered my back to those who beat me,
    my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
    from mocking and spitting.
7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
    I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
    and I know I will not be put to shame.
8 He who vindicates me is near.
    Who then will bring charges against me?
    Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser?
    Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.
    Who will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
    the moths will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears the Lord
    and obeys the word of his servant?
Let the one who walks in the dark,
    who has no light,
trust in the name of the Lord
    and rely on their God.
11 But now, all you who light fires
    and provide yourselves with flaming torches,
go, walk in the light of your fires
    and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:
    You will lie down in torment.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: James 1:1-8

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:

Greetings.

Trials and Temptations

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Cape Tribulation

April 16, 2013 — by Dennis Fisher

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. —James 1:2-3

On June 10, 1770, British navigator James Cook’s ship hit a reef off the northeast coast of Australia. He sailed the ship out into deeper water only to hit the reef again, and this time the collision almost sank the ship. This experience moved Cook to write in the ship’s log: “The north point [was named] Cape Tribulation because here began all our troubles.”

Many of us have experienced a trial that has seemed to trigger a string of other trials. The loss of a job, the death of a loved one, an unwanted divorce, or a decline in health could all be part of the list.

Even though a crisis may seem to be our “Cape Tribulation,” God is still sovereign and He most certainly is in control. It is His purpose to use tribulation to build resilience into us. James writes: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3). The word translated “patience” means to have staying power or the ability to endure.

In the midst of your life-changing trial, remember that God is still at work. He wants to use your “Cape Tribulation” experience to build your character. He has promised His grace to see you through (2 Cor. 12:9).

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
—Annie Johnson Flint. © Renewal 1969. Lillenas Publishing
Faith grows best in the winter of trial. —Rutherford


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

Can You Come Down From the Mountain?

While you have the light, believe in the light . . . —John 12:36

We all have moments when we feel better than ever before, and we say, “I feel fit for anything; if only I could always be like this!” We are not meant to be. Those moments are moments of insight which we have to live up to even when we do not feel like it. Many of us are no good for the everyday world when we are not on the mountaintop. Yet we must bring our everyday life up to the standard revealed to us on the mountaintop when we were there.

Never allow a feeling that was awakened in you on the mountaintop to evaporate. Don’t place yourself on the shelf by thinking, “How great to be in such a wonderful state of mind!” Act immediately— do something, even if your only reason to act is that you would rather not. If, during a prayer meeting, God shows you something to do, don’t say, “I’ll do it”— just doit! Pick yourself up by the back of the neck and shake off your fleshly laziness. Laziness can always be seen in our cravings for a mountaintop experience; all we talk about is our planning for our time on the mountain. We must learn to live in the ordinary “gray” day according to what we saw on the mountain.

Don’t give up because you have been blocked and confused once— go after it again. Burn your bridges behind you, and stand committed to God by an act of your own will. Never change your decisions, but be sure to make your decisions in the light of what you saw and learned on the mountain.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

How to Burn Off Your Personal Fog - #6852

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Well, the world sure looks different on a foggy morning. In our neighborhood the neighbor's houses suddenly aren't there. There's a hill I can usually see out our back door. On a foggy morning - no hill. And on the highway, forget it! I mean, it's suddenly hard to find where you turn or to plan much beyond the car immediately in front of you.

I remember this 40-car-pile-up on a foggy morning on one of the major highways near us. The pile-up happened because people couldn't see what the car in front of them was doing. Now, on those foggy mornings it looks as if the world's going to be gray all day doesn't it? It's kind of a depressing way to start the day, but that fog seldom lasts past 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning. Why? Well, the fog developed over night when there was no sun out to warm the air and evaporate all that moisture. Sometimes when the fog gets thick, well, we lose sight of the sun.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How To Burn Off Your Personal Fog."

There are three facets of Jesus that His followers should be known for, and they're all mentioned in our word for today from the Word of God in Colossians 3:15-17: "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

Now, notice here it talks about the fact that you and I should be known by the peace of Christ in our relationships, by the word of Christ in our attempts to minister to people, and by the name of Christ in everything we do. So, we're to be characterized by Jesus' peace, Jesus' words, and a Jesus uniform everywhere we are. That peace, especially, appeals to me-the peace of Christ.

Did you notice that each involve the same ingredient? They all involve saying, "Thank you." With the peace of Christ, the word of Christ, and the name of Christ, there's a thank you emphasis. I wonder if we were to play back recordings of you in recent weeks, would they sound a little more negative than usual? Maybe there's a pessimistic tone there; a tone of criticism or complaining, negativity. Hey, the fog's rolling in and everything is looking gray to you.

