Max Lucado Daily: Don’t Replace God
Vengeance fixes your attention on life’s ugliest moments. Score settling freezes your stare at cruel events in your past. Is that where you want to look? Will rehearsing and reliving your hurts make you a better person? By no means. It will destroy you. Revenge moves God away from the equation. It replaces God.
“I’m not sure you can handle this one, Lord. You may punish too little or too slowly. I’ll take this matter into my hands.”
So, God reminds us in Romans 12:19, “I’ll do the judging. I’ll take care of it.” [My paraphrase] Only God assesses accurate judgments. Vengeance is His job. Leave your enemies in God’s hands. Forgiveness is not endorsement of misbehavior. You can hate what someone did without letting hatred consume you. Remember, God occupies the only seat on the supreme court of heaven!
From Max on Life
Deuteronomy 27
The Altar on Mount Ebal
Then Moses and the leaders of Israel gave this charge to the people: “Obey all these commands that I am giving you today. 2 When you cross the Jordan River and enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. 3 Write this whole body of instruction on them when you cross the river to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you—a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. 4 When you cross the Jordan, set up these stones at Mount Ebal and coat them with plaster, as I am commanding you today.
5 “Then build an altar there to the Lord your God, using natural, uncut stones. You must not shape the stones with an iron tool. 6 Build the altar of uncut stones, and use it to offer burnt offerings to the Lord your God. 7 Also sacrifice peace offerings on it, and celebrate by feasting there before the Lord your God. 8 You must clearly write all these instructions on the stones coated with plaster.”
9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests addressed all Israel as follows: “O Israel, be quiet and listen! Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 So you must obey the Lord your God by keeping all these commands and decrees that I am giving you today.”
Curses from Mount Ebal
11 That same day Moses also gave this charge to the people: 12 “When you cross the Jordan River, the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin must stand on Mount Gerizim to proclaim a blessing over the people. 13 And the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali must stand on Mount Ebal to proclaim a curse.
14 “Then the Levites will shout to all the people of Israel:
15 ‘Cursed is anyone who carves or casts an idol and secretly sets it up. These idols, the work of craftsmen, are detestable to the Lord.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
16 ‘Cursed is anyone who dishonors father or mother.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
17 ‘Cursed is anyone who steals property from a neighbor by moving a boundary marker.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
18 ‘Cursed is anyone who leads a blind person astray on the road.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
19 ‘Cursed is anyone who denies justice to foreigners, orphans, or widows.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
20 ‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with one of his father’s wives, for he has violated his father.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
21 ‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with an animal.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
22 ‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with his sister, whether she is the daughter of his father or his mother.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
23 ‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with his mother-in-law.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
24 ‘Cursed is anyone who attacks a neighbor in secret.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
25 ‘Cursed is anyone who accepts payment to kill an innocent person.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
26 ‘Cursed is anyone who does not affirm and obey the terms of these instructions.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Read: 1 Kings 19:1-12
Elijah Flees to Sinai
When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. 2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”
5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” 6 He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.
7 Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”
8 So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai,[a] the mountain of God. 9 There he came to a cave, where he spent the night.
The Lord Speaks to Elijah
But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
11 “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
Footnotes:
19:8 Hebrew to Horeb, another name for Sinai.
When God Is Quiet
By Julie Ackerman Link
As [Elijah] lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” —1 Kings 19:5
I love to take pictures of sunsets at Lake Michigan. Some are subtle shades of pastel. Others are bold strokes of bright color. Sometimes the sun sinks quietly behind the lake. Other times it goes down in what looks like a fiery explosion.
In pictures and in person, I prefer the latter. But both show the handiwork of God. When it comes to God’s work in the world, my preferences are the same. I would rather see dramatic answers to prayer than ordinary provisions of daily bread. But both are the work of God.
Elijah may have had similar preferences. He had grown accustomed to being the center of God’s grand displays of power. When he prayed, God showed up in dramatic ways—first in a miraculous defeat against the prophets of Baal and then in the end to a long and devastating drought (1 Kings 18). But then Elijah felt afraid and started to run. God sent an angel to feed him to strengthen him for his journey. After 40 days he arrived in Horeb. God showed him that He was now communicating in a still small voice, not in flashy miracles (19:11-12).
If you’re discouraged because God hasn’t shown up in a blaze of glory, perhaps He’s revealing Himself with His quiet presence.
Lord, may we see You today in the small
details of life in ways that we hadn’t noticed
before. Thank You for the gift of Your quiet
presence, wherever we may find it today.
God is in the small things as well as the great.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Are You Fresh for Everything?
Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." —John 3:3
Sometimes we are fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?
Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, “I have to do this thing or it will never get done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us “in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7).
Jealously guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We are one” — with nothing in between (John 17:22). Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone.
Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
A SAFE PLACE IN A SCARY WORLD - #7312
For some reason that headline just seemed so ominous to so many people. "First Ebola death in America." I don't think most of us thought it would ever come that close. But it did. Ebola is out there, and the world's been on edge.
And then there are the men in the black masks, who've been bringing the most unthinkable atrocities right into our living rooms in the news. They are leaving a trail of blood as they grab more and more real estate. And seemingly sometimes seem unstoppable. They hate Western culture, but they use our social media to inspire young men from around the world - including America - to join their cause and unleash their terror on the streets of Western countries.
Then just beneath the breaking news is the growing prospect of nukes in the hands of those who hate America. And an unchecked Russia on the move.
I've heard one sentiment repeated over and over again on newscasts, "People are afraid."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Safe Place in a Scary World".
So many growing dangers that are beyond our control. I guess we could panic, we could freeze, we could hide. Or, we can just try to ignore the dangers. Those are all bad ideas.
I'll go with that iconic line from Franklin Roosevelt's First Inaugural. As a desperate America lay devastated by the Great Depression. Fearful of a dark future. The new President confronted head-on the greatest danger people were facing. He said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
That's still true today. Even as deadly storms, once so far away, loom so close to home. I've made up my mind - no matter how unsettling the news - that fear is our worst enemy. It paralyzes us ... it distorts our judgment ... it makes us reactive rather than proactive. And it scares our family - because the captain is scared.
So I'm committed to a pretty simple strategy to have peace in a scary world. First, stay informed. Not just about sports or celebrities or music, but about what's happening in our world. Rumors and speculation, they fuel fear. Facts fuel wise decisions and reasonable responses.
And then secondly, take reasonable precautions. You know, those steps that the medical and security folks keep telling us about. To wash your hands often, be careful around sick people, drink a lot of water. Be aware of your surroundings. Have an emergency plan. Preparation beats trepidation.
But after all is said and done, the really great antidote to fear is in my soul. Anchoring my life to something I can't lose. A deep recession, weather calamities, world events that threaten to endanger our once-safe bubble - they remind us that everything we hold in our hand is so vulnerable. So loseable.
And that's a reason to fear.
Unless my safety, and my security, and my identity is beyond the reach of any disease, any terror, any disaster. Even beyond death itself.
His name is Jesus.
Because of His death for my sin on the cross, I now belong to the all-powerful God who rules a hundred billion galaxies. He's in charge. And I know He will never stop loving me. His love for this rebel was written in blood. His love for you was written in His blood.
Our word for today from the Word of God: from Romans 5:1,11, "we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us ... He has made us friends with God." Peace with God, that's peace in my soul. Whatever happens, no longer at the mercy of evil or sickness or disaster. God's got me now.
Do you know that for sure? Do you know you belong to Him? Do you know the wall that your sin has created has been torn down because your sin has been forgiven by the one who died for them? That would be Jesus. And if you've never put your life in His hands, in times like these, why would you have your life anywhere else? He is the safe place in the scary world. You want to begin a relationship with Him? Let me urge you to spend a few minutes on our website, and there I'll lay out for you exactly how you can belong to Him. It's ANewStory.com.
God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you" and the Bible says, "therefore, I will have no fear" (Hebrews 13:5-6). Run to Him, you'll never have to be afraid.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Monday, January 19, 2015
Deuteronomy 26, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Getting Over It
You've been hurt! Part of you is broken, and the other part is bitter. Part of you wants to cry, and part of you wants to fight. And you're left with a decision. Do I get over it or get even? Do I release it or resent it?
Resentment is when you allow what's eating you to eat you up. Revenge is the raging fire that consumes the arsonist. Bitterness is the trap that snares the hunter. And mercy is the choice that can set them all free.
"Blessed are the merciful," Jesus said on the mountain. "They shall be shown mercy." (Mt. 5:7)
Forgiving others allows us to see how God has forgiven us. The dynamic of giving grace is the key to understanding grace. For it is when we forgive others that we begin to feel what God feels. Set your enemy-and yourself-free!
From Max on Life
Deuteronomy 26
Harvest Offerings and Tithes
“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession and you have conquered it and settled there, 2 put some of the first produce from each crop you harvest into a basket and bring it to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. 3 Go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, ‘With this gift I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land he swore to our ancestors he would give us.’ 4 The priest will then take the basket from your hand and set it before the altar of the Lord your God.
5 “You must then say in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘My ancestor Jacob was a wandering Aramean who went to live as a foreigner in Egypt. His family arrived few in number, but in Egypt they became a large and mighty nation. 6 When the Egyptians oppressed and humiliated us by making us their slaves, 7 we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard our cries and saw our hardship, toil, and oppression. 8 So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and powerful arm, with overwhelming terror, and with miraculous signs and wonders. 9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey! 10 And now, O Lord, I have brought you the first portion of the harvest you have given me from the ground.’ Then place the produce before the Lord your God, and bow to the ground in worship before him. 11 Afterward you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household. Remember to include the Levites and the foreigners living among you in the celebration.
12 “Every third year you must offer a special tithe of your crops. In this year of the special tithe you must give your tithes to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows, so that they will have enough to eat in your towns. 13 Then you must declare in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘I have taken the sacred gift from my house and have given it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows, just as you commanded me. I have not violated or forgotten any of your commands. 14 I have not eaten any of it while in mourning; I have not handled it while I was ceremonially unclean; and I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God and have done everything you commanded me. 15 Now look down from your holy dwelling place in heaven and bless your people Israel and the land you swore to our ancestors to give us—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
A Call to Obey the Lord’s Commands
16 “Today the Lord your God has commanded you to obey all these decrees and regulations. So be careful to obey them wholeheartedly. 17 You have declared today that the Lord is your God. And you have promised to walk in his ways, and to obey his decrees, commands, and regulations, and to do everything he tells you. 18 The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands. 19 And if you do, he will set you high above all the other nations he has made. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as he promised.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, January 19, 2015
Read: John 7:37-46
Jesus Promises Living Water
On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”[a] 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given,[b] because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
Division and Unbelief
40 When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.”[c] 41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.”[d] 43 So the crowd was divided about him. 44 Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.
45 When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
46 “We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded.
Footnotes:
7:37-38 Or “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from the heart of anyone who believes in me.’”
7:39 Several early manuscripts read But as yet there was no Spirit. Still others read But as yet there was no Holy Spirit.
7:40 See Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5-6.
7:42 See Mic 5:2.
INSIGHT: Jesus was in Jerusalem at the temple when He gave the teaching of John 7. Observant Jews came to the temple to celebrate three annual harvest festivals (Ex. 23:14-17; Deut. 16:1-17): Passover (together with the Feast of Unleavened Bread), Feast of Harvest (Weeks or Pentecost), and Feast of Ingathering (Tabernacles or Booths). As a devout Jew, Jesus faithfully kept these annual feasts (v.37; Luke 2:41-42; John 2:23).
You Had To Act
By David C. McCasland
A US congressman, John Lewis, was 23 years old when he participated in the historic 1963 civil rights “March on Washington” led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Half a century later, journalist Bill Moyers asked Lewis how he was affected by Dr. King’s I Have A Dream speech that day. Mr. Lewis replied, “You couldn’t leave after hearing him speak and go back to business as usual. You had to do something, you had to act. You had to move. You had to go out and spread the good news.”
