(Click here to listen to God's love letter to you)
MaxLucado.com: Vanderlei de Lima (2004 Olympics Athens)
He should’ve won the gold. He was leading when a deranged protester hurled himself into the runner–forcing him off course. De Lima resumed the race. But in the process he lost his rhythm, precious seconds, and his position. But he entered the stadium punching the air with his fists, both arms extended, weaving for joy!
I’m taking notes on this guy! He reminds me of another runner. Paul, the imprisoned apostle. His chains never come off. The guards never leave. He may appear to be bumped off track, but he’s actually right on target. Christ is preached. The mission is being accomplished.
Run the race!
Paul said, “I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. I Corinthians 9:23-24”
From Great Day Every Day
Jeremiah 48
A Message About Moab
Concerning Moab:
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“Woe to Nebo, for it will be ruined.
Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured;
the stronghold[b] will be disgraced and shattered.
2 Moab will be praised no more;
in Heshbon[c] people will plot her downfall:
‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’
You, the people of Madmen,[d] will also be silenced;
the sword will pursue you.
3 Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,
cries of great havoc and destruction.
4 Moab will be broken;
her little ones will cry out.[e]
5 They go up the hill to Luhith,
weeping bitterly as they go;
on the road down to Horonaim
anguished cries over the destruction are heard.
6 Flee! Run for your lives;
become like a bush[f] in the desert.
7 Since you trust in your deeds and riches,
you too will be taken captive,
and Chemosh will go into exile,
together with his priests and officials.
8 The destroyer will come against every town,
and not a town will escape.
The valley will be ruined
and the plateau destroyed,
because the Lord has spoken.
9 Put salt on Moab,
for she will be laid waste[g];
her towns will become desolate,
with no one to live in them.
10 “A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!
A curse on anyone who keeps their sword from bloodshed!
11 “Moab has been at rest from youth,
like wine left on its dregs,
not poured from one jar to another—
she has not gone into exile.
So she tastes as she did,
and her aroma is unchanged.
12 But days are coming,”
declares the Lord,
“when I will send men who pour from pitchers,
and they will pour her out;
they will empty her pitchers
and smash her jars.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh,
as Israel was ashamed
when they trusted in Bethel.
14 “How can you say, ‘We are warriors,
men valiant in battle’?
15 Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;
her finest young men will go down in the slaughter,”
declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.
16 “The fall of Moab is at hand;
her calamity will come quickly.
17 Mourn for her, all who live around her,
all who know her fame;
say, ‘How broken is the mighty scepter,
how broken the glorious staff!’
18 “Come down from your glory
and sit on the parched ground,
you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon,
for the one who destroys Moab
will come up against you
and ruin your fortified cities.
19 Stand by the road and watch,
you who live in Aroer.
Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,
ask them, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered.
Wail and cry out!
Announce by the Arnon
that Moab is destroyed.
21 Judgment has come to the plateau—
to Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath,
22 to Dibon, Nebo and Beth Diblathaim,
23 to Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,
24 to Kerioth and Bozrah—
to all the towns of Moab, far and near.
25 Moab’s horn[h] is cut off;
her arm is broken,”
declares the Lord.
26 “Make her drunk,
for she has defied the Lord.
Let Moab wallow in her vomit;
let her be an object of ridicule.
27 Was not Israel the object of your ridicule?
Was she caught among thieves,
that you shake your head in scorn
whenever you speak of her?
28 Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks,
you who live in Moab.
Be like a dove that makes its nest
at the mouth of a cave.
29 “We have heard of Moab’s pride—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her insolence, her pride, her conceit
and the haughtiness of her heart.
30 I know her insolence but it is futile,”
declares the Lord,
“and her boasts accomplish nothing.
31 Therefore I wail over Moab,
for all Moab I cry out,
I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.
32 I weep for you, as Jazer weeps,
you vines of Sibmah.
Your branches spread as far as the sea[i];
they reached as far as[j] Jazer.
The destroyer has fallen
on your ripened fruit and grapes.
33 Joy and gladness are gone
from the orchards and fields of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy.
Although there are shouts,
they are not shouts of joy.
34 “The sound of their cry rises
from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz,
from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah,
for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.
35 In Moab I will put an end
to those who make offerings on the high places
and burn incense to their gods,”
declares the Lord.
36 “So my heart laments for Moab like the music of a pipe;
it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.
The wealth they acquired is gone.
37 Every head is shaved
and every beard cut off;
every hand is slashed
and every waist is covered with sackcloth.
38 On all the roofs in Moab
and in the public squares
there is nothing but mourning,
for I have broken Moab
like a jar that no one wants,”
declares the Lord.
39 “How shattered she is! How they wail!
How Moab turns her back in shame!
Moab has become an object of ridicule,
an object of horror to all those around her.”
40 This is what the Lord says:
“Look! An eagle is swooping down,
spreading its wings over Moab.
41 Kerioth[k] will be captured
and the strongholds taken.
In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation
because she defied the Lord.
43 Terror and pit and snare await you,
you people of Moab,”
declares the Lord.
44 “Whoever flees from the terror
will fall into a pit,
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare;
for I will bring on Moab
the year of her punishment,”
declares the Lord.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
the fugitives stand helpless,
for a fire has gone out from Heshbon,
a blaze from the midst of Sihon;
it burns the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of the noisy boasters.
46 Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh are destroyed;
your sons are taken into exile
and your daughters into captivity.
47 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in days to come,”
declares the Lord.
Here ends the judgment on Moab.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Genesis 50:15-21
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
The Rules Of Disengagement
July 27, 2013 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt
If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. —John 8:36
In her book Throw Out Fifty Things, Gail Blanke outlines four “Rules of Disengagement” to help people clear the clutter from their lives. The first rule states: “If it . . . weighs you down, clogs you up, or just plain makes you feel bad about yourself, throw it out, give it away, sell it, let it go, move on.”
I think this Rule of Disengagement has a spiritual application too: We don’t have to stay connected to past sin. Joseph’s brothers struggled with this. Years after they sold Joseph into slavery, they recalled their cruelty and feared revenge (Gen. 50:15). So they sent a message to Joseph, begging for forgiveness (vv.16-17). They did this despite previous merciful actions and reassurances from their brother (45:4-15).
Many of us remain connected to age-old offenses despite mercy and forgiveness from those we may have hurt. However, true freedom comes when we confess our wrongdoing to God. He forgives it (1 John 1:9) and separates us from it (Ps. 103:12). As one verse puts it, He throws our sin into the depths of the sea! (Micah 7:19). Because of this, we can remind ourselves that the Son has made us free, and we are free indeed (John 8:36).
’Twas a glad day when Jesus found me,
When His strong arms were thrown around me;
When my sins He buried in the deepest sea,
And my soul He filled with joy and victory.
—Albert S. Reitz. © Renewal 1946. Hope Publishing.
The price of our freedom from sin was paid by Jesus’ blood.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 27, 2013
The Way to Knowledge
If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine . . . —John 7:17
The golden rule to follow to obtain spiritual understanding is not one of intellectual pursuit, but one of obedience. If a person wants scientific knowledge, then intellectual curiosity must be his guide. But if he desires knowledge and insight into the teachings of Jesus Christ, he can only obtain it through obedience. If spiritual things seem dark and hidden to me, then I can be sure that there is a point of disobedience somewhere in my life. Intellectual darkness is the result of ignorance, but spiritual darkness is the result of something that I do not intend to obey.
No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). He is saying, in essence, “Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right.” The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before.
When Jesus drives something home to you through His Word, don’t try to evade it. If you do, you will become a religious impostor. Examine the things you tend simply to shrug your shoulders about, and where you have refused to be obedient, and you will know why you are not growing spiritually. As Jesus said, “First . . . go . . ..” Even at the risk of being thought of as fanatical, you must obey what God tells you.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Friday, July 26, 2013
Jeremiah 47, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
(Click here to listen to God's love letter to you)
Max Lucado Daily: Stand Up
God’s efforts are strongest when our efforts are useless! I want you to listen to some revealing dialogue between a man who’d been paralyzed for years. Jesus encounters him at the pool of Bethesda where he’d gone hoping to get into the healing waters (John 5).
Jesus asks him, “Do you want to be well?”
“Sir, there is no one to help me get into the pool. While I’m coming to the water, someone else always gets in before me.”
“Stand up,” Jesus respond. “Pick up your mat and walk.”
“And immediately the man picked up his mat and began to walk.”
I wish we would do that; I wish we would take Jesus at His word. I wish we would learn that when He says something, it happens. What is this peculiar paralysis that confines us? What is this stubborn unwillingness to be healed? When Jesus tells us to stand—let’s stand! Yes, God’s efforts are strongest when our efforts are useless. So, let’s lean upon Him!
from He Still Moves Stones
Jeremiah 47
A Message About the Philistines
This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:
2 This is what the Lord says:
“See how the waters are rising in the north;
they will become an overflowing torrent.
They will overflow the land and everything in it,
the towns and those who live in them.
The people will cry out;
all who dwell in the land will wail
3 at the sound of the hooves of galloping steeds,
at the noise of enemy chariots
and the rumble of their wheels.
Parents will not turn to help their children;
their hands will hang limp.
4 For the day has come
to destroy all the Philistines
and to remove all survivors
who could help Tyre and Sidon.
The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines,
the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.[a]
5 Gaza will shave her head in mourning;
Ashkelon will be silenced.
You remnant on the plain,
how long will you cut yourselves?
6 “‘Alas, sword of the Lord,
how long till you rest?
Return to your sheath;
cease and be still.’
7 But how can it rest
when the Lord has commanded it,
when he has ordered it
to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 13:1-9
The Parable of the Sower
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Taking Root
July 26, 2013 — by Dave Branon
Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up. —Matthew 13:5
A small area of my yard just couldn’t seem to get going. The grass always seemed sparse in that spot, no matter how well I watered it.
So one day I stuck a shovel into this troublesome real estate and discovered the problem: Just below the surface was a layer of stones about three inches deep. This led me to replace the stones with rich topsoil in which new seeds could take root.
Jesus talked about seed and soils. In a parable in Matthew 13 about what happens when the seed of the gospel is sown on various kinds of ground, He said that seeds that land on stones and “not much earth” grow quickly but then die in the sun (vv.5-6). He was speaking of one who has heard and received the gospel, but in whose life the message doesn’t take root. When trouble comes, this person—who is not a genuine believer—falls away.
How grateful we can be for Jesus’ words that conclude this parable: “He who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit” (v.23). What a reminder of both the privilege and the responsibility that accompanies our salvation.
Praise God for the seed of the gospel and the soil of spiritual growth.
Lord, I would be soil in which You can plant
Your Word with its promise of fruit;
I want to be open to You every day,
So what You have planted takes root. —Hess
A heart open to God is soil in which the seed of His Word can flourish.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 26, 2013
The Way to Purity
Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart . . . . For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man . . . —Matthew 15:18-20
Initially we trust in our ignorance, calling it innocence, and next we trust our innocence, calling it purity. Then when we hear these strong statements from our Lord, we shrink back, saying, “But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart.” We resent what He reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust the penetration of His Word into my heart, or would I prefer to trust my own “innocent ignorance”? If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me. But as long as I remain under the false security of my own “innocence,” I am living in a fool’s paradise. If I have never been an openly rude and abusive person, the only reason is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive from living a civilized life. But when I am open and completely exposed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis of me.