I can describe it because I've felt it. Maybe the fog is winning right now. What you need, of course, is the sun, and the sun that burns off the fog of pessimism and negativism is called giving thanks. That means you make a decision to focus today on what is rather than what isn't; what you have rather than what you don't have. To focus on what God has been doing in your life; to concentrate on answered prayer rather than on the not yet answered prayer. To go through your day on a God-hunt, looking for where He is, where He's working in your life. If you look for Him, you'll see Him all over the place.

Paul and Silas could sing at midnight in a prison because they were praising and giving thanks. You can sing at midnight. You can give thanks in the fog.

When I stop living gratefully, a dark gray attitude starts to blanket my soul-the spiritual blahs. But the fog doesn't ever have to last long. A thank you mindset is the sun that burns off your personal fog.

Romans 9:1-15 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

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

Max Lucado Daily: Insufficient Funds

Insufficient funds!  What an ominous phrase.  In the great gallery of famous phrases, “insufficient funds” hangs in the same hallway with “the IRS will audit your account.” “A root canal is necessary,” and “Let’s stop dating and just be friends.”

You’re overdrawn! You gave more than you had to give. You spent more than you had to spend. And guess who has to cough up some cash? What do you do if you don’t have any money? What do you do if you have nothing to deposit but an honest apology and good intentions? You pray that some wealthy soul will make a huge deposit in your account.

If you’re talking about your financial debt, that’s not likely to happen. If you’re talking about your spiritual debt, it already has. Your heavenly Father has covered your shortfall. In God’s house you are covered by the roof of His grace!

from The Great House of God

Romans 9:1-15
New International Version (NIV)
Paul’s Anguish Over Israel

9 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised![a] Amen.

God’s Sovereign Choice

6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[b] 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”[c]

10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”[d] 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[e]

14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses,

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
    and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”[f]


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: 1 Timothy 6:6-12

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Final Charge to Timothy

11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Money Talk

April 15, 2013 — by Dave Branon

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God. —1 Timothy 6:17

Marilyn and Steven had been married just a few years, and money was tight. But as she looked at their threadbare bedspread, she wanted to replace it. So she decided she would buy a new one with a credit card—hoping to somehow find the money to pay it off.

Her devotional reading for the day surprised her when it pointed her to Proverbs 22:27, “If you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you” (niv). Marilyn decided not to go into debt for a new bedspread that day.

Decisions about the way we spend our money are a personal matter between us and the Lord and can be difficult to make. But God hasn’t left us without help. He tells us: “Honor the Lord with your possessions” (Prov. 3:9), and “You cannot serve both God and Money” (Matt. 6:24 niv).

With such truths in mind, we look further in His Word for help to use money wisely. We find this: “Beware of covetousness” (Luke 12:15). Another says, “The borrower is servant to the lender” (Prov. 22:7). And in 1 Timothy we read, be “ready to give, willing to share” (6:18).

Money is a big issue. God, who provides for all our needs, can show us how to use it to bring Him honor.

Lord, sometimes money and finances are
overwhelming. It’s hard to know what decisions
to make, so please lead me and give the wisdom
to use my finances in a way that pleases You.
Never let gold become your god.


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

The Failure To Pay Close Attention

The high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days —2 Chronicles 15:17

Asa was not completely obedient in the outward, visible areas of his life. He was obedient in what he considered the most important areas, but he was not entirely right. Beware of ever thinking, “Oh, that thing in my life doesn’t matter much.” The fact that it doesn’t matter much to you may mean that it matters a great deal to God. Nothing should be considered a trivial matter by a child of God. How much longer are we going to prevent God from teaching us even one thing? But He keeps trying to teach us and He never loses patience. You say, “I know I am right with God”— yet the “high places” still remain in your life. There is still an area of disobedience. Do you protest that your heart is right with God, and yet there is something in your life He causes you to doubt? Whenever God causes a doubt about something, stop it immediately, no matter what it may be. Nothing in our lives is a mere insignificant detail to God.

Are there some things regarding your physical or intellectual life to which you have been paying no attention at all? If so, you may think you are all correct in the important areas, but you are careless— you are failing to concentrate or to focus properly. You no more need a day off from spiritual concentration on matters in your life than your heart needs a day off from beating. As you cannot take a day off morally and remain moral, neither can you take a day off spiritually and remain spiritual. God wants you to be entirely His, and it requires paying close attention to keep yourself fit. It also takes a tremendous amount of time. Yet some of us expect to rise above all of our problems, going from one mountaintop experience to another, with only a few minutes’ effort.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Monday, April 15, 2013

Over our lifetime I did a lot of the driving. But this time, I was the passenger and I was being driven to the airport from a speaking assignment. It's a good thing I was the passenger. I glanced over at this little amusement area by the side of the road. We just zipped by it, but I saw a water slide, a miniature golf course, and then I was really startled by what I saw. There was a giant, plastic water faucet and it was hanging, suspended above the ground with water falling out of it. It was not attached to anything, or so you could see it anyway. There was no water source anywhere nearby; it was just hanging there.

