Max Lucado Daily: Simon Carries Jesus' Cross
Four soldiers. One criminal. One cross. Simon, a farmer, stands among the crowd and can't see the man's face, only a head wreathed with thorny branches. Jesus stops in front of Simon and heaves for air, the beam rubbing against an already-raw back.
"His name is Jesus," someone speaks. "Move on!" commands the executioner. But Jesus can't. The beam begins to sway. Simon instinctively extends his strong hands and catches the cross. "You! Take the cross." Simon dares to object. "I don't care," the soldier says, "Take up the cross!" And Simon did literally what God calls us to do figuratively: take up the cross and follow Jesus. Luke 9:23 says, "If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me."
From On Calvary's Hill
Luke 15:11-32
Parable of the Lost Son
To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’
20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.[a]’
22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”
Footnotes:
15:21 Some manuscripts add Please take me on as a hired servant.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Read: Joshua 24:15-24
But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
16 The people replied, “We would never abandon the Lord and serve other gods. 17 For the Lord our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, he preserved us. 18 It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the Lord, for he alone is our God.”
19 Then Joshua warned the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.”
21 But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!”
22 “You are a witness to your own decision,” Joshua said. “You have chosen to serve the Lord.”
“Yes,” they replied, “we are witnesses to what we have said.”
23 “All right then,” Joshua said, “destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him alone.”
The Definite Choice
By Lawrence Darmani
We will serve the Lord! —Joshua 24:21
Coming from someone who used to value ancestral gods, my 90-year-old father’s statement near the end of his life was remarkable: “When I die,” he spoke laboriously, “nobody should do anything other than what the church will do. No soothsaying, no ancestral sacrifices, no rituals. As my life is in the hands of Jesus Christ, so shall my death be!”
My father chose the path of Christ in his old age when he invited Jesus into his life as Savior. His contemporaries mocked him: “An old man like you shouldn’t be going to church!” But my father’s choice to follow and worship the true God was definite, like the people Joshua addressed.
“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,” Joshua challenged them. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (24:15). Their response was resolute—they chose to worship the Lord. Even after Joshua warned them to count the cost (vv.19-20), they still resolved to follow the Lord, recalling His deliverance, provision, and protection (vv.16-17,21).
Such a confident choice, however, calls for equally confident actions, as Joshua strongly reminded them: “Put away the foreign gods . . . and incline your heart to the Lord” (v.23). Have you made a choice to live for God?
Teach me all it means, Lord, to choose You. I want my words, actions, and attitudes to show the love for You that I have in my heart. You are worthy of far more than I could ever do.
A definite choice demands definite actions.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Spiritual Vision Through Personal Purity
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. —Matthew 5:8
Purity is not innocence— it is much more than that. Purity is the result of continued spiritual harmony with God. We have to grow in purity. Our life with God may be right and our inner purity unblemished, yet occasionally our outer life may become spotted and stained. God intentionally does not protect us from this possibility, because this is the way we recognize the necessity of maintaining our spiritual vision through personal purity. If the outer level of our spiritual life with God is impaired to the slightest degree, we must put everything else aside until we make it right. Remember that spiritual vision depends on our character— it is “the pure in heart” who “see God.”
God makes us pure by an act of His sovereign grace, but we still have something that we must carefully watch. It is through our bodily life coming in contact with other people and other points of view that we tend to become tarnished. Not only must our “inner sanctuary” be kept right with God, but also the “outer courts” must be brought into perfect harmony with the purity God gives us through His grace. Our spiritual vision and understanding is immediately blurred when our “outer court” is stained. If we want to maintain personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, it will mean refusing to do or even think certain things. And some things that are acceptable for others will become unacceptable for us.
A practical help in keeping your personal purity unblemished in your relations with other people is to begin to see them as God does. Say to yourself, “That man or that woman is perfect in Christ Jesus! That friend or that relative is perfect in Christ Jesus!”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 26, 2015
How Your Blind Spot Makes You Crash - #7359
When you drive in the New York area, hold on tight. Take changing lanes for example. That's a well developed art form; three or four lanes at a pop. There it goes! Now, the danger zone in changing lanes is what they call your blind spot; that one area in your rear vision that you can't see in any of your mirrors. It's pretty critical. Actually the words "blind spot" took on new meaning for my wife and me a few years ago. See, she had a blind spot. It finally cleared up, but she had vision problems. The doctor believed it was a temporary blind spot. He injected some dye to see how much of her vision was blocked. And I was surprised as he showed us the results. He said, "Now, here's the blind spot that we all have." And I said, "I do?" Right around the optic nerve there are more rods and cones to produce a visual image. So guess what? We all have a blind spot.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Your Blind Spot Makes You Crash."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the wise book of Proverbs 15:12. It's pretty practical stuff. It says, "A mocker resents correction. He will not consult the wise." Verse 5 of that same chapter says, "Whoever heeds correction shows prudence."
This is mentioned three times in the same chapter, so it's got to be important. Verse 32 says, "He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding." It's pretty clear what God is saying here, "Wise people know how to accept correction." They know how to respond to criticism.
You need people around you who confront you, who challenge you, even the ones who criticize you. Why? Because you have a blind spot. Everybody's got a blind spot. We all have weaknesses we can't see. There are hurtful ways we treat people, things we say, ways we act when we're busy or when we're tired. Maybe we're changing lanes and we don't see anything behind us, or maybe even ahead of us.
Often some or our most entrenched sins are often sins we can't see very well. We're so used to doing things a certain way we'll never see some sin without the help of someone else. I'm going to tell you, I've not always welcomed how they tried to help me sometimes. See, God doesn't want our blind spot to remain there. He knows well that the blind spot could make you crash, so he puts two- legged mirrors in our life. You might have some of those.
Those are the people who love us enough, or maybe even dislike us enough to tell us the hard truth about ourselves. If you're mirroring, are you living like a mirror? Sometimes a parent is your mirror, your child might be your mirror. Even your grandchild could be God's mirror in your life. Or maybe your mirror is a friend.
Proverbs 27:17 says, "Iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens the countenance of his friend." Sometimes, though, that sharpening of our countenance doesn't come from somebody we perceive as a friend. It might be somebody who is one of those aggravating maybe even highly critical people in our life. But what they speak may be the truth. The measure of truth is in the words, not the one who said it, the truth that is there. And it may be that they're 10% right and 90% wrong. Take that 10% as a gift from God to help you stay on course.
If you're going to be a good mirror for other people by showing them their blind spots, then would you be sure you show them their strong points too. Tell them what's right with them first. People need to know their strengths. People need to know what's good about them as well as what's bad. Make sure there's praise as well as constructive criticism that says, "I love you enough to tell you the truth."
If our physical vision is faulty, there might be a blind spot that could make you crash. Because God loves you so much, He's not going to leave that blind spot there; sometimes coming from someone who loves us, sometimes coming from a very unwelcome source. But consider, "Where is the truth in what they're saying?" And take it for what it is...a gift from God to help you avoid the crash.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Judges 18, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Peace Be With You
When the Roman soldiers took Jesus out of the Garden of Gethsamane, Jesus' followers took off. We don't know where they went but we do know they couldn't get him out of their minds. They came back and the church of our Lord began with a group of frightened men in an upper room.
Sound familiar? How many churches have just enough religion to come together, but not enough passion to go out? Good people. Good intentions. Words. Promises. But while all this is going on, the door remains locked and the story stays a secret. What will it take to unlock it?
Allow Jesus to come into your upper room and stand before you. Place your hand in the pierced side. Look into those eyes that melted the gates of hell and sent Satan running. Look at them as they look at you, and you will never be the same.
From On Calvary's Hill
Judges 18
Idolatry in the Tribe of Dan
Now in those days Israel had no king. And the tribe of Dan was trying to find a place where they could settle, for they had not yet moved into the land assigned to them when the land was divided among the tribes of Israel. 2 So the men of Dan chose from their clans five capable warriors from the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol to scout out a land for them to settle in.
When these warriors arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, they came to Micah’s house and spent the night there. 3 While at Micah’s house, they recognized the young Levite’s accent, so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here, and what are you doing in this place? Why are you here?” 4 He told them about his agreement with Micah and that he had been hired as Micah’s personal priest.
5 Then they said, “Ask God whether or not our journey will be successful.”
6 “Go in peace,” the priest replied. “For the Lord is watching over your journey.”
7 So the five men went on to the town of Laish, where they noticed the people living carefree lives, like the Sidonians; they were peaceful and secure.[g] The people were also wealthy because their land was very fertile. And they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby.
8 When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them, “What did you find?”
9 The men replied, “Come on, let’s attack them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. What are you waiting for? Don’t hesitate to go and take possession of it. 10 When you get there, you will find the people living carefree lives. God has given us a spacious and fertile land, lacking in nothing!”
11 So 600 men from the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. 12 They camped at a place west of Kiriath-jearim in Judah, which is called Mahaneh-dan[h] to this day. 13 Then they went on from there into the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.
14 The five men who had scouted out the land around Laish explained to the others, “These buildings contain a sacred ephod, as well as some household idols, a carved image, and a cast idol. What do you think you should do?” 15 Then the five men turned off the road and went over to Micah’s house, where the young Levite lived, and greeted him kindly. 16 As the 600 armed warriors from the tribe of Dan stood at the entrance of the gate, 17 the five scouts entered the shrine and removed the carved image, the sacred ephod, the household idols, and the cast idol. Meanwhile, the priest was standing at the gate with the 600 armed warriors.
18 When the priest saw the men carrying all the sacred objects out of Micah’s shrine, he said, “What are you doing?”
19 “Be quiet and come with us,” they said. “Be a father and priest to all of us. Isn’t it better to be a priest for an entire tribe and clan of Israel than for the household of just one man?”
20 The young priest was quite happy to go with them, so he took along the sacred ephod, the household idols, and the carved image. 21 They turned and started on their way again, placing their children, livestock, and possessions in front of them.
22 When the people from the tribe of Dan were quite a distance from Micah’s house, the people who lived near Micah came chasing after them. 23 They were shouting as they caught up with them. The men of Dan turned around and said to Micah, “What’s the matter? Why have you called these men together and chased after us like this?”
24 “What do you mean, ‘What’s the matter?’” Micah replied. “You’ve taken away all the gods I have made, and my priest, and I have nothing left!”
25 The men of Dan said, “Watch what you say! There are some short-tempered men around here who might get angry and kill you and your family.” 26 So the men of Dan continued on their way. When Micah saw that there were too many of them for him to attack, he turned around and went home.
27 Then, with Micah’s idols and his priest, the men of Dan came to the town of Laish, whose people were peaceful and secure. They attacked with swords and burned the town to the ground. 28 There was no one to rescue the people, for they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby. This happened in the valley near Beth-rehob.
Then the people of the tribe of Dan rebuilt the town and lived there. 29 They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor, Israel’s son, but it had originally been called Laish.
30 Then they set up the carved image, and they appointed Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses,[i] as their priest. This family continued as priests for the tribe of Dan until the Exile. 31 So Micah’s carved image was worshiped by the tribe of Dan as long as the Tabernacle of God remained at Shiloh.
18:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
18:12 Mahaneh-dan means “the camp of Dan.”
18:30 As in an ancient Hebrew tradition, some Greek manuscripts, and Latin Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads son of Manasseh.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Read: Luke 2:36-40
The Prophecy of Anna
Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. 37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four.[a] She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. 38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
39 When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. 40 There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.
Footnotes:
2:37 Or She had been a widow for eighty-four years.
INSIGHT: Two people in Scripture are specifically mentioned as seeing and recognizing Jesus as the Messiah when He was an infant. Both Simeon and Anna, faithful servants of God, were blessed with seeing the “Consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25) and “redemption in Jerusalem” (v. 38). Luke records Simeon meeting the infant Jesus in 2:25-35 and Anna in verses 36-38. Anna was of great age (v. 36) and Simeon was most likely elderly as well (v. 26). Often in Scripture the passing of time plays an important role, showing that God is faithful to His promises. Simeon and Anna both waited faithfully for the Messiah and were rewarded by seeing Jesus before they died.
God’s Clocks
By Marion Stroud
She . . . spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. —Luke 2:38
I visit two elderly women from time to time. One has no financial worries, is fit for her age, and lives in her own home. But she can always find something negative to say. The other is crippled with arthritis and rather forgetful. She lives in simple accommodations, and keeps a reminder pad so she won’t forget her appointments. But to every visitor to her tiny apartment, her first comment is always the same: “God is so good to me.” Handing her the reminder pad on my last visit, I noticed that she had written the day before “Out to lunch tomorrow! Wonderful! Another happy day.”
Anna was a prophetess at the time of Jesus’ birth, and her circumstances were hard (Luke 2:36-37). Widowed early and possibly childless, she may have felt purposeless and destitute. But her focus was on God and serving Him. She was yearning for the Messiah, but in the meantime she was busy about God’s business—praying, fasting, and teaching others all that she had learned from Him.