The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolute unblemished purity.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Never Meant To Drive - #6925
Friday, July 26, 2013
It was quite a few years ago when I heard about this young man on Long Island who took his sister for a ride in the family car. You say, "Oh, big deal." Well, it's no big deal except that the boy was five years old. Yes, it's true! His mother was sick in bed and his little sister said, "I want to go to New York City." So he crawled up on top of the refrigerator, got his mother's car keys out of her purse, took his sister out, belted her in, put on his seat belt, turned on the car, managed to get it in reverse, and backed it out of their narrow driveway onto their street. He drove up to a stop sign, then he turned left onto a major thoroughfare, and made it successfully to two traffic lights and stopped. Then he moved forward when he was supposed to.
Finally a policeman became involved. He had just seen a driverless car go by! So, he drove up behind it and turned on the siren. As soon as the young boy heard the siren he pulled the car over very neatly, got out and talked to the officer. It was pretty incredible. And fortunately, he didn't go very far. I'm particularly glad he didn't make it to New York City.
This little amusing incident could have turned into a horrible tragedy. A five-year-old child has no business driving, and neither do you.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Never Meant To Drive."
The Apostle Paul's lifelong struggle finally led him through some of the most intense pressure of his life. And then he let go, and he learned a liberating lesson. It's recorded for us in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 1. I'll begin reading at verse 8. He talks about "the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia." "We were under great pressure..." Maybe you can relate to some of this. "...far beyond our ability to endure, so we despaired even of life. Indeed in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened..." Now, he's found out the reason for it all, "...this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God."
Paul says, "I finally turned over the wheel to Jesus." You and I were never meant to drive just like that little five-year-old boy. Oh, we'll give God a lot. We'll give Him time, we'll give Him money, we'll give Him our talents, we'll give Him attendance at His meetings,
we'll give Him service, and we'll hold offices. We'll give Him everything but control; that's the last bastion. Who's really in charge? For Paul there had to be some dents, some damage, some crashes until he finally relinquished control; until he said, "I quit relying on me, it is totally up to You, Lord."
We keep trying to negotiate a partnership with God, and God insists on nothing less than ownership. If you could see your life as God sees it, you might see this little guy or girl (that's you or me) trying to see over the steering wheel of your life, doing your best to drive. You can pull it off for a little while, but you know ultimately you're going to crash. In fact, maybe things are even swerving a little bit right now. Maybe you can hear the siren behind you. Maybe you're busy serving the Lord. Paul was. Maybe you know God's Word. Paul sure did. Maybe you've really proclaimed Christ as your Lord. Well, Paul had. But Paul also was still relying on his own strength, and education, and gifts, and brilliance. Thirty years in, he finally learned to really turn over the wheel fully to the Lord Jesus.
How many crashes will it take before you realize you really are doing the driving and that you were never meant to? He's calling you to a deeper "yieldedness" than you've ever allowed before. And it could be that you have never even considered giving Jesus the wheel of your life. The Bible says that sin really is us running our life instead of God running it; hijacking it from the One who gave it to us. Jesus went to a cross to make it possible for you to have every sin of your life forgiven and for Him to take your life where it was created to go.
If you've never begun a relationship with Him; if you've never said, "I'm not driving any more. Jesus, it's You." I want to invite you to join me at our website so I can show you there how you can get started with Him. Go to ANewStory.com.
Life becomes a whole lot safer when you relinquish that steering wheel that you've been clenching so tightly and so long. You look a whole lot better; you're a whole lot safer in the passenger's seat.
Max Lucado Daily: Stand Up
God’s efforts are strongest when our efforts are useless! I want you to listen to some revealing dialogue between a man who’d been paralyzed for years. Jesus encounters him at the pool of Bethesda where he’d gone hoping to get into the healing waters (John 5).
Jesus asks him, “Do you want to be well?”
“Sir, there is no one to help me get into the pool. While I’m coming to the water, someone else always gets in before me.”
“Stand up,” Jesus respond. “Pick up your mat and walk.”
“And immediately the man picked up his mat and began to walk.”
I wish we would do that; I wish we would take Jesus at His word. I wish we would learn that when He says something, it happens. What is this peculiar paralysis that confines us? What is this stubborn unwillingness to be healed? When Jesus tells us to stand—let’s stand! Yes, God’s efforts are strongest when our efforts are useless. So, let’s lean upon Him!
from He Still Moves Stones
Jeremiah 47
A Message About the Philistines
This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:
2 This is what the Lord says:
“See how the waters are rising in the north;
they will become an overflowing torrent.
They will overflow the land and everything in it,
the towns and those who live in them.
The people will cry out;
all who dwell in the land will wail
3 at the sound of the hooves of galloping steeds,
at the noise of enemy chariots
and the rumble of their wheels.
Parents will not turn to help their children;
their hands will hang limp.
4 For the day has come
to destroy all the Philistines
and to remove all survivors
who could help Tyre and Sidon.
The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines,
the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.[a]
5 Gaza will shave her head in mourning;
Ashkelon will be silenced.
You remnant on the plain,
how long will you cut yourselves?
6 “‘Alas, sword of the Lord,
how long till you rest?
Return to your sheath;
cease and be still.’
7 But how can it rest
when the Lord has commanded it,
when he has ordered it
to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 13:1-9
The Parable of the Sower
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Taking Root
July 26, 2013 — by Dave Branon
Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up. —Matthew 13:5
A small area of my yard just couldn’t seem to get going. The grass always seemed sparse in that spot, no matter how well I watered it.
So one day I stuck a shovel into this troublesome real estate and discovered the problem: Just below the surface was a layer of stones about three inches deep. This led me to replace the stones with rich topsoil in which new seeds could take root.
Jesus talked about seed and soils. In a parable in Matthew 13 about what happens when the seed of the gospel is sown on various kinds of ground, He said that seeds that land on stones and “not much earth” grow quickly but then die in the sun (vv.5-6). He was speaking of one who has heard and received the gospel, but in whose life the message doesn’t take root. When trouble comes, this person—who is not a genuine believer—falls away.
How grateful we can be for Jesus’ words that conclude this parable: “He who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit” (v.23). What a reminder of both the privilege and the responsibility that accompanies our salvation.
Praise God for the seed of the gospel and the soil of spiritual growth.
Lord, I would be soil in which You can plant
Your Word with its promise of fruit;
I want to be open to You every day,
So what You have planted takes root. —Hess
A heart open to God is soil in which the seed of His Word can flourish.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 26, 2013
The Way to Purity
Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart . . . . For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man . . . —Matthew 15:18-20
Initially we trust in our ignorance, calling it innocence, and next we trust our innocence, calling it purity. Then when we hear these strong statements from our Lord, we shrink back, saying, “But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart.” We resent what He reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust the penetration of His Word into my heart, or would I prefer to trust my own “innocent ignorance”? If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me. But as long as I remain under the false security of my own “innocence,” I am living in a fool’s paradise. If I have never been an openly rude and abusive person, the only reason is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive from living a civilized life. But when I am open and completely exposed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis of me.
The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolute unblemished purity.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Never Meant To Drive - #6925
Friday, July 26, 2013
It was quite a few years ago when I heard about this young man on Long Island who took his sister for a ride in the family car. You say, "Oh, big deal." Well, it's no big deal except that the boy was five years old. Yes, it's true! His mother was sick in bed and his little sister said, "I want to go to New York City." So he crawled up on top of the refrigerator, got his mother's car keys out of her purse, took his sister out, belted her in, put on his seat belt, turned on the car, managed to get it in reverse, and backed it out of their narrow driveway onto their street. He drove up to a stop sign, then he turned left onto a major thoroughfare, and made it successfully to two traffic lights and stopped. Then he moved forward when he was supposed to.
Finally a policeman became involved. He had just seen a driverless car go by! So, he drove up behind it and turned on the siren. As soon as the young boy heard the siren he pulled the car over very neatly, got out and talked to the officer. It was pretty incredible. And fortunately, he didn't go very far. I'm particularly glad he didn't make it to New York City.
This little amusing incident could have turned into a horrible tragedy. A five-year-old child has no business driving, and neither do you.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Never Meant To Drive."
The Apostle Paul's lifelong struggle finally led him through some of the most intense pressure of his life. And then he let go, and he learned a liberating lesson. It's recorded for us in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 1. I'll begin reading at verse 8. He talks about "the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia." "We were under great pressure..." Maybe you can relate to some of this. "...far beyond our ability to endure, so we despaired even of life. Indeed in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened..." Now, he's found out the reason for it all, "...this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God."
Paul says, "I finally turned over the wheel to Jesus." You and I were never meant to drive just like that little five-year-old boy. Oh, we'll give God a lot. We'll give Him time, we'll give Him money, we'll give Him our talents, we'll give Him attendance at His meetings,
we'll give Him service, and we'll hold offices. We'll give Him everything but control; that's the last bastion. Who's really in charge? For Paul there had to be some dents, some damage, some crashes until he finally relinquished control; until he said, "I quit relying on me, it is totally up to You, Lord."
We keep trying to negotiate a partnership with God, and God insists on nothing less than ownership. If you could see your life as God sees it, you might see this little guy or girl (that's you or me) trying to see over the steering wheel of your life, doing your best to drive. You can pull it off for a little while, but you know ultimately you're going to crash. In fact, maybe things are even swerving a little bit right now. Maybe you can hear the siren behind you. Maybe you're busy serving the Lord. Paul was. Maybe you know God's Word. Paul sure did. Maybe you've really proclaimed Christ as your Lord. Well, Paul had. But Paul also was still relying on his own strength, and education, and gifts, and brilliance. Thirty years in, he finally learned to really turn over the wheel fully to the Lord Jesus.
How many crashes will it take before you realize you really are doing the driving and that you were never meant to? He's calling you to a deeper "yieldedness" than you've ever allowed before. And it could be that you have never even considered giving Jesus the wheel of your life. The Bible says that sin really is us running our life instead of God running it; hijacking it from the One who gave it to us. Jesus went to a cross to make it possible for you to have every sin of your life forgiven and for Him to take your life where it was created to go.
If you've never begun a relationship with Him; if you've never said, "I'm not driving any more. Jesus, it's You." I want to invite you to join me at our website so I can show you there how you can get started with Him. Go to ANewStory.com.
Life becomes a whole lot safer when you relinquish that steering wheel that you've been clenching so tightly and so long. You look a whole lot better; you're a whole lot safer in the passenger's seat.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Hebrews 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
(Click here to listen to God's love letter to you)
Max Lucado Daily: What Do You Want?
I like the story about the fellow who went to the pet store for a singing parakeet. The store owner had just the bird and the next day the man came home to a house full of music. When he went to feed the bird he noticed for the first time, the parakeet had only one leg. He called the store and complained. “What do you want,” the store owner responded, “a bird who can sing or a bird who can dance?”