Now, if I had been driving, my insurance company would have probably gotten a call that day. Here was this faucet, apparently connected to nothing, running a steady flow of water. I still don't understand how they did it, but I do understand how you and I can.

Magic Faucet

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "There's the Faucet, Where's the Pipes?"

Jesus made a promise to His disciples that could not be fulfilled at the time He gave it. But He can now; that's the good news. And if you'll claim it, you can keep running even when there are no pipes. Our word for today from the Word of God, John 7:37, "On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.' By this He meant the Spirit whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not yet been given."

Jesus is saying here, "When my Holy Spirit comes, my followers will have a spiritual fountain in them that will never run dry." That Spirit came at Pentecost, and has come into people's lives on the day they open up to Jesus Christ. If you've done that, then the Holy Spirit is in you. And Jesus said that the supply of resource will come from within like that faucet I saw in mid air. It wasn't connected to any conventional water supplies. "Look, Ma, no pipes!" But it was pouring out water. There was an inner source that would keep it supplied, even when there were no outside sources helping.

That's a good picture of you right now. Maybe the conventional sources of support, the pipes in your life, just aren't there for you right now. Maybe your job just dried up, or your credit, your key support people. Maybe you're just in a situation where you feel isolated or overwhelmed. Maybe you're dried up, and earth has nothing that can help you right now. People, even those who would like to help you, really can't do much. You're suspended in mid air with no visible means of support or supply right now. But the security of a Christian is never around him anyway; it's in him Jesus said.

God will supply what man cannot supply, but He'll supply it from the inside. That's why Paul could be as confident and content in a prison as he was at the peak of his popularity. He reached in for His resource, not around him. You never know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you've got, and maybe that's where you are right now. Or maybe you have been coming up empty because you have never plugged into the resource that Jesus Christ brings into your life when you give your life to Him.

Jesus met a woman at a well one day who had come every day to get water from the well. And He said, "Are you tired of being thirsty again?" It turned out He was talking about all the relationships with guys that had never satisfied her soul thirst. He said, "I will put inside of you a spring that will well up into everlasting life. When Jesus comes in, you have met the One you were made by and made for. And you can be His. You can belong to Him and have that endless stream from heaven into your life and into your soul. When everyone else has let you down - one love that will be unloseable.

He proved it when He died on the cross for you. If you've never begun a relationship with Him; if you've never known what it is to not be thirsty again in your soul, I'd ask you to join me at our website YoursForLife.net and find out how to have that source of peace and satisfaction no matter what is happening around you.

Isaiah 49 Bible Reading and Devotionals.

Click to listen to God's teaching.
Max Lucado Daily: We’re God’s Idea

‘I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.  Psalm 139:14”

We’re God’s idea.  His face.  His eyes.  His hands.  His touch.  We are him!

Look deeply into the face of every human being on earth and you’ll see his likeness.  Though some appear to be distant relatives, they’re not.  God has no cousins, only children.

You aren’t an accident or an incident; you’re a gift to the world.  A divine work of art—signed by God.

One of the best gifts I ever received is a football jersey signed by thirty former professional quarterbacks.  For all I know it was bought at a discount sports store.  What makes it unique are the signatures.

The same is true with us.  What makes us special is not our body, but the signature of God on our lives.  We’re his works of art, created in his image.

Significant, not because of what we do, but because of whose we are!

‘I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.  Psalm 139:14”

Isaiah 49

The Servant of the Lord

49 Listen to me, you islands;
    hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born the Lord called me;
    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
    in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
    and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;
    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,
    and my reward is with my God.”
5 And now the Lord says—
    he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
    and gather Israel to himself,
for I am[c] honored in the eyes of the Lord
    and my God has been my strength—
6 he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
7 This is what the Lord says—
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
Restoration of Israel