Finally the day arrived when she—now in her eighties—saw the infant Messiah in his young mother’s arms. All her patient waiting was worthwhile. Her heart sang with joy as she praised God and then passed the glad news on to others.
Lord, I don’t want to be a complainer anymore. I want to be a person who overflows with thankfulness for others and for You. May I accept whatever You give me in Your time. Show me how to start today.
It’s hard to see both God’s plan and our part. But their intersection is the best place to be.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Maintaining the Proper Relationship
…the friend of the bridegroom… —John 3:29
Goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing others to Him, it is not the right kind of holiness; it is only an influence which awakens undue emotions and evil desires in people and diverts them from heading in the right direction. A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him, instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this thought— “What a fine person that man is!” That is not being a true “friend of the bridegroom”— I am increasing all the time; He is not.
To maintain this friendship and faithfulness to the Bridegroom, we have to be more careful to have the moral and vital relationship to Him above everything else, including obedience. Sometimes there is nothing to obey and our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it. Only occasionally is it a matter of obedience. At those times when a crisis arises, we have to find out what God’s will is. Yet most of our life is not spent in trying to be consciously obedient, but in maintaining this relationship— being the “friend of the bridegroom.” Christian work can actually be a means of diverting a person’s focus away from Jesus Christ. Instead of being friends “of the bridegroom,” we may become amateur providences of God to someone else, working against Him while we use His weapons.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Prayer - Compartment or Lifestyle? - #7358
Jenny's only two years old, but she's already teaching her parents. She often announces, "Let's pray." She doesn't always pick her times real well. Dad might be studying or Mom might be involved in her housework or trying to get ready for something. That doesn't stop Jenny from saying, "Let's pray." She grabs your hand, closes her eyes and she expects you to do the same. She's fully expecting Mom or Dad to drop whatever they're doing. Mom told me, "I don't dare tell Jenny, 'Oh, later honey, I'm too busy now.'" Jenny's only two, but you know what? I think she's got the right idea.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Prayer – Compartment or Lifestyle?"
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians 6:18. At the end of a passage on spiritual warfare and defeating our enemy, it says, "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." I would call this like prayer unleashed. It's prayer all day. It's where 1 Thessalonians 5 talks about "praying without ceasing." It's staying in contact with the Lord; "All occasions, all kinds of prayers, and all kinds of requests."
See, we tend to have a prayer compartment in our life. We pray in the morning, or maybe in the evening, or over meals. We have prayer meetings. But I think God wants us to take prayer out of that compartment and learn prayer as a lifestyle, not just as an occasional binge. Little Jenny understands that. She's all day long going, "Let's pray. Let's talk to God."
The Spirit may be trying to prompt you in that way many times. It's not a little child. It's the Holy Spirit that's saying, "Let's pray. Let's pray." He's trying to initiate it. Pray in the Spirit. But we're so busy! We're running on our list, our schedule, our program, our agenda. We can't hear His promptings.
In the Old Testament, Nehemiah, one of the great spiritual leaders accomplished so much for the Lord. He was sort of a grownup Jenny. It talks about it in chapter 2, verse 4 when he was in a very important meeting. He says, "I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the king." Right there he's in that meeting with the King. He's under heavy pressure. He says, "I prayed to the God of heaven."
In chapter 4, verse 9, he says, "I prayed to the God of heaven and I posted a guard." Chapter 5, verse 19, Nehemiah's thinking about his income and what he ought to be getting. He says, "Remember me with favor O my God." He prays again. He gets discouraging news in chapter 6, verse 9. He says, "I prayed. Now strengthen my hands." All through his life; it's just part of the weave of a day. It's a lifestyle; checking in with God-talking to God about it.
God doesn't hear from me nearly enough, maybe you, too. It doesn't mean you have to stop everything, bow your head, close your eyes, drop to your knees. It could be prayer on the run. But it's consciously going into the throne room of God to say, "I love you." Just fire that up to Him. "Nice work, Lord. I love what you just did there." "Help!" "What should I say right now?" "Give me strength, Lord." See that's what the Bible calls "abiding in Christ." I haven't got this mastered, but I'm getting it more and more. And it's awesome! "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests."
Jesus might call this faith as a little child. Remember? Maybe like Jenny; a faith that lets prayer get out of its compartment and into your all day every day. There's that voice. It's the voice of God inside saying, "Let's pray." I hope you'll hear it often and respond...and never get enough of it.
When the Roman soldiers took Jesus out of the Garden of Gethsamane, Jesus' followers took off. We don't know where they went but we do know they couldn't get him out of their minds. They came back and the church of our Lord began with a group of frightened men in an upper room.
Sound familiar? How many churches have just enough religion to come together, but not enough passion to go out? Good people. Good intentions. Words. Promises. But while all this is going on, the door remains locked and the story stays a secret. What will it take to unlock it?
Allow Jesus to come into your upper room and stand before you. Place your hand in the pierced side. Look into those eyes that melted the gates of hell and sent Satan running. Look at them as they look at you, and you will never be the same.
From On Calvary's Hill
Judges 18
Idolatry in the Tribe of Dan
Now in those days Israel had no king. And the tribe of Dan was trying to find a place where they could settle, for they had not yet moved into the land assigned to them when the land was divided among the tribes of Israel. 2 So the men of Dan chose from their clans five capable warriors from the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol to scout out a land for them to settle in.
When these warriors arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, they came to Micah’s house and spent the night there. 3 While at Micah’s house, they recognized the young Levite’s accent, so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here, and what are you doing in this place? Why are you here?” 4 He told them about his agreement with Micah and that he had been hired as Micah’s personal priest.
5 Then they said, “Ask God whether or not our journey will be successful.”
6 “Go in peace,” the priest replied. “For the Lord is watching over your journey.”
7 So the five men went on to the town of Laish, where they noticed the people living carefree lives, like the Sidonians; they were peaceful and secure.[g] The people were also wealthy because their land was very fertile. And they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby.
8 When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them, “What did you find?”
9 The men replied, “Come on, let’s attack them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. What are you waiting for? Don’t hesitate to go and take possession of it. 10 When you get there, you will find the people living carefree lives. God has given us a spacious and fertile land, lacking in nothing!”
11 So 600 men from the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. 12 They camped at a place west of Kiriath-jearim in Judah, which is called Mahaneh-dan[h] to this day. 13 Then they went on from there into the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.
14 The five men who had scouted out the land around Laish explained to the others, “These buildings contain a sacred ephod, as well as some household idols, a carved image, and a cast idol. What do you think you should do?” 15 Then the five men turned off the road and went over to Micah’s house, where the young Levite lived, and greeted him kindly. 16 As the 600 armed warriors from the tribe of Dan stood at the entrance of the gate, 17 the five scouts entered the shrine and removed the carved image, the sacred ephod, the household idols, and the cast idol. Meanwhile, the priest was standing at the gate with the 600 armed warriors.
18 When the priest saw the men carrying all the sacred objects out of Micah’s shrine, he said, “What are you doing?”
19 “Be quiet and come with us,” they said. “Be a father and priest to all of us. Isn’t it better to be a priest for an entire tribe and clan of Israel than for the household of just one man?”
20 The young priest was quite happy to go with them, so he took along the sacred ephod, the household idols, and the carved image. 21 They turned and started on their way again, placing their children, livestock, and possessions in front of them.
22 When the people from the tribe of Dan were quite a distance from Micah’s house, the people who lived near Micah came chasing after them. 23 They were shouting as they caught up with them. The men of Dan turned around and said to Micah, “What’s the matter? Why have you called these men together and chased after us like this?”
24 “What do you mean, ‘What’s the matter?’” Micah replied. “You’ve taken away all the gods I have made, and my priest, and I have nothing left!”
25 The men of Dan said, “Watch what you say! There are some short-tempered men around here who might get angry and kill you and your family.” 26 So the men of Dan continued on their way. When Micah saw that there were too many of them for him to attack, he turned around and went home.
27 Then, with Micah’s idols and his priest, the men of Dan came to the town of Laish, whose people were peaceful and secure. They attacked with swords and burned the town to the ground. 28 There was no one to rescue the people, for they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby. This happened in the valley near Beth-rehob.
Then the people of the tribe of Dan rebuilt the town and lived there. 29 They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor, Israel’s son, but it had originally been called Laish.
30 Then they set up the carved image, and they appointed Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses,[i] as their priest. This family continued as priests for the tribe of Dan until the Exile. 31 So Micah’s carved image was worshiped by the tribe of Dan as long as the Tabernacle of God remained at Shiloh.
18:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
18:12 Mahaneh-dan means “the camp of Dan.”
18:30 As in an ancient Hebrew tradition, some Greek manuscripts, and Latin Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads son of Manasseh.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Read: Luke 2:36-40
The Prophecy of Anna
Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. 37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four.[a] She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. 38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
39 When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. 40 There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.
Footnotes:
2:37 Or She had been a widow for eighty-four years.
INSIGHT: Two people in Scripture are specifically mentioned as seeing and recognizing Jesus as the Messiah when He was an infant. Both Simeon and Anna, faithful servants of God, were blessed with seeing the “Consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25) and “redemption in Jerusalem” (v. 38). Luke records Simeon meeting the infant Jesus in 2:25-35 and Anna in verses 36-38. Anna was of great age (v. 36) and Simeon was most likely elderly as well (v. 26). Often in Scripture the passing of time plays an important role, showing that God is faithful to His promises. Simeon and Anna both waited faithfully for the Messiah and were rewarded by seeing Jesus before they died.
God’s Clocks
By Marion Stroud
She . . . spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. —Luke 2:38
I visit two elderly women from time to time. One has no financial worries, is fit for her age, and lives in her own home. But she can always find something negative to say. The other is crippled with arthritis and rather forgetful. She lives in simple accommodations, and keeps a reminder pad so she won’t forget her appointments. But to every visitor to her tiny apartment, her first comment is always the same: “God is so good to me.” Handing her the reminder pad on my last visit, I noticed that she had written the day before “Out to lunch tomorrow! Wonderful! Another happy day.”
Anna was a prophetess at the time of Jesus’ birth, and her circumstances were hard (Luke 2:36-37). Widowed early and possibly childless, she may have felt purposeless and destitute. But her focus was on God and serving Him. She was yearning for the Messiah, but in the meantime she was busy about God’s business—praying, fasting, and teaching others all that she had learned from Him.
Finally the day arrived when she—now in her eighties—saw the infant Messiah in his young mother’s arms. All her patient waiting was worthwhile. Her heart sang with joy as she praised God and then passed the glad news on to others.
Lord, I don’t want to be a complainer anymore. I want to be a person who overflows with thankfulness for others and for You. May I accept whatever You give me in Your time. Show me how to start today.
It’s hard to see both God’s plan and our part. But their intersection is the best place to be.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Maintaining the Proper Relationship
…the friend of the bridegroom… —John 3:29
Goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing others to Him, it is not the right kind of holiness; it is only an influence which awakens undue emotions and evil desires in people and diverts them from heading in the right direction. A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him, instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this thought— “What a fine person that man is!” That is not being a true “friend of the bridegroom”— I am increasing all the time; He is not.
To maintain this friendship and faithfulness to the Bridegroom, we have to be more careful to have the moral and vital relationship to Him above everything else, including obedience. Sometimes there is nothing to obey and our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it. Only occasionally is it a matter of obedience. At those times when a crisis arises, we have to find out what God’s will is. Yet most of our life is not spent in trying to be consciously obedient, but in maintaining this relationship— being the “friend of the bridegroom.” Christian work can actually be a means of diverting a person’s focus away from Jesus Christ. Instead of being friends “of the bridegroom,” we may become amateur providences of God to someone else, working against Him while we use His weapons.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Prayer - Compartment or Lifestyle? - #7358
Jenny's only two years old, but she's already teaching her parents. She often announces, "Let's pray." She doesn't always pick her times real well. Dad might be studying or Mom might be involved in her housework or trying to get ready for something. That doesn't stop Jenny from saying, "Let's pray." She grabs your hand, closes her eyes and she expects you to do the same. She's fully expecting Mom or Dad to drop whatever they're doing. Mom told me, "I don't dare tell Jenny, 'Oh, later honey, I'm too busy now.'" Jenny's only two, but you know what? I think she's got the right idea.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Prayer – Compartment or Lifestyle?"
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians 6:18. At the end of a passage on spiritual warfare and defeating our enemy, it says, "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." I would call this like prayer unleashed. It's prayer all day. It's where 1 Thessalonians 5 talks about "praying without ceasing." It's staying in contact with the Lord; "All occasions, all kinds of prayers, and all kinds of requests."