Many who encountered Jesus found it impossible to remain neutral about Him. John 7:25-46 records two different reactions to Jesus. While “many of the people believed in Him” (v.31), the religious leaders tried to silence Him by sending temple guards to arrest Him (v.32). The guards were likely present when Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (vv.37-38). The guards returned without Jesus and were asked, “Why have you not brought Him?” (v.45). They answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” (v.46).
The words of Jesus compel us to act, and to move, beyond business as usual.
So let our lips and lives express
The holy gospel we profess;
So let our works and virtues shine,
To prove the doctrine all divine. —Watts
Jesus’ death forgave my past sins and inspires my present obedience.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 19, 2015
Vision and Darkness
When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. —Genesis 15:12
Whenever God gives a vision to a Christian, it is as if He puts him in “the shadow of His hand” (Isaiah 49:2). The saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a “darkness” that comes from too much light— that is the time to listen. The story of Abram and Hagar in Genesis 16 is an excellent example of listening to so-called good advice during a time of darkness, rather than waiting for God to send the light. When God gives you a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will bring the vision He has given you to reality in your life if you will wait on His timing. Never try to help God fulfill His word. Abram went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all of his self-sufficiency was destroyed. He grew past the point of relying on his own common sense. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not a period of God’s displeasure. There is never any need to pretend that your life is filled with joy and confidence; just wait upon God and be grounded in Him (see Isaiah 50:10-11).
Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I am Almighty God…”— El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, January 19, 2015
Unpacking Before You Get Home - #7311
My family calls it an idiosyncrasy, or maybe they say idiot-syncrasy? I'm not sure, but no matter whenever we have been on a trip, and whenever we get in, I've got to unpack as soon as we get home. Oh, yeah, it might be 2:00 in the morning, but there's Ron putting his clothes in the closet where they belong. Making sure his toothbrush is where it needs to be the next morning. Putting my books back where they came from. Everybody else is zonked! They're in a coma, and here's Mr. Compulsive busily restoring order. See, I'm not home until I'm unpacked.
Once everything is put away, I can start enjoying being home. Well actually, we should all unpack even sooner.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Unpacking Before You Get Home."
Our word for today from the Word of God is in 1 Chronicles 16:43; it's one of those great examples out of a real flesh and blood life that is given to us in the Old Testament. It says, "Then all the people left each for his own home. And David returned home..." Notice these words, "...to bless his family." He knows what his mission is. "When I get home, I'm going to bless my family."
Now, David's been a pretty busy guy. He's busy with major battles. He's busy organizing God's people. He's busy running this whole kingdom. But now it's time to go home and he's going to bless them. It doesn't say, "David returned home to rest, or to recover, or to get his needs met." It says, "to bless his family." I'll tell you what, that's a great example for all of us, this selfless attitude; this others attitude when you get home no matter what the battles of the day have been.
Whether you're coming home from work, or school, or errands you've been on, I wonder if it could be said of you, (and let's put your name in there) "______ returned home to bless her family/to bless his family." Are you going home determined to be a blessing when you walk in the door? Now, that means you've got to unpack before you get home. You know why? Because we collect baggage all day long.
So, on your way home, as you're driving or riding, you need to unpack all those frustrations, all the stuff you left undone. It will be there again tomorrow. You don't carry it all in the door with you. And, as they say, you focus on the family. Leave your work at work, get ready to be with your family, not just around your family.
Be with them, it's a discipline. You sit there and you think through their day. What were they going through today? What were their needs when I left them this morning? What was on their mind? What was on their agenda? It's just kind of like loving your neighbor like you love yourself except that it's the people closest to you. Picture each one of them. Pray for them as you're headed home. And leave your concerns with your Lord. Don't dump them on them.
The alternative is to walk in the door completely preoccupied with yourself. Make sure that when you get home, you make it a point to lovingly touch every member of your family. Express an interest in each one's day. See if there's anything they need help on. You say, "Come on man, I'm out of gas when I get home!" Well, the Bible says, "He that refreshes others will himself be refreshed." So you get home and you set a climate of caring, and giving, listening, unselfishness. And you know what? You will reap what you sow. And you've come in loaded down with the stress of the day, you sow stress...uh huh, same law... except you're going to reap more stress.
So it doesn't matter if you're a Mom, or a Dad, a son, a daughter, or a brother, a sister - on your way home unpack your day. You're not really home until you're unpacked. Then pray this simple prayer, "Lord, make me a blessing from the moment I walk in the door." I think you'll like the results.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Luke 6:27-49, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Grace Makes All the Difference
If life is… "because I have to"-where's the joy in that? Too often I hear folks rejecting Christ because they think the Christian life is all about rules and regulations-all about stifling and suffocating ritual.
This happens when we confuse Christ with legalism. Legalism is joyless because it's endless. There's always another class to attend. Inmates incarcerated in self-salvation find work, but never joy!
Grace! It makes all the difference. I like this quote: "Gone are the exertions of law-keeping, gone the disciplines of legalism, the anxiety that having done everything we might not have done enough. We reach the goal, not by the stairs, but by the lift-God pledges his promised righteousness to those who will stop trying to save themselves!"1
Grace offers rest. Legalism? Never!
From GRACE
Luke 6:27-49
Love for Enemies
“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.
Do Not Judge Others
37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.[a]”
39 Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? 40 Students[b] are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.
41 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye[c] when you have a log in your own? 42 How can you think of saying, ‘Friend,[d] let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
The Tree and Its Fruit
43 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. 45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Building on a Solid Foundation
46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? 47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. 48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”
Footnotes:
6:38 Or The measure you give will be the measure you get back.
6:40 Or Disciples.
6:41 Greek your brother’s eye; also in 6:42.
6:42 Greek Brother.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Read: Psalm 139:7-16
I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
Footnotes:
139:8 Hebrew to Sheol.
INSIGHT: In today’s reading, David’s declaration of amazement at how wonderfully he is made comes in the context of listing some of the other aspects of God’s creation: the heavens, the sea, the night, and the day. Verses 7-12 describe both God’s omnipotence and His omnipresence. David celebrates not only the magnitude and power of God, but he also underscores that no matter where he is, God’s hand will lead him and hold him (v.10).
The Wonder Of Sight
By Bill Crowder
On the livescience.com website, I read something pretty amazing: “If you were standing atop a mountain surveying a larger-than-usual patch of the planet, you could perceive bright lights hundreds of miles distant. On a dark night, you could even see a candle flame flickering up to 30 miles (48 km) away.” No telescopes or night-vision goggles needed—the human eye is so profoundly designed that even long distances can be spanned with clear sight.
This fact is a vivid reminder of our amazing Creator, who designed not only the human eye but also all of the details that make up our expansive universe. And, unlike anything else in creation, God has made us in His own image (Gen. 1:26). “In His image” speaks of something far greater than the ability to see. It speaks of a likeness to God that makes it possible for us to be in relationship with Him.
We can affirm David’s declaration, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well” (Ps. 139:14). Not only have we been given eyes to see, but we have also been made so that, in Christ, one day we will see Him!
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed
Wherever I turn my eye,
If I survey the ground I tread
Or gaze upon the sky! —Watts
All of God’s creation bears witness to Him as our great Creator.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 18, 2015
“It Is the Lord!”
Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" —John 20:28
“Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.
Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?
If life is… "because I have to"-where's the joy in that? Too often I hear folks rejecting Christ because they think the Christian life is all about rules and regulations-all about stifling and suffocating ritual.
This happens when we confuse Christ with legalism. Legalism is joyless because it's endless. There's always another class to attend. Inmates incarcerated in self-salvation find work, but never joy!
Grace! It makes all the difference. I like this quote: "Gone are the exertions of law-keeping, gone the disciplines of legalism, the anxiety that having done everything we might not have done enough. We reach the goal, not by the stairs, but by the lift-God pledges his promised righteousness to those who will stop trying to save themselves!"1
Grace offers rest. Legalism? Never!
From GRACE
Luke 6:27-49
Love for Enemies
“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.
Do Not Judge Others
37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.[a]”
39 Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? 40 Students[b] are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.
41 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye[c] when you have a log in your own? 42 How can you think of saying, ‘Friend,[d] let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
The Tree and Its Fruit
43 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. 45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Building on a Solid Foundation
46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? 47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. 48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”
Footnotes:
6:38 Or The measure you give will be the measure you get back.
6:40 Or Disciples.
6:41 Greek your brother’s eye; also in 6:42.
6:42 Greek Brother.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Read: Psalm 139:7-16
I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
Footnotes:
139:8 Hebrew to Sheol.
INSIGHT: In today’s reading, David’s declaration of amazement at how wonderfully he is made comes in the context of listing some of the other aspects of God’s creation: the heavens, the sea, the night, and the day. Verses 7-12 describe both God’s omnipotence and His omnipresence. David celebrates not only the magnitude and power of God, but he also underscores that no matter where he is, God’s hand will lead him and hold him (v.10).
The Wonder Of Sight
By Bill Crowder
On the livescience.com website, I read something pretty amazing: “If you were standing atop a mountain surveying a larger-than-usual patch of the planet, you could perceive bright lights hundreds of miles distant. On a dark night, you could even see a candle flame flickering up to 30 miles (48 km) away.” No telescopes or night-vision goggles needed—the human eye is so profoundly designed that even long distances can be spanned with clear sight.
This fact is a vivid reminder of our amazing Creator, who designed not only the human eye but also all of the details that make up our expansive universe. And, unlike anything else in creation, God has made us in His own image (Gen. 1:26). “In His image” speaks of something far greater than the ability to see. It speaks of a likeness to God that makes it possible for us to be in relationship with Him.
We can affirm David’s declaration, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well” (Ps. 139:14). Not only have we been given eyes to see, but we have also been made so that, in Christ, one day we will see Him!
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed
Wherever I turn my eye,
If I survey the ground I tread
Or gaze upon the sky! —Watts
All of God’s creation bears witness to Him as our great Creator.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 18, 2015
“It Is the Lord!”
Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" —John 20:28
“Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.
Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Deuteronomy 25, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: True Courage
Are you timid? Cautious? Could you use some courage? Scripture says, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). If you're in Christ, these promises are not only a source of joy, they are the foundations of true courage!
When God looks at you, he doesn't see you; He sees the One who surrounds you. Failure's not a concern for you; your victory is secure. How could you not be courageous? In Hebrews 10:22, the writer says, "Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus-let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith."
The point is clear. The Father of Truth will win, and the followers of Truth will be saved. The prize is yours. Applaud the victory!
From The Applause of Heaven
Deuteronomy 25
“Suppose two people take a dispute to court, and the judges declare that one is right and the other is wrong. 2 If the person in the wrong is sentenced to be flogged, the judge must command him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of lashes appropriate to the crime. 3 But never give more than forty lashes; more than forty lashes would publicly humiliate your neighbor.
4 “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.
5 “If two brothers are living together on the same property and one of them dies without a son, his widow may not be married to anyone from outside the family. Instead, her husband’s brother should marry her and have intercourse with her to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law. 6 The first son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother, so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel.
7 “But if the man refuses to marry his brother’s widow, she must go to the town gate and say to the elders assembled there, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel—he refuses to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law by marrying me.’ 8 The elders of the town will then summon him and talk with him. If he still refuses and says, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’ 9 the widow must walk over to him in the presence of the elders, pull his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. Then she must declare, ‘This is what happens to a man who refuses to provide his brother with children.’ 10 Ever afterward in Israel his family will be referred to as ‘the family of the man whose sandal was pulled off’!
11 “If two Israelite men get into a fight and the wife of one tries to rescue her husband by grabbing the testicles of the other man, 12 you must cut off her hand. Show her no pity.
13 “You must use accurate scales when you weigh out merchandise, 14 and you must use full and honest measures. 15 Yes, always use honest weights and measures, so that you may enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 16 All who cheat with dishonest weights and measures are detestable to the Lord your God.