8 This is what the Lord says:

“In the time of my favor I will answer you,
    and in the day of salvation I will help you;
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land
    and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
9 to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’
    and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’
“They will feed beside the roads
    and find pasture on every barren hill.
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,
    nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.
He who has compassion on them will guide them
    and lead them beside springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
    and my highways will be raised up.
12 See, they will come from afar—
    some from the north, some from the west,
    some from the region of Aswan.[d]”
13 Shout for joy, you heavens;
    rejoice, you earth;
    burst into song, you mountains!
For the Lord comforts his people
    and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
    and those who laid you waste depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
    all your children gather and come to you.
As surely as I live,” declares the Lord,
    “you will wear them all as ornaments;
    you will put them on, like a bride.
19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate
    and your land laid waste,
now you will be too small for your people,
    and those who devoured you will be far away.
20 The children born during your bereavement
    will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
    give us more space to live in.’
21 Then you will say in your heart,
    ‘Who bore me these?
I was bereaved and barren;
    I was exiled and rejected.
    Who brought these up?
I was left all alone,
    but these—where have they come from?’”
22 This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,
    I will lift up my banner to the peoples;
they will bring your sons in their arms
    and carry your daughters on their hips.
23 Kings will be your foster fathers,
    and their queens your nursing mothers.
They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground;
    they will lick the dust at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
    those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
24 Can plunder be taken from warriors,
    or captives be rescued from the fierce[e]?
25 But this is what the Lord says:

“Yes, captives will be taken from warriors,
    and plunder retrieved from the fierce;
I will contend with those who contend with you,
    and your children I will save.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
    they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine.
Then all mankind will know
    that I, the Lord, am your Savior,
    your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Isaiah 35:3-10

New International Version (NIV)
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
    steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
    “Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
    he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
    he will come to save you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
    and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
    and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
    the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
    grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway will be there;
    it will be called the Way of Holiness;
    it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
    wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there,
    nor any ravenous beast;
    they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10     and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Well Done, David Schumm

April 14, 2013 — by David C. McCasland

Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come. —Isaiah 35:4

At David Schumm’s memorial service, we celebrated the optimism, perseverance, and faith of a man with severe cerebral palsy. For all of David’s 74 years, the simple tasks of daily life required great effort. Through it all, he kept smiling and helping others by giving more than 23,000 hours as a hospital volunteer, along with encouraging at-risk teens.

David selected Isaiah 35:3-10 to be read at his service: “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you. . . . Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert” (vv.3-4,6). This promise, given to the people of Israel while in captivity, reminds us of our hope for the time when Christ will return for those who trust and follow Him.

During David’s last weeks, he often pointed visitors to a large picture of Jesus near his bed, saying, “He’s coming to get me soon.” This is the hope Jesus Christ gives to all His children, which calls forth our thanks and praise to Him!

Marvelous message we bring,
Glorious carol we sing,
Wonderful word of the King:
Jesus is coming again! —Peterson
Live as if Christ died yesterday and is coming back today.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 14, 2013

Inner Invincibility

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me . . . —Matthew 11:29

Whom the Lord loves He chastens . . .” (Hebrews 12:6). How petty our complaining is! Our Lord begins to bring us to the point where we can have fellowship with Him, only to hear us moan and groan, saying, “Oh Lord, just let me be like other people!” Jesus is asking us to get beside Him and take one end of the yoke, so that we can pull together. That’s why Jesus says to us, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). Are you closely identified with the Lord Jesus like that? If so, you will thank God when you feel the pressure of His hand upon you.

“. . . to those who have no might He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29). God comes and takes us out of our emotionalism, and then our complaining turns into a hymn of praise. The only way to know the strength of God is to take the yoke of Jesus upon us and to learn from Him.

“. . . the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Where do the saints get their joy? If we did not know some Christians well, we might think from just observing them that they have no burdens at all to bear. But we must lift the veil from our eyes. The fact that the peace, light, and joy of God is in them is proof that a burden is there as well. The burden that God places on us squeezes the grapes in our lives and produces the wine, but most of us see only the wine and not the burden. No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God living within the human spirit; it creates an inner invincibility.

If your life is producing only a whine, instead of the wine, then ruthlessly kick it out. It is definitely a crime for a Christian to be weak in God’s strength.

Isaiah 48 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: What’s Separating You From Joy?

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3”

How would you finish the statement: “I’ll be happy when….” With your answer firmly in mind, answer this question. “What’s the one thing separating you from joy?”

What if your ship never comes in, if your dream never comes true? If the situation never changes, could you be happy? If not, then you’re sleeping in the cold cell of discontent. You’re in prison. And you need to know what you have in your Shepherd!

You have a God who hears you; the power of love behind you; the Holy Spirit within you; and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm.