See, we tend to have a prayer compartment in our life. We pray in the morning, or maybe in the evening, or over meals. We have prayer meetings. But I think God wants us to take prayer out of that compartment and learn prayer as a lifestyle, not just as an occasional binge. Little Jenny understands that. She's all day long going, "Let's pray. Let's talk to God."
The Spirit may be trying to prompt you in that way many times. It's not a little child. It's the Holy Spirit that's saying, "Let's pray. Let's pray." He's trying to initiate it. Pray in the Spirit. But we're so busy! We're running on our list, our schedule, our program, our agenda. We can't hear His promptings.
In the Old Testament, Nehemiah, one of the great spiritual leaders accomplished so much for the Lord. He was sort of a grownup Jenny. It talks about it in chapter 2, verse 4 when he was in a very important meeting. He says, "I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the king." Right there he's in that meeting with the King. He's under heavy pressure. He says, "I prayed to the God of heaven."
In chapter 4, verse 9, he says, "I prayed to the God of heaven and I posted a guard." Chapter 5, verse 19, Nehemiah's thinking about his income and what he ought to be getting. He says, "Remember me with favor O my God." He prays again. He gets discouraging news in chapter 6, verse 9. He says, "I prayed. Now strengthen my hands." All through his life; it's just part of the weave of a day. It's a lifestyle; checking in with God-talking to God about it.
God doesn't hear from me nearly enough, maybe you, too. It doesn't mean you have to stop everything, bow your head, close your eyes, drop to your knees. It could be prayer on the run. But it's consciously going into the throne room of God to say, "I love you." Just fire that up to Him. "Nice work, Lord. I love what you just did there." "Help!" "What should I say right now?" "Give me strength, Lord." See that's what the Bible calls "abiding in Christ." I haven't got this mastered, but I'm getting it more and more. And it's awesome! "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests."
Jesus might call this faith as a little child. Remember? Maybe like Jenny; a faith that lets prayer get out of its compartment and into your all day every day. There's that voice. It's the voice of God inside saying, "Let's pray." I hope you'll hear it often and respond...and never get enough of it.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Judges 17, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: The Temple Curtain Torn
On Calvary's Hill, Jesus cried out in a loud voice and died. Then the curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom. What did fifteen-hundred years of a curtain-draped Holy of Holies communicate? Simple: God is holy! God IS holy-separate from us and unapproachable. Even Moses was told, "You cannot see my face because no one can see me and live." God is holy and we are sinners, and there is a distance between us.
But Jesus hasn't left us with an unapproachable God. 1 Timothy 2:5 says, "There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ." When Jesus' flesh was torn on the cross, the curtain was torn in two. With no hesitation, we are welcome into God's presence-any day, any time. The barrier of sin is down. No more curtain!
From On Calvary's Hill
Judges 17
Micah’s Idols
There was a man named Micah, who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 One day he said to his mother, “I heard you place a curse on the person who stole 1,100 pieces[e] of silver from you. Well, I have the money. I was the one who took it.”
“The Lord bless you for admitting it,” his mother replied. 3 He returned the money to her, and she said, “I now dedicate these silver coins to the Lord. In honor of my son, I will have an image carved and an idol cast.”
4 So when he returned the money to his mother, she took 200 silver coins and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into an image and an idol. And these were placed in Micah’s house. 5 Micah set up a shrine for the idol, and he made a sacred ephod and some household idols. Then he installed one of his sons as his personal priest.
6 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
7 One day a young Levite, who had been living in Bethlehem in Judah, arrived in that area. 8 He had left Bethlehem in search of another place to live, and as he traveled, he came to the hill country of Ephraim. He happened to stop at Micah’s house as he was traveling through. 9 “Where are you from?” Micah asked him.
He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am looking for a place to live.”
10 “Stay here with me,” Micah said, “and you can be a father and priest to me. I will give you ten pieces of silver[f] a year, plus a change of clothes and your food.” 11 The Levite agreed to this, and the young man became like one of Micah’s sons.
12 So Micah installed the Levite as his personal priest, and he lived in Micah’s house. 13 “I know the Lord will bless me now,” Micah said, “because I have a Levite serving as my priest.”
18:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
18:12 Mahaneh-dan means “the camp of Dan.”
18:30 As in an ancient Hebrew tradition, some Greek manuscripts, and Latin Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads son of Manasseh.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Read: Psalm 56
For the choir director: A psalm[a] of David, regarding the time the Philistines seized him in Gath. To be sung to the tune “Dove on Distant Oaks.”
O God, have mercy on me,
for people are hounding me.
My foes attack me all day long.
2 I am constantly hounded by those who slander me,
and many are boldly attacking me.
3 But when I am afraid,
I will put my trust in you.
4 I praise God for what he has promised.
I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
What can mere mortals do to me?
5 They are always twisting what I say;
they spend their days plotting to harm me.
6 They come together to spy on me—
watching my every step, eager to kill me.
7 Don’t let them get away with their wickedness;
in your anger, O God, bring them down.
8 You keep track of all my sorrows.[b]
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.
9 My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help.
This I know: God is on my side!
10 I praise God for what he has promised;
yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised.
11 I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
What can mere mortals do to me?
12 I will fulfill my vows to you, O God,
and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help.
13 For you have rescued me from death;
you have kept my feet from slipping.
So now I can walk in your presence, O God,
in your life-giving light.
Footnotes:
56:Title Hebrew miktam. This may be a literary or musical term.
56:8 Or my wanderings.
INSIGHT: Psalm 56 was written by David when the Philistines captured him in Gath, as stated in the superscription. One of the ironies of David’s life is that he killed the Philistine champion Goliath who was from Gath, but in fleeing from Saul he sought refuge in that same city. In both circumstances, his ultimate refuge was found in God.
Simply Trusting
By Joe Stowell
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. —Psalm 56:3
When our children were young, taking them to the doctor’s office was an interesting experience. The waiting room was filled with toys they could play with and children’s magazines I would read to them. So getting that far with them was no problem. But as soon as I picked them up to carry them into the appointment, everything changed. Suddenly the fun turned into fear as the nurse approached with the needle for the needed shot. The closer she got, the tighter they hugged my neck. They would cling to me for comfort, probably hoping for rescue, not knowing that it was for their own good.
Sometimes in this fallen world we move from times of peace and tranquility into the painful realm of trouble. At that point, the question is, “How will I respond?” We can be fearful and wonder why God allowed this to happen to us, or we can trust that in the midst of this trouble He is doing something that in the end is for our best, even if it hurts. We would do well to remember the words of the psalmist who wrote, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You” (Ps. 56:3).
Like my children, the tougher it gets, the tighter we should hug His neck. Trust Him. His love never fails!
Come quickly, Lord, to help me. Teach me to trust You in times of trouble. Remind me of Your presence and of the fact that You hold me in Your loving arms.
Cling to your heavenly Father; He is your only hope.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Decreasing for His Purpose
He must increase, but I must decrease. —John 3:30
If you become a necessity to someone else’s life, you are out of God’s will. As a servant, your primary responsibility is to be a “friend of the bridegroom” (John 3:29). When you see a person who is close to grasping the claims of Jesus Christ, you know that your influence has been used in the right direction. And when you begin to see that person in the middle of a difficult and painful struggle, don’t try to prevent it, but pray that his difficulty will grow even ten times stronger, until no power on earth or in hell could hold him away from Jesus Christ. Over and over again, we try to be amateur providences in someone’s life. We are indeed amateurs, coming in and actually preventing God’s will and saying, “This person should not have to experience this difficulty.” Instead of being friends of the Bridegroom, our sympathy gets in the way. One day that person will say to us, “You are a thief; you stole my desire to follow Jesus, and because of you I lost sight of Him.”
Beware of rejoicing with someone over the wrong thing, but always look to rejoice over the right thing. “…the friend of the bridegroom…rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:29-30). This was spoken with joy, not with sadness— at last they were to see the Bridegroom! And John said this was his joy. It represents a stepping aside, an absolute removal of the servant, never to be thought of again.
Listen intently with your entire being until you hear the Bridegroom’s voice in the life of another person. And never give any thought to what devastation, difficulties, or sickness it will bring. Just rejoice with godly excitement that His voice has been heard. You may often have to watch Jesus Christ wreck a life before He saves it (see Matthew 10:34).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
How the God of Surprises Leads You to His Will - #7357
Our youngest son was one week away from his sixteenth birthday, and we had surprised his older brother and sister. It was going to be tough to surprise this one for his sixteenth. So I picked him up from his friend's house and we went out to eat. I said, "Hey, you know what, we've got to go over to the next town." He asked why, and I said, "Well, I've got to check out this stable over there. We're thinking about having a Campus Life activity there and I need to find out what it will cost."
Well, that was all true. But there was a little more to it than that. See, his friends were waiting at the campfire at the stables. They were all dressed in western gear with cowboy hats, and bandanas and boots, and they were waiting to surprise him for a western party. It worked! My son thought I was taking him to the next town for one thing, but I had something much better in mind.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How the God of Surprises Leads You to His Will."
That takes us to our word for today from the Word of God in Acts 16:7. Paul and his companions are the people it's talking about. "When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to." Don't get all caught up in the unfamiliar geography here, the principle is what's important. "They passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them."
Actually, this is the beginning of the invasion of the Gospel for the first time into Europe. But Paul hadn't planned on doing that. He went following the Holy Spirit's leading. He knew he was supposed to go to this area of Asia Minor that's across the Aegean Sea from Europe. And then he thought he was going to head West from there. God went, "Surprise! I want you to go East to Europe from here, not West into Asia Minor."
Basically, God was saying, "I got you to this point so I could send you in this surprising direction." Sounds kind of like my son on his birthday. I had to get him to a place where he wouldn't otherwise go so I could surprise him with things he never expected. That's probably like you and me. That's how our Father leads us. You know, I say, "I'm headed to point Y because I think God wants me to get to X." And God says, "No, I want you to go to point Y so you will get to Z." He's the God of surprises, and He'll lead you to a point and then He'll just take you off in a surprising direction.
What does this mean? It may seem like a risk, but you wholeheartedly follow in any direction that God seems to be leading you. Take a step, see a step; one step at a time. Go for it! All He asks you to do is do what you sense He is leading you to do this day. He'll make the days into God's will weeks, the God's will weeks into God's will months, and God's will months into God's will years. You don't have to worry about the macro will of God. It's made up of a thousand micro wills, obeying Him one thing at a time, one day at a time.
So you've got to stay flexible. Don't try to second guess all of the possible outcomes, "Oh boy, I wonder what will happen... Yeah, but..." No! Let God weave His tapestry however He wants on His schedule. And keep your fingerprints off your future. I've actually prayed, "Dear God, when I get to my future, may they find none of my fingerprints on my future." That's what you don't want to find on your future is your own fingerprints.
As a father, I understand bringing a child to the point where you can surprise him. We have a Heavenly Father who does that all the time. So would you just relax right now and enjoy the ride. Your life is being driven by a God you can totally trust who is the God of surprises.
On Calvary's Hill, Jesus cried out in a loud voice and died. Then the curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom. What did fifteen-hundred years of a curtain-draped Holy of Holies communicate? Simple: God is holy! God IS holy-separate from us and unapproachable. Even Moses was told, "You cannot see my face because no one can see me and live." God is holy and we are sinners, and there is a distance between us.
But Jesus hasn't left us with an unapproachable God. 1 Timothy 2:5 says, "There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ." When Jesus' flesh was torn on the cross, the curtain was torn in two. With no hesitation, we are welcome into God's presence-any day, any time. The barrier of sin is down. No more curtain!
From On Calvary's Hill
Judges 17
Micah’s Idols
There was a man named Micah, who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 One day he said to his mother, “I heard you place a curse on the person who stole 1,100 pieces[e] of silver from you. Well, I have the money. I was the one who took it.”
“The Lord bless you for admitting it,” his mother replied. 3 He returned the money to her, and she said, “I now dedicate these silver coins to the Lord. In honor of my son, I will have an image carved and an idol cast.”
4 So when he returned the money to his mother, she took 200 silver coins and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into an image and an idol. And these were placed in Micah’s house. 5 Micah set up a shrine for the idol, and he made a sacred ephod and some household idols. Then he installed one of his sons as his personal priest.
6 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
7 One day a young Levite, who had been living in Bethlehem in Judah, arrived in that area. 8 He had left Bethlehem in search of another place to live, and as he traveled, he came to the hill country of Ephraim. He happened to stop at Micah’s house as he was traveling through. 9 “Where are you from?” Micah asked him.
He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am looking for a place to live.”
10 “Stay here with me,” Micah said, “and you can be a father and priest to me. I will give you ten pieces of silver[f] a year, plus a change of clothes and your food.” 11 The Levite agreed to this, and the young man became like one of Micah’s sons.
12 So Micah installed the Levite as his personal priest, and he lived in Micah’s house. 13 “I know the Lord will bless me now,” Micah said, “because I have a Levite serving as my priest.”
18:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
18:12 Mahaneh-dan means “the camp of Dan.”
18:30 As in an ancient Hebrew tradition, some Greek manuscripts, and Latin Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads son of Manasseh.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Read: Psalm 56
For the choir director: A psalm[a] of David, regarding the time the Philistines seized him in Gath. To be sung to the tune “Dove on Distant Oaks.”
O God, have mercy on me,
for people are hounding me.
My foes attack me all day long.
2 I am constantly hounded by those who slander me,
and many are boldly attacking me.
3 But when I am afraid,
I will put my trust in you.
4 I praise God for what he has promised.
I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
What can mere mortals do to me?
5 They are always twisting what I say;
they spend their days plotting to harm me.
6 They come together to spy on me—
watching my every step, eager to kill me.
7 Don’t let them get away with their wickedness;
in your anger, O God, bring them down.
8 You keep track of all my sorrows.[b]
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.
9 My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help.
This I know: God is on my side!
10 I praise God for what he has promised;
yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised.
11 I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
What can mere mortals do to me?
12 I will fulfill my vows to you, O God,
and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help.
13 For you have rescued me from death;
you have kept my feet from slipping.
So now I can walk in your presence, O God,
in your life-giving light.
Footnotes:
56:Title Hebrew miktam. This may be a literary or musical term.
56:8 Or my wanderings.
INSIGHT: Psalm 56 was written by David when the Philistines captured him in Gath, as stated in the superscription. One of the ironies of David’s life is that he killed the Philistine champion Goliath who was from Gath, but in fleeing from Saul he sought refuge in that same city. In both circumstances, his ultimate refuge was found in God.
Simply Trusting
By Joe Stowell
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. —Psalm 56:3
When our children were young, taking them to the doctor’s office was an interesting experience. The waiting room was filled with toys they could play with and children’s magazines I would read to them. So getting that far with them was no problem. But as soon as I picked them up to carry them into the appointment, everything changed. Suddenly the fun turned into fear as the nurse approached with the needle for the needed shot. The closer she got, the tighter they hugged my neck. They would cling to me for comfort, probably hoping for rescue, not knowing that it was for their own good.
Sometimes in this fallen world we move from times of peace and tranquility into the painful realm of trouble. At that point, the question is, “How will I respond?” We can be fearful and wonder why God allowed this to happen to us, or we can trust that in the midst of this trouble He is doing something that in the end is for our best, even if it hurts. We would do well to remember the words of the psalmist who wrote, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You” (Ps. 56:3).
Like my children, the tougher it gets, the tighter we should hug His neck. Trust Him. His love never fails!
Come quickly, Lord, to help me. Teach me to trust You in times of trouble. Remind me of Your presence and of the fact that You hold me in Your loving arms.
Cling to your heavenly Father; He is your only hope.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Decreasing for His Purpose
He must increase, but I must decrease. —John 3:30
If you become a necessity to someone else’s life, you are out of God’s will. As a servant, your primary responsibility is to be a “friend of the bridegroom” (John 3:29). When you see a person who is close to grasping the claims of Jesus Christ, you know that your influence has been used in the right direction. And when you begin to see that person in the middle of a difficult and painful struggle, don’t try to prevent it, but pray that his difficulty will grow even ten times stronger, until no power on earth or in hell could hold him away from Jesus Christ. Over and over again, we try to be amateur providences in someone’s life. We are indeed amateurs, coming in and actually preventing God’s will and saying, “This person should not have to experience this difficulty.” Instead of being friends of the Bridegroom, our sympathy gets in the way. One day that person will say to us, “You are a thief; you stole my desire to follow Jesus, and because of you I lost sight of Him.”
Beware of rejoicing with someone over the wrong thing, but always look to rejoice over the right thing. “…the friend of the bridegroom…rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:29-30). This was spoken with joy, not with sadness— at last they were to see the Bridegroom! And John said this was his joy. It represents a stepping aside, an absolute removal of the servant, never to be thought of again.
Listen intently with your entire being until you hear the Bridegroom’s voice in the life of another person. And never give any thought to what devastation, difficulties, or sickness it will bring. Just rejoice with godly excitement that His voice has been heard. You may often have to watch Jesus Christ wreck a life before He saves it (see Matthew 10:34).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
How the God of Surprises Leads You to His Will - #7357
Our youngest son was one week away from his sixteenth birthday, and we had surprised his older brother and sister. It was going to be tough to surprise this one for his sixteenth. So I picked him up from his friend's house and we went out to eat. I said, "Hey, you know what, we've got to go over to the next town." He asked why, and I said, "Well, I've got to check out this stable over there. We're thinking about having a Campus Life activity there and I need to find out what it will cost."
Well, that was all true. But there was a little more to it than that. See, his friends were waiting at the campfire at the stables. They were all dressed in western gear with cowboy hats, and bandanas and boots, and they were waiting to surprise him for a western party. It worked! My son thought I was taking him to the next town for one thing, but I had something much better in mind.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How the God of Surprises Leads You to His Will."
That takes us to our word for today from the Word of God in Acts 16:7. Paul and his companions are the people it's talking about. "When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to." Don't get all caught up in the unfamiliar geography here, the principle is what's important. "They passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them."
Actually, this is the beginning of the invasion of the Gospel for the first time into Europe. But Paul hadn't planned on doing that. He went following the Holy Spirit's leading. He knew he was supposed to go to this area of Asia Minor that's across the Aegean Sea from Europe. And then he thought he was going to head West from there. God went, "Surprise! I want you to go East to Europe from here, not West into Asia Minor."
Basically, God was saying, "I got you to this point so I could send you in this surprising direction." Sounds kind of like my son on his birthday. I had to get him to a place where he wouldn't otherwise go so I could surprise him with things he never expected. That's probably like you and me. That's how our Father leads us. You know, I say, "I'm headed to point Y because I think God wants me to get to X." And God says, "No, I want you to go to point Y so you will get to Z." He's the God of surprises, and He'll lead you to a point and then He'll just take you off in a surprising direction.
What does this mean? It may seem like a risk, but you wholeheartedly follow in any direction that God seems to be leading you. Take a step, see a step; one step at a time. Go for it! All He asks you to do is do what you sense He is leading you to do this day. He'll make the days into God's will weeks, the God's will weeks into God's will months, and God's will months into God's will years. You don't have to worry about the macro will of God. It's made up of a thousand micro wills, obeying Him one thing at a time, one day at a time.
So you've got to stay flexible. Don't try to second guess all of the possible outcomes, "Oh boy, I wonder what will happen... Yeah, but..." No! Let God weave His tapestry however He wants on His schedule. And keep your fingerprints off your future. I've actually prayed, "Dear God, when I get to my future, may they find none of my fingerprints on my future." That's what you don't want to find on your future is your own fingerprints.
As a father, I understand bringing a child to the point where you can surprise him. We have a Heavenly Father who does that all the time. So would you just relax right now and enjoy the ride. Your life is being driven by a God you can totally trust who is the God of surprises.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Judges 16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A Cry of Victory
"It is finished." Jesus cried! Stop and listen. Can you imagine the cry from the cross? What was finished? The history-long plan of redeeming man. The message of God to man. The works done by Jesus as a man on earth were finished.
Had Jesus' hands not been fastened down, I dare say that a triumphant fist would have punched the dark sky. This is no cry of despair. It is a cry of completion. A cry of victory. A cry of fulfillment. Yes, even a cry of relief. "Take me home." Come, ten thousand angels! Come and take this wounded one to the cradle of his Father's arms.
Farewell, manger's infant. Yes, take him home. Take this Son to his Father. He deserves a rest. Bless you, holy ambassador. Go home, rest well. The battle is over! It is finished.
From On Calvary's Hill
Judges 16
Samson Carries Away Gaza’s Gates
One day Samson went to the Philistine town of Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute. 2 Word soon spread[a] that Samson was there, so the men of Gaza gathered together and waited all night at the town gates. They kept quiet during the night, saying to themselves, “When the light of morning comes, we will kill him.”
3 But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors of the town gate, including the two posts, and lifted them up, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them all the way to the top of the hill across from Hebron.
Samson and Delilah
4 Some time later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the valley of Sorek. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice Samson to tell you what makes him so strong and how he can be overpowered and tied up securely. Then each of us will give you 1,100 pieces[b] of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong and what it would take to tie you up securely.”
7 Samson replied, “If I were tied up with seven new bowstrings that have not yet been dried, I would become as weak as anyone else.”
8 So the Philistine rulers brought Delilah seven new bowstrings, and she tied Samson up with them. 9 She had hidden some men in one of the inner rooms of her house, and she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson snapped the bowstrings as a piece of string snaps when it is burned by a fire. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
10 Afterward Delilah said to him, “You’ve been making fun of me and telling me lies! Now please tell me how you can be tied up securely.”
11 Samson replied, “If I were tied up with brand-new ropes that had never been used, I would become as weak as anyone else.”
12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him up with them. The men were hiding in the inner room as before, and again Delilah cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But again Samson snapped the ropes from his arms as if they were thread.
13 Then Delilah said, “You’ve been making fun of me and telling me lies! Now tell me how you can be tied up securely.”
Samson replied, “If you were to weave the seven braids of my hair into the fabric on your loom and tighten it with the loom shuttle, I would become as weak as anyone else.”
So while he slept, Delilah wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric. 14 Then she tightened it with the loom shuttle.[c] Again she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson woke up, pulled back the loom shuttle, and yanked his hair away from the loom and the fabric.
15 Then Delilah pouted, “How can you tell me, ‘I love you,’ when you don’t share your secrets with me? You’ve made fun of me three times now, and you still haven’t told me what makes you so strong!” 16 She tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it.
17 Finally, Samson shared his secret with her. “My hair has never been cut,” he confessed, “for I was dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as anyone else.”
18 Delilah realized he had finally told her the truth, so she sent for the Philistine rulers. “Come back one more time,” she said, “for he has finally told me his secret.” So the Philistine rulers returned with the money in their hands. 19 Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down,[d] and his strength left him.
20 Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!”
When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.
21 So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.
22 But before long, his hair began to grow back.
Samson’s Final Victory
23 The Philistine rulers held a great festival, offering sacrifices and praising their god, Dagon. They said, “Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!”
24 When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy to us! The one who killed so many of us is now in our power!”
25 Half drunk by now, the people demanded, “Bring out Samson so he can amuse us!” So he was brought from the prison to amuse them, and they had him stand between the pillars supporting the roof.
26 Samson said to the young servant who was leading him by the hand, “Place my hands against the pillars that hold up the temple. I want to rest against them.” 27 Now the temple was completely filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there, and there were about 3,000 men and women on the roof who were watching as Samson amused them.
28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.” 29 Then Samson put his hands on the two center pillars that held up the temple. Pushing against them with both hands, 30 he prayed, “Let me die with the Philistines.” And the temple crashed down on the Philistine rulers and all the people. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime.
31 Later his brothers and other relatives went down to get his body. They took him back home and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, where his father, Manoah, was buried. Samson had judged Israel for twenty years.
16:2 As in Greek and Syriac versions and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew lacks Word soon spread.
16:5 Hebrew 1,100 [shekels], about 28 pounds or 12.5 kilograms in weight.
16:13-14 As in Greek version and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew lacks I would become as weak as anyone else. / So while he slept, Delilah wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric. 14 Then she tightened it with the loom shuttle.
16:19 Or she began to torment him. Greek version reads He began to grow weak.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, March 23, 2015
Read: John 1:1-9
Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,[a]
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.[b]
6 God sent a man, John the Baptist,[c] 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
Footnotes:
1:3-4 Or and nothing that was created was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything.
1:5 Or and the darkness has not understood it.
1:6 Greek a man named John.
INSIGHT: The author of the gospel of John is not the same John referred to in today’s reading (1:6). John the Baptist, the “man sent from God,” was the fulfillment of the “messenger” prophesied in Malachi 3:1 (see Mark 1:2-3). His main task was to introduce Jesus to the world and “to bear witness of the Light” (John 1:7-8). The miraculous circumstances of John’s birth are told in Luke 1:5-80. He was probably a cousin of Jesus (Luke 1:36), had the privilege to baptize Him (Matt. 3:13-15), and was imprisoned and later beheaded by Herod (14:1-12). His ministry is recorded in Matthew 3; 11:1-11; Mark 1:1-9; and Luke 3. Jesus said that of “those born of women” (i.e., those born by ordinary human birth), none is greater than John the Baptist (Matt. 11:11).
Son Reflector
By Julie Ackerman Link
This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light. —John 1:7
The cozy little village of Rjukan, Norway, is a delightful place to live—except during the dark days of winter. Located in a valley at the foot of the towering Gaustatoppen Mountain, the town receives no direct sunlight for nearly half of the year. Residents had long considered the idea of placing mirrors at the top of the mountain to reflect the sun. But the concept was not feasible until recently. In 2005, a local artist began “The Mirror Project” to bring together people who could turn the idea into reality. Eight years later, in October 2013, the mirrors went into action. Residents crowded into the town square to soak up the reflected sunlight.