17 “Never forget what the Amalekites did to you as you came from Egypt. 18 They attacked you when you were exhausted and weary, and they struck down those who were straggling behind. They had no fear of God. 19 Therefore, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies in the land he is giving you as a special possession, you must destroy the Amalekites and erase their memory from under heaven. Never forget this!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Read: John 4:9-14,27-29
The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.[a] She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
Footnotes:
4:9 Some manuscripts do not include this sentence.
John 4:27-29New Living Translation (NLT)
27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”
INSIGHT: First-century Jews avoided traveling through Samaria. When making the journey from Galilee to Judea, they would cross the Jordan River and travel the east side before re-crossing to make their way to Jerusalem once they had passed Samaria. The reason for this was that Samaritans were seen as ceremonially unclean. Jesus, however, had no such qualms, breaking tradition to connect with a Samaritan woman in need.
Leaving It Behind
By Cindy Hess Kasper
In the year or so after our teenage son got his driver’s license and started carrying a wallet, we got several calls from people who had found it somewhere. We cautioned him to be more careful and not leave it behind.
Leaving things behind, though, is not always a bad thing. In John 4, we read about a woman who had come to draw water at a well. But after she encountered Jesus that day, her intent suddenly changed. Leaving her water jar behind, she hurried back to tell others what Jesus had said to her (vv.28-29). Even her physical need for water paled in comparison to telling others about the Man she had just met.
Peter and Andrew did something similar when Jesus called them. They left their fishing nets (which was the way they earned their living) to follow Jesus (Matt. 4:18-20). And James and John left their nets, boat, and even their father when Jesus called them (vv.21-22).
Our new life of following Jesus Christ may mean that we have to leave things behind, including those that don’t bring lasting satisfaction. What we once craved cannot compare with the life and “living water” that Jesus offers.
Now none but Christ can satisfy,
None other name for me;
There’s love and life and lasting joy,
Lord Jesus, found in Thee. —McGranahan
Christ showed His love by dying for us; we show ours by living for Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 17, 2015
The Call of the Natural Life
When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me… —Galatians 1:15-16
The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles….”
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.
Are you timid? Cautious? Could you use some courage? Scripture says, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). If you're in Christ, these promises are not only a source of joy, they are the foundations of true courage!
When God looks at you, he doesn't see you; He sees the One who surrounds you. Failure's not a concern for you; your victory is secure. How could you not be courageous? In Hebrews 10:22, the writer says, "Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus-let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith."
The point is clear. The Father of Truth will win, and the followers of Truth will be saved. The prize is yours. Applaud the victory!
From The Applause of Heaven
Deuteronomy 25
“Suppose two people take a dispute to court, and the judges declare that one is right and the other is wrong. 2 If the person in the wrong is sentenced to be flogged, the judge must command him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of lashes appropriate to the crime. 3 But never give more than forty lashes; more than forty lashes would publicly humiliate your neighbor.
4 “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.
5 “If two brothers are living together on the same property and one of them dies without a son, his widow may not be married to anyone from outside the family. Instead, her husband’s brother should marry her and have intercourse with her to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law. 6 The first son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother, so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel.
7 “But if the man refuses to marry his brother’s widow, she must go to the town gate and say to the elders assembled there, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel—he refuses to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law by marrying me.’ 8 The elders of the town will then summon him and talk with him. If he still refuses and says, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’ 9 the widow must walk over to him in the presence of the elders, pull his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. Then she must declare, ‘This is what happens to a man who refuses to provide his brother with children.’ 10 Ever afterward in Israel his family will be referred to as ‘the family of the man whose sandal was pulled off’!
11 “If two Israelite men get into a fight and the wife of one tries to rescue her husband by grabbing the testicles of the other man, 12 you must cut off her hand. Show her no pity.
13 “You must use accurate scales when you weigh out merchandise, 14 and you must use full and honest measures. 15 Yes, always use honest weights and measures, so that you may enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 16 All who cheat with dishonest weights and measures are detestable to the Lord your God.
17 “Never forget what the Amalekites did to you as you came from Egypt. 18 They attacked you when you were exhausted and weary, and they struck down those who were straggling behind. They had no fear of God. 19 Therefore, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies in the land he is giving you as a special possession, you must destroy the Amalekites and erase their memory from under heaven. Never forget this!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Read: John 4:9-14,27-29
The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.[a] She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
Footnotes:
4:9 Some manuscripts do not include this sentence.
John 4:27-29New Living Translation (NLT)
27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”
INSIGHT: First-century Jews avoided traveling through Samaria. When making the journey from Galilee to Judea, they would cross the Jordan River and travel the east side before re-crossing to make their way to Jerusalem once they had passed Samaria. The reason for this was that Samaritans were seen as ceremonially unclean. Jesus, however, had no such qualms, breaking tradition to connect with a Samaritan woman in need.
Leaving It Behind
By Cindy Hess Kasper
In the year or so after our teenage son got his driver’s license and started carrying a wallet, we got several calls from people who had found it somewhere. We cautioned him to be more careful and not leave it behind.
Leaving things behind, though, is not always a bad thing. In John 4, we read about a woman who had come to draw water at a well. But after she encountered Jesus that day, her intent suddenly changed. Leaving her water jar behind, she hurried back to tell others what Jesus had said to her (vv.28-29). Even her physical need for water paled in comparison to telling others about the Man she had just met.
Peter and Andrew did something similar when Jesus called them. They left their fishing nets (which was the way they earned their living) to follow Jesus (Matt. 4:18-20). And James and John left their nets, boat, and even their father when Jesus called them (vv.21-22).
Our new life of following Jesus Christ may mean that we have to leave things behind, including those that don’t bring lasting satisfaction. What we once craved cannot compare with the life and “living water” that Jesus offers.
Now none but Christ can satisfy,
None other name for me;
There’s love and life and lasting joy,
Lord Jesus, found in Thee. —McGranahan
Christ showed His love by dying for us; we show ours by living for Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 17, 2015
The Call of the Natural Life
When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me… —Galatians 1:15-16
The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles….”
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Deuteronomy 24, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Don’t Allow Fear to Win
The fear-filled cannot love deeply. They cannot give to the poor. Benevolence has no guarantee of return. They cannot dream wildly. What if their dreams sputter and fall from the sky? Fear paralyzes people. Are you afraid? Afraid of job loss? Afraid of what people are saying about you?
Jesus wages a war against fear. In Matthew 10:28 He says, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” In John 14:27 Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Fear’s main goal is to keep you from God’s plan for your life. Don’t allow it to win! Punch fear in the face! If anything should be afraid, it should be fear itself.
From Max on Life
Deuteronomy 24
“Suppose a man marries a woman but she does not please him. Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house. 2 When she leaves his house, she is free to marry another man. 3 But if the second husband also turns against her, writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away, or if he dies, 4 the first husband may not marry her again, for she has been defiled. That would be detestable to the Lord. You must not bring guilt upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession.
5 “A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or be given any other official responsibilities. He must be free to spend one year at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married.
6 “It is wrong to take a set of millstones, or even just the upper millstone, as security for a loan, for the owner uses it to make a living.
7 “If anyone kidnaps a fellow Israelite and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.
8 “In all cases involving serious skin diseases,[c] be careful to follow the instructions of the Levitical priests; obey all the commands I have given them. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam as you were coming from Egypt.
10 “If you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to pick up the item he is giving as security. 11 You must wait outside while he goes in and brings it out to you. 12 If your neighbor is poor and gives you his cloak as security for a loan, do not keep the cloak overnight. 13 Return the cloak to its owner by sunset so he can stay warm through the night and bless you, and the Lord your God will count you as righteous.
14 “Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns. 15 You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t, they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin.
16 “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.
17 “True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow’s garment as security for her debt. 18 Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from your slavery. That is why I have given you this command.
19 “When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all you do. 20 When you beat the olives from your olive trees, don’t go over the boughs twice. Leave the remaining olives for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. 21 When you gather the grapes in your vineyard, don’t glean the vines after they are picked. Leave the remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. 22 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, January 16, 2015
Read: Isaiah 55:8-11
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens
and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
producing seed for the farmer
and bread for the hungry.
11 It is the same with my word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
INSIGHT: We cannot know God unless He reveals Himself to us. An attribute of God is a characteristic that God has chosen to reveal about Himself through His Word. Incommunicable attributes are those that belong to God alone (e.g., omniscience [all-knowing]; omnipotence [all-powerful]; omnipresence [present everywhere]; immutability [unchangeable]; infinite [having no limits]; transcendence [beyond comprehension]).
Communicable attributes are those that human beings can also possess (e.g., compassion, love, mercy, goodness). In Isaiah 55:8-9, God reveals that He is unlike any other being and our finite minds can never fully understand Him (see Job 11:7-9; Ps. 131:1; Rom. 11:33). Throughout Scripture we are told that there is no one like God (see Ex. 15:11; Ps. 35:10; 89:6-8; Isa. 40:25).
God’s Refreshing Word
By Dennis Fisher
When I was a boy, our family would occasionally travel across Nevada. We loved the desert thunderstorms. Accompanied by lightning bolts and claps of thunder, huge sheets of rain would blanket the hot sand as far as the eye could see. The cooling water refreshed the earth—and us.
Water produces marvelous changes in arid regions. For example, the pincushion cactus is completely dormant during the dry season. But after the first summer rains, cactuses burst into bloom, displaying delicate petals of pink, gold, and white.
Likewise, in the Holy Land after a rainstorm, dry ground can seemingly sprout vegetation overnight. Isaiah used rain’s renewal to illustrate God’s refreshing Word: “As the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:10-11).
Scripture carries spiritual vitality. That’s why it doesn’t return void. Wherever it encounters an open heart, it brings refreshment, nourishment, and new life.
God’s Word is like refreshing rain
That waters crops and seed;
It brings new life to open hearts,
And meets us in our need. —Sper
The Bible is to a thirsty soul what water is to a barren land.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 16, 2015
The Voice of the Nature of God
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" —Isaiah 6:8
When we talk about the call of God, we often forget the most important thing, namely, the nature of Him who calls. There are many things calling each of us today. Some of these calls will be answered, and others will not even be heard. The call is the expression of the nature of the One who calls, and we can only recognize the call if that same nature is in us. The call of God is the expression of God’s nature, not ours. God providentially weaves the threads of His call through our lives, and only we can distinguish them. It is the threading of God’s voice directly to us over a certain concern, and it is useless to seek another person’s opinion of it. Our dealings over the call of God should be kept exclusively between ourselves and Him.
The call of God is not a reflection of my nature; my personal desires and temperament are of no consideration. As long as I dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am suited for, I will never hear the call of God. But when God brings me into the right relationship with Himself, I will be in the same condition Isaiah was. Isaiah was so attuned to God, because of the great crisis he had just endured, that the call of God penetrated his soul. The majority of us cannot hear anything but ourselves. And we cannot hear anything God says. But to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God is to be profoundly changed.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, January 16, 2015
3 Messages from God in the Disturbing Headlines - #7310
You know, people have been pretty worried lately. The news can get pretty unnerving.
I know our family's been seeing more anxiety through social media recently. People who haven't been watching the news seem to be watching it more now. Our national leaders, well, they've spoken more ominously than we've heard them speak.
A U.S. Senator had said that Ebola is "one of the most explosive, deadly epidemics in modern times." In Africa, the number of cases, at that point, had recently doubled.
And each day, well, we hear more sobering terrorism warnings. Porous borders that killers could cross. A terrorist army that's growing exponentially - many with passports that would open the door to Western nations.
It's grim stuff. But for us who belong to Jesus, we should be hearing our spiritual phone ringing. It's a wake-up call from God. And this is no time to let it go into voice mail.
Because God's calling to say, "If you're ever going to do something about the people who don't know Jesus, do it now!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "3 Messages from God in the Disturbing Headlines".