Isaiah 48

Stubborn Israel

48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
    you who are called by the name of Israel
    and come from the line of Judah,
you who take oaths in the name of the Lord
    and invoke the God of Israel—
    but not in truth or righteousness—
2 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city
    and claim to rely on the God of Israel—
    the Lord Almighty is his name:
3 I foretold the former things long ago,
    my mouth announced them and I made them known;
    then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
4 For I knew how stubborn you were;
    your neck muscles were iron,
    your forehead was bronze.
5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;
    before they happened I announced them to you
so that you could not say,
    ‘My images brought them about;
    my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6 You have heard these things; look at them all.
    Will you not admit them?
“From now on I will tell you of new things,
    of hidden things unknown to you.
7 They are created now, and not long ago;
    you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
    ‘Yes, I knew of them.’
8 You have neither heard nor understood;
    from of old your ears have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous you are;
    you were called a rebel from birth.
9 For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath;
    for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
    so as not to destroy you completely.
10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
    I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.
    How can I let myself be defamed?
    I will not yield my glory to another.
Israel Freed

12 “Listen to me, Jacob,
    Israel, whom I have called:
I am he;
    I am the first and I am the last.
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,
    and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I summon them,
    they all stand up together.
14 “Come together, all of you, and listen:
    Which of the idols has foretold these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally
    will carry out his purpose against Babylon;
    his arm will be against the Babylonians.[b]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
    yes, I have called him.
I will bring him,
    and he will succeed in his mission.
16 “Come near me and listen to this:

“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;
    at the time it happens, I am there.”
And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me,
    endowed with his Spirit.
17 This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches you what is best for you,
    who directs you in the way you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention to my commands,
    your peace would have been like a river,
    your well-being like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants would have been like the sand,
    your children like its numberless grains;
their name would never be blotted out
    nor destroyed from before me.”
20 Leave Babylon,
    flee from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy
    and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;
    say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
    he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock
    and water gushed out.
22 “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”



Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Psalm 78:1-8

A maskil[a] of Asaph.

1 My people, hear my teaching;
    listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a parable;
    I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 things we have heard and known,
    things our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their descendants;
    we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
    his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob
    and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
    to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them,
    even the children yet to be born,
    and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
    and would not forget his deeds
    but would keep his commands.
8 They would not be like their ancestors—
    a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
    whose spirits were not faithful to him.

Tell The Story

April 13, 2013 — by Marvin Williams

[Tell] to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. —Psalm 78:4

In an interview with Wired magazine, filmmaker George Lucas was asked how he wanted to be remembered. He replied: “I’ll be remembered as a filmmaker. . . . Hopefully some of the stories I told will still be relevant. . . . If you’ve raised children, you know you have to explain things to them, and if you don’t, they end up learning the hard way. . . . So the old stories have to be reiterated again in a form that’s acceptable to each new generation. I don’t think I’m ever going to go much beyond the old stories, because I think they still need to be told.”

In Psalm 78, the psalmist was aware of the possibility of God’s mighty works being forgotten and a generation being lost, so he called God’s people to never tire of telling the old story of His redemptive acts to future generations (v.4). The goal of this perpetual rehearsing of their history wasn’t just for memorizing historical data; it was to inspire faith, obedience, and hope in the Lord (v.7) and to keep future generations from groping in the darkness of unbelief and rebellion like the generations before them (v.8).

Because of God’s mighty power and grace in our lives we desire to be faithful to tell His stories that we might inspire faith and obedience in future generations.

I love to tell the story,
For some have never heard
The message of salvation
From God’s own holy Word. —Hankey
Past stories of grace inspire future stories of faith.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 13, 2013

What To Do When Your Burden Is Overwhelming

Cast your burden on the Lord . . . —Psalm 55:22

We must recognize the difference between burdens that are right for us to bear and burdens that are wrong. We should never bear the burdens of sin or doubt, but there are some burdens placed on us by God which He does not intend to lift off. God wants us to roll them back on Him— to literally “cast your burden,” which He has given you, “on the Lord . . . .” If we set out to serve God and do His work but get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility we feel will be overwhelming and defeating. But if we will only roll back on God the burdens He has placed on us, He will take away that immense feeling of responsibility, replacing it with an awareness and understanding of Himself and His presence.

Many servants set out to serve God with great courage and with the right motives. But with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, they are soon defeated. They do not know what to do with their burden, and it produces weariness in their lives. Others will see this and say, “What a sad end to something that had such a great beginning!”

“Cast your burden on the Lord . . . .” You have been bearing it all, but you need to deliberately place one end on God’s shoulder. “. . . the government will be upon His shoulder” (Isaiah 9:6). Commit to God whatever burden He has placed on you. Don’t just cast it aside, but put it over onto Him and place yourself there with it. You will see that your burden is then lightened by the sense of companionship. But you should never try to separate yourself from your burden.