In a spiritual sense, much of the world is like the village of Rjukan—mountains of troubles keep the light of Jesus from getting through. But God strategically places His children to act as reflectors. One such person was John the Baptist, who came “to bear witness of the Light”—Jesus—who gives light “to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death” (John 1:7; Luke 1:79).
Just as sunlight is essential for emotional and physical health, so exposure to the light of Jesus is essential for spiritual health. Thankfully, every believer is in a position to reflect His light into the world’s dark places.
Dear Father, help me to reflect Your light into the world around me today. May all that I say and do bear witness of Your light and truth. May others see how wonderful You are.
A world in darkness needs the light of Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 23, 2015
Am I Carnally Minded?
Where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal…? —1 Corinthians 3:3
The natural man, or unbeliever, knows nothing about carnality. The desires of the flesh warring against the Spirit, and the Spirit warring against the flesh, which began at rebirth, are what produce carnality and the awareness of it. But Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). In other words, carnality will disappear.
Are you quarrelsome and easily upset over small things? Do you think that no one who is a Christian is ever like that? Paul said they are, and he connected these attitudes with carnality. Is there a truth in the Bible that instantly awakens a spirit of malice or resentment in you? If so, that is proof that you are still carnal. If the process of sanctification is continuing in your life, there will be no trace of that kind of spirit remaining.
If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn’t ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of the darkness will say, “Oh, I can explain that.” When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness.
What is the proof that carnality has gone? Never deceive yourself; when carnality is gone you will know it— it is the most real thing you can imagine. And God will see to it that you have a number of opportunities to prove to yourself the miracle of His grace. The proof is in a very practical test. You will find yourself saying, “If this had happened before, I would have had the spirit of resentment!” And you will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 23, 2015
A Royal Identity, A Righteous Life - #7356
Our daughter has been a married woman for a while and obviously our conversations are no longer adult-to-child, they are adult-to-adult. But there's one thing about our conversations that hasn't changed from when she was a very little girl. One of us will call the other one, and I might be real busy, but I'll just dive right into the conversation. At which point my daughter might say, "Wait, Dad. You didn't say it." I know what she means-"Hi, Princess." See that started when she was a little baby in my arms. She had no hair and I did, and now she has hair...and never mind. But I will always say to her, as I did when she was a little baby, "I love you, Princess." To this day she wants to hear that name.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Royal Identity, A Righteous Life."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 6. I'm going to begin reading in the middle of verse 16 where it says, "We are the temple of the living God. As God has said, 'I will live with them and walk among them. And I will be their God and they will be my people. Therefore come out from them and be separate says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you and you will be my sons and daughters' says the Lord Almighty."
I remember when I was a kid, speakers would come in and they would talk about this. "Come out from among them and be separate." And they were telling us not to be worldly and to avoid certain worldly amusements, which was probably a good idea. It was usually accompanied by a list of don'ts.
Now, God calls for us to be separate from the unclean things in the world. But notice the invitation comes with a crown. Look at the context. He basically says, "Do you know who you are? You're my people. I walk among you. I'm a Father to you. You are the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty." I think that means you are royalty, right? If He's the King, what does that make you? You're His son or daughter.
You might as well put Prince in front of your name, or Princess. You can do it right now. "I am Prince ____." "I am Princess ____." See, that's how God feels about you. That's who He thinks you are. And because you're royalty, that's the reason you say, "Wait! I am a prince in God's family. I am a princess in God's family. I can't touch that. I can't watch that. I shouldn't go there. I can't listen to that." It's not a matter of legalism. It's a matter of being His royal child.
Now, how come you may not feel like royalty right now? Maybe you've been hurt, rejected or abused. You've been sinned against or you've sinned. If you take your worth from earth, you'll probably think you're a loser and you'll keep making loser choices. But if you take your worth from your Father, the King, you will know you're royalty and you will make royal choices. Isn't it about time you started making royal choices?
Sometimes you just want to grab a child or young person who doesn't realize who they are and say, "You're better than this, man! Do you know who you are?" That's what God is doing with you. It affects how you treat your mate, because now you see them as a prince or a princess; your kids, the people in your church, your coworkers, your friends. Don't cheapen yourself or do something that could embarrass the name of the King whose child you are.
Maybe you've been away from Him. You've been doing un-royal things in your life. This is your day to come home. Quit believing the lie-the lie-dentities. Return to your Father, the King.
Maybe you've never experienced this incredible sense of being loved by God, knowing you are loved by God, knowing you are valued by Him like this because you've never begun a love relationship with Him. That love relationship begins at the cross, where the Son of God thought you were so valuable He gave His life and shed His blood for you.
You want to experience that love for yourself and experience how special you are? Well, then today would you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours." Go to our website. Let's get this thing nailed down and get it done today. It's ANewStory.com.
Listen to your Father as He calls you "Prince" or "Princess." He says, "I love you, my Prince. I love you my Princess. Now live like who you are."
"It is finished." Jesus cried! Stop and listen. Can you imagine the cry from the cross? What was finished? The history-long plan of redeeming man. The message of God to man. The works done by Jesus as a man on earth were finished.
Had Jesus' hands not been fastened down, I dare say that a triumphant fist would have punched the dark sky. This is no cry of despair. It is a cry of completion. A cry of victory. A cry of fulfillment. Yes, even a cry of relief. "Take me home." Come, ten thousand angels! Come and take this wounded one to the cradle of his Father's arms.
Farewell, manger's infant. Yes, take him home. Take this Son to his Father. He deserves a rest. Bless you, holy ambassador. Go home, rest well. The battle is over! It is finished.
From On Calvary's Hill
Judges 16
Samson Carries Away Gaza’s Gates
One day Samson went to the Philistine town of Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute. 2 Word soon spread[a] that Samson was there, so the men of Gaza gathered together and waited all night at the town gates. They kept quiet during the night, saying to themselves, “When the light of morning comes, we will kill him.”
3 But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors of the town gate, including the two posts, and lifted them up, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them all the way to the top of the hill across from Hebron.
Samson and Delilah
4 Some time later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the valley of Sorek. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice Samson to tell you what makes him so strong and how he can be overpowered and tied up securely. Then each of us will give you 1,100 pieces[b] of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong and what it would take to tie you up securely.”
7 Samson replied, “If I were tied up with seven new bowstrings that have not yet been dried, I would become as weak as anyone else.”
8 So the Philistine rulers brought Delilah seven new bowstrings, and she tied Samson up with them. 9 She had hidden some men in one of the inner rooms of her house, and she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson snapped the bowstrings as a piece of string snaps when it is burned by a fire. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
10 Afterward Delilah said to him, “You’ve been making fun of me and telling me lies! Now please tell me how you can be tied up securely.”
11 Samson replied, “If I were tied up with brand-new ropes that had never been used, I would become as weak as anyone else.”
12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him up with them. The men were hiding in the inner room as before, and again Delilah cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But again Samson snapped the ropes from his arms as if they were thread.
13 Then Delilah said, “You’ve been making fun of me and telling me lies! Now tell me how you can be tied up securely.”
Samson replied, “If you were to weave the seven braids of my hair into the fabric on your loom and tighten it with the loom shuttle, I would become as weak as anyone else.”
So while he slept, Delilah wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric. 14 Then she tightened it with the loom shuttle.[c] Again she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson woke up, pulled back the loom shuttle, and yanked his hair away from the loom and the fabric.
15 Then Delilah pouted, “How can you tell me, ‘I love you,’ when you don’t share your secrets with me? You’ve made fun of me three times now, and you still haven’t told me what makes you so strong!” 16 She tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it.
17 Finally, Samson shared his secret with her. “My hair has never been cut,” he confessed, “for I was dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as anyone else.”
18 Delilah realized he had finally told her the truth, so she sent for the Philistine rulers. “Come back one more time,” she said, “for he has finally told me his secret.” So the Philistine rulers returned with the money in their hands. 19 Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down,[d] and his strength left him.
20 Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!”
When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.
21 So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.
22 But before long, his hair began to grow back.
Samson’s Final Victory
23 The Philistine rulers held a great festival, offering sacrifices and praising their god, Dagon. They said, “Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!”
24 When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy to us! The one who killed so many of us is now in our power!”
25 Half drunk by now, the people demanded, “Bring out Samson so he can amuse us!” So he was brought from the prison to amuse them, and they had him stand between the pillars supporting the roof.
26 Samson said to the young servant who was leading him by the hand, “Place my hands against the pillars that hold up the temple. I want to rest against them.” 27 Now the temple was completely filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there, and there were about 3,000 men and women on the roof who were watching as Samson amused them.
28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.” 29 Then Samson put his hands on the two center pillars that held up the temple. Pushing against them with both hands, 30 he prayed, “Let me die with the Philistines.” And the temple crashed down on the Philistine rulers and all the people. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime.
31 Later his brothers and other relatives went down to get his body. They took him back home and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, where his father, Manoah, was buried. Samson had judged Israel for twenty years.
16:2 As in Greek and Syriac versions and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew lacks Word soon spread.
16:5 Hebrew 1,100 [shekels], about 28 pounds or 12.5 kilograms in weight.
16:13-14 As in Greek version and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew lacks I would become as weak as anyone else. / So while he slept, Delilah wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric. 14 Then she tightened it with the loom shuttle.
16:19 Or she began to torment him. Greek version reads He began to grow weak.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, March 23, 2015
Read: John 1:1-9
Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,[a]
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.[b]
6 God sent a man, John the Baptist,[c] 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
Footnotes:
1:3-4 Or and nothing that was created was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything.
1:5 Or and the darkness has not understood it.
1:6 Greek a man named John.
INSIGHT: The author of the gospel of John is not the same John referred to in today’s reading (1:6). John the Baptist, the “man sent from God,” was the fulfillment of the “messenger” prophesied in Malachi 3:1 (see Mark 1:2-3). His main task was to introduce Jesus to the world and “to bear witness of the Light” (John 1:7-8). The miraculous circumstances of John’s birth are told in Luke 1:5-80. He was probably a cousin of Jesus (Luke 1:36), had the privilege to baptize Him (Matt. 3:13-15), and was imprisoned and later beheaded by Herod (14:1-12). His ministry is recorded in Matthew 3; 11:1-11; Mark 1:1-9; and Luke 3. Jesus said that of “those born of women” (i.e., those born by ordinary human birth), none is greater than John the Baptist (Matt. 11:11).
Son Reflector
By Julie Ackerman Link
This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light. —John 1:7
The cozy little village of Rjukan, Norway, is a delightful place to live—except during the dark days of winter. Located in a valley at the foot of the towering Gaustatoppen Mountain, the town receives no direct sunlight for nearly half of the year. Residents had long considered the idea of placing mirrors at the top of the mountain to reflect the sun. But the concept was not feasible until recently. In 2005, a local artist began “The Mirror Project” to bring together people who could turn the idea into reality. Eight years later, in October 2013, the mirrors went into action. Residents crowded into the town square to soak up the reflected sunlight.
In a spiritual sense, much of the world is like the village of Rjukan—mountains of troubles keep the light of Jesus from getting through. But God strategically places His children to act as reflectors. One such person was John the Baptist, who came “to bear witness of the Light”—Jesus—who gives light “to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death” (John 1:7; Luke 1:79).
Just as sunlight is essential for emotional and physical health, so exposure to the light of Jesus is essential for spiritual health. Thankfully, every believer is in a position to reflect His light into the world’s dark places.
Dear Father, help me to reflect Your light into the world around me today. May all that I say and do bear witness of Your light and truth. May others see how wonderful You are.
A world in darkness needs the light of Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 23, 2015
Am I Carnally Minded?
Where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal…? —1 Corinthians 3:3
The natural man, or unbeliever, knows nothing about carnality. The desires of the flesh warring against the Spirit, and the Spirit warring against the flesh, which began at rebirth, are what produce carnality and the awareness of it. But Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). In other words, carnality will disappear.
Are you quarrelsome and easily upset over small things? Do you think that no one who is a Christian is ever like that? Paul said they are, and he connected these attitudes with carnality. Is there a truth in the Bible that instantly awakens a spirit of malice or resentment in you? If so, that is proof that you are still carnal. If the process of sanctification is continuing in your life, there will be no trace of that kind of spirit remaining.
If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn’t ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of the darkness will say, “Oh, I can explain that.” When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness.