Good question for times of disappointment. What do we want? It’s what Jesus asked the disciples when they complained. And in Luke 24:27, Jesus began to tell them the story of God’s plan for people, “starting with Moses and all the prophets, and everything that had been written about Himself in the Scriptures.” Jesus’ cure for the broken heart is the story of God. So what do you want? If you’re disappointed, turn to the story of God. He’s still in control!
from He Stills Moves Stones
Hebrews 1
New International Version (NIV)
God’s Final Word: His Son
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
The Son Superior to Angels
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father”[a]?
Or again,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son”[b]?
6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”[c]
7 In speaking of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels spirits,
and his servants flames of fire.”[d]
8 But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.”[e]
10 He also says,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12 You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.”[f]
13 To which of the angels did God ever say,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet”[g]?
14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: James 3:13-17
New International Version (NIV)
Two Kinds of Wisdom
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Where Can Wisdom Be Found?
July 25, 2013 — by David H. Roper
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God. —James 1:5
Wisdom is the beauty of holiness. James says wisdom is reasonable; flexible; forgiving; peaceful; caring; given to friendly visits, small acts of courtesy, and kind words. It is humble, transparent, simple, gentle, and gracious to the core (James 3:17).
Where can wisdom be found? It comes from heaven (1:5). “Wisdom,” wrote Charles Spurgeon, “is a beauty of life that can only be produced by God’s workmanship in us.”
It’s good to ask from time to time: “Am I growing in wisdom?” After all, life is relentlessly dynamic. We’re either growing sweeter and wiser as the days go by, or we’re growing into foolish or even sour-faced curmudgeons. Into what are we growing?
It’s never too late to begin growing in wisdom. God loves us with an ardent, intense affection that can deliver us from our foolishness if we yield ourselves to Him. His love can make the most difficult nature into a miracle of astonishing beauty. It may hurt a little and it may take a while, but God relentlessly seeks our transformation. When we ask, His wisdom will begin to rise in us and pour itself out to others.
We have this promise: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to [you]” (1:5).
Lord, please put an end to our foolishness and
turn our hearts toward the wisdom that comes
only from You. We ask You now to take our
lives and transform them into Your likeness.
True wisdom begins and ends with God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 25, 2013
Am I Blessed Like This?
Blessed are . . . —Matthew 5:3-11
When we first read the statements of Jesus, they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unnoticed into our subconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the “dynamite” of the Holy Spirit. And they “explode” when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of the Beatitudes, we say, “What a startling statement that is!” Then we must decide whether or not we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is as easy as child’s play. But the interpretation by the Spirit of God as He applies our Lord’s statements to our circumstances is the strict and difficult work of a saint.
The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations— it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Cutting You Off to Bring You Down - #6924
Thursday, July 25, 2013
My wife and I took a trip to the mountains and, in a way, to her childhood. We visited an old Smokey Mountain community that the Park Service preserved over the years. It's called Cades Cove. It used to be inhabited by a lot of mountain folk. Now, my wife grew up in a Yankee family who lived in the Ozarks on a farm. So she experienced both.
She recognized a lot of the customs when we went to Cades Cove, and the terminology, and the lifestyle. Oh, they were new to me; they weren't new to her. I kind of chuckled when they talked about clearing farmland by "girdling" the trees. City boy! Now, listen, if you let your imagination run, you could get a pretty humorous image of a girdled tree. But, actually, that process was an example of old mountain wisdom. Here's this huge tree, and the shade is keeping anything from growing around it. It's got to come down if you're going to farm there. But it's so thick it would be very, very difficult to chop down.
The old mountaineers would go around the tree with an ax and chop one line through the bark. Here was this big tree with a ring from chipping all around the trunk with an ax. You'd think, "Oh, that won't hurt the tree." But, they had girdled the tree. That would eventually cause all the leaves to fall off, it would cause the tree to die, and it would be relatively easy then to take it down. That little cut simply cut off the route for the nourishment to get to the rest of the tree. You know, that might be the best way to bring you down too.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Cutting You Off to Bring You Down."
Our word for today from the Word of God; we are in the very first Psalm. I'll begin reading at verse 1. Notice there's a tree in here. "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His Law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."
This tells us how to be a deeply rooted child of God. Don't you want to be strong and consistent? Don't you want to be (here comes a word) "un-bring-downable?" I want to be un-bring-downable! Now, if the Devil wants you to fall like a big, old tree, and he does, he may know that a direct attack coming at you swinging his ax would fail, because if you saw that coming, you'd fight back. You would see a direct devilish attempt to try to bring you down.
I think what he wants to do is wear you down with little compromises; little nicks in your bark where first of all you just walk around in some wrong stuff. You don't plan to stay in it. And then like the Psalm says, you sort of stand still with it; you get a little more compromised. And finally you're sitting in it. See, he just wants you to think wrong right now, to watch or listen to something that's wrong, to become tolerant of what you once would never have allowed in your life--those little nicks in the bark that are setting you up for a big fall.
Secondly, he wants to cut you off from the nourishment. See, your nourishment is meditating in God's Word day and night. Have you noticed a slow drift lately from being in God's Word? One day becomes two, and three, and maybe your Bible's started getting a little dusty. Jesus is missing you. The time you do have with Him is dry and then less frequent. Prayer has become predictable and flat. Don't you see what's happening? The Devil is trying to cut you off to bring you down. Don't let slow decay take away the life you have in Christ.
See, if you're rooted daily in God's Word; if you don't let anything interrupt that flow of nourishment and if you're fighting the little compromises, you're a rooted tree, and you are not coming down!
Max Lucado Daily: What Do You Want?
I like the story about the fellow who went to the pet store for a singing parakeet. The store owner had just the bird and the next day the man came home to a house full of music. When he went to feed the bird he noticed for the first time, the parakeet had only one leg. He called the store and complained. “What do you want,” the store owner responded, “a bird who can sing or a bird who can dance?”
Good question for times of disappointment. What do we want? It’s what Jesus asked the disciples when they complained. And in Luke 24:27, Jesus began to tell them the story of God’s plan for people, “starting with Moses and all the prophets, and everything that had been written about Himself in the Scriptures.” Jesus’ cure for the broken heart is the story of God. So what do you want? If you’re disappointed, turn to the story of God. He’s still in control!
from He Stills Moves Stones
Hebrews 1
New International Version (NIV)
God’s Final Word: His Son
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
The Son Superior to Angels
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father”[a]?
Or again,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son”[b]?
6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”[c]
7 In speaking of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels spirits,
and his servants flames of fire.”[d]
8 But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.”[e]
10 He also says,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12 You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.”[f]
13 To which of the angels did God ever say,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet”[g]?
14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: James 3:13-17
New International Version (NIV)
Two Kinds of Wisdom
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Where Can Wisdom Be Found?
July 25, 2013 — by David H. Roper
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God. —James 1:5
Wisdom is the beauty of holiness. James says wisdom is reasonable; flexible; forgiving; peaceful; caring; given to friendly visits, small acts of courtesy, and kind words. It is humble, transparent, simple, gentle, and gracious to the core (James 3:17).
Where can wisdom be found? It comes from heaven (1:5). “Wisdom,” wrote Charles Spurgeon, “is a beauty of life that can only be produced by God’s workmanship in us.”
It’s good to ask from time to time: “Am I growing in wisdom?” After all, life is relentlessly dynamic. We’re either growing sweeter and wiser as the days go by, or we’re growing into foolish or even sour-faced curmudgeons. Into what are we growing?
It’s never too late to begin growing in wisdom. God loves us with an ardent, intense affection that can deliver us from our foolishness if we yield ourselves to Him. His love can make the most difficult nature into a miracle of astonishing beauty. It may hurt a little and it may take a while, but God relentlessly seeks our transformation. When we ask, His wisdom will begin to rise in us and pour itself out to others.
We have this promise: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to [you]” (1:5).
Lord, please put an end to our foolishness and
turn our hearts toward the wisdom that comes
only from You. We ask You now to take our
lives and transform them into Your likeness.
True wisdom begins and ends with God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 25, 2013
Am I Blessed Like This?
Blessed are . . . —Matthew 5:3-11
When we first read the statements of Jesus, they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unnoticed into our subconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the “dynamite” of the Holy Spirit. And they “explode” when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of the Beatitudes, we say, “What a startling statement that is!” Then we must decide whether or not we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is as easy as child’s play. But the interpretation by the Spirit of God as He applies our Lord’s statements to our circumstances is the strict and difficult work of a saint.
The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations— it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Cutting You Off to Bring You Down - #6924
Thursday, July 25, 2013
My wife and I took a trip to the mountains and, in a way, to her childhood. We visited an old Smokey Mountain community that the Park Service preserved over the years. It's called Cades Cove. It used to be inhabited by a lot of mountain folk. Now, my wife grew up in a Yankee family who lived in the Ozarks on a farm. So she experienced both.
She recognized a lot of the customs when we went to Cades Cove, and the terminology, and the lifestyle. Oh, they were new to me; they weren't new to her. I kind of chuckled when they talked about clearing farmland by "girdling" the trees. City boy! Now, listen, if you let your imagination run, you could get a pretty humorous image of a girdled tree. But, actually, that process was an example of old mountain wisdom. Here's this huge tree, and the shade is keeping anything from growing around it. It's got to come down if you're going to farm there. But it's so thick it would be very, very difficult to chop down.
The old mountaineers would go around the tree with an ax and chop one line through the bark. Here was this big tree with a ring from chipping all around the trunk with an ax. You'd think, "Oh, that won't hurt the tree." But, they had girdled the tree. That would eventually cause all the leaves to fall off, it would cause the tree to die, and it would be relatively easy then to take it down. That little cut simply cut off the route for the nourishment to get to the rest of the tree. You know, that might be the best way to bring you down too.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Cutting You Off to Bring You Down."
Our word for today from the Word of God; we are in the very first Psalm. I'll begin reading at verse 1. Notice there's a tree in here. "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His Law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."
This tells us how to be a deeply rooted child of God. Don't you want to be strong and consistent? Don't you want to be (here comes a word) "un-bring-downable?" I want to be un-bring-downable! Now, if the Devil wants you to fall like a big, old tree, and he does, he may know that a direct attack coming at you swinging his ax would fail, because if you saw that coming, you'd fight back. You would see a direct devilish attempt to try to bring you down.
I think what he wants to do is wear you down with little compromises; little nicks in your bark where first of all you just walk around in some wrong stuff. You don't plan to stay in it. And then like the Psalm says, you sort of stand still with it; you get a little more compromised. And finally you're sitting in it. See, he just wants you to think wrong right now, to watch or listen to something that's wrong, to become tolerant of what you once would never have allowed in your life--those little nicks in the bark that are setting you up for a big fall.
Secondly, he wants to cut you off from the nourishment. See, your nourishment is meditating in God's Word day and night. Have you noticed a slow drift lately from being in God's Word? One day becomes two, and three, and maybe your Bible's started getting a little dusty. Jesus is missing you. The time you do have with Him is dry and then less frequent. Prayer has become predictable and flat. Don't you see what's happening? The Devil is trying to cut you off to bring you down. Don't let slow decay take away the life you have in Christ.