Isaiah 47 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

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

Max Lucado Daily: Three Cookie Days

Every day, God prepares for us a plate of experiences.  Some days are “three cookie days.” Many are not!  Sometimes our plate has nothing but vegetables, twenty-four hours of celery, carrots, and squash.  Apparently God knows we need some strength, and though the portion may be hard to swallow, isn’t it for our own good?  All are important and all are from God. Romans 8:28 says, “We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him.”

The next time your plate has a portion you find hard to swallow, talk to God about it.  Jesus did. In the garden of Gethsemane His Father handed Him a cup of suffering so sour, so vile, that Jesus handed it back to heaven.

“My Father,” He prayed, “if it is possible may this cup be taken from Me.  Yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Mark 14:36).

from The Great House of God

Isaiah 47

The Fall of Babylon

47 “Go down, sit in the dust,
    Virgin Daughter Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
    queen city of the Babylonians.[a]
No more will you be called
    tender or delicate.
2 Take millstones and grind flour;
    take off your veil.
Lift up your skirts, bare your legs,
    and wade through the streams.
3 Your nakedness will be exposed
    and your shame uncovered.
I will take vengeance;
    I will spare no one.”
4 Our Redeemer—the Lord Almighty is his name—
    is the Holy One of Israel.
5 “Sit in silence, go into darkness,
    queen city of the Babylonians;
no more will you be called
    queen of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people
    and desecrated my inheritance;
I gave them into your hand,
    and you showed them no mercy.
Even on the aged
    you laid a very heavy yoke.
7 You said, ‘I am forever—
    the eternal queen!’
But you did not consider these things
    or reflect on what might happen.
8 “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
    lounging in your security
and saying to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.
I will never be a widow
    or suffer the loss of children.’
9 Both of these will overtake you
    in a moment, on a single day:
    loss of children and widowhood.
They will come upon you in full measure,
    in spite of your many sorceries
    and all your potent spells.
10 You have trusted in your wickedness
    and have said, ‘No one sees me.’
Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you
    when you say to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 Disaster will come upon you,
    and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
    that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
    will suddenly come upon you.
12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
    and with your many sorceries,
    which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
    perhaps you will cause terror.
13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!
    Let your astrologers come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
    let them save you from what is coming upon you.
14 Surely they are like stubble;
    the fire will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
    from the power of the flame.
These are not coals for warmth;
    this is not a fire to sit by.
15 That is all they are to you—
    these you have dealt with
    and labored with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
    there is not one that can save you.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Luke 16:1-10

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

6 “‘Nine hundred gallons[a] of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels[b] of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

Honor System

April 12, 2013 — by Cindy Hess Kasper

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. —Luke 16:10

Many homes near ours offer produce and perennials for sale by the road. Sometimes we’ll drive up to an unattended stand that operates on the “honor system.” As we make our selection, we put our money into a cash box or an old coffee can. Then we go home to enjoy the freshly picked fruits and vegetables.

But the honor system doesn’t always work. My friend Jackie has a flower stand in front of her house. One day, as she glanced out her window she saw a well-dressed woman with a big hat loading pots of perennials into the trunk of her car. Jackie smiled as she mentally calculated a $50 profit from her labors in the garden. But when she checked the cash box later, it was empty! The honor system revealed that this woman was not honorable.

Perhaps to her, taking the flowers seemed like a small thing. But being honest in little things indicates how we will respond in the big things (Luke 16:10). Honesty in all areas of our lives is one way we can bring honor to Jesus Christ, our Savior.

The best “honor system” for a follower of Christ is Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Give of your best to the Master;
Give Him first place in your heart;
Give Him first place in your service,
Consecrate every part. —Grose
Honesty means never having to look over your shoulder.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 12, 2013

Complete and Effective Dominion

Death no longer has dominion over Him. . . . the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God . . . —Romans 6:9-11

Co-Eternal Life. Eternal life is the life which Jesus Christ exhibited on the human level. And it is this same life, not simply a copy of it, which is made evident in our mortal flesh when we are born again. Eternal life is not a gift from God; eternal life is the gift of God. The energy and the power which was so very evident in Jesus will be exhibited in us by an act of the absolute sovereign grace of God, once we have made that complete and effective decision about sin.

“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . .” (Acts 1:8)— not power as a gift from the Holy Spirit; the power is the Holy Spirit, not something that He gives us. The life that was in Jesus becomes ours because of His Cross, once we make the decision to be identified with Him. If it is difficult to get right with God, it is because we refuse to make this moral decision about sin. But once we do decide, the full life of God comes in immediately. Jesus came to give us an endless supply of life— “. . . that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). Eternal life has nothing to do with time. It is the life which Jesus lived when He was down here, and the only Source of life is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even the weakest saint can experience the power of the deity of the Son of God, when he is willing to “let go.” But any effort to “hang on” to the least bit of our own power will only diminish the life of Jesus in us. We have to keep letting go, and slowly, but surely, the great full life of God will invade us, penetrating every part. Then Jesus will have complete and effective dominion in us, and people will take notice that we have been with Him.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

The World's Best Builders are Women - #6850

Friday, April 12, 2013

Rosie the Riveter! That's a sweet, fragile name for a lady, huh? How would you like to go out on a date with somebody called Rosie the Riveter? Actually, Rosie was a symbol during WWII. She was a symbol of the millions of women who left their homes to go to work in America's factories.