What is the proof that carnality has gone? Never deceive yourself; when carnality is gone you will know it— it is the most real thing you can imagine. And God will see to it that you have a number of opportunities to prove to yourself the miracle of His grace. The proof is in a very practical test. You will find yourself saying, “If this had happened before, I would have had the spirit of resentment!” And you will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 23, 2015
A Royal Identity, A Righteous Life - #7356
Our daughter has been a married woman for a while and obviously our conversations are no longer adult-to-child, they are adult-to-adult. But there's one thing about our conversations that hasn't changed from when she was a very little girl. One of us will call the other one, and I might be real busy, but I'll just dive right into the conversation. At which point my daughter might say, "Wait, Dad. You didn't say it." I know what she means-"Hi, Princess." See that started when she was a little baby in my arms. She had no hair and I did, and now she has hair...and never mind. But I will always say to her, as I did when she was a little baby, "I love you, Princess." To this day she wants to hear that name.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Royal Identity, A Righteous Life."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 6. I'm going to begin reading in the middle of verse 16 where it says, "We are the temple of the living God. As God has said, 'I will live with them and walk among them. And I will be their God and they will be my people. Therefore come out from them and be separate says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you and you will be my sons and daughters' says the Lord Almighty."
I remember when I was a kid, speakers would come in and they would talk about this. "Come out from among them and be separate." And they were telling us not to be worldly and to avoid certain worldly amusements, which was probably a good idea. It was usually accompanied by a list of don'ts.
Now, God calls for us to be separate from the unclean things in the world. But notice the invitation comes with a crown. Look at the context. He basically says, "Do you know who you are? You're my people. I walk among you. I'm a Father to you. You are the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty." I think that means you are royalty, right? If He's the King, what does that make you? You're His son or daughter.
You might as well put Prince in front of your name, or Princess. You can do it right now. "I am Prince ____." "I am Princess ____." See, that's how God feels about you. That's who He thinks you are. And because you're royalty, that's the reason you say, "Wait! I am a prince in God's family. I am a princess in God's family. I can't touch that. I can't watch that. I shouldn't go there. I can't listen to that." It's not a matter of legalism. It's a matter of being His royal child.
Now, how come you may not feel like royalty right now? Maybe you've been hurt, rejected or abused. You've been sinned against or you've sinned. If you take your worth from earth, you'll probably think you're a loser and you'll keep making loser choices. But if you take your worth from your Father, the King, you will know you're royalty and you will make royal choices. Isn't it about time you started making royal choices?
Sometimes you just want to grab a child or young person who doesn't realize who they are and say, "You're better than this, man! Do you know who you are?" That's what God is doing with you. It affects how you treat your mate, because now you see them as a prince or a princess; your kids, the people in your church, your coworkers, your friends. Don't cheapen yourself or do something that could embarrass the name of the King whose child you are.
Maybe you've been away from Him. You've been doing un-royal things in your life. This is your day to come home. Quit believing the lie-the lie-dentities. Return to your Father, the King.
Maybe you've never experienced this incredible sense of being loved by God, knowing you are loved by God, knowing you are valued by Him like this because you've never begun a love relationship with Him. That love relationship begins at the cross, where the Son of God thought you were so valuable He gave His life and shed His blood for you.
You want to experience that love for yourself and experience how special you are? Well, then today would you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours." Go to our website. Let's get this thing nailed down and get it done today. It's ANewStory.com.
Listen to your Father as He calls you "Prince" or "Princess." He says, "I love you, my Prince. I love you my Princess. Now live like who you are."
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals, Luke 15:1-10
Max Lucado Daily: Get Ready for a Surprise
Have you got God figured out? Get ready, you may be in for a surprise. Hear the rocks meant for the body of the adulterous woman drop to the ground. Listen as Jesus invites a death-row convict to ride with Him to the Kingdom in the front seat of the limo. Listen as the Messiah whispers to the Samaritan woman, “I who speak to you am He.” And listen to the surprise as Mary’s name is spoken by a man she had buried.
God appearing in the strangest of places. Doing the strangest of things. Stretching smiles where there had hung only frowns. Hanging a bright star in a dark sky. Many more knees will bow. And many more seekers will celebrate.
“For no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him!” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
from Six Hours One Friday
Luke 15:1-10
Parable of the Lost Sheep
Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
Footnotes:
15:8 Greek ten drachmas. A drachma was the equivalent of a full day’s wage.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Read: 1 Thessalonians 2:6-14
As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.
7 As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children[a] among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children. 8 We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.
9 Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. 10 You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. 11 And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. 12 We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory.
13 Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.
14 And then, dear brothers and sisters, you suffered persecution from your own countrymen. In this way, you imitated the believers in God’s churches in Judea who, because of their belief in Christ Jesus, suffered from their own people, the Jews.
Footnotes:
2:7 Some manuscripts read we were gentle.
INSIGHT: Paul often talks about the relationship that followers of Christ have with each other. This relationship is so close that he compares it to the parts of the body working together (1 Cor. 12). Jesus says that people will know we are His followers by the way we treat one another (John 13:35).
The Family Of Faith
By David C. McCasland
You had become dear to us. —1 Thessalonians 2:8
During the 1980s, a singles’ class at our church became a close-knit family for many people who had lost a spouse through divorce or death. When someone needed to move, class members packed boxes, carried furniture, and provided food. Birthdays and holidays were no longer solitary events as faith and friendship merged into an ongoing relationship of encouragement. Many of those bonds forged during adversity three decades ago continue to flourish and sustain individuals and families today.
Paul’s letter to the followers of Jesus in Thessalonica paints a picture of life-giving relationships in God’s family. “We were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children” (1 Thess. 2:7). “For you remember, [brothers and sisters], our labor and toil . . . that we might not be a burden to any of you” (v.9). “We exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children” (v.11). Like mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, Paul and his associates shared the gospel and their lives with these fellow believers who “had become dear” to them (v.8).
In God’s family of faith, He provides mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers for us. The Lord gives His joy as we share our lives together in His grace and love.
Father, You’ve called us to serve one another. Give me a heart willing to accept the care of others. May I ask for help when I am in need and respond with a heart of grace to others when they ask me for help.
God loves you and me; let’s love one another.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, March 22, 2015
The Burning Heart
Did not our heart burn within us…? —Luke 24:32
We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus appears to us, fires are set ablaze, and we are given wonderful visions; but then we must learn to maintain the secret of the burning heart— a heart that can go through anything. It is the simple, dreary day, with its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart— unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus.
Much of the distress we experience as Christians comes not as the result of sin, but because we are ignorant of the laws of our own nature. For instance, the only test we should use to determine whether or not to allow a particular emotion to run its course in our lives is to examine what the final outcome of that emotion will be. Think it through to its logical conclusion, and if the outcome is something that God would condemn, put a stop to it immediately. But if it is an emotion that has been kindled by the Spirit of God and you don’t allow it to have its way in your life, it will cause a reaction on a lower level than God intended. That is the way unrealistic and overly emotional people are made. And the higher the emotion, the deeper the level of corruption, if it is not exercised on its intended level. If the Spirit of God has stirred you, make as many of your decisions as possible irrevocable, and let the consequences be what they will. We cannot stay forever on the “mount of transfiguration,” basking in the light of our mountaintop experience (see Mark 9:1-9). But we must obey the light we received there; we must put it into action. When God gives us a vision, we must transact business with Him at that point, no matter what the cost.
We cannot kindle when we will
The fire which in the heart resides,
The spirit bloweth and is still,
In mystery our soul abides;
But tasks in hours of insight willed
Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.
Have you got God figured out? Get ready, you may be in for a surprise. Hear the rocks meant for the body of the adulterous woman drop to the ground. Listen as Jesus invites a death-row convict to ride with Him to the Kingdom in the front seat of the limo. Listen as the Messiah whispers to the Samaritan woman, “I who speak to you am He.” And listen to the surprise as Mary’s name is spoken by a man she had buried.
God appearing in the strangest of places. Doing the strangest of things. Stretching smiles where there had hung only frowns. Hanging a bright star in a dark sky. Many more knees will bow. And many more seekers will celebrate.
“For no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him!” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
from Six Hours One Friday
Luke 15:1-10
Parable of the Lost Sheep
Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
Footnotes:
15:8 Greek ten drachmas. A drachma was the equivalent of a full day’s wage.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Read: 1 Thessalonians 2:6-14
As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.
7 As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children[a] among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children. 8 We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.
9 Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. 10 You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. 11 And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. 12 We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory.
13 Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.
14 And then, dear brothers and sisters, you suffered persecution from your own countrymen. In this way, you imitated the believers in God’s churches in Judea who, because of their belief in Christ Jesus, suffered from their own people, the Jews.
Footnotes:
2:7 Some manuscripts read we were gentle.
INSIGHT: Paul often talks about the relationship that followers of Christ have with each other. This relationship is so close that he compares it to the parts of the body working together (1 Cor. 12). Jesus says that people will know we are His followers by the way we treat one another (John 13:35).
The Family Of Faith
By David C. McCasland
You had become dear to us. —1 Thessalonians 2:8
During the 1980s, a singles’ class at our church became a close-knit family for many people who had lost a spouse through divorce or death. When someone needed to move, class members packed boxes, carried furniture, and provided food. Birthdays and holidays were no longer solitary events as faith and friendship merged into an ongoing relationship of encouragement. Many of those bonds forged during adversity three decades ago continue to flourish and sustain individuals and families today.
Paul’s letter to the followers of Jesus in Thessalonica paints a picture of life-giving relationships in God’s family. “We were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children” (1 Thess. 2:7). “For you remember, [brothers and sisters], our labor and toil . . . that we might not be a burden to any of you” (v.9). “We exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children” (v.11). Like mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, Paul and his associates shared the gospel and their lives with these fellow believers who “had become dear” to them (v.8).
In God’s family of faith, He provides mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers for us. The Lord gives His joy as we share our lives together in His grace and love.
Father, You’ve called us to serve one another. Give me a heart willing to accept the care of others. May I ask for help when I am in need and respond with a heart of grace to others when they ask me for help.
God loves you and me; let’s love one another.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, March 22, 2015
The Burning Heart
Did not our heart burn within us…? —Luke 24:32
We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus appears to us, fires are set ablaze, and we are given wonderful visions; but then we must learn to maintain the secret of the burning heart— a heart that can go through anything. It is the simple, dreary day, with its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart— unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus.
Much of the distress we experience as Christians comes not as the result of sin, but because we are ignorant of the laws of our own nature. For instance, the only test we should use to determine whether or not to allow a particular emotion to run its course in our lives is to examine what the final outcome of that emotion will be. Think it through to its logical conclusion, and if the outcome is something that God would condemn, put a stop to it immediately. But if it is an emotion that has been kindled by the Spirit of God and you don’t allow it to have its way in your life, it will cause a reaction on a lower level than God intended. That is the way unrealistic and overly emotional people are made. And the higher the emotion, the deeper the level of corruption, if it is not exercised on its intended level. If the Spirit of God has stirred you, make as many of your decisions as possible irrevocable, and let the consequences be what they will. We cannot stay forever on the “mount of transfiguration,” basking in the light of our mountaintop experience (see Mark 9:1-9). But we must obey the light we received there; we must put it into action. When God gives us a vision, we must transact business with Him at that point, no matter what the cost.
We cannot kindle when we will
The fire which in the heart resides,
The spirit bloweth and is still,
In mystery our soul abides;
But tasks in hours of insight willed
Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Judges 15, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: So Many Hurts
If hurts were hairs-we'd all look like grizzlies! So many hurts. When teachers ignore your work, their neglect hurts. When your girlfriend drops you, when your husband abandons you, when the company fires you, it hurts. Rejection always hurts.
People bring pain. Sometimes deliberately. Sometimes randomly. So where do you turn? Hitman.com? Jim Beam and friends? Pity Party Catering Service? Retaliation has its appeal, but Jesus has a better idea! Grace is not blind. It sees the hurt full well. But Grace chooses to see God's forgiveness even more. Hebrews 12:15 urges us, "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."
Where grace is lacking, bitterness abounds. Where grace abounds, forgiveness grows. Forgiveness may not happen all at once. But it can happen with you.
From GRACE
Judges 15
Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines
Later on, during the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat as a present to his wife. He said, “I’m going into my wife’s room to sleep with her,” but her father wouldn’t let him in.
2 “I truly thought you must hate her,” her father explained, “so I gave her in marriage to your best man. But look, her younger sister is even more beautiful than she is. Marry her instead.”
3 Samson said, “This time I cannot be blamed for everything I am going to do to you Philistines.” 4 Then he went out and caught 300 foxes. He tied their tails together in pairs, and he fastened a torch to each pair of tails. 5 Then he lit the torches and let the foxes run through the grain fields of the Philistines. He burned all their grain to the ground, including the sheaves and the uncut grain. He also destroyed their vineyards and olive groves.
6 “Who did this?” the Philistines demanded.
“Samson,” was the reply, “because his father-in-law from Timnah gave Samson’s wife to be married to his best man.” So the Philistines went and got the woman and her father and burned them to death.