See, if you're rooted daily in God's Word; if you don't let anything interrupt that flow of nourishment and if you're fighting the little compromises, you're a rooted tree, and you are not coming down!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Jeremiah 46, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
(Click here to listen to God's love letter to you)
Max Lucado Daily: Don’t Give Up
The famous circus promoter, P.T. Barnum said: “There’s a sucker born every minute”—and he spent his life proving it. Maybe you feel like you’ve been suckered in life. You don’t want to take another risk. You don’t want to be hurt again.
Corrie ten Boom used to say, “When the train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not. You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through.” Maybe that’s what you need to do, my friend. Your wounds are deep. Your disappointments are heavy. Remember the story of the Emmaus-bound disciples? The Savior they thought was dead now walked beside them. And something happened in their hearts (Luke 24:12-14). Maybe you are disappointed like they were. But, can you sense the presence of Christ beside you? Don’t give up. Don’t jump out. Be patient and let God remind you… He’s in control!
from He Still Moves Stones
Jeremiah 46
A Message About Egypt
46 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:
2 Concerning Egypt:
This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
3 “Prepare your shields, both large and small,
and march out for battle!
4 Harness the horses,
mount the steeds!
Take your positions
with helmets on!
Polish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 What do I see?
They are terrified,
they are retreating,
their warriors are defeated.
They flee in haste
without looking back,
and there is terror on every side,”
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee
nor the strong escape.
In the north by the River Euphrates
they stumble and fall.
7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters.
She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth;
I will destroy cities and their people.’
9 Charge, you horses!
Drive furiously, you charioteers!
March on, you warriors—men of Cush[a] and Put who carry shields,
men of Lydia who draw the bow.
10 But that day belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—
a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devour till it is satisfied,
till it has quenched its thirst with blood.
For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice
in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
11 “Go up to Gilead and get balm,
Virgin Daughter Egypt.
But you try many medicines in vain;
there is no healing for you.
12 The nations will hear of your shame;
your cries will fill the earth.
One warrior will stumble over another;
both will fall down together.”
13 This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack Egypt:
14 “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol;
proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes:
‘Take your positions and get ready,
for the sword devours those around you.’
15 Why will your warriors be laid low?
They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.
16 They will stumble repeatedly;
they will fall over each other.
They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back
to our own people and our native lands,
away from the sword of the oppressor.’
17 There they will exclaim,
‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise;
he has missed his opportunity.’
18 “As surely as I live,” declares the King,
whose name is the Lord Almighty,
“one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains,
like Carmel by the sea.
19 Pack your belongings for exile,
you who live in Egypt,
for Memphis will be laid waste
and lie in ruins without inhabitant.
20 “Egypt is a beautiful heifer,
but a gadfly is coming
against her from the north.
21 The mercenaries in her ranks
are like fattened calves.
They too will turn and flee together,
they will not stand their ground,
for the day of disaster is coming upon them,
the time for them to be punished.
22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent
as the enemy advances in force;
they will come against her with axes,
like men who cut down trees.
23 They will chop down her forest,”
declares the Lord,
“dense though it be.
They are more numerous than locusts,
they cannot be counted.
24 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
given into the hands of the people of the north.”
25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh. 26 I will give them into the hands of those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past,” declares the Lord.
27 “Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;
do not be dismayed, Israel.
I will surely save you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will make him afraid.
28 Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,
for I am with you,” declares the Lord.
“Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 107:1-8
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.[a]
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
Too Blessed
July 24, 2013 — by Bill Crowder
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! —Psalm 107:8
On my daily commute to and from the office, I have plenty of time for reading—bumper stickers on cars, that is. Some are surly, others clever, and still others downright distasteful. One bumper sticker I saw recently, however, gently challenged my heart about the way I often engage life. The sticker simply said, “Too blessed to complain.”
I must confess that I felt convicted as I pondered those words. Too often I find myself lamenting moments in life that don’t go my way, rather than focusing on the wonderful gifts my heavenly Father has given me. Reading that simple message that day brought me a renewed commitment to be more actively and intentionally grateful because my God has been good to me in more ways than I could ever count.
Psalm 107 is a song that seeks to rectify thankless thinking. The psalmist (who many think was King David) makes a plea to hearts grown cold with ingratitude, repeating four times, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (vv.8,15,21,31). Even in the worst of times, we have much to be thankful for. May we learn to thank God for His goodness to us!
Count your blessings—name them one by one;
Count your blessings—see what God hath done;
Count your blessings—name them one by one;
Count your many blessings—see what God hath done. —Oatman
We don’t need more to be thankful for, we just need to be more thankful.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 24, 2013
His Nature and Our Motives
. . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven —Matthew 5:20
The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right-doing is right-being. Jesus Christ came to place within anyone who would let Him a new heredity that would have a righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus is saying, “If you are My disciple, you must be right not only in your actions, but also in your motives, your aspirations, and in the deep recesses of the thoughts of your mind.” Your motives must be so pure that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke. Who can stand in the eternal light of God and have nothing for Him to rebuke? Only the Son of God, and Jesus Christ claims that through His redemption He can place within anyone His own nature and make that person as pure and as simple as a child. The purity that God demands is impossible unless I can be remade within, and that is exactly what Jesus has undertaken to do through His redemption.
No one can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations— He gives us His teachings which are truths that can only be interpreted by His nature which He places within us. The great wonder of Jesus Christ’s salvation is that He changes our heredity. He does not change human nature— He changes its source, and thereby its motives as well.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The 'How Far Can I Go' Fever - #6923
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
I wonder what the question most asked by Christian teenagers is? I don't have any formal research to report to you today, but I have been listening to teenagers for a lot of years, and a lot has changed over those years. But I'm not sure the big question they have has. It was and continues to be, I think the most asked. It's not, "How do I have better devotions?" Or, "How can I serve the Lord?" It's, "How far can I go?" Wish I'd have a dollar for every time I've been asked that question. And they're not talking about driving privileges when they ask that question. How far can I go? Actually, long after our dating years are over, you know, that still seems to be the question we're dealing with. That's too bad.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The 'How Far Can I Go' Fever."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians chapter 4. I'm going to begin reading at verse 22, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your mind; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
The Apostle Paul here is saying on behalf of our Lord, "Get as far away as you can from your old self. You're done with that. Don't flirt with that. Don't hang on to that. Take it off like old, dirty clothes that don't fit you any more." And then he goes on later in this chapter to define what some of those old self things are, like being deceitful, destroying people with your anger, cheating, stealing, bitterness, dirty talk, dirty jokes, and sexual sins. He says, "Be new! Be like God in your holiness."
Well, that doesn't leave much room for flirting with sin does it? It means being fixated on living up to God's purity. Now, unfortunately, we seem to be missing God's best because of what I call that "how far can I go fever". We keep asking how far can I go to the edge of sin without falling over. How far can I push the truth without actually lying? How far can we push our definition of divorce to let me or someone else close to me out of an unhappy marriage? How far can I go in flirting with someone without being unfaithful to my mate? How far can I go sexually without being immoral?
There are so many areas where we're like those hormone-dominated teenagers. We want to get away with everything we can on the edges of sin. That's just the wrong question, "How far can I go?" When you play on the edges of sin, you fall over and we're missing the whole new self that's the reason God redeemed us and Christ died for us.
It's not "How far can I go toward the edge, how close can I get to the edge?" It's more like, "How far inside God's boundaries can I live?" The question ought to be, "How far can I go toward being like Jesus? How far can I go toward real holiness? Purge the compromises, Lord. Purge all these flirtations I've allowed with sin. Take away this desire to get away with as much earth stuff as I can." We've pushed the boundaries, but God has not moved them and He never will.
You know you're growing up in Christ when you want to do anything to have His blessing and to be like Him. Then the question is no longer, "How far can I go?" But it's, "How pure can I be?"
Max Lucado Daily: Don’t Give Up
The famous circus promoter, P.T. Barnum said: “There’s a sucker born every minute”—and he spent his life proving it. Maybe you feel like you’ve been suckered in life. You don’t want to take another risk. You don’t want to be hurt again.
Corrie ten Boom used to say, “When the train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not. You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through.” Maybe that’s what you need to do, my friend. Your wounds are deep. Your disappointments are heavy. Remember the story of the Emmaus-bound disciples? The Savior they thought was dead now walked beside them. And something happened in their hearts (Luke 24:12-14). Maybe you are disappointed like they were. But, can you sense the presence of Christ beside you? Don’t give up. Don’t jump out. Be patient and let God remind you… He’s in control!
from He Still Moves Stones
Jeremiah 46
A Message About Egypt
46 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:
2 Concerning Egypt:
This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
3 “Prepare your shields, both large and small,
and march out for battle!
4 Harness the horses,
mount the steeds!
Take your positions
with helmets on!
Polish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 What do I see?
They are terrified,
they are retreating,
their warriors are defeated.
They flee in haste
without looking back,
and there is terror on every side,”
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee
nor the strong escape.
In the north by the River Euphrates
they stumble and fall.
7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters.
She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth;
I will destroy cities and their people.’
9 Charge, you horses!
Drive furiously, you charioteers!
March on, you warriors—men of Cush[a] and Put who carry shields,
men of Lydia who draw the bow.
10 But that day belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—
a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devour till it is satisfied,
till it has quenched its thirst with blood.
For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice
in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
11 “Go up to Gilead and get balm,
Virgin Daughter Egypt.
But you try many medicines in vain;
there is no healing for you.
12 The nations will hear of your shame;
your cries will fill the earth.
One warrior will stumble over another;
both will fall down together.”
13 This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack Egypt:
14 “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol;
proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes:
‘Take your positions and get ready,
for the sword devours those around you.’
15 Why will your warriors be laid low?
They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.
16 They will stumble repeatedly;
they will fall over each other.
They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back
to our own people and our native lands,
away from the sword of the oppressor.’
17 There they will exclaim,
‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise;
he has missed his opportunity.’
18 “As surely as I live,” declares the King,
whose name is the Lord Almighty,
“one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains,
like Carmel by the sea.
19 Pack your belongings for exile,
you who live in Egypt,
for Memphis will be laid waste
and lie in ruins without inhabitant.
20 “Egypt is a beautiful heifer,
but a gadfly is coming
against her from the north.
21 The mercenaries in her ranks
are like fattened calves.
They too will turn and flee together,
they will not stand their ground,
for the day of disaster is coming upon them,
the time for them to be punished.
22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent
as the enemy advances in force;
they will come against her with axes,
like men who cut down trees.
23 They will chop down her forest,”
declares the Lord,
“dense though it be.
They are more numerous than locusts,
they cannot be counted.
24 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
given into the hands of the people of the north.”
25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh. 26 I will give them into the hands of those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past,” declares the Lord.
27 “Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;
do not be dismayed, Israel.
I will surely save you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will make him afraid.
28 Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,
for I am with you,” declares the Lord.
“Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 107:1-8
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.[a]
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
Too Blessed
July 24, 2013 — by Bill Crowder
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! —Psalm 107:8
On my daily commute to and from the office, I have plenty of time for reading—bumper stickers on cars, that is. Some are surly, others clever, and still others downright distasteful. One bumper sticker I saw recently, however, gently challenged my heart about the way I often engage life. The sticker simply said, “Too blessed to complain.”