Number one, it's time to live for what others are dying for.
You can go online and you will graphically see the price that our brothers and sisters around the world are paying for their allegiance to Jesus. Torture. Rape. Crucifixion.
We have a faith that is paid for in blood. First by Jesus. Then by countless Jesus-followers, from the first-century Coliseum to crosses today. So I should be intimidated into silence because of what talking about Jesus might cost me? "I might be called a name... marginalized... rejected... disrespected." If I won't pay that puny a price, I should be ashamed.
The old hymn asks - "Am I a soldier of the cross, a follower of the Lamb? And shall I fear to own His cause, or blush to speak His name? Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease? While others fought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas?"
Yeah, spiritual silence, that's no longer an option. It can cost someone Jesus. It can cost someone heaven.
The second message, I think, is that hearts are open because the world is crazy.
God calls us to make "the most of every opportunity because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16). This is opportunity time. Hearts that are usually looking inward are suddenly open to looking upward. With storm clouds coming in from every direction, folks feel vulnerable, they feel unsafe. In the Bible's words, "like the tossing sea, which cannot rest... there is no peace" (Isaiah 57:20-21).
These are Jesus-times. Not to be missed. He's the One who speaks to the storm in the human heart, "Peace, be still!" And "do not let your hearts be troubled."
One other lesson: We have the hope people are starving for.
Peter calls it, "The reason for the hope you have" (1 Peter 3:15). That's what God says will interest people in my Jesus. Especially now. But only if I tell them about His unloseable love, proven on a cross.
And there's never been a better time to tell your "hope story" than now. Our word for today from the Word of God: Hebrews 6:19. What a verse for unraveling times like ours! Speaking of Jesus it says, "we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."
My friend Dave used to keep his sailboat in Stamford Harbor in Connecticut. They've got a hurricane gate that they close in the face of this approaching storm. To protect every craft that makes it into the harbor. Actually my friend rode out a hurricane on his boat! He was blown around but he was safe.
Well, Jesus is the harbor where I'm safe in a Category 5 world.
How can I know where the peace is, where the anchor is, and then not tell the people in my personal world? No more silence. No more letting fear win. No more wimping out on sharing my Jesus.
It's too late for that.
The fear-filled cannot love deeply. They cannot give to the poor. Benevolence has no guarantee of return. They cannot dream wildly. What if their dreams sputter and fall from the sky? Fear paralyzes people. Are you afraid? Afraid of job loss? Afraid of what people are saying about you?
Jesus wages a war against fear. In Matthew 10:28 He says, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” In John 14:27 Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Fear’s main goal is to keep you from God’s plan for your life. Don’t allow it to win! Punch fear in the face! If anything should be afraid, it should be fear itself.
From Max on Life
Deuteronomy 24
“Suppose a man marries a woman but she does not please him. Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house. 2 When she leaves his house, she is free to marry another man. 3 But if the second husband also turns against her, writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away, or if he dies, 4 the first husband may not marry her again, for she has been defiled. That would be detestable to the Lord. You must not bring guilt upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession.
5 “A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or be given any other official responsibilities. He must be free to spend one year at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married.
6 “It is wrong to take a set of millstones, or even just the upper millstone, as security for a loan, for the owner uses it to make a living.
7 “If anyone kidnaps a fellow Israelite and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.
8 “In all cases involving serious skin diseases,[c] be careful to follow the instructions of the Levitical priests; obey all the commands I have given them. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam as you were coming from Egypt.
10 “If you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to pick up the item he is giving as security. 11 You must wait outside while he goes in and brings it out to you. 12 If your neighbor is poor and gives you his cloak as security for a loan, do not keep the cloak overnight. 13 Return the cloak to its owner by sunset so he can stay warm through the night and bless you, and the Lord your God will count you as righteous.
14 “Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns. 15 You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t, they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin.
16 “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.
17 “True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow’s garment as security for her debt. 18 Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from your slavery. That is why I have given you this command.
19 “When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all you do. 20 When you beat the olives from your olive trees, don’t go over the boughs twice. Leave the remaining olives for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. 21 When you gather the grapes in your vineyard, don’t glean the vines after they are picked. Leave the remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. 22 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, January 16, 2015
Read: Isaiah 55:8-11
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens
and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
producing seed for the farmer
and bread for the hungry.
11 It is the same with my word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
INSIGHT: We cannot know God unless He reveals Himself to us. An attribute of God is a characteristic that God has chosen to reveal about Himself through His Word. Incommunicable attributes are those that belong to God alone (e.g., omniscience [all-knowing]; omnipotence [all-powerful]; omnipresence [present everywhere]; immutability [unchangeable]; infinite [having no limits]; transcendence [beyond comprehension]).
Communicable attributes are those that human beings can also possess (e.g., compassion, love, mercy, goodness). In Isaiah 55:8-9, God reveals that He is unlike any other being and our finite minds can never fully understand Him (see Job 11:7-9; Ps. 131:1; Rom. 11:33). Throughout Scripture we are told that there is no one like God (see Ex. 15:11; Ps. 35:10; 89:6-8; Isa. 40:25).
God’s Refreshing Word
By Dennis Fisher
When I was a boy, our family would occasionally travel across Nevada. We loved the desert thunderstorms. Accompanied by lightning bolts and claps of thunder, huge sheets of rain would blanket the hot sand as far as the eye could see. The cooling water refreshed the earth—and us.
Water produces marvelous changes in arid regions. For example, the pincushion cactus is completely dormant during the dry season. But after the first summer rains, cactuses burst into bloom, displaying delicate petals of pink, gold, and white.
Likewise, in the Holy Land after a rainstorm, dry ground can seemingly sprout vegetation overnight. Isaiah used rain’s renewal to illustrate God’s refreshing Word: “As the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:10-11).
Scripture carries spiritual vitality. That’s why it doesn’t return void. Wherever it encounters an open heart, it brings refreshment, nourishment, and new life.
God’s Word is like refreshing rain
That waters crops and seed;
It brings new life to open hearts,
And meets us in our need. —Sper
The Bible is to a thirsty soul what water is to a barren land.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 16, 2015
The Voice of the Nature of God
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" —Isaiah 6:8
When we talk about the call of God, we often forget the most important thing, namely, the nature of Him who calls. There are many things calling each of us today. Some of these calls will be answered, and others will not even be heard. The call is the expression of the nature of the One who calls, and we can only recognize the call if that same nature is in us. The call of God is the expression of God’s nature, not ours. God providentially weaves the threads of His call through our lives, and only we can distinguish them. It is the threading of God’s voice directly to us over a certain concern, and it is useless to seek another person’s opinion of it. Our dealings over the call of God should be kept exclusively between ourselves and Him.
The call of God is not a reflection of my nature; my personal desires and temperament are of no consideration. As long as I dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am suited for, I will never hear the call of God. But when God brings me into the right relationship with Himself, I will be in the same condition Isaiah was. Isaiah was so attuned to God, because of the great crisis he had just endured, that the call of God penetrated his soul. The majority of us cannot hear anything but ourselves. And we cannot hear anything God says. But to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God is to be profoundly changed.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, January 16, 2015
3 Messages from God in the Disturbing Headlines - #7310
You know, people have been pretty worried lately. The news can get pretty unnerving.
I know our family's been seeing more anxiety through social media recently. People who haven't been watching the news seem to be watching it more now. Our national leaders, well, they've spoken more ominously than we've heard them speak.
A U.S. Senator had said that Ebola is "one of the most explosive, deadly epidemics in modern times." In Africa, the number of cases, at that point, had recently doubled.
And each day, well, we hear more sobering terrorism warnings. Porous borders that killers could cross. A terrorist army that's growing exponentially - many with passports that would open the door to Western nations.
It's grim stuff. But for us who belong to Jesus, we should be hearing our spiritual phone ringing. It's a wake-up call from God. And this is no time to let it go into voice mail.
Because God's calling to say, "If you're ever going to do something about the people who don't know Jesus, do it now!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "3 Messages from God in the Disturbing Headlines".
Number one, it's time to live for what others are dying for.
You can go online and you will graphically see the price that our brothers and sisters around the world are paying for their allegiance to Jesus. Torture. Rape. Crucifixion.
We have a faith that is paid for in blood. First by Jesus. Then by countless Jesus-followers, from the first-century Coliseum to crosses today. So I should be intimidated into silence because of what talking about Jesus might cost me? "I might be called a name... marginalized... rejected... disrespected." If I won't pay that puny a price, I should be ashamed.
The old hymn asks - "Am I a soldier of the cross, a follower of the Lamb? And shall I fear to own His cause, or blush to speak His name? Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease? While others fought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas?"
Yeah, spiritual silence, that's no longer an option. It can cost someone Jesus. It can cost someone heaven.
The second message, I think, is that hearts are open because the world is crazy.
God calls us to make "the most of every opportunity because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16). This is opportunity time. Hearts that are usually looking inward are suddenly open to looking upward. With storm clouds coming in from every direction, folks feel vulnerable, they feel unsafe. In the Bible's words, "like the tossing sea, which cannot rest... there is no peace" (Isaiah 57:20-21).
These are Jesus-times. Not to be missed. He's the One who speaks to the storm in the human heart, "Peace, be still!" And "do not let your hearts be troubled."
One other lesson: We have the hope people are starving for.
Peter calls it, "The reason for the hope you have" (1 Peter 3:15). That's what God says will interest people in my Jesus. Especially now. But only if I tell them about His unloseable love, proven on a cross.
And there's never been a better time to tell your "hope story" than now. Our word for today from the Word of God: Hebrews 6:19. What a verse for unraveling times like ours! Speaking of Jesus it says, "we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."
My friend Dave used to keep his sailboat in Stamford Harbor in Connecticut. They've got a hurricane gate that they close in the face of this approaching storm. To protect every craft that makes it into the harbor. Actually my friend rode out a hurricane on his boat! He was blown around but he was safe.
Well, Jesus is the harbor where I'm safe in a Category 5 world.
How can I know where the peace is, where the anchor is, and then not tell the people in my personal world? No more silence. No more letting fear win. No more wimping out on sharing my Jesus.
It's too late for that.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Deuteronomy 23, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Go After the Small Drips
I wonder what formed the Grand Canyon? Maybe a few drips here and there. Slowly more and more water built up. Thunderstorms and lightning… angry expressions from the sky spilling out in the raging river of the Colorado. A once innocent stream now full of power and purpose. As years go by, the crevasse is dug.
Our anger builds like the Colorado. Slowly, small things drip, drip, drip down, annoying, irritating, finally enraging. That was mine! Drip. Get out of my way! Drip. Don't tell me what to do! Drip. The pressure and the buildup unleashing a frenzy of anger, pouring out in our words, sweeping away our loved ones, our homes, and our peace.
Don't wait until you have a gushing fire hydrant. Go after the small drips. Address every little irritant with forgiveness and prayer. Do it before your anger digs a canyon in your life!
From Max on Life
Deuteronomy 23
Regulations concerning Worship
[a]“If a man’s testicles are crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
2 “If a person is illegitimate by birth, neither he nor his descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
3 “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. 4 These nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in distant Aram-naharaim to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam. He turned the intended curse into a blessing because the Lord your God loves you. 6 As long as you live, you must never promote the welfare and prosperity of the Ammonites or Moabites.
7 “Do not detest the Edomites or the Egyptians, because the Edomites are your relatives and you lived as foreigners among the Egyptians. 8 The third generation of Edomites and Egyptians may enter the assembly of the Lord.
Miscellaneous Regulations
9 “When you go to war against your enemies, be sure to stay away from anything that is impure.
10 “Any man who becomes ceremonially defiled because of a nocturnal emission must leave the camp and stay away all day. 11 Toward evening he must bathe himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.