Well, look! So many of the men were at war, and help was desperately needed in our plants and factories. And so, women went to war in machine shops, assembly lines, defense plants, and in jobs that were usually reserved for men. They were kind of symbolized by old Rosie. Now, that may have started a trend, but Rosie the Riveter wasn't totally a new idea. In fact, women have been involved in major construction for centuries.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The World's Best Builders are Women."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Peter chapter 3. I'm going to read about those people in the construction business; those women that are great builders. It talks about one of them in 1 Peter 3:5-6. It goes back into the life of Sarah, a great builder. Here's what it says, "This is the way the holy women of the past, who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."

Now, this passage is in the context of how to win over your husband spiritually; particularly if you happen to be married to an unbelieving husband and you believe in Christ. But I think it goes beyond that to talk about how a woman can literally change the man she lives with. Now, Abraham and Sarah we know had their difficult moments, but ultimately Abraham became one of the most respected leaders in the world of his time. And he's still revered by the three great religions of the world.

But behind the scenes was a builder, and her name was Sarah. And she kept building him up as her leader, and he grew to be the leader of many. I think this scripture suggests, as many others do, the awesome power that a woman has to make a man feel very significant or very insignificant. That ability to build a man uses one power tool. It's not a saw; it's not a drill. The power tool in a woman's tool kit to build a man is praise. A man tends to become what his wife calls him. That's a scary thought isn't it?

If she picks on what he isn't, he'll never grow. If she praises what he is, he'll become that even more. If a man in your life has a weakness, and I'm sure he has many, look for those times when he shows a little progress in that area, and then build him up even if it's just a little progress. Men change slowly, and only when they feel secure enough to take a risk. And a women's acceptance, and praise, and encouragement can give a guy enough confidence to change.

We're told by social scientists that for every one negative or criticism we get, we need seven positives to bring us back to zero. I wonder what the ratio is between you and the man in your life with praise to criticism. If you're a mother, a sister, a girlfriend, especially a wife, be in the construction business. Don't let frustration drive you into the demolition business, finishing off an already damaged man.

Use that powerful tool of praise to construct a more Christ-like man. Whether or not women know what to do with a hammer or a saw, they sure are the world's best builders.

Romans 8:22-39 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

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

Max Lucado Daily: The Plate Runs Over

Give us this day our daily bread.  What a statement of trust!  Some days the plate runs over.  God keeps bringing out more food and we keep loosening our belt.  A promotion.  A privilege.   A friendship.  A gift.  A lifetime of grace.  An eternity of joy.

The Psalmist said:  “You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies.  You revive my drooping head; my cup fills with blessing.”  (Psalm 23:5, The Message).

And then there are those days when, well, we have to eat our broccoli. Our daily bread could be tears or sorrow or discipline. Our portion may include adversity as well as opportunity.  The next time your plate has more broccoli than apple pie, remember who prepared the meal.  Even Jesus was given a portion He found hard to swallow.  But with God’s help, He did.  And with God’s help, you can too.

from The Great House of God

Romans 8:22-39
New International Version (NIV)
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

More Than Conquerors

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[b]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[c] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion


Read: Joel 2:21-27

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[a]—
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.

Making Up For Lost Time

April 11, 2013 — by Joe Stowell

that the swarming locust has eaten. —Joel 2:25

None of us can say that we have no regrets. Often we are led down paths of bad choices—some paths longer than others—which can have a lingering effect on the mind, body, and soul.

A friend of mine spent a number of years living a life of alcohol and drug abuse. But God did an amazing work in his life, and he recently celebrated 25 years of being free from substance abuse. He now runs a successful business, has a devoted wife, and his children love Jesus. He has a passion to reach out to others who are in the ditch of life, and he serves as a wise and loving mentor in the rescue operations of their lives.

God never gives up on us! Even if we’ve made poor choices in the past that have left us with regret, we can choose how we will live now. We can choose to continue destructive living, simply wallow in regret, or we can run to Christ believing that He has ways to “restore . . . the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25). When we repentantly seek His healing and freeing power, He is merciful.

While some consequences from the past may remain, we can be confident that God has a good and glorious future for those who trust in Him!