I must confess that I felt convicted as I pondered those words. Too often I find myself lamenting moments in life that don’t go my way, rather than focusing on the wonderful gifts my heavenly Father has given me. Reading that simple message that day brought me a renewed commitment to be more actively and intentionally grateful because my God has been good to me in more ways than I could ever count.
Psalm 107 is a song that seeks to rectify thankless thinking. The psalmist (who many think was King David) makes a plea to hearts grown cold with ingratitude, repeating four times, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (vv.8,15,21,31). Even in the worst of times, we have much to be thankful for. May we learn to thank God for His goodness to us!
Count your blessings—name them one by one;
Count your blessings—see what God hath done;
Count your blessings—name them one by one;
Count your many blessings—see what God hath done. —Oatman
We don’t need more to be thankful for, we just need to be more thankful.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 24, 2013
His Nature and Our Motives
. . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven —Matthew 5:20
The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right-doing is right-being. Jesus Christ came to place within anyone who would let Him a new heredity that would have a righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus is saying, “If you are My disciple, you must be right not only in your actions, but also in your motives, your aspirations, and in the deep recesses of the thoughts of your mind.” Your motives must be so pure that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke. Who can stand in the eternal light of God and have nothing for Him to rebuke? Only the Son of God, and Jesus Christ claims that through His redemption He can place within anyone His own nature and make that person as pure and as simple as a child. The purity that God demands is impossible unless I can be remade within, and that is exactly what Jesus has undertaken to do through His redemption.
No one can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations— He gives us His teachings which are truths that can only be interpreted by His nature which He places within us. The great wonder of Jesus Christ’s salvation is that He changes our heredity. He does not change human nature— He changes its source, and thereby its motives as well.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The 'How Far Can I Go' Fever - #6923
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
I wonder what the question most asked by Christian teenagers is? I don't have any formal research to report to you today, but I have been listening to teenagers for a lot of years, and a lot has changed over those years. But I'm not sure the big question they have has. It was and continues to be, I think the most asked. It's not, "How do I have better devotions?" Or, "How can I serve the Lord?" It's, "How far can I go?" Wish I'd have a dollar for every time I've been asked that question. And they're not talking about driving privileges when they ask that question. How far can I go? Actually, long after our dating years are over, you know, that still seems to be the question we're dealing with. That's too bad.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The 'How Far Can I Go' Fever."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians chapter 4. I'm going to begin reading at verse 22, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your mind; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
The Apostle Paul here is saying on behalf of our Lord, "Get as far away as you can from your old self. You're done with that. Don't flirt with that. Don't hang on to that. Take it off like old, dirty clothes that don't fit you any more." And then he goes on later in this chapter to define what some of those old self things are, like being deceitful, destroying people with your anger, cheating, stealing, bitterness, dirty talk, dirty jokes, and sexual sins. He says, "Be new! Be like God in your holiness."
Well, that doesn't leave much room for flirting with sin does it? It means being fixated on living up to God's purity. Now, unfortunately, we seem to be missing God's best because of what I call that "how far can I go fever". We keep asking how far can I go to the edge of sin without falling over. How far can I push the truth without actually lying? How far can we push our definition of divorce to let me or someone else close to me out of an unhappy marriage? How far can I go in flirting with someone without being unfaithful to my mate? How far can I go sexually without being immoral?
There are so many areas where we're like those hormone-dominated teenagers. We want to get away with everything we can on the edges of sin. That's just the wrong question, "How far can I go?" When you play on the edges of sin, you fall over and we're missing the whole new self that's the reason God redeemed us and Christ died for us.
It's not "How far can I go toward the edge, how close can I get to the edge?" It's more like, "How far inside God's boundaries can I live?" The question ought to be, "How far can I go toward being like Jesus? How far can I go toward real holiness? Purge the compromises, Lord. Purge all these flirtations I've allowed with sin. Take away this desire to get away with as much earth stuff as I can." We've pushed the boundaries, but God has not moved them and He never will.
You know you're growing up in Christ when you want to do anything to have His blessing and to be like Him. Then the question is no longer, "How far can I go?" But it's, "How pure can I be?"
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Jeremiah 45, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
(Click here to listen to God's love letter to you)
Max Lucado Daily: A Reason to Sit Tight
God knows more about life than we do! And aren’t we glad He does? Be honest. Are we glad He says “no” to what we want and “yes” to what we need? Not always. If we ask for a new marriage, and He says honor the one you’ve got, we aren’t happy. If we ask for healing, and He says learn through the pain, we aren’t happy.
When God doesn’t do what we want, it’s not easy. Never has been. Never will be. But faith is the conviction that God knows more than we do about this life and He will get us through it. We need to hear that God is in control. We need to hear it is not over until He says so. We need to hear life’s mishaps and tragedies are not a reason to bail out. They are simply a reason to—sit tight!
from He Still Moves Stones
Jeremiah 45
A Message to Baruch
45 When Baruch son of Neriah wrote on a scroll the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch: 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: 3 You said, ‘Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’ 4 But the Lord has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. 5 Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Jeremiah 31:31-34
New International Version (NIV)
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to[a] them,[b]”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
Road Construction
July 23, 2013 — by Julie Ackerman Link
We have been delivered from the law, . . . so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit. —Romans 7:6
Here in Michigan we joke that we have two seasons: winter and road construction. Harsh winters damage road surfaces, so repair crews begin their work as soon as the ice melts and the ground thaws. Although we call this work “construction,” much of what they do looks like “destruction.” In some cases, simply patching holes is not an option. Workers have to replace the old road with a new one.
That’s what it can feel like when God is at work in our lives. Throughout the Old Testament, God told His people to expect some major renovation on the road between Him and them (Isa. 62:10-11; Jer. 31:31). When God sent Jesus, it seemed to the Jews as if their way to God was being destroyed. But Jesus wasn’t destroying anything. He was completing it (Matt. 5:17). The old way paved with laws became a new way paved with the sacrificial love of Jesus.
God is still at work replacing old ways of sin and legalism with the way of love that Jesus completed. When He removes our old ways of thinking and behaving, it may feel as if everything familiar is being destroyed. But God is not destroying anything; He is building a better way. And we can be confident that the end result will be smoother relationships with others and a closer relationship with Him.
Free from the law—O happy condition!
Jesus has bled, and there is remission;
Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,
Grace has redeemed us once for all. —Bliss
Upheaval often precedes spiritual progress.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 23, 2013
Sanctification (2)
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us . . . sanctification . . . —1 Corinthians 1:30
The Life Side. The mystery of sanctification is that the perfect qualities of Jesus Christ are imparted as a gift to me, not gradually, but instantly once I enter by faith into the realization that He “became for [me] . . . sanctification . . . .” Sanctification means nothing less than the holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.
The most wonderful secret of living a holy life does not lie in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfect qualities of Jesus exhibit themselves in my human flesh. Sanctification is “Christ in you . . .” (Colossians 1:27). It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification— imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His Word?
Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me. It is the gift of His patience, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness that is exhibited in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy— it is drawing from Jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him, and that He now exhibits in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is something altogether different. The perfection of everything is in Jesus Christ, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfect qualities of Jesus are at my disposal. Consequently, I slowly but surely begin to live a life of inexpressible order, soundness, and holiness— “. . . kept by the power of God . . .” (1 Peter 1:5).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Only a Wedding to Tell About - #6922
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
I remember the day we ran into some newlywed friends of ours. They just had that look, you know, hand-in-hand and grinning. The bride and my daughter started to talk excitedly about how the wedding went. When it was time to leave, I couldn't find my daughter, until I got into the van.
There she was with our friend, the bride, and there were wedding pictures spread out all over the floor of the van. The new bride was talking about the ceremony, and the dresses, and the flowers, and who was in the wedding party, and how they did the vows and what happened at the reception. Of course my daughter was drinking it all in; she was delighted to hear it all. Well, of course, it's normal for a new bride to keep talking about the day it all began, but eventually she'd better have something else to talk about.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Only a Wedding to Tell About."
The Apostle Paul had one of the most dramatic spiritual, shall we say, weddings in history. The day he and Jesus Christ got together was unforgettable; that great experience on the Damascus Road. And he did tell people about that glorious day that his relationship with Jesus began, but he wasn't content with just having wedding pictures to talk about.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Philippians 3:13-14, out of what some might say was the mega Christian life of all time. Here's what he says, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do; forgetting what is behind and straining for what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Paul says, "There's always a new front ahead of me; I'm always pushing for something new in my relationship with Christ. There's always new ground to be gained just like an Olympic runner." His testimony was as current as yesterday's victory or today's Jesus' challenge in his life. You can't get it by just living in your spiritual scrapbook; all those wonderful memories you have with the Lord. I think too many Christians are still just talking about the day it all began...their wedding day. "How I got saved. Oh, the day I accepted Christ! Let me tell you how I accepted Christ as my Savior." And that's important, but there's got to be more than that. Even if it was 5, 10, 20, 40 years ago, some people are still talking about their wedding day like that's all there is. It's good to show people how to come to know Christ, but a married couple is in trouble if most of what they have to talk about is their wedding.
The question is, "What's going on in your relationship today? How did this commitment change your life? How is Jesus changing your life right now? What's the Jesus' difference?" Not what happened five years ago or ten years ago, or the day you got together with Jesus. You say, "Well, we had this time when we went away together..." No, no, no, tell me about now. A marriage has to be built on new, current, growing experiences together. So is a relationship with Jesus Christ. Our churches may be filled with people who have only had the wedding, but there's really not much after that in the scrapbook. And there's not much going on today.
Maybe you've been living too much on memories and past accomplishments, and old victories, and aging miracles. Paul says, "Forget what is behind; press forward to new ground." Let the Lord touch you in a new way today. Every day give Him a specific piece of new ground, and then you'll have more than a wedding to talk about. You will have a fresh, exciting, life-changing relationship.
Max Lucado Daily: A Reason to Sit Tight
God knows more about life than we do! And aren’t we glad He does? Be honest. Are we glad He says “no” to what we want and “yes” to what we need? Not always. If we ask for a new marriage, and He says honor the one you’ve got, we aren’t happy. If we ask for healing, and He says learn through the pain, we aren’t happy.
When God doesn’t do what we want, it’s not easy. Never has been. Never will be. But faith is the conviction that God knows more than we do about this life and He will get us through it. We need to hear that God is in control. We need to hear it is not over until He says so. We need to hear life’s mishaps and tragedies are not a reason to bail out. They are simply a reason to—sit tight!
from He Still Moves Stones
Jeremiah 45
A Message to Baruch
45 When Baruch son of Neriah wrote on a scroll the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch: 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: 3 You said, ‘Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’ 4 But the Lord has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. 5 Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Jeremiah 31:31-34
New International Version (NIV)
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to[a] them,[b]”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
Road Construction
July 23, 2013 — by Julie Ackerman Link
We have been delivered from the law, . . . so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit. —Romans 7:6
Here in Michigan we joke that we have two seasons: winter and road construction. Harsh winters damage road surfaces, so repair crews begin their work as soon as the ice melts and the ground thaws. Although we call this work “construction,” much of what they do looks like “destruction.” In some cases, simply patching holes is not an option. Workers have to replace the old road with a new one.