12 “You must have a designated area outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13 Each of you must have a spade as part of your equipment. Whenever you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the spade and cover the excrement. 14 The camp must be holy, for the Lord your God moves around in your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies. He must not see any shameful thing among you, or he will turn away from you.
15 “If slaves should escape from their masters and take refuge with you, you must not hand them over to their masters. 16 Let them live among you in any town they choose, and do not oppress them.
17 “No Israelite, whether man or woman, may become a temple prostitute. 18 When you are bringing an offering to fulfill a vow, you must not bring to the house of the Lord your God any offering from the earnings of a prostitute, whether a man[b] or a woman, for both are detestable to the Lord your God.
19 “Do not charge interest on the loans you make to a fellow Israelite, whether you loan money, or food, or anything else. 20 You may charge interest to foreigners, but you may not charge interest to Israelites, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you do in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
21 “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin. 22 However, it is not a sin to refrain from making a vow. 23 But once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to fulfill your promise to the Lord your God.
24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not carry any away in a basket. 25 And when you enter your neighbor’s field of grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not harvest it with a sickle.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Read: Mark 10:13-16
Jesus Blesses the Children
One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.
14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.
NSIGHT: Jesus demonstrated that true faith in God was not bound by cultural concerns. In a patriarchal society, He met and talked with women (see John 4). He ate and drank with those who were considered impure (see Luke 7:36-30; 17:11-19; 19:1-10). He even embraced children, when most would push them aside (Mark 10:13-14). Jesus didn’t simply say that He had come to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10); He demonstrated it by showing that God’s love is open to everyone.
Kindness Gone Viral By Mart De Haan
News of a simple act of kindness on a New York subway has gone around the world. A young man, head covered by a hooded sweatshirt, fell asleep on the shoulder of an older passenger. When someone else offered to wake the young rider, the older man quietly said, “He must have had a long day. Let him sleep. We’ve all been there.” Then he let the tired fellow rider sleep on his shoulder for the better part of the next hour, until the older man gently eased away to get up for his stop. In the meantime, another passenger snapped a photograph and posted it on social media, and it went viral.
The man’s kindness seems to resonate with what we all long for—the kindness that reflects the heart of God. We see this gentleness in Jesus when His friends tried to protect Him from the noise and bother of little children. Instead, Jesus insisted on taking the little ones in His arms and blessing them (Mark 10:16). In the process, He invited all of us to trust Him like a little child (vv.13-16).
Jesus lets us know that all of us are safe in His presence. Whether awake or asleep, we can lean on Him. When we’re exhausted, He provides a safe place for us to rest.
Under His wings, I am safely abiding,
Though the night deepens and tempests are wild;
Still I can trust Him—I know He will keep me,
He has redeemed me and I am His child. —Cushing
God is a safe resting place.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Do You Walk In White?
We were buried with Him…that just as Christ was raised from the dead…even so we also should walk in newness of life. —Romans 6:4
No one experiences complete sanctification without going through a “white funeral” — the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crucial moment of change through death, sanctification will never be more than an elusive dream. There must be a “white funeral,” a death with only one resurrection— a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can defeat a life like this. It has oneness with God for only one purpose— to be a witness for Him.
Have you really come to your last days? You have often come to them in your mind, but have you really experienced them? You cannot die or go to your funeral in a mood of excitement. Death means you stop being. You must agree with God and stop being the intensely striving kind of Christian you have been. We avoid the cemetery and continually refuse our own death. It will not happen by striving, but by yielding to death. It is dying— being “baptized into His death” (Romans 6:3).
Have you had your “white funeral,” or are you piously deceiving your own soul? Has there been a point in your life which you now mark as your last day? Is there a place in your life to which you go back in memory with humility and overwhelming gratitude, so that you can honestly proclaim, “Yes, it was then, at my ‘white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God.”
“This is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Once you truly realize this is God’s will, you will enter into the process of sanctification as a natural response. Are you willing to experience that “white funeral” now? Will you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends on you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, January 15, 2015
The Price of a Runner's High - #7309
My friend, Bob, is a pastor, and he's also a jogger. Which some would say, he's a jogger but otherwise normal. Well one day he went jogging and he came home and he started to do some work at his desk. He started to write his address on some bills he was paying, except his wife noticed it wasn't his address. And that was her first clue. It turned out that Bob had suffered a mild stroke while he was running.
Now, jogging really is good for you, but in this case he'd had a stroke and he didn't even realize it. So he ended up losing his speech, thought functions, and he recovered slowly. Some of the sermon preparations that used to take hours, now took all week. It was amazing that in the middle of all of that, Bob felt okay when he had his stroke. The doctor said, "You probably experienced a runner's high. It's this mysterious euphoria that takes over and it covers up the pain." That's kind of scary. You can run so hard that you can't feel the damage being done.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Price of a Runner's High."
Our word for today from the Word of God: Luke 10, beginning at verse 38. Now, as we read this, remember that image of a man running so hard he isn't able to feel the damage being done. Let's go to Martha. "Jesus came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister's left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me.' 'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you're worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.'"
Well, here's Martha. And man, I can identify. She's running hard. She represents so many of us, absorbed in our busyness, our deadlines, our stress, our success, our responsibilities, our to-do list. But Martha is running so hard she's unaware of the damage being done. She was missing her Lord, even though she was serving Him. She was missing her sister.
Sound at all familiar? Well, maybe you're running pretty hard right now. Okay, be careful. There might be some damage that you can't feel because of your runner's high. Maybe you're unaware of a partner or a child who is being neglected. They're not yelling. They're not screaming for you. They're just quietly hurting and missing you. They've been left in your busy wake and you can't feel it because you're running so hard.
Maybe the people around you are being stepped on, ignored, feeling used. Could it be that you've become a stress carrier without even being aware of it? You walk into a room, an office, a church, wherever you go, to meetings, and you just bring stress with you. Pretty soon the whole room is stressed.
Maybe you've been losing Jesus in the process, or losing your love, or your joy, or your peace. Maybe you're losing someone you care about because you are running so hard. If you're pushing so hard that you can't feel the pain around you, you're pushing too hard. It's time to hit the brakes, pull over for a time of evaluation, and get in touch with your key relationships, starting with Jesus.
The price of a runner's high is too high for you to pay.
I wonder what formed the Grand Canyon? Maybe a few drips here and there. Slowly more and more water built up. Thunderstorms and lightning… angry expressions from the sky spilling out in the raging river of the Colorado. A once innocent stream now full of power and purpose. As years go by, the crevasse is dug.
Our anger builds like the Colorado. Slowly, small things drip, drip, drip down, annoying, irritating, finally enraging. That was mine! Drip. Get out of my way! Drip. Don't tell me what to do! Drip. The pressure and the buildup unleashing a frenzy of anger, pouring out in our words, sweeping away our loved ones, our homes, and our peace.
Don't wait until you have a gushing fire hydrant. Go after the small drips. Address every little irritant with forgiveness and prayer. Do it before your anger digs a canyon in your life!
From Max on Life
Deuteronomy 23
Regulations concerning Worship
[a]“If a man’s testicles are crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
2 “If a person is illegitimate by birth, neither he nor his descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
3 “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. 4 These nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in distant Aram-naharaim to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam. He turned the intended curse into a blessing because the Lord your God loves you. 6 As long as you live, you must never promote the welfare and prosperity of the Ammonites or Moabites.
7 “Do not detest the Edomites or the Egyptians, because the Edomites are your relatives and you lived as foreigners among the Egyptians. 8 The third generation of Edomites and Egyptians may enter the assembly of the Lord.
Miscellaneous Regulations
9 “When you go to war against your enemies, be sure to stay away from anything that is impure.
10 “Any man who becomes ceremonially defiled because of a nocturnal emission must leave the camp and stay away all day. 11 Toward evening he must bathe himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.
12 “You must have a designated area outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13 Each of you must have a spade as part of your equipment. Whenever you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the spade and cover the excrement. 14 The camp must be holy, for the Lord your God moves around in your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies. He must not see any shameful thing among you, or he will turn away from you.
15 “If slaves should escape from their masters and take refuge with you, you must not hand them over to their masters. 16 Let them live among you in any town they choose, and do not oppress them.
17 “No Israelite, whether man or woman, may become a temple prostitute. 18 When you are bringing an offering to fulfill a vow, you must not bring to the house of the Lord your God any offering from the earnings of a prostitute, whether a man[b] or a woman, for both are detestable to the Lord your God.
19 “Do not charge interest on the loans you make to a fellow Israelite, whether you loan money, or food, or anything else. 20 You may charge interest to foreigners, but you may not charge interest to Israelites, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you do in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
21 “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin. 22 However, it is not a sin to refrain from making a vow. 23 But once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to fulfill your promise to the Lord your God.
24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not carry any away in a basket. 25 And when you enter your neighbor’s field of grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not harvest it with a sickle.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Read: Mark 10:13-16
Jesus Blesses the Children
One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.
14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.
NSIGHT: Jesus demonstrated that true faith in God was not bound by cultural concerns. In a patriarchal society, He met and talked with women (see John 4). He ate and drank with those who were considered impure (see Luke 7:36-30; 17:11-19; 19:1-10). He even embraced children, when most would push them aside (Mark 10:13-14). Jesus didn’t simply say that He had come to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10); He demonstrated it by showing that God’s love is open to everyone.
Kindness Gone Viral By Mart De Haan
News of a simple act of kindness on a New York subway has gone around the world. A young man, head covered by a hooded sweatshirt, fell asleep on the shoulder of an older passenger. When someone else offered to wake the young rider, the older man quietly said, “He must have had a long day. Let him sleep. We’ve all been there.” Then he let the tired fellow rider sleep on his shoulder for the better part of the next hour, until the older man gently eased away to get up for his stop. In the meantime, another passenger snapped a photograph and posted it on social media, and it went viral.
The man’s kindness seems to resonate with what we all long for—the kindness that reflects the heart of God. We see this gentleness in Jesus when His friends tried to protect Him from the noise and bother of little children. Instead, Jesus insisted on taking the little ones in His arms and blessing them (Mark 10:16). In the process, He invited all of us to trust Him like a little child (vv.13-16).
Jesus lets us know that all of us are safe in His presence. Whether awake or asleep, we can lean on Him. When we’re exhausted, He provides a safe place for us to rest.
Under His wings, I am safely abiding,
Though the night deepens and tempests are wild;
Still I can trust Him—I know He will keep me,
He has redeemed me and I am His child. —Cushing
God is a safe resting place.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Do You Walk In White?
We were buried with Him…that just as Christ was raised from the dead…even so we also should walk in newness of life. —Romans 6:4
No one experiences complete sanctification without going through a “white funeral” — the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crucial moment of change through death, sanctification will never be more than an elusive dream. There must be a “white funeral,” a death with only one resurrection— a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can defeat a life like this. It has oneness with God for only one purpose— to be a witness for Him.
Have you really come to your last days? You have often come to them in your mind, but have you really experienced them? You cannot die or go to your funeral in a mood of excitement. Death means you stop being. You must agree with God and stop being the intensely striving kind of Christian you have been. We avoid the cemetery and continually refuse our own death. It will not happen by striving, but by yielding to death. It is dying— being “baptized into His death” (Romans 6:3).
Have you had your “white funeral,” or are you piously deceiving your own soul? Has there been a point in your life which you now mark as your last day? Is there a place in your life to which you go back in memory with humility and overwhelming gratitude, so that you can honestly proclaim, “Yes, it was then, at my ‘white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God.”
“This is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Once you truly realize this is God’s will, you will enter into the process of sanctification as a natural response. Are you willing to experience that “white funeral” now? Will you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends on you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, January 15, 2015
The Price of a Runner's High - #7309
My friend, Bob, is a pastor, and he's also a jogger. Which some would say, he's a jogger but otherwise normal. Well one day he went jogging and he came home and he started to do some work at his desk. He started to write his address on some bills he was paying, except his wife noticed it wasn't his address. And that was her first clue. It turned out that Bob had suffered a mild stroke while he was running.