7 “Because you did this,” Samson vowed, “I won’t rest until I take my revenge on you!” 8 So he attacked the Philistines with great fury and killed many of them. Then he went to live in a cave in the rock of Etam.
9 The Philistines retaliated by setting up camp in Judah and spreading out near the town of Lehi. 10 The men of Judah asked the Philistines, “Why are you attacking us?”
The Philistines replied, “We’ve come to capture Samson. We’ve come to pay him back for what he did to us.”
11 So 3,000 men of Judah went down to get Samson at the cave in the rock of Etam. They said to Samson, “Don’t you realize the Philistines rule over us? What are you doing to us?”
But Samson replied, “I only did to them what they did to me.”
12 But the men of Judah told him, “We have come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”
“All right,” Samson said. “But promise that you won’t kill me yourselves.”
13 “We will only tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines,” they replied. “We won’t kill you.” So they tied him up with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
14 As Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines came shouting in triumph. But the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson, and he snapped the ropes on his arms as if they were burnt strands of flax, and they fell from his wrists. 15 Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it. 16 Then Samson said,
“With the jawbone of a donkey,
I’ve piled them in heaps!
With the jawbone of a donkey,
I’ve killed a thousand men!”
17 When he finished his boasting, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was named Jawbone Hill.[d]
18 Samson was now very thirsty, and he cried out to the Lord, “You have accomplished this great victory by the strength of your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of these pagans?” 19 So God caused water to gush out of a hollow in the ground at Lehi, and Samson was revived as he drank. Then he named that place “The Spring of the One Who Cried Out,”[e] and it is still in Lehi to this day.
20 Samson judged Israel for twenty years during the period when the Philistines dominated the land.
15:17 Hebrew Ramath-lehi.
15:19 Hebrew En-hakkore.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Read: Nahum 1:1-9
The Lord’s Anger against Nineveh
The Lord is a jealous God,
filled with vengeance and rage.
He takes revenge on all who oppose him
and continues to rage against his enemies!
3 The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great,
and he never lets the guilty go unpunished.
He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm.
The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet.
4 At his command the oceans dry up,
and the rivers disappear.
The lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade,
and the green forests of Lebanon wither.
5 In his presence the mountains quake,
and the hills melt away;
the earth trembles,
and its people are destroyed.
6 Who can stand before his fierce anger?
Who can survive his burning fury?
His rage blazes forth like fire,
and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence.
7 The Lord is good,
a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in him.
8 But he will sweep away his enemies[a]
in an overwhelming flood.
He will pursue his foes
into the darkness of night.
9 Why are you scheming against the Lord?
He will destroy you with one blow;
he won’t need to strike twice!
Footnotes:
1:8 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads sweep away her place.
INSIGHT: Nahum’s prophecy in many ways is a reflection of his name, which means “consolation.” Some believe that the prophet Nahum may have been from Galilee because the fishing village of Capernaum was on the shores of Galilee and Capernaum means “the village or town of Nahum.”
Justice And Mercy Combined
By Dave Branon
The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. —Nahum 1:7
When a defendant stands before a judge, he or she is at the mercy of the court. If the defendant is innocent, the court should be a refuge. But if the defendant is guilty, we expect the court to exact punishment.
In Nahum, we see God as both a refuge and a judge. It says, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble” (1:7 niv). But it also says, “He will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness” (v.8 niv). Over 100 years earlier, Nineveh had repented after Jonah preached God’s forgiveness, and the land was safe (Jonah 3:10). But during Nahum’s day, Nineveh was plotting “evil against the Lord” (Nah. 1:11). In chapter 3, Nahum details Nineveh’s destruction.
Many people know only one side of God’s dealings with the human race but not the other. They think that He is holy and wants only to punish us, or that He is merciful and wants only to show kindness. In truth, He is judge and refuge. Peter writes that Jesus “committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). As a result, He “bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness” (v.24).
The whole truth about God is good news! He is judge, but because of Jesus, we can go to Him as our refuge.
Lord, never let us underestimate You by seeing only one side of Your role in our lives. Help us to enjoy Your love and kindness while recognizing how much You hate sin.
God’s justice and mercy intersect at the cross.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Identified or Simply Interested?
I have been crucified with Christ… —Galatians 2:20
The inescapable spiritual need each of us has is the need to sign the death certificate of our sin nature. I must take my emotional opinions and intellectual beliefs and be willing to turn them into a moral verdict against the nature of sin; that is, against any claim I have to my right to myself. Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ….” He did not say, “I have made a determination to imitate Jesus Christ,” or, “I will really make an effort to follow Him” —but— “I have been identified with Him in His death.” Once I reach this moral decision and act on it, all that Christ accomplished for me on the Cross is accomplished in me. My unrestrained commitment of myself to God gives the Holy Spirit the opportunity to grant to me the holiness of Jesus Christ.
“…it is no longer I who live….” My individuality remains, but my primary motivation for living and the nature that rules me are radically changed. I have the same human body, but the old satanic right to myself has been destroyed.
“…and the life which I now live in the flesh,” not the life which I long to live or even pray that I live, but the life I now live in my mortal flesh— the life which others can see, “I live by faith in the Son of God….” This faith was not Paul’s own faith in Jesus Christ, but the faith the Son God had given to him (see Ephesians 2:8). It is no longer a faith in faith, but a faith that transcends all imaginable limits— a faith that comes only from the Son of God.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Judges 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: My God, My God
Calvary's Hill, Christ lifts his heavy head toward the heavens crying out, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani"-that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34). We would ask the same. Why him? Why forsake your son? Forsake the murderers. Desert the evildoers. Turn your back on the perverts and peddlers of pain. Abandon them, not him.
What did Christ feel on the cross? The icy displeasure of a sin-hating God. Why? Because Jesus carried our sins in His body. With hands nailed open, he invited God, "Treat me as you would treat them." And God did. In an act that broke the heart of the Father, yet honored the holiness of heaven, sin-purging judgment flowed over the sinless Son of the ages.
My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Why did God scream those words? So you'll never have to!
From On Calvary's Hill
Judges 14
Samson’s Riddle
One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye. 2 When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.”
3 His father and mother objected. “Isn’t there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?” they asked. “Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?”
But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She looks good to me.” 4 His father and mother didn’t realize the Lord was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time.
5 As Samson and his parents were going down to Timnah, a young lion suddenly attacked Samson near the vineyards of Timnah. 6 At that moment the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and he ripped the lion’s jaws apart with his bare hands. He did it as easily as if it were a young goat. But he didn’t tell his father or mother about it. 7 When Samson arrived in Timnah, he talked with the woman and was very pleased with her.
8 Later, when he returned to Timnah for the wedding, he turned off the path to look at the carcass of the lion. And he found that a swarm of bees had made some honey in the carcass. 9 He scooped some of the honey into his hands and ate it along the way. He also gave some to his father and mother, and they ate it. But he didn’t tell them he had taken the honey from the carcass of the lion.
10 As his father was making final arrangements for the marriage, Samson threw a party at Timnah, as was the custom for elite young men. 11 When the bride’s parents[b] saw him, they selected thirty young men from the town to be his companions.
12 Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. If you solve my riddle during these seven days of the celebration, I will give you thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing. 13 But if you can’t solve it, then you must give me thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing.”
“All right,” they agreed, “let’s hear your riddle.”
14 So he said:
“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;
out of the strong came something sweet.”
Three days later they were still trying to figure it out. 15 On the fourth[c] day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle for us, or we will burn down your father’s house with you in it. Did you invite us to this party just to make us poor?”
16 So Samson’s wife came to him in tears and said, “You don’t love me; you hate me! You have given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.”
“I haven’t even given the answer to my father or mother,” he replied. “Why should I tell you?” 17 So she cried whenever she was with him and kept it up for the rest of the celebration. At last, on the seventh day he told her the answer because she was tormenting him with her nagging. Then she explained the riddle to the young men.
18 So before sunset of the seventh day, the men of the town came to Samson with their answer:
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
Samson replied, “If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer, you wouldn’t have solved my riddle!”
19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to the town of Ashkelon, killed thirty men, took their belongings, and gave their clothing to the men who had solved his riddle. But Samson was furious about what had happened, and he went back home to live with his father and mother. 20 So his wife was given in marriage to the man who had been Samson’s best man at the wedding.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 20, 2015
The Birth of Samson
Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines, who oppressed them for forty years.
2 In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant, and they had no children. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food.[a] 5 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”
6 The woman ran and told her husband, “A man of God appeared to me! He looked like one of God’s angels, terrifying to see. I didn’t ask where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. For your son will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the moment of his birth until the day of his death.’”
Footnotes:
13:4 Hebrew any unclean thing; also in 13:7, 14.
INSIGHT: Samson was set apart as “a Nazirite to God” even before he was born (vv. 5,7). Nazirite means “dedicated” or “consecrated.” Numbers 6:1-21 sets out the requirements for those who were Nazirites. Besides Samson, other well-known Nazirites in the Bible are Samuel (1 Sam. 1:11) and John the Baptist (Luke 1:15).
A Gift Of Hope
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
He shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. —Judges 13:5
When a powerful typhoon swept through the city of Tacloban, Philippines, in 2013, an estimated 10,000 people died, and many who survived found themselves homeless and jobless. Necessities became scarce. Three months later, while the town was still struggling to dig itself out from the destruction, a baby was born on a roadside near Tacloban amid torrents of rain and strong wind. Although the weather brought back painful memories, residents worked together to find a midwife and transport the mother and newborn to a clinic. The baby survived, thrived, and became a symbol of hope during a time of despair.
Forty years of Philistine oppression marked a grim period in Israel’s national history. During this time, an angel informed an Israelite woman that she would give birth to a special son (Judg. 13:3). According to the angel, the baby would be a Nazirite—a man set apart to God—and would “begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (v.5). The infant, Samson, was a gift of hope born in a troubled time.
Trouble is unavoidable, yet Jesus has the power to rescue us from despair. Christ was born “to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace” (Luke 1:76-79).
Lord, help me to see beyond my circumstances and put my hope in You. All authority and power are Yours. Remind me of Your goodness, and let me rest in Your love.
Jesus is the hope that calms life’s storms.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 20, 2015
Friendship with God
Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing…? —Genesis 18:17
The Delights of His Friendship. Genesis 18 brings out the delight of true friendship with God, as compared with simply feeling His presence occasionally in prayer. This friendship means being so intimately in touch with God that you never even need to ask Him to show you His will. It is evidence of a level of intimacy which confirms that you are nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you have a right-standing relationship with God, you have a life of freedom, liberty, and delight; you are God’s will. And all of your commonsense decisions are actually His will for you, unless you sense a feeling of restraint brought on by a check in your spirit. You are free to make decisions in the light of a perfect and delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will lovingly produce that sense of restraint. Once he does, you must stop immediately.
The Difficulties of His Friendship. Why did Abraham stop praying when he did? He stopped because he still was lacking the level of intimacy in his relationship with God, which would enable him boldly to continue on with the Lord in prayer until his desire was granted. Whenever we stop short of our true desire in prayer and say, “Well, I don’t know, maybe this is not God’s will,” then we still have another level to go. It shows that we are not as intimately acquainted with God as Jesus was, and as Jesus would have us to be— “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22). Think of the last thing you prayed about— were you devoted to your desire or to God? Was your determination to get some gift of the Spirit for yourself or to get to God? “For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). The reason for asking is so you may get to know God better. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). We should keep praying to get a perfect understanding of God Himself.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 20, 2015
The Jesus Journal Igniting Your Spiritual Growth - #7355
Someone said to me, "Don't forget to tell your wife!" I said, "Wait a minute. I'd better write it down. I'm Mr. No Gig." They looked at me kind of funny. See, computers have gigabytes of memory. And I think sometimes I've reached mine, so I am like "Mr. No Gig". Look, I'm too young to be losing my memory. I think I've just used it up, that's all. There's not room to put anything else in there.
So, I have to write things down; like things we need at the store, appointments, a list of errands. I think that's pretty normal no matter what your age. You've got to write down an idea. I always carry this 4x6 card with me everywhere. I mean, I even have one close to my bed. I know it's crazy, but I've got to write it down when it comes into my head, and that helps me remember it because I have a lot to do. I've got to write down phone numbers or have them stored in the phone. I've got to write down directions. A lot of us write down the things we don't want to forget, except for maybe the really important ones.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Jesus Journal Igniting Your Spiritual Growth."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 103. These will be familiar words, "Praise the Lord, O my soul." He's talking to his own heart. "All my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits." Here's the problem. All too often I do forget His benefits.
I mean, there is not a day that God cannot be seen active somewhere in that day, many somewheres. If you're looking for God-sightings, he's there: his love, his supply, his faithfulness, his protection, his mercy. They show up in all kinds of ways. "His mercies are new" according to Jeremiah "every morning."