That’s what it can feel like when God is at work in our lives. Throughout the Old Testament, God told His people to expect some major renovation on the road between Him and them (Isa. 62:10-11; Jer. 31:31). When God sent Jesus, it seemed to the Jews as if their way to God was being destroyed. But Jesus wasn’t destroying anything. He was completing it (Matt. 5:17). The old way paved with laws became a new way paved with the sacrificial love of Jesus.
God is still at work replacing old ways of sin and legalism with the way of love that Jesus completed. When He removes our old ways of thinking and behaving, it may feel as if everything familiar is being destroyed. But God is not destroying anything; He is building a better way. And we can be confident that the end result will be smoother relationships with others and a closer relationship with Him.
Free from the law—O happy condition!
Jesus has bled, and there is remission;
Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,
Grace has redeemed us once for all. —Bliss
Upheaval often precedes spiritual progress.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 23, 2013
Sanctification (2)
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us . . . sanctification . . . —1 Corinthians 1:30
The Life Side. The mystery of sanctification is that the perfect qualities of Jesus Christ are imparted as a gift to me, not gradually, but instantly once I enter by faith into the realization that He “became for [me] . . . sanctification . . . .” Sanctification means nothing less than the holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.
The most wonderful secret of living a holy life does not lie in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfect qualities of Jesus exhibit themselves in my human flesh. Sanctification is “Christ in you . . .” (Colossians 1:27). It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification— imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His Word?
Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me. It is the gift of His patience, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness that is exhibited in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy— it is drawing from Jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him, and that He now exhibits in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is something altogether different. The perfection of everything is in Jesus Christ, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfect qualities of Jesus are at my disposal. Consequently, I slowly but surely begin to live a life of inexpressible order, soundness, and holiness— “. . . kept by the power of God . . .” (1 Peter 1:5).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Only a Wedding to Tell About - #6922
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
I remember the day we ran into some newlywed friends of ours. They just had that look, you know, hand-in-hand and grinning. The bride and my daughter started to talk excitedly about how the wedding went. When it was time to leave, I couldn't find my daughter, until I got into the van.
There she was with our friend, the bride, and there were wedding pictures spread out all over the floor of the van. The new bride was talking about the ceremony, and the dresses, and the flowers, and who was in the wedding party, and how they did the vows and what happened at the reception. Of course my daughter was drinking it all in; she was delighted to hear it all. Well, of course, it's normal for a new bride to keep talking about the day it all began, but eventually she'd better have something else to talk about.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Only a Wedding to Tell About."
The Apostle Paul had one of the most dramatic spiritual, shall we say, weddings in history. The day he and Jesus Christ got together was unforgettable; that great experience on the Damascus Road. And he did tell people about that glorious day that his relationship with Jesus began, but he wasn't content with just having wedding pictures to talk about.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Philippians 3:13-14, out of what some might say was the mega Christian life of all time. Here's what he says, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do; forgetting what is behind and straining for what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Paul says, "There's always a new front ahead of me; I'm always pushing for something new in my relationship with Christ. There's always new ground to be gained just like an Olympic runner." His testimony was as current as yesterday's victory or today's Jesus' challenge in his life. You can't get it by just living in your spiritual scrapbook; all those wonderful memories you have with the Lord. I think too many Christians are still just talking about the day it all began...their wedding day. "How I got saved. Oh, the day I accepted Christ! Let me tell you how I accepted Christ as my Savior." And that's important, but there's got to be more than that. Even if it was 5, 10, 20, 40 years ago, some people are still talking about their wedding day like that's all there is. It's good to show people how to come to know Christ, but a married couple is in trouble if most of what they have to talk about is their wedding.
The question is, "What's going on in your relationship today? How did this commitment change your life? How is Jesus changing your life right now? What's the Jesus' difference?" Not what happened five years ago or ten years ago, or the day you got together with Jesus. You say, "Well, we had this time when we went away together..." No, no, no, tell me about now. A marriage has to be built on new, current, growing experiences together. So is a relationship with Jesus Christ. Our churches may be filled with people who have only had the wedding, but there's really not much after that in the scrapbook. And there's not much going on today.
Maybe you've been living too much on memories and past accomplishments, and old victories, and aging miracles. Paul says, "Forget what is behind; press forward to new ground." Let the Lord touch you in a new way today. Every day give Him a specific piece of new ground, and then you'll have more than a wedding to talk about. You will have a fresh, exciting, life-changing relationship.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Jeremiah 25 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
(Click here to listen to God's love letter to you)
Max Lucado Daily: Follow God’s Impulses
What Annie Dillard says about writing in her book, “The Writing Life,” is true about all of life: “Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.”
There is a wonder to life. Pursue it. Hunt for it. Don’t listen to the whines of those who’ve settled for a second-rate life and want you to do the same so they won’t feel guilty. Your goal is not to live long…it’s to live!
You can’t be criticized for what you don’t try, right? You can’t lose your balance if you never climb, right? So, take the safe route. Or. . . you can follow God’s impulses. He says, “Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it.” Time slips. Days pass. Years fade. Life ends. And what we came to do must be done while there is time!
from He Still Moves Stones
Jeremiah 25
New International Version (NIV)
Seventy Years of Captivity
25 The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 2 So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem: 3 For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.
4 And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. 5 They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. 6 Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”
7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.”
8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy[a] them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12 “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,[b] for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever. 13 I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 14 They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”
The Cup of God’s Wrath
15 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he sent me drink it: 18 Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of horror and scorn, a curse[c]—as they are today; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials and all his people, 20 and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (those of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); 21 Edom, Moab and Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea; 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant places[d]; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the wilderness; 25 all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media; 26 and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshak[e] will drink it too.
27 “Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you.’ 28 But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: You must drink it! 29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword on all who live on the earth, declares the Lord Almighty.’
30 “Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:
“‘The Lord will roar from on high;
he will thunder from his holy dwelling
and roar mightily against his land.
He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
shout against all who live on the earth.
31 The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the Lord will bring charges against the nations;
he will bring judgment on all mankind
and put the wicked to the sword,’”
declares the Lord.
32 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Look! Disaster is spreading
from nation to nation;
a mighty storm is rising
from the ends of the earth.”
33 At that time those slain by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground.
34 Weep and wail, you shepherds;
roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
For your time to be slaughtered has come;
you will fall like the best of the rams.[f]
35 The shepherds will have nowhere to flee,
the leaders of the flock no place to escape.
36 Hear the cry of the shepherds,
the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
37 The peaceful meadows will be laid waste
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 Like a lion he will leave his lair,
and their land will become desolate
because of the sword[g] of the oppressor
and because of the Lord’s fierce anger.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 12:13-21
New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
More, More, More
July 22, 2013 — by Dennis Fisher
Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. —Luke 12:15
Some people love to shop. They have a perpetual desire to buy, buy, buy. The craze to find the latest deal is worldwide. There are huge shopping malls in China, Saudi Arabia, Canada, the Philippines, the United States, and around the world. A rise in store purchases and online buying show that buying is a global phenomenon.
Shopping can be fun. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with trying to find a real deal and to enjoy the things God has given to us. But when we become preoccupied with obtaining material goods, we lose focus.
Jesus challenged His listeners with these words: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). He went on to tell a parable about a man “who lays up treasure for himself,” but is not concerned about his relationship with God (v.21).
How can we learn to be content with what we have and not be consumed with amassing more? Here are some ways: View material goods as given by God to be used wisely (Matt. 25:14-30). Work hard to earn and save money (Prov. 6:6-11). Give to the Lord’s work and those in need (2 Cor. 9:7; Prov. 19:17). And always remember to be thankful and to enjoy what God gives (1 Tim. 6:17).
Lord, our hearts often run after “stuff.”
Teach us not to be obsessed with collecting
more and more material goods. May we instead
learn what it means to be “rich” toward You.
To be rich in God is far better than to be rich in goods.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 22, 2013
Sanctification (1)
This is the will of God, your sanctification. . . —1 Thessalonians 4:3
The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Sanctification requires our coming to the place of death, but many of us spend so much time there that we become morbid. There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized— something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate . . . his own life . . . he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).
In the process of sanctification, the Spirit of God will strip me down until there is nothing left but myself, and that is the place of death. Am I willing to be myself and nothing more? Am I willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest— simply to be ready for death? That is the condition required for sanctification. No wonder Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us falter. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ on this point. We say, “But this is so strict. Surely He does not require that of me.” Our Lord is strict, and He does require that of us.
Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply “me”? Am I determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that I think of myself? Am I willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once I am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
When I pray, “Lord, show me what sanctification means for me,” He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts in me— it is Himself in me (see 1 Corinthians 1:30).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Way Up, Is Down - #6921
Monday, July 22, 2013
I used to be at Moody Bible Institute several times a year to do some radio programs, and I was usually there on a weekend. Now, Moody is right in the heart of Chicago. If you are in the heart of any big city, you've got to think security, especially on the weekend when a lot of things are closed and there's no one working. You don't want people just wandering around your buildings then.
The studios at Moody Bible Institute are located on the 8th and the 10th floor in a building which houses most of the administrative offices. Like I said, there's not many people there on the weekend, so they need to make sure that they shut off the floors they don't want just anyone to have access to. They keep the library open for the students and some things like that, but most of the floors are shut down as far as the elevator is concerned.
I can't get to the 8th floor or the 10th floor where I need to get to do radio programs unless the security man specifically turns on the elevator to stop at those floors. Well, guess where he is? He's downstairs in the lobby. If I'm in the 8th floor studios and I need to go to the 10th floor, can I just get on the elevator on 8 and push the button to 10? Nope! It wouldn't be that easy. No, no, no. I have to go down to the lobby, get the man to open up 10, and then I ride back up to the top floor. I got a lot of elevator rides on weekends there. You may be getting a few right now.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Way Up, Is Down."
Our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 6. It happens to be in a passage about young men who are moving into, or want to move into spiritual leadership. It says, "Humble yourselves under God's mighty hand that He may lift you up in due time." Okay, Hutchcraft translation: "The way up is down" like my friendly weekend elevator.
You may be an ambitious person, and there's nothing wrong with that. You've got goals, you've got dreams, and you've got a desire to get ahead. I hope you've got a desire to make a mark for Jesus. You've probably pushed the "up" button on your life's elevator, but you know what? God takes us up through the most unusual route. He insists you go down first. Maybe that's what's going on in your life right now. He says, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand." You've got to do that first.
Right now God might just be saying to you, "Will you quit pushing for yourself? Would you quit trying to get out in front? Don't promote yourself. Don't defend yourself. Don't position yourself. I do the promoting." God's asking you to release all that self-pushing, and self-promoting and leave it at His feet; to surrender your ego; to surrender those ambitions, surrender those goals. As long as you really want that spot, you really want to get out in front, you really need to be as it says here "lifted up", you can't be trusted with it. You'll make an idol out of it if God gives it to you. It will ruin you.
Instead, it's time to say, "Lord, all I am is your humble servant. I lay aside all my rights as You did when You came here. I expect no preferred treatment. I expect no recognition. I yield my need to You, my need to be noticed, and to be successful, to get stroked, to get the credit. Anything goes, Lord, whether it's little or big. I'm here for Your purposes, not mine. I'm here for Your glory, not mine. Take me, I'm yours." The Bible says then is when He can lift you up.