Now, jogging really is good for you, but in this case he'd had a stroke and he didn't even realize it. So he ended up losing his speech, thought functions, and he recovered slowly. Some of the sermon preparations that used to take hours, now took all week. It was amazing that in the middle of all of that, Bob felt okay when he had his stroke. The doctor said, "You probably experienced a runner's high. It's this mysterious euphoria that takes over and it covers up the pain." That's kind of scary. You can run so hard that you can't feel the damage being done.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Price of a Runner's High."
Our word for today from the Word of God: Luke 10, beginning at verse 38. Now, as we read this, remember that image of a man running so hard he isn't able to feel the damage being done. Let's go to Martha. "Jesus came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister's left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me.' 'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you're worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.'"
Well, here's Martha. And man, I can identify. She's running hard. She represents so many of us, absorbed in our busyness, our deadlines, our stress, our success, our responsibilities, our to-do list. But Martha is running so hard she's unaware of the damage being done. She was missing her Lord, even though she was serving Him. She was missing her sister.
Sound at all familiar? Well, maybe you're running pretty hard right now. Okay, be careful. There might be some damage that you can't feel because of your runner's high. Maybe you're unaware of a partner or a child who is being neglected. They're not yelling. They're not screaming for you. They're just quietly hurting and missing you. They've been left in your busy wake and you can't feel it because you're running so hard.
Maybe the people around you are being stepped on, ignored, feeling used. Could it be that you've become a stress carrier without even being aware of it? You walk into a room, an office, a church, wherever you go, to meetings, and you just bring stress with you. Pretty soon the whole room is stressed.
Maybe you've been losing Jesus in the process, or losing your love, or your joy, or your peace. Maybe you're losing someone you care about because you are running so hard. If you're pushing so hard that you can't feel the pain around you, you're pushing too hard. It's time to hit the brakes, pull over for a time of evaluation, and get in touch with your key relationships, starting with Jesus.
The price of a runner's high is too high for you to pay.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Luke 6:1-26, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Romans 8:28
Romans 8:28 reminds us, “We know that in everything God works for the good of those love Him.” This is one of the most helpful, comforting verses of the entire Bible, announcing God’s sovereignty in any painful, tragic situation we face.
God works. Paul’s word for this is sunergeo—the great-great-grandfather of the term synergy. Paul is saying that God can make all things sunergeo for the good. Blending faith with the failings, triumphs with the tears.
James makes the same point in James 1:2 when he says, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
So what do we do in the meantime? We trust. We trust totally, and remember God is working for the good!
From Max on Life
Luke 6:1-26
A Discussion about the Sabbath
6 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain. 2 But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”
3 Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” 5 And Jesus added, “The Son of Man[a] is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
6 On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. 7 The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.
8 But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. 9 Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”
10 He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.
Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles
12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:
14 Simon (whom he named Peter),
Andrew (Peter’s brother),
James,
John,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
15 Matthew,
Thomas,
James (son of Alphaeus),
Simon (who was called the zealot),
16 Judas (son of James),
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).
Crowds Follow Jesus
17 When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil[b] spirits were healed. 19 Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.
The Beatitudes
20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,
“God blesses you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
21 God blesses you who are hungry now,
for you will be satisfied.
God blesses you who weep now,
for in due time you will laugh.
22 What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.
Sorrows Foretold
24 “What sorrow awaits you who are rich,
for you have your only happiness now.
25 What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now,
for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now,
for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
26 What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds,
for their ancestors also praised false prophets.
Footnotes:
6:5 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
6:18 Greek unclean.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Read: 2 Corinthians 11:24-33
Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 26 I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.[a] 27 I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.
28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?
30 If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. 31 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying. 32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. 33 I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.
Footnotes:
11:26 Greek from false brothers.
Insight
As Paul recounts some of the things he has endured in the service of Christ, the scene from Damascus (vv.32-33) is of special interest. There, Paul’s aggressive preaching ministry created great tension in the Jewish community, resulting in his novel escape (see Acts 9:22-25).
It’s Worth It
By Marion Stroud
If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. —2 Corinthians 11:30
“I can’t do it,” Robert said, throwing his pencil down in despair. “It’s just too hard!” Reading, writing, and spelling seemed impossible to our dyslexic 9-year-old. At last, a solution was offered. But it was tough. We had to do reading and spelling practice with him for 20 minutes every evening—without exception. Sometimes we just didn’t feel like doing it, and at times we despaired of seeing progress. But we were committed to getting Robert’s reading age and his chronological age to match, so we battled on.
After 2 1/2 years, all the tears and struggles seemed infinitely worthwhile. Robert learned to read and spell. And we all learned patient endurance.
The apostle Paul suffered all sorts of hardships as he pursued his goal of sharing the good news of Jesus with those who had never heard. Persecuted, beaten, imprisoned, and misunderstood, sometimes he faced death itself (2 Cor. 11:25). But the joy of seeing people respond to his message made it all worthwhile.
If you feel that the task God has called you to is too hard, remember that the spiritual lessons and joy that are wrapped up in the journey may seem hidden at first, but they are certainly there! God will help you find them.
Sometimes we learn that hardships
Were blessings in disguise,
That earnest work and faith in God
Were proven to be wise. —Hess
The journey is as important as the destination.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." —Isaiah 6:8
God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, “…who will go for Us?” The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear “the voice of the Lord” continually asking, “…who will go for Us?” However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, “Now, you go.” He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, “Here am I! Send me.”
Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His “Follow Me” was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard— “the voice of the Lord.” In perfect freedom we too will say, “Here am I! Send me.”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Daddy, Carry Me - #7308
Our son-in-law has done our family a great favor. He took our clunky, old Super 8 movies and put them onto a DVD so we could watch them a little more easily. And not long ago I was watching a scene with our oldest son that really brought back some, well, tender feelings.
He was probably I guess four years old or so. We were at a tourist attraction on vacation. You could tell he was tired, he was in a new place, and there were a lot of new people around. You know where he was? Here we go, all snuggled up in my arms. He had his head on my shoulder, oh, and his trademark position. He's the only one of our kids that ever did this. He would take the collar of my shirt and put that in his ear with one hand and then he'd suck his thumb with the other hand. And that was just last week! No, no, no I'm just kidding. Today, well, he's gone into God's work, he's been a missionary to Native Americans. Now, we still have a very close bond, although I have to tell you, he hasn't been interested in his thumb or my collar for a number of years now. But that's why this home movie means a lot to me, for more reasons than one.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Daddy, Carry Me."
Our word for today from the Word of God: Deuteronomy 1, beginning at verse 29. God is talking to His people and He says, "I said, 'Do not be terrified. Do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you will fight for you as He did for you in Egypt before your very eyes and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a father carries his son; all the way you went until you reached this place.'"
I can't read this without remembering that home movie of my son and seeing myself in the movie. Except I'm the little guy and God is carrying me. I'm snuggled in His arms. Now, there are two times that a child tends to say, "Daddy, carry me." One is when kids are too tired to go on. And maybe you're there. You've got nothing left to give. "Daddy, carry me." Another time is when a child is fearful. They're in a situation where they've never been before. It's scary. Maybe you're frightened. Maybe you're unsure. Maybe something's going on with one of your kids, or your finances, or your marriage. Maybe you're suddenly alone. It could be an issue or a responsibility that has depleted all the resources you've got. You say, "I can't go any further."
The Israelites would have never made it through the wilderness. They would have never made it to the edge of The Promised Land, if they had to get there on their own strength and courage. They ran out. And God says, "I will carry you, my children. You will be safe in your Father's arms." That could be a picture of you right now. God's inviting you to stop trying to make it on your own, trying to depend on your own resources, trying to size up whether you should even decide to go on based on what you think you can do. When a father carries a son, it has nothing to do with the resources of the one being carried. It's all about how strong the one carrying you is.
Maybe you're like me. You like to tough it out. "I can figure out something here. I'll find a way. I can make it happen. I can handle this." Right now it's time for you not to do that. It's time for you to collapse in your Daddy's arms and try to find out how powerful He is. You say, "Lord, I've got no strength. I've got no energy to contribute. I'm not going to make it on my own." Well, that's a powerful moment. Your powerlessness - a powerful moment. That's the moment of really feeling His love, experiencing His take-over and sensing the release of His power into your exhaustion.
What's the result? Well, I know. Because I've carried a tired, scared child, and it bonds you incredibly. Allow yourself to surrender your strength for your Father's strength. Don't walk one more step on your own. Let Him carry you. "I carried you through the desert all the way," He said.
You collapse in your Daddy's arms and that will bring the two of you close as nothing else can.
Romans 8:28 reminds us, “We know that in everything God works for the good of those love Him.” This is one of the most helpful, comforting verses of the entire Bible, announcing God’s sovereignty in any painful, tragic situation we face.
God works. Paul’s word for this is sunergeo—the great-great-grandfather of the term synergy. Paul is saying that God can make all things sunergeo for the good. Blending faith with the failings, triumphs with the tears.
James makes the same point in James 1:2 when he says, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
So what do we do in the meantime? We trust. We trust totally, and remember God is working for the good!
From Max on Life
Luke 6:1-26
A Discussion about the Sabbath
6 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain. 2 But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”
3 Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” 5 And Jesus added, “The Son of Man[a] is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
6 On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. 7 The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.
8 But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. 9 Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”
10 He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.
Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles
12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:
14 Simon (whom he named Peter),
Andrew (Peter’s brother),
James,
John,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
15 Matthew,
Thomas,
James (son of Alphaeus),
Simon (who was called the zealot),
16 Judas (son of James),
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).
Crowds Follow Jesus
17 When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil[b] spirits were healed. 19 Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.
The Beatitudes
20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,
“God blesses you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
21 God blesses you who are hungry now,
for you will be satisfied.
God blesses you who weep now,
for in due time you will laugh.
22 What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.
Sorrows Foretold
24 “What sorrow awaits you who are rich,
for you have your only happiness now.
25 What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now,
for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now,
for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
26 What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds,
for their ancestors also praised false prophets.
Footnotes:
6:5 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
6:18 Greek unclean.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Read: 2 Corinthians 11:24-33
Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 26 I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.[a] 27 I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.
28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?
30 If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. 31 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying. 32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. 33 I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.
Footnotes:
11:26 Greek from false brothers.
Insight
As Paul recounts some of the things he has endured in the service of Christ, the scene from Damascus (vv.32-33) is of special interest. There, Paul’s aggressive preaching ministry created great tension in the Jewish community, resulting in his novel escape (see Acts 9:22-25).
It’s Worth It
By Marion Stroud
If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. —2 Corinthians 11:30
“I can’t do it,” Robert said, throwing his pencil down in despair. “It’s just too hard!” Reading, writing, and spelling seemed impossible to our dyslexic 9-year-old. At last, a solution was offered. But it was tough. We had to do reading and spelling practice with him for 20 minutes every evening—without exception. Sometimes we just didn’t feel like doing it, and at times we despaired of seeing progress. But we were committed to getting Robert’s reading age and his chronological age to match, so we battled on.
After 2 1/2 years, all the tears and struggles seemed infinitely worthwhile. Robert learned to read and spell. And we all learned patient endurance.
The apostle Paul suffered all sorts of hardships as he pursued his goal of sharing the good news of Jesus with those who had never heard. Persecuted, beaten, imprisoned, and misunderstood, sometimes he faced death itself (2 Cor. 11:25). But the joy of seeing people respond to his message made it all worthwhile.
If you feel that the task God has called you to is too hard, remember that the spiritual lessons and joy that are wrapped up in the journey may seem hidden at first, but they are certainly there! God will help you find them.
Sometimes we learn that hardships
Were blessings in disguise,
That earnest work and faith in God
Were proven to be wise. —Hess
The journey is as important as the destination.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." —Isaiah 6:8
God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, “…who will go for Us?” The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear “the voice of the Lord” continually asking, “…who will go for Us?” However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, “Now, you go.” He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, “Here am I! Send me.”
Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His “Follow Me” was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard— “the voice of the Lord.” In perfect freedom we too will say, “Here am I! Send me.”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Daddy, Carry Me - #7308
Our son-in-law has done our family a great favor. He took our clunky, old Super 8 movies and put them onto a DVD so we could watch them a little more easily. And not long ago I was watching a scene with our oldest son that really brought back some, well, tender feelings.
He was probably I guess four years old or so. We were at a tourist attraction on vacation. You could tell he was tired, he was in a new place, and there were a lot of new people around. You know where he was? Here we go, all snuggled up in my arms. He had his head on my shoulder, oh, and his trademark position. He's the only one of our kids that ever did this. He would take the collar of my shirt and put that in his ear with one hand and then he'd suck his thumb with the other hand. And that was just last week! No, no, no I'm just kidding. Today, well, he's gone into God's work, he's been a missionary to Native Americans. Now, we still have a very close bond, although I have to tell you, he hasn't been interested in his thumb or my collar for a number of years now. But that's why this home movie means a lot to me, for more reasons than one.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Daddy, Carry Me."
Our word for today from the Word of God: Deuteronomy 1, beginning at verse 29. God is talking to His people and He says, "I said, 'Do not be terrified. Do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you will fight for you as He did for you in Egypt before your very eyes and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a father carries his son; all the way you went until you reached this place.'"
I can't read this without remembering that home movie of my son and seeing myself in the movie. Except I'm the little guy and God is carrying me. I'm snuggled in His arms. Now, there are two times that a child tends to say, "Daddy, carry me." One is when kids are too tired to go on. And maybe you're there. You've got nothing left to give. "Daddy, carry me." Another time is when a child is fearful. They're in a situation where they've never been before. It's scary. Maybe you're frightened. Maybe you're unsure. Maybe something's going on with one of your kids, or your finances, or your marriage. Maybe you're suddenly alone. It could be an issue or a responsibility that has depleted all the resources you've got. You say, "I can't go any further."
The Israelites would have never made it through the wilderness. They would have never made it to the edge of The Promised Land, if they had to get there on their own strength and courage. They ran out. And God says, "I will carry you, my children. You will be safe in your Father's arms." That could be a picture of you right now. God's inviting you to stop trying to make it on your own, trying to depend on your own resources, trying to size up whether you should even decide to go on based on what you think you can do. When a father carries a son, it has nothing to do with the resources of the one being carried. It's all about how strong the one carrying you is.
Maybe you're like me. You like to tough it out. "I can figure out something here. I'll find a way. I can make it happen. I can handle this." Right now it's time for you not to do that. It's time for you to collapse in your Daddy's arms and try to find out how powerful He is. You say, "Lord, I've got no strength. I've got no energy to contribute. I'm not going to make it on my own." Well, that's a powerful moment. Your powerlessness - a powerful moment. That's the moment of really feeling His love, experiencing His take-over and sensing the release of His power into your exhaustion.
What's the result? Well, I know. Because I've carried a tired, scared child, and it bonds you incredibly. Allow yourself to surrender your strength for your Father's strength. Don't walk one more step on your own. Let Him carry you. "I carried you through the desert all the way," He said.
You collapse in your Daddy's arms and that will bring the two of you close as nothing else can.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Deuteronomy 22 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A Season of Suffering
God uses our struggles for His glory! The last three years of my dad's life were scarred by ALS. The disease took him from being a healthy mechanic to being a bed-bound paralytic. He lost his voice and his muscles, but he never lost his faith. Visitors noticed. Not so much in what he said, but more in what he didn't say. Never outwardly angry or bitter, Jack Lucado suffered with dignity.
His faith led one man to seek a like faith. This man sought me out and told me because of my dad's example, he became a Jesus follower. Did God orchestrate my father's illness for that very reason? Knowing the value God places on one soul, I wouldn't be surprised. And imagining the splendor of heaven, I know my father is not complaining. A season of suffering is a small assignment when compared to the great reward!
From Max on Life
Deuteronomy 22
If you see your neighbor’s ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don’t ignore your responsibility.[d] Take it back to its owner. 2 If its owner does not live nearby or you don’t know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return it. 3 Do the same if you find your neighbor’s donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don’t ignore your responsibility.
4 “If you see that your neighbor’s donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it back on its feet!
5 “A woman must not put on men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing. Anyone who does this is detestable in the sight of the Lord your God.
6 “If you happen to find a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground, and there are young ones or eggs in it with the mother sitting in the nest, do not take the mother with the young. 7 You may take the young, but let the mother go, so that you may prosper and enjoy a long life.
8 “When you build a new house, you must build a railing around the edge of its flat roof. That way you will not be considered guilty of murder if someone falls from the roof.
9 “You must not plant any other crop between the rows of your vineyard. If you do, you are forbidden to use either the grapes from the vineyard or the other crop.
10 “You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together.
11 “You must not wear clothing made of wool and linen woven together.
12 “You must put four tassels on the hem of the cloak with which you cover yourself—on the front, back, and sides.
Regulations for Sexual Purity
13 “Suppose a man marries a woman, but after sleeping with her, he turns against her 14 and publicly accuses her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘When I married this woman, I discovered she was not a virgin.’ 15 Then the woman’s father and mother must bring the proof of her virginity to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. 16 Her father must say to them, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, and now he has turned against her. 17 He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, “I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin.” But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.’ Then they must spread her bed sheet before the elders. 18 The elders must then take the man and punish him. 19 They must also fine him 100 pieces of silver,[e] which he must pay to the woman’s father because he publicly accused a virgin of Israel of shameful conduct. The woman will then remain the man’s wife, and he may never divorce her.
20 “But suppose the man’s accusations are true, and he can show that she was not a virgin. 21 The woman must be taken to the door of her father’s home, and there the men of the town must stone her to death, for she has committed a disgraceful crime in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her parents’ home. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.
22 “If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil.
23 “Suppose a man meets a young woman, a virgin who is engaged to be married, and he has sexual intercourse with her. If this happens within a town, 24 you must take both of them to the gates of that town and stone them to death. The woman is guilty because she did not scream for help. The man must die because he violated another man’s wife. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.
25 “But if the man meets the engaged woman out in the country, and he rapes her, then only the man must die. 26 Do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no crime worthy of death. She is as innocent as a murder victim. 27 Since the man raped her out in the country, it must be assumed that she screamed, but there was no one to rescue her.
28 “Suppose a man has intercourse with a young woman who is a virgin but is not engaged to be married. If they are discovered, 29 he must pay her father fifty pieces of silver.[f] Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.
30 [g]“A man must not marry his father’s former wife, for this would violate his father.
Footnotes:
22:1 Hebrew don’t hide yourself; similarly in 22:3.
22:19 Hebrew 100 [shekels] of silver, about 2.5 pounds or 1.1 kilograms in weight.
22:29 Hebrew 50 [shekels] of silver, about 1.25 pounds or 570 grams in weight.
22:30 Verse 22:30 is numbered 23:1 in Hebrew text.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Read: Psalm 77:1-15
For Jeduthun, the choir director: A psalm of Asaph.
1 I cry out to God; yes, I shout.
Oh, that God would listen to me!
2 When I was in deep trouble,
I searched for the Lord.
All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,
but my soul was not comforted.
3 I think of God, and I moan,
overwhelmed with longing for his help. Interlude
4 You don’t let me sleep.
I am too distressed even to pray!
5 I think of the good old days,
long since ended,
6 when my nights were filled with joyful songs.
I search my soul and ponder the difference now.
7 Has the Lord rejected me forever?
Will he never again be kind to me?
8 Is his unfailing love gone forever?
Have his promises permanently failed?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he slammed the door on his compassion? Interlude
10 And I said, “This is my fate;
the Most High has turned his hand against me.”
11 But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
12 They are constantly in my thoughts.
I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.
13 O God, your ways are holy.
Is there any god as mighty as you?
14 You are the God of great wonders!
You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.
15 By your strong arm, you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Interlude
Insight
King David enlisted three Levitical choirs and orchestras for the temple worship, led by Asaph, Jeduthun (or Ethan), and Heman (1 Chron. 16:37-41; 25:1-6; 2 Chron. 5:12). Psalm 77 was written by Asaph for Jeduthun. Asaph also composed Psalms 50 and 73-83.
Out Of The Darkness
By Dave Branon
I cried out to God . . . . Who is so great a God as our God? —Psalm 77:1,13
I don’t know what desperate situation gripped Asaph, the writer of Psalm 77, but I’ve heard, and made, similar laments. Over the past dozen years since I lost my daughter, many others who have experienced the loss of a loved one have shared with me heartbreaking sentiments like these:
Crying out to God (v.1). Stretching empty arms heavenward (v.2). Experiencing troubling thoughts about God because of horrible circumstances (v.3). Enduring unspeakable trouble (v.4). Cowering under the feeling of being cast aside (v.7). Fearing failed promises (v.8). Fearing a lack of mercy (v.8).
But a turnaround occurs for Asaph in verse 10 through a recollection of God’s great works. Thoughts turn to God’s love. To memories of what He has done. To His marvelous deeds of old. To the comfort of God’s faithfulness and mercy. To reminders of God’s wonders and greatness. To His strength and redemption.
Despair is real in this life, and answers do not come easily. Yet in the darkness—as we remember God’s glory, majesty, power, and love—our despair can slowly subside. Like Asaph, we can rehearse God’s acts, especially the salvation He brought through Jesus, and we can return to where we once were—resting gratefully in His mighty love.
Lord, we cannot fathom the depth of Your character
or the wisdom of Your actions when trouble visits us.
Help us to inch our way back into Your arms through
a rehearsal of Your goodness and a recollection of Your glorious love.
Remembering the past can bring hope to the present.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
When He was alone…the twelve asked Him about the parable. —Mark 4:10
His Solitude with Us. When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted desires, a broken friendship, or a new friendship— when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us. Notice Jesus Christ’s training of the Twelve. It was the disciples, not the crowd outside, who were confused. His disciples constantly asked Him questions, and He constantly explained things to them, but they didn’t understand until after they received the Holy Spirit (see John 14:26).
As you journey with God, the only thing He intends to be clear is the way He deals with your soul. The sorrows and difficulties in the lives of others will be absolutely confusing to you. We think we understand another person’s struggle until God reveals the same shortcomings in our lives. There are vast areas of stubbornness and ignorance the Holy Spirit has to reveal in each of us, but it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone. Are we alone with Him now? Or are we more concerned with our own ideas, friendships, and cares for our bodies? Jesus cannot teach us anything until we quiet all our intellectual questions and get alone with Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Surprising Heroes - #7307
Brian's a Youth Pastor, and Earl? His most unlikely volunteer. See, Earl wasn't the right age to help out with teenagers. A pretty simple guy, not very well educated. He had one of those faces that looked like it had been lived in for a long time. And he didn't think he had any abilities that would help. In fact, that's what he told Brian. He said, "You know, Brian, I can't do anything. But I really have a heart for kids." So Brian said, "Well, do you make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?" Earl said, "Well, sure! I can do that!" Well, that began a series of events that changed a life; really two lives forever.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Surprising Heroes."
Our word for today from the Word of God, we are in Matthew 20:6-7, where Jesus is telling one of His parables. It's about a man with a vineyard. He's gone out many times to get people to help him reap his crop, and as he gets to the end of the day he still needs more help. And here's what it says, "About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' 'Because no one has hired us' they answered. He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'"
Now, we're looking here at people who did not know that the Master had work for them. But the Master's got work for everybody, including you; including Earl. He went to work in that Coffee House the youth ministry had going... You guessed it, he was making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Right!