Lord, it is with humble and grateful hearts that we
come to You and lay all that we have been in the past
at Your feet. Take us as we are and make something
beautiful out of our lives that brings glory to You!
God never gives up on making something beautiful out of our lives.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 11, 2013

Complete and Effective Divinity

If we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection . . . —Romans 6:5

Co-Resurrection. The proof that I have experienced crucifixion with Jesus is that I have a definite likeness to Him. The Spirit of Jesus entering me rearranges my personal life before God. The resurrection of Jesus has given Him the authority to give the life of God to me, and the experiences of my life must now be built on the foundation of His life. I can have the resurrection life of Jesus here and now, and it will exhibit itself through holiness.

The idea all through the apostle Paul’s writings is that after the decision to be identified with Jesus in His death has been made, the resurrection life of Jesus penetrates every bit of my human nature. It takes the omnipotence of God— His complete and effective divinity— to live the life of the Son of God in human flesh. The Holy Spirit cannot be accepted as a guest in merely one room of the house— He invades all of it. And once I decide that my “old man” (that is, my heredity of sin) should be identified with the death of Jesus, the Holy Spirit invades me. He takes charge of everything. My part is to walk in the light and to obey all that He reveals to me. Once I have made that important decision about sin, it is easy to “reckon” that I am actually “dead indeed to sin,” because I find the life of Jesus in me all the time (Romans 6:11). Just as there is only one kind of humanity, there is only one kind of holiness— the holiness of Jesus. And it is His holiness that has been given to me. God puts the holiness of His Son into me, and I belong to a new spiritual order.



A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Okay, here's the scene: My wife and I are sitting together on an airplane. I'm busy working, trying to be a good time manager; getting my work done on my way to Chicago. And my wife has headphones on listening to whatever program happened to be on the stereo system, and she's laughing out loud. You know how frustrating that is? I'm trying to get work done and she's ho, ho, ho, ho! Listen, that drives you crazy when you don't know what somebody's laughing at.

So, I finally gave in and got the headphones myself. She was listening to Bill Cosby talk about his 50th birthday - Bill Cosby on being 50. And you know, he has this great ability to capture the real everyday feelings of our experiences. Well, this was a hilarious description of getting up to get something from the other room, and it sounded all too familiar. You know, you get in the other room. As soon as you get there, you totally forget what you went there for. So, you return to your chair. As soon as you sit down, of course, you remember. And he took off from there. Well, we were laughing so loud, because I think... Well, because it was "us." I do that all the time.

I used to remember every phone number. Today it seems to slip between the cracks in my brain very shortly. Now, names; I have no problem remembering names. Just ask my engineer, Fred. Oh, no! It's Jason. I'm sorry, excuse me. Wait. I tell you, names, phone numbers, whatever it is. You say, "Well, that's a problem for old people isn't it?" Oh no, no, no. Memory loss? That's a serious problem for all ages.

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

Our word for today from the Word of God is from the 78th Psalm. David is writing, and he says in verse 40, "How often they (speaking of the Old Testament Jews) rebelled against God in the desert and grieved Him in the wasteland. Again and again they put God to the test." Do you suppose we could update that? Maybe it could be you and me? "Again and again they put God to the test. They vexed the Holy One of Israel."

Now, why? Why did they keep messing up? Here's why: amnesia. They did not remember (the Bible says) His power. And then this scripture goes on to show the many times He demonstrated His power, His faithfulness in the plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, etc.

I was with a friend for lunch not too long ago and he was talking about some of the mountains in his life and faith when it comes to moving mountains. He said, "You know what disease I think a lot of Christians have, Ron? Spiritual amnesia." Well, that got me thinking. That was the problem back with God's ancient people, and it's been the problem for all these centuries. We forget what God has done! We keep wandering into rebellion and dumb decisions because we forget God's past deliverances. And that's a problem for all ages.

But look back, would you? Yesterday's mountains that you thought would never move -it was impossible. Today those mountains are monuments to God's power and faithfulness. You say, "Yeah, but this mountain..." We start to panic; we hotwire some solution. We turn from God. If you look back, your life is a series of cliffs you came to the edge of, but you never went over. Of rescues that came at the last minute, but always came. Of times when waiting really paid off. At times that looked like this was the end, but there was one more chapter wasn't there? That you didn't expect. The waters always ultimately parted! But today's obstacle is making you forget.

Settle back; flip through the scrapbook of God's adventures in your life. You'll see that He has always come through, and He will this time. So, don't go wandering off somewhere into some deadly mistake because of spiritual amnesia. Many a major mistake is made because of spiritual memory loss. Don't forget the miracles.