Get your fingerprints off your future. Let God promote you "in due time" when He knows you're ready. If you want to go up, hit the down button and let God run your elevator.
Max Lucado Daily: Follow God’s Impulses
What Annie Dillard says about writing in her book, “The Writing Life,” is true about all of life: “Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.”
There is a wonder to life. Pursue it. Hunt for it. Don’t listen to the whines of those who’ve settled for a second-rate life and want you to do the same so they won’t feel guilty. Your goal is not to live long…it’s to live!
You can’t be criticized for what you don’t try, right? You can’t lose your balance if you never climb, right? So, take the safe route. Or. . . you can follow God’s impulses. He says, “Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it.” Time slips. Days pass. Years fade. Life ends. And what we came to do must be done while there is time!
from He Still Moves Stones
Jeremiah 25
New International Version (NIV)
Seventy Years of Captivity
25 The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 2 So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem: 3 For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.
4 And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. 5 They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. 6 Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”
7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.”
8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy[a] them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12 “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,[b] for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever. 13 I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 14 They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”
The Cup of God’s Wrath
15 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he sent me drink it: 18 Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of horror and scorn, a curse[c]—as they are today; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials and all his people, 20 and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (those of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); 21 Edom, Moab and Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea; 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant places[d]; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the wilderness; 25 all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media; 26 and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshak[e] will drink it too.
27 “Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you.’ 28 But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: You must drink it! 29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword on all who live on the earth, declares the Lord Almighty.’
30 “Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:
“‘The Lord will roar from on high;
he will thunder from his holy dwelling
and roar mightily against his land.
He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
shout against all who live on the earth.
31 The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the Lord will bring charges against the nations;
he will bring judgment on all mankind
and put the wicked to the sword,’”
declares the Lord.
32 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Look! Disaster is spreading
from nation to nation;
a mighty storm is rising
from the ends of the earth.”
33 At that time those slain by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground.
34 Weep and wail, you shepherds;
roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
For your time to be slaughtered has come;
you will fall like the best of the rams.[f]
35 The shepherds will have nowhere to flee,
the leaders of the flock no place to escape.
36 Hear the cry of the shepherds,
the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
37 The peaceful meadows will be laid waste
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 Like a lion he will leave his lair,
and their land will become desolate
because of the sword[g] of the oppressor
and because of the Lord’s fierce anger.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 12:13-21
New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
More, More, More
July 22, 2013 — by Dennis Fisher
Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. —Luke 12:15
Some people love to shop. They have a perpetual desire to buy, buy, buy. The craze to find the latest deal is worldwide. There are huge shopping malls in China, Saudi Arabia, Canada, the Philippines, the United States, and around the world. A rise in store purchases and online buying show that buying is a global phenomenon.
Shopping can be fun. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with trying to find a real deal and to enjoy the things God has given to us. But when we become preoccupied with obtaining material goods, we lose focus.
Jesus challenged His listeners with these words: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). He went on to tell a parable about a man “who lays up treasure for himself,” but is not concerned about his relationship with God (v.21).
How can we learn to be content with what we have and not be consumed with amassing more? Here are some ways: View material goods as given by God to be used wisely (Matt. 25:14-30). Work hard to earn and save money (Prov. 6:6-11). Give to the Lord’s work and those in need (2 Cor. 9:7; Prov. 19:17). And always remember to be thankful and to enjoy what God gives (1 Tim. 6:17).
Lord, our hearts often run after “stuff.”
Teach us not to be obsessed with collecting
more and more material goods. May we instead
learn what it means to be “rich” toward You.
To be rich in God is far better than to be rich in goods.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 22, 2013
Sanctification (1)
This is the will of God, your sanctification. . . —1 Thessalonians 4:3
The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Sanctification requires our coming to the place of death, but many of us spend so much time there that we become morbid. There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized— something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate . . . his own life . . . he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).
In the process of sanctification, the Spirit of God will strip me down until there is nothing left but myself, and that is the place of death. Am I willing to be myself and nothing more? Am I willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest— simply to be ready for death? That is the condition required for sanctification. No wonder Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us falter. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ on this point. We say, “But this is so strict. Surely He does not require that of me.” Our Lord is strict, and He does require that of us.
Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply “me”? Am I determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that I think of myself? Am I willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once I am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
When I pray, “Lord, show me what sanctification means for me,” He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts in me— it is Himself in me (see 1 Corinthians 1:30).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Way Up, Is Down - #6921
Monday, July 22, 2013
I used to be at Moody Bible Institute several times a year to do some radio programs, and I was usually there on a weekend. Now, Moody is right in the heart of Chicago. If you are in the heart of any big city, you've got to think security, especially on the weekend when a lot of things are closed and there's no one working. You don't want people just wandering around your buildings then.
The studios at Moody Bible Institute are located on the 8th and the 10th floor in a building which houses most of the administrative offices. Like I said, there's not many people there on the weekend, so they need to make sure that they shut off the floors they don't want just anyone to have access to. They keep the library open for the students and some things like that, but most of the floors are shut down as far as the elevator is concerned.
I can't get to the 8th floor or the 10th floor where I need to get to do radio programs unless the security man specifically turns on the elevator to stop at those floors. Well, guess where he is? He's downstairs in the lobby. If I'm in the 8th floor studios and I need to go to the 10th floor, can I just get on the elevator on 8 and push the button to 10? Nope! It wouldn't be that easy. No, no, no. I have to go down to the lobby, get the man to open up 10, and then I ride back up to the top floor. I got a lot of elevator rides on weekends there. You may be getting a few right now.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Way Up, Is Down."
Our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 6. It happens to be in a passage about young men who are moving into, or want to move into spiritual leadership. It says, "Humble yourselves under God's mighty hand that He may lift you up in due time." Okay, Hutchcraft translation: "The way up is down" like my friendly weekend elevator.
You may be an ambitious person, and there's nothing wrong with that. You've got goals, you've got dreams, and you've got a desire to get ahead. I hope you've got a desire to make a mark for Jesus. You've probably pushed the "up" button on your life's elevator, but you know what? God takes us up through the most unusual route. He insists you go down first. Maybe that's what's going on in your life right now. He says, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand." You've got to do that first.
Right now God might just be saying to you, "Will you quit pushing for yourself? Would you quit trying to get out in front? Don't promote yourself. Don't defend yourself. Don't position yourself. I do the promoting." God's asking you to release all that self-pushing, and self-promoting and leave it at His feet; to surrender your ego; to surrender those ambitions, surrender those goals. As long as you really want that spot, you really want to get out in front, you really need to be as it says here "lifted up", you can't be trusted with it. You'll make an idol out of it if God gives it to you. It will ruin you.
Instead, it's time to say, "Lord, all I am is your humble servant. I lay aside all my rights as You did when You came here. I expect no preferred treatment. I expect no recognition. I yield my need to You, my need to be noticed, and to be successful, to get stroked, to get the credit. Anything goes, Lord, whether it's little or big. I'm here for Your purposes, not mine. I'm here for Your glory, not mine. Take me, I'm yours." The Bible says then is when He can lift you up.
Get your fingerprints off your future. Let God promote you "in due time" when He knows you're ready. If you want to go up, hit the down button and let God run your elevator.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Colossians 4, bible reading and devotionals.
Click to hear the word of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Max Lucado Daily: Adopted
“Serve only the Lord your God. Respect him, keep his commands, and obey him.” Deuteronomy 13:4
Christ’s kingdom is . . . a kingdom where membership is granted, not purchased. You are placed into God’s kingdom. You are “adopted.” And this occurs not when you do enough, but when you simply admit you can’t do enough. You don’t earn it; you simply accept it. As a result, you serve, not out of arrogance or fear, but out of gratitude.
Colossians 4
New International Version (NIV)
4 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
Further Instructions
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Final Greetings
7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant[a] in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our[b] circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews[c] among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
16 After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Proverbs 8:12-21
New International Version (NIV)
12 “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
I possess knowledge and discretion.
13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil;
I hate pride and arrogance,
evil behavior and perverse speech.
14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
I have insight, I have power.
15 By me kings reign
and rulers issue decrees that are just;
16 by me princes govern,
and nobles—all who rule on earth.[a]
17 I love those who love me,
and those who seek me find me.
18 With me are riches and honor,
enduring wealth and prosperity.
19 My fruit is better than fine gold;
what I yield surpasses choice silver.
20 I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
21 bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me
and making their treasuries full.
Arrogance And Pride
July 21, 2013 — by David C. McCasland
Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. —Proverbs 8:13
In The Screwtape Letters written by C.S. Lewis, a senior devil urges his young protégé to divert a Christian’s thoughts away from God and focus instead on the faults of the people around him at church.
During a Sunday service, I found myself distracted and somewhat annoyed by a person near me who sang loudly off key and was out of sync during the unison readings. But when we bowed our heads for a time of silent prayer, it struck me that the Lord must surely be more pleased with that other person’s heart than with the judgmental feelings He saw in mine.
A few days later I happened to read Proverbs 8 and was struck by verse 13: “Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.” Throughout this chapter, wisdom calls to us to gain an understanding heart (v.5) and to find life and obtain favor from the Lord (v.35). The alternative is to go through life with a superior attitude while dying inside in the process (v.36).
Pride is a sword that wounds the person who uses it along with those against whom it is used. Arrogance robs us of all God longs to give us, but “by humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life” (22:4).
Oh, just a bit of Thy meekness, my Savior,
To be the least when of self I would boast;
Finding my glory and strength in Thy favor,
Know in my weakness Thy grace can do most. —Bosch
Pride brings shame. Humility brings wisdom.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 21, 2013
The Doorway to the Kingdom
Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . —Matthew 5:3
Beware of thinking of our Lord as only a teacher. If Jesus Christ is only a teacher, then all He can do is frustrate me by setting a standard before me I cannot attain. What is the point of presenting me with such a lofty ideal if I cannot possibly come close to reaching it? I would be happier if I never knew it. What good is there in telling me to be what I can never be— to be “pure in heart” (Matthew 5:8), to do more than my duty, or to be completely devoted to God? I must know Jesus Christ as my Savior before His teaching has any meaning for me other than that of a lofty ideal which only leads to despair. But when I am born again by the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come only to teach— He came to make me what He teaches I should be. The redemption means that Jesus Christ can place within anyone the same nature that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives us are based on that nature.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces a sense of despair in the natural man— exactly what Jesus means for it to do. As long as we have some self-righteous idea that we can carry out our Lord’s teaching, God will allow us to continue until we expose our own ignorance by stumbling over some obstacle in our way. Only then are we willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him. “Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . .” This is the first principle in the kingdom of God. The underlying foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possessions; not making decisions for Jesus, but having such a sense of absolute futility that we finally admit, “Lord, I cannot even begin to do it.” Then Jesus says, “Blessed are you . . .” (Matthew 5:11). This is the doorway to the kingdom, and yet it takes us so long to believe that we are actually poor! The knowledge of our own poverty is what brings us to the proper place where Jesus Christ accomplishes His work.