One night this hard, rough and tumble biker - real intimidating guy - came in. And he angrily walked up after he heard Christ presented and he went to Brian and said, "I don't buy any of this! Show me one reason why I should!" Earl heard this, put his peanut butter knife down, and he started to cry in the corner. Brian pointed over and said to that biker, "You see that man over there? You see his tears? Those are for you man. He's praying for you." Suddenly that biker was soft for the first time that night, and he said, "That old guy's praying for me? He's crying for me?" Brian said, "Yeah, Jesus loves you, man." And that biker came to Christ that night.
There are a lot of Earls; maybe you're one of them. Maybe you think you don't have any outstanding abilities. You're like those people who said, "Well, no one hired me. No one has asked me to do anything." Would you be willing to say, "Lord, I don't know what I can do for You, but I want to make a difference with the time I have left. So, here am I. Send me."
You never know what God's going to use. Maybe your smile, your driving. Maybe he'll use your abilities as a preparer of home-cooked meals, or your ability to bake mouth watering cookies and cakes to reach hurting, lonely people. Maybe He's going to use your listening. Or your tears, like Earl's tears. Maybe your letter writing, your background; the pain of your background that could connect you to some other people with the same kind of background. Or maybe, He'll have you make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
But would you let God lay some needy group of people, some ministry, some work for Him on your heart? And then tell someone that you have that burden, that you're willing to do anything. And trust God. He knows you intimately and He'll put you some place to minister. You are that unique person that could make a unique difference for Him. Even if you can't imagine it, Jesus is saying to you right now, "You also go and work in my vineyard."
Earl? His peanut butter and jelly sandwiches put him at the right place at the right time. His heart, his tears, brought a seemingly unreachable man to Jesus Christ. Changed a biker's life and it changed Earl's. Jesus needs you, to be one of His surprising heroes.
A Siri read my text
God uses our struggles for His glory! The last three years of my dad's life were scarred by ALS. The disease took him from being a healthy mechanic to being a bed-bound paralytic. He lost his voice and his muscles, but he never lost his faith. Visitors noticed. Not so much in what he said, but more in what he didn't say. Never outwardly angry or bitter, Jack Lucado suffered with dignity.
His faith led one man to seek a like faith. This man sought me out and told me because of my dad's example, he became a Jesus follower. Did God orchestrate my father's illness for that very reason? Knowing the value God places on one soul, I wouldn't be surprised. And imagining the splendor of heaven, I know my father is not complaining. A season of suffering is a small assignment when compared to the great reward!
From Max on Life
Deuteronomy 22
If you see your neighbor’s ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don’t ignore your responsibility.[d] Take it back to its owner. 2 If its owner does not live nearby or you don’t know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return it. 3 Do the same if you find your neighbor’s donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don’t ignore your responsibility.
4 “If you see that your neighbor’s donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it back on its feet!
5 “A woman must not put on men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing. Anyone who does this is detestable in the sight of the Lord your God.
6 “If you happen to find a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground, and there are young ones or eggs in it with the mother sitting in the nest, do not take the mother with the young. 7 You may take the young, but let the mother go, so that you may prosper and enjoy a long life.
8 “When you build a new house, you must build a railing around the edge of its flat roof. That way you will not be considered guilty of murder if someone falls from the roof.
9 “You must not plant any other crop between the rows of your vineyard. If you do, you are forbidden to use either the grapes from the vineyard or the other crop.
10 “You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together.
11 “You must not wear clothing made of wool and linen woven together.
12 “You must put four tassels on the hem of the cloak with which you cover yourself—on the front, back, and sides.
Regulations for Sexual Purity
13 “Suppose a man marries a woman, but after sleeping with her, he turns against her 14 and publicly accuses her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘When I married this woman, I discovered she was not a virgin.’ 15 Then the woman’s father and mother must bring the proof of her virginity to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. 16 Her father must say to them, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, and now he has turned against her. 17 He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, “I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin.” But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.’ Then they must spread her bed sheet before the elders. 18 The elders must then take the man and punish him. 19 They must also fine him 100 pieces of silver,[e] which he must pay to the woman’s father because he publicly accused a virgin of Israel of shameful conduct. The woman will then remain the man’s wife, and he may never divorce her.
20 “But suppose the man’s accusations are true, and he can show that she was not a virgin. 21 The woman must be taken to the door of her father’s home, and there the men of the town must stone her to death, for she has committed a disgraceful crime in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her parents’ home. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.
22 “If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil.
23 “Suppose a man meets a young woman, a virgin who is engaged to be married, and he has sexual intercourse with her. If this happens within a town, 24 you must take both of them to the gates of that town and stone them to death. The woman is guilty because she did not scream for help. The man must die because he violated another man’s wife. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.
25 “But if the man meets the engaged woman out in the country, and he rapes her, then only the man must die. 26 Do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no crime worthy of death. She is as innocent as a murder victim. 27 Since the man raped her out in the country, it must be assumed that she screamed, but there was no one to rescue her.
28 “Suppose a man has intercourse with a young woman who is a virgin but is not engaged to be married. If they are discovered, 29 he must pay her father fifty pieces of silver.[f] Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.
30 [g]“A man must not marry his father’s former wife, for this would violate his father.
Footnotes:
22:1 Hebrew don’t hide yourself; similarly in 22:3.
22:19 Hebrew 100 [shekels] of silver, about 2.5 pounds or 1.1 kilograms in weight.
22:29 Hebrew 50 [shekels] of silver, about 1.25 pounds or 570 grams in weight.
22:30 Verse 22:30 is numbered 23:1 in Hebrew text.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Read: Psalm 77:1-15
For Jeduthun, the choir director: A psalm of Asaph.
1 I cry out to God; yes, I shout.
Oh, that God would listen to me!
2 When I was in deep trouble,
I searched for the Lord.
All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,
but my soul was not comforted.
3 I think of God, and I moan,
overwhelmed with longing for his help. Interlude
4 You don’t let me sleep.
I am too distressed even to pray!
5 I think of the good old days,
long since ended,
6 when my nights were filled with joyful songs.
I search my soul and ponder the difference now.
7 Has the Lord rejected me forever?
Will he never again be kind to me?
8 Is his unfailing love gone forever?
Have his promises permanently failed?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he slammed the door on his compassion? Interlude
10 And I said, “This is my fate;
the Most High has turned his hand against me.”
11 But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
12 They are constantly in my thoughts.
I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.
13 O God, your ways are holy.
Is there any god as mighty as you?
14 You are the God of great wonders!
You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.
15 By your strong arm, you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Interlude
Insight
King David enlisted three Levitical choirs and orchestras for the temple worship, led by Asaph, Jeduthun (or Ethan), and Heman (1 Chron. 16:37-41; 25:1-6; 2 Chron. 5:12). Psalm 77 was written by Asaph for Jeduthun. Asaph also composed Psalms 50 and 73-83.
Out Of The Darkness
By Dave Branon
I cried out to God . . . . Who is so great a God as our God? —Psalm 77:1,13
I don’t know what desperate situation gripped Asaph, the writer of Psalm 77, but I’ve heard, and made, similar laments. Over the past dozen years since I lost my daughter, many others who have experienced the loss of a loved one have shared with me heartbreaking sentiments like these:
Crying out to God (v.1). Stretching empty arms heavenward (v.2). Experiencing troubling thoughts about God because of horrible circumstances (v.3). Enduring unspeakable trouble (v.4). Cowering under the feeling of being cast aside (v.7). Fearing failed promises (v.8). Fearing a lack of mercy (v.8).
But a turnaround occurs for Asaph in verse 10 through a recollection of God’s great works. Thoughts turn to God’s love. To memories of what He has done. To His marvelous deeds of old. To the comfort of God’s faithfulness and mercy. To reminders of God’s wonders and greatness. To His strength and redemption.
Despair is real in this life, and answers do not come easily. Yet in the darkness—as we remember God’s glory, majesty, power, and love—our despair can slowly subside. Like Asaph, we can rehearse God’s acts, especially the salvation He brought through Jesus, and we can return to where we once were—resting gratefully in His mighty love.
Lord, we cannot fathom the depth of Your character
or the wisdom of Your actions when trouble visits us.
Help us to inch our way back into Your arms through
a rehearsal of Your goodness and a recollection of Your glorious love.
Remembering the past can bring hope to the present.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
When He was alone…the twelve asked Him about the parable. —Mark 4:10
His Solitude with Us. When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted desires, a broken friendship, or a new friendship— when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us. Notice Jesus Christ’s training of the Twelve. It was the disciples, not the crowd outside, who were confused. His disciples constantly asked Him questions, and He constantly explained things to them, but they didn’t understand until after they received the Holy Spirit (see John 14:26).
As you journey with God, the only thing He intends to be clear is the way He deals with your soul. The sorrows and difficulties in the lives of others will be absolutely confusing to you. We think we understand another person’s struggle until God reveals the same shortcomings in our lives. There are vast areas of stubbornness and ignorance the Holy Spirit has to reveal in each of us, but it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone. Are we alone with Him now? Or are we more concerned with our own ideas, friendships, and cares for our bodies? Jesus cannot teach us anything until we quiet all our intellectual questions and get alone with Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Surprising Heroes - #7307
Brian's a Youth Pastor, and Earl? His most unlikely volunteer. See, Earl wasn't the right age to help out with teenagers. A pretty simple guy, not very well educated. He had one of those faces that looked like it had been lived in for a long time. And he didn't think he had any abilities that would help. In fact, that's what he told Brian. He said, "You know, Brian, I can't do anything. But I really have a heart for kids." So Brian said, "Well, do you make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?" Earl said, "Well, sure! I can do that!" Well, that began a series of events that changed a life; really two lives forever.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Surprising Heroes."
Our word for today from the Word of God, we are in Matthew 20:6-7, where Jesus is telling one of His parables. It's about a man with a vineyard. He's gone out many times to get people to help him reap his crop, and as he gets to the end of the day he still needs more help. And here's what it says, "About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' 'Because no one has hired us' they answered. He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'"
Now, we're looking here at people who did not know that the Master had work for them. But the Master's got work for everybody, including you; including Earl. He went to work in that Coffee House the youth ministry had going... You guessed it, he was making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Right!
One night this hard, rough and tumble biker - real intimidating guy - came in. And he angrily walked up after he heard Christ presented and he went to Brian and said, "I don't buy any of this! Show me one reason why I should!" Earl heard this, put his peanut butter knife down, and he started to cry in the corner. Brian pointed over and said to that biker, "You see that man over there? You see his tears? Those are for you man. He's praying for you." Suddenly that biker was soft for the first time that night, and he said, "That old guy's praying for me? He's crying for me?" Brian said, "Yeah, Jesus loves you, man." And that biker came to Christ that night.
There are a lot of Earls; maybe you're one of them. Maybe you think you don't have any outstanding abilities. You're like those people who said, "Well, no one hired me. No one has asked me to do anything." Would you be willing to say, "Lord, I don't know what I can do for You, but I want to make a difference with the time I have left. So, here am I. Send me."
You never know what God's going to use. Maybe your smile, your driving. Maybe he'll use your abilities as a preparer of home-cooked meals, or your ability to bake mouth watering cookies and cakes to reach hurting, lonely people. Maybe He's going to use your listening. Or your tears, like Earl's tears. Maybe your letter writing, your background; the pain of your background that could connect you to some other people with the same kind of background. Or maybe, He'll have you make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
But would you let God lay some needy group of people, some ministry, some work for Him on your heart? And then tell someone that you have that burden, that you're willing to do anything. And trust God. He knows you intimately and He'll put you some place to minister. You are that unique person that could make a unique difference for Him. Even if you can't imagine it, Jesus is saying to you right now, "You also go and work in my vineyard."
Earl? His peanut butter and jelly sandwiches put him at the right place at the right time. His heart, his tears, brought a seemingly unreachable man to Jesus Christ. Changed a biker's life and it changed Earl's. Jesus needs you, to be one of His surprising heroes.
A Siri read my text
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