Max Lucado Daily: Adopted
“Serve only the Lord your God. Respect him, keep his commands, and obey him.” Deuteronomy 13:4
Christ’s kingdom is . . . a kingdom where membership is granted, not purchased. You are placed into God’s kingdom. You are “adopted.” And this occurs not when you do enough, but when you simply admit you can’t do enough. You don’t earn it; you simply accept it. As a result, you serve, not out of arrogance or fear, but out of gratitude.
Colossians 4
New International Version (NIV)
4 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
Further Instructions
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Final Greetings
7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant[a] in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our[b] circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews[c] among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
16 After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Proverbs 8:12-21
New International Version (NIV)
12 “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
I possess knowledge and discretion.
13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil;
I hate pride and arrogance,
evil behavior and perverse speech.
14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
I have insight, I have power.
15 By me kings reign
and rulers issue decrees that are just;
16 by me princes govern,
and nobles—all who rule on earth.[a]
17 I love those who love me,
and those who seek me find me.
18 With me are riches and honor,
enduring wealth and prosperity.
19 My fruit is better than fine gold;
what I yield surpasses choice silver.
20 I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
21 bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me
and making their treasuries full.
Arrogance And Pride
July 21, 2013 — by David C. McCasland
Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. —Proverbs 8:13
In The Screwtape Letters written by C.S. Lewis, a senior devil urges his young protégé to divert a Christian’s thoughts away from God and focus instead on the faults of the people around him at church.
During a Sunday service, I found myself distracted and somewhat annoyed by a person near me who sang loudly off key and was out of sync during the unison readings. But when we bowed our heads for a time of silent prayer, it struck me that the Lord must surely be more pleased with that other person’s heart than with the judgmental feelings He saw in mine.
A few days later I happened to read Proverbs 8 and was struck by verse 13: “Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.” Throughout this chapter, wisdom calls to us to gain an understanding heart (v.5) and to find life and obtain favor from the Lord (v.35). The alternative is to go through life with a superior attitude while dying inside in the process (v.36).
Pride is a sword that wounds the person who uses it along with those against whom it is used. Arrogance robs us of all God longs to give us, but “by humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life” (22:4).
Oh, just a bit of Thy meekness, my Savior,
To be the least when of self I would boast;
Finding my glory and strength in Thy favor,
Know in my weakness Thy grace can do most. —Bosch
Pride brings shame. Humility brings wisdom.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 21, 2013
The Doorway to the Kingdom
Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . —Matthew 5:3
Beware of thinking of our Lord as only a teacher. If Jesus Christ is only a teacher, then all He can do is frustrate me by setting a standard before me I cannot attain. What is the point of presenting me with such a lofty ideal if I cannot possibly come close to reaching it? I would be happier if I never knew it. What good is there in telling me to be what I can never be— to be “pure in heart” (Matthew 5:8), to do more than my duty, or to be completely devoted to God? I must know Jesus Christ as my Savior before His teaching has any meaning for me other than that of a lofty ideal which only leads to despair. But when I am born again by the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come only to teach— He came to make me what He teaches I should be. The redemption means that Jesus Christ can place within anyone the same nature that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives us are based on that nature.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces a sense of despair in the natural man— exactly what Jesus means for it to do. As long as we have some self-righteous idea that we can carry out our Lord’s teaching, God will allow us to continue until we expose our own ignorance by stumbling over some obstacle in our way. Only then are we willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him. “Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . .” This is the first principle in the kingdom of God. The underlying foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possessions; not making decisions for Jesus, but having such a sense of absolute futility that we finally admit, “Lord, I cannot even begin to do it.” Then Jesus says, “Blessed are you . . .” (Matthew 5:11). This is the doorway to the kingdom, and yet it takes us so long to believe that we are actually poor! The knowledge of our own poverty is what brings us to the proper place where Jesus Christ accomplishes His work.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Jeremiah 36, Bible reading and devotionals.
Click to hear the word of the Lord Jesus Christ.
MaxLucado.com: God is Enough
Let’s face it–anxiety or worry have no advantages! They ruin our health, rob us of joy, and change nothing! Our day stands no chance against the terrorists of the Land of Anxiety.
But Christ offers a worry-bazooka. Remember how He taught us to pray? “Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11” This simple sentence unveils God’s provision plan: live one day at a time.
Worry gives small problems big shadows. Corrie ten Boom said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.” And Romans 8:28 affirms: “Every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”
Most anxiety stems, not from what we need, but from what we want. Philippians 4:4 says, “delight yourselves in the Lord, yes, find your joy in Him at all times!”
If God is enough, you’ll always have enough!
From Great Day Every Day
Jeremiah 36
Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll
36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now. 3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn from their wicked ways; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin.”
4 So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and while Jeremiah dictated all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll. 5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. 6 So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will bring their petition before the Lord and will each turn from their wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.”
8 Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the Lord’s temple he read the words of the Lord from the scroll. 9 In the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. 10 From the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the Lord’s temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll.
11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the secretary’s room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, 14 all the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. 15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.”
So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?”
18 “Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”
19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.”
20 After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king and all the officials standing beside him. 22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment, with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. 24 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden them.
27 After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. 29 Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it both man and beast?” 30 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31 I will punish him and his children and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.’”
32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Philippians 4:4-9
Final Exhortations
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Earworms
July 20, 2013 — by Cindy Hess Kasper
If there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. —Philippians 4:8
They burrow. They bore in. They attach themselves inside your head. Earworms, a term once used exclusively for insects, is now the name for those unrelenting tunes that you can’t get out of your head. Songs like, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” the “Barney” song, or my personal nightmare: “It’s a Small World After All.”
They say the only way to rid yourself of the insidious infestation is to replace it with another tune—your “cleaner” song. New words and a fresh tune can crowd out the old.
Maybe we could use a cleaner song for our thought-life as well. When lustful or vengeful thoughts creep into our minds, reading and meditating on God’s Word can help to clean up our thinking.
Scripture tells us to love the Lord “with all [our] heart, with all [our] soul, and with all [our] mind” (Matt. 22:37) and not to “be conformed to this world” but to “be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind” (Rom. 12:2). It instructs us to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8).
When our minds wander to evil, the best “cleaner” is to allow the wisdom of the Bible to permeate our thoughts and hearts (2 Tim. 3:16).
Dear Lord, our desire is to spend time in Your Word.
We know that meditating on Your Word fills our minds
with thoughts of You and helps to keep our thinking
from wandering to evil. Help us to do so.
Character is the sum total of all our thoughts, words, and deeds.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 20, 2013
Dependent on God’s Presence
Those who wait on the Lord . . . shall walk and not faint —Isaiah 40:31
There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all of our steady and enduring qualities. To “walk and not faint” is the highest stretch possible as a measure of strength. The word walk is used in the Bible to express the character of a person— “. . . John . . . looking at Jesus as He walked. . . said, ’Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” (John 1:35-36). There is nothing abstract or obscure in the Bible; everything is vivid and real. God does not say, “Be spiritual,” but He says, “Walk before Me. . .” (Genesis 17:1).
When we are in an unhealthy condition either physically or emotionally, we always look for thrills in life. In our physical life this leads to our efforts to counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit; in our emotional life it leads to obsessions and to the destruction of our morality; and in our spiritual life, if we insist on pursuing only thrills, on mounting up “with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31), it will result in the destruction of our spirituality.
Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence. The experience the psalmist speaks of— “We will not fear, even though . . .” (Psalm 46:2)— will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the reality of God’s presence, not just a simple awareness of it, but an understanding of the reality of it. Then we will exclaim, “He has been here all the time!” At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, “Oh, Lord, direct me in this, and in that.” Of course He will, and in fact, He is doing it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.
MaxLucado.com: God is Enough
Let’s face it–anxiety or worry have no advantages! They ruin our health, rob us of joy, and change nothing! Our day stands no chance against the terrorists of the Land of Anxiety.
But Christ offers a worry-bazooka. Remember how He taught us to pray? “Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11” This simple sentence unveils God’s provision plan: live one day at a time.
Worry gives small problems big shadows. Corrie ten Boom said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.” And Romans 8:28 affirms: “Every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”
Most anxiety stems, not from what we need, but from what we want. Philippians 4:4 says, “delight yourselves in the Lord, yes, find your joy in Him at all times!”
If God is enough, you’ll always have enough!
From Great Day Every Day
Jeremiah 36
Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll
36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now. 3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn from their wicked ways; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin.”
4 So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and while Jeremiah dictated all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll. 5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. 6 So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will bring their petition before the Lord and will each turn from their wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.”
8 Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the Lord’s temple he read the words of the Lord from the scroll. 9 In the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. 10 From the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the Lord’s temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll.
11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the secretary’s room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, 14 all the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. 15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.”
So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?”
18 “Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”
19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.”
20 After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king and all the officials standing beside him. 22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment, with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. 24 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden them.
27 After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. 29 Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it both man and beast?” 30 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31 I will punish him and his children and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.’”
32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Philippians 4:4-9
Final Exhortations
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Earworms
July 20, 2013 — by Cindy Hess Kasper
If there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. —Philippians 4:8
They burrow. They bore in. They attach themselves inside your head. Earworms, a term once used exclusively for insects, is now the name for those unrelenting tunes that you can’t get out of your head. Songs like, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” the “Barney” song, or my personal nightmare: “It’s a Small World After All.”
They say the only way to rid yourself of the insidious infestation is to replace it with another tune—your “cleaner” song. New words and a fresh tune can crowd out the old.
Maybe we could use a cleaner song for our thought-life as well. When lustful or vengeful thoughts creep into our minds, reading and meditating on God’s Word can help to clean up our thinking.
Scripture tells us to love the Lord “with all [our] heart, with all [our] soul, and with all [our] mind” (Matt. 22:37) and not to “be conformed to this world” but to “be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind” (Rom. 12:2). It instructs us to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8).
When our minds wander to evil, the best “cleaner” is to allow the wisdom of the Bible to permeate our thoughts and hearts (2 Tim. 3:16).
Dear Lord, our desire is to spend time in Your Word.
We know that meditating on Your Word fills our minds
with thoughts of You and helps to keep our thinking
from wandering to evil. Help us to do so.
Character is the sum total of all our thoughts, words, and deeds.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 20, 2013
Dependent on God’s Presence
Those who wait on the Lord . . . shall walk and not faint —Isaiah 40:31
There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all of our steady and enduring qualities. To “walk and not faint” is the highest stretch possible as a measure of strength. The word walk is used in the Bible to express the character of a person— “. . . John . . . looking at Jesus as He walked. . . said, ’Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” (John 1:35-36). There is nothing abstract or obscure in the Bible; everything is vivid and real. God does not say, “Be spiritual,” but He says, “Walk before Me. . .” (Genesis 17:1).
When we are in an unhealthy condition either physically or emotionally, we always look for thrills in life. In our physical life this leads to our efforts to counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit; in our emotional life it leads to obsessions and to the destruction of our morality; and in our spiritual life, if we insist on pursuing only thrills, on mounting up “with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31), it will result in the destruction of our spirituality.
Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence. The experience the psalmist speaks of— “We will not fear, even though . . .” (Psalm 46:2)— will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the reality of God’s presence, not just a simple awareness of it, but an understanding of the reality of it. Then we will exclaim, “He has been here all the time!” At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, “Oh, Lord, direct me in this, and in that.” Of course He will, and in fact, He is doing it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.
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