Okay, then I see them, but then I tend to forget them. David says, "O my soul, don't forget His benefits", so spiritual amnesia is nothing new; it's happened so many times before. Nehemiah 9 for example talks about where the saints of that day literally forgot all of the manna that God had supplied from heaven; the water that had come from the rock; how God had given them possession of the land – these awesome things that God had done.
And He says, "But they refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them." They forgot God's interventions. They chose what was easy, and it turned out to be hard. They got 40 years in the wilderness. When we forget God's benefits we make spiritually, cowardly decisions, we miss the next miracles and maybe we miss the will of God.
I have tried keeping an encouragement journal; a Jesus Journal. In there I write down the day's date, I'll write God's work in that day whatever it was. And then it's exciting at the end of the day, or maybe the next morning, to show the places that God was at work; benefits I don't want to forget.
Now you put the next day's date down by faith, because you haven't seen it yet. And then you pick up that journal and you read it when discouragement hits. When you do, you are looking at the fingerprints of God all through your life. It's the same God who's there for you in that day. Your faith will grow and your trust will be more activated as you remember God's breakthroughs-all those other God-sightings.
One of the greatest things I ever did for my relationship with Christ was to buy a notebook to keep a daily record of what God was saying in my time with Him. I cannot urge you enough to make that a daily part of your relationship with Jesus. Not just an encouragement journal, but a journal to write down what He just said to me out of His Book and what I'm going to do differently today because He said it. It is so incredible to be able to pick up a notebook and read the history of God's working in your life right there in your own handwriting.
We really do write down what we can't afford to forget, and there is nothing more important to remember than those daily touches of God on your life. So get a big notebook!
Calvary's Hill, Christ lifts his heavy head toward the heavens crying out, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani"-that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34). We would ask the same. Why him? Why forsake your son? Forsake the murderers. Desert the evildoers. Turn your back on the perverts and peddlers of pain. Abandon them, not him.
What did Christ feel on the cross? The icy displeasure of a sin-hating God. Why? Because Jesus carried our sins in His body. With hands nailed open, he invited God, "Treat me as you would treat them." And God did. In an act that broke the heart of the Father, yet honored the holiness of heaven, sin-purging judgment flowed over the sinless Son of the ages.
My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Why did God scream those words? So you'll never have to!
From On Calvary's Hill
Judges 14
Samson’s Riddle
One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye. 2 When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.”
3 His father and mother objected. “Isn’t there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?” they asked. “Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?”
But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She looks good to me.” 4 His father and mother didn’t realize the Lord was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time.
5 As Samson and his parents were going down to Timnah, a young lion suddenly attacked Samson near the vineyards of Timnah. 6 At that moment the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and he ripped the lion’s jaws apart with his bare hands. He did it as easily as if it were a young goat. But he didn’t tell his father or mother about it. 7 When Samson arrived in Timnah, he talked with the woman and was very pleased with her.
8 Later, when he returned to Timnah for the wedding, he turned off the path to look at the carcass of the lion. And he found that a swarm of bees had made some honey in the carcass. 9 He scooped some of the honey into his hands and ate it along the way. He also gave some to his father and mother, and they ate it. But he didn’t tell them he had taken the honey from the carcass of the lion.
10 As his father was making final arrangements for the marriage, Samson threw a party at Timnah, as was the custom for elite young men. 11 When the bride’s parents[b] saw him, they selected thirty young men from the town to be his companions.
12 Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. If you solve my riddle during these seven days of the celebration, I will give you thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing. 13 But if you can’t solve it, then you must give me thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing.”
“All right,” they agreed, “let’s hear your riddle.”
14 So he said:
“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;
out of the strong came something sweet.”
Three days later they were still trying to figure it out. 15 On the fourth[c] day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle for us, or we will burn down your father’s house with you in it. Did you invite us to this party just to make us poor?”
16 So Samson’s wife came to him in tears and said, “You don’t love me; you hate me! You have given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.”
“I haven’t even given the answer to my father or mother,” he replied. “Why should I tell you?” 17 So she cried whenever she was with him and kept it up for the rest of the celebration. At last, on the seventh day he told her the answer because she was tormenting him with her nagging. Then she explained the riddle to the young men.
18 So before sunset of the seventh day, the men of the town came to Samson with their answer:
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
Samson replied, “If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer, you wouldn’t have solved my riddle!”
19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to the town of Ashkelon, killed thirty men, took their belongings, and gave their clothing to the men who had solved his riddle. But Samson was furious about what had happened, and he went back home to live with his father and mother. 20 So his wife was given in marriage to the man who had been Samson’s best man at the wedding.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 20, 2015
The Birth of Samson
Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines, who oppressed them for forty years.
2 In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant, and they had no children. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food.[a] 5 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”
6 The woman ran and told her husband, “A man of God appeared to me! He looked like one of God’s angels, terrifying to see. I didn’t ask where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. For your son will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the moment of his birth until the day of his death.’”
Footnotes:
13:4 Hebrew any unclean thing; also in 13:7, 14.
INSIGHT: Samson was set apart as “a Nazirite to God” even before he was born (vv. 5,7). Nazirite means “dedicated” or “consecrated.” Numbers 6:1-21 sets out the requirements for those who were Nazirites. Besides Samson, other well-known Nazirites in the Bible are Samuel (1 Sam. 1:11) and John the Baptist (Luke 1:15).
A Gift Of Hope
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
He shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. —Judges 13:5
When a powerful typhoon swept through the city of Tacloban, Philippines, in 2013, an estimated 10,000 people died, and many who survived found themselves homeless and jobless. Necessities became scarce. Three months later, while the town was still struggling to dig itself out from the destruction, a baby was born on a roadside near Tacloban amid torrents of rain and strong wind. Although the weather brought back painful memories, residents worked together to find a midwife and transport the mother and newborn to a clinic. The baby survived, thrived, and became a symbol of hope during a time of despair.
Forty years of Philistine oppression marked a grim period in Israel’s national history. During this time, an angel informed an Israelite woman that she would give birth to a special son (Judg. 13:3). According to the angel, the baby would be a Nazirite—a man set apart to God—and would “begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (v.5). The infant, Samson, was a gift of hope born in a troubled time.
Trouble is unavoidable, yet Jesus has the power to rescue us from despair. Christ was born “to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace” (Luke 1:76-79).
Lord, help me to see beyond my circumstances and put my hope in You. All authority and power are Yours. Remind me of Your goodness, and let me rest in Your love.
Jesus is the hope that calms life’s storms.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 20, 2015
Friendship with God
Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing…? —Genesis 18:17
The Delights of His Friendship. Genesis 18 brings out the delight of true friendship with God, as compared with simply feeling His presence occasionally in prayer. This friendship means being so intimately in touch with God that you never even need to ask Him to show you His will. It is evidence of a level of intimacy which confirms that you are nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you have a right-standing relationship with God, you have a life of freedom, liberty, and delight; you are God’s will. And all of your commonsense decisions are actually His will for you, unless you sense a feeling of restraint brought on by a check in your spirit. You are free to make decisions in the light of a perfect and delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will lovingly produce that sense of restraint. Once he does, you must stop immediately.
The Difficulties of His Friendship. Why did Abraham stop praying when he did? He stopped because he still was lacking the level of intimacy in his relationship with God, which would enable him boldly to continue on with the Lord in prayer until his desire was granted. Whenever we stop short of our true desire in prayer and say, “Well, I don’t know, maybe this is not God’s will,” then we still have another level to go. It shows that we are not as intimately acquainted with God as Jesus was, and as Jesus would have us to be— “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22). Think of the last thing you prayed about— were you devoted to your desire or to God? Was your determination to get some gift of the Spirit for yourself or to get to God? “For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). The reason for asking is so you may get to know God better. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). We should keep praying to get a perfect understanding of God Himself.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 20, 2015
The Jesus Journal Igniting Your Spiritual Growth - #7355
Someone said to me, "Don't forget to tell your wife!" I said, "Wait a minute. I'd better write it down. I'm Mr. No Gig." They looked at me kind of funny. See, computers have gigabytes of memory. And I think sometimes I've reached mine, so I am like "Mr. No Gig". Look, I'm too young to be losing my memory. I think I've just used it up, that's all. There's not room to put anything else in there.
So, I have to write things down; like things we need at the store, appointments, a list of errands. I think that's pretty normal no matter what your age. You've got to write down an idea. I always carry this 4x6 card with me everywhere. I mean, I even have one close to my bed. I know it's crazy, but I've got to write it down when it comes into my head, and that helps me remember it because I have a lot to do. I've got to write down phone numbers or have them stored in the phone. I've got to write down directions. A lot of us write down the things we don't want to forget, except for maybe the really important ones.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Jesus Journal Igniting Your Spiritual Growth."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 103. These will be familiar words, "Praise the Lord, O my soul." He's talking to his own heart. "All my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits." Here's the problem. All too often I do forget His benefits.
I mean, there is not a day that God cannot be seen active somewhere in that day, many somewheres. If you're looking for God-sightings, he's there: his love, his supply, his faithfulness, his protection, his mercy. They show up in all kinds of ways. "His mercies are new" according to Jeremiah "every morning."
Okay, then I see them, but then I tend to forget them. David says, "O my soul, don't forget His benefits", so spiritual amnesia is nothing new; it's happened so many times before. Nehemiah 9 for example talks about where the saints of that day literally forgot all of the manna that God had supplied from heaven; the water that had come from the rock; how God had given them possession of the land – these awesome things that God had done.
And He says, "But they refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them." They forgot God's interventions. They chose what was easy, and it turned out to be hard. They got 40 years in the wilderness. When we forget God's benefits we make spiritually, cowardly decisions, we miss the next miracles and maybe we miss the will of God.
I have tried keeping an encouragement journal; a Jesus Journal. In there I write down the day's date, I'll write God's work in that day whatever it was. And then it's exciting at the end of the day, or maybe the next morning, to show the places that God was at work; benefits I don't want to forget.
Now you put the next day's date down by faith, because you haven't seen it yet. And then you pick up that journal and you read it when discouragement hits. When you do, you are looking at the fingerprints of God all through your life. It's the same God who's there for you in that day. Your faith will grow and your trust will be more activated as you remember God's breakthroughs-all those other God-sightings.
One of the greatest things I ever did for my relationship with Christ was to buy a notebook to keep a daily record of what God was saying in my time with Him. I cannot urge you enough to make that a daily part of your relationship with Jesus. Not just an encouragement journal, but a journal to write down what He just said to me out of His Book and what I'm going to do differently today because He said it. It is so incredible to be able to pick up a notebook and read the history of God's working in your life right there in your own handwriting.
We really do write down what we can't afford to forget, and there is nothing more important to remember than those daily touches of God on your life. So get a big notebook!
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Judges 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Saved to Serve
Some people feel so saved they never serve. Some serve at the hope of being saved. Does one of these sentences describe you? Do you feel so saved that you never serve? So content in what God has done that you do nothing? The fact is, we're here to glorify God in our service.
Or is your tendency the opposite? Perhaps you always serve for fear of not being saved. You're worried there is a secret card that exists with your score written on it; and your score is not enough. Is that you? If so, know this: The blood of Jesus is enough to save you. John 1:29 announces that Jesus is "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."
The blood of Christ doesn't cover your sins, conceal your sins, postpone or diminish your sins. It takes away your sins, once and for all! So…since you are saved, you can serve!
From He Chose the Nails
Judges 13
The Birth of Samson
Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines, who oppressed them for forty years.
2 In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant, and they had no children. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food.[a] 5 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”
6 The woman ran and told her husband, “A man of God appeared to me! He looked like one of God’s angels, terrifying to see. I didn’t ask where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. For your son will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the moment of his birth until the day of his death.’”
8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, saying, “Lord, please let the man of God come back to us again and give us more instructions about this son who is to be born.”
9 God answered Manoah’s prayer, and the angel of God appeared once again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But her husband, Manoah, was not with her. 10 So she quickly ran and told her husband, “The man who appeared to me the other day is here again!”
11 Manoah ran back with his wife and asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife the other day?”
“Yes,” he replied, “I am.”
12 So Manoah asked him, “When your words come true, what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work?”
13 The angel of the Lord replied, “Be sure your wife follows the instructions I gave her. 14 She must not eat grapes or raisins, drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, or eat any forbidden food.”
15 Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please stay here until we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.”
16 “I will stay,” the angel of the Lord replied, “but I will not eat anything. However, you may prepare a burnt offering as a sacrifice to the Lord.” (Manoah didn’t realize it was the angel of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, “What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you.”
18 “Why do you ask my name?” the angel of the Lord replied. “It is too wonderful for you to understand.”
19 Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered it on a rock as a sacrifice to the Lord. And as Manoah and his wife watched, the Lord did an amazing thing. 20 As the flames from the altar shot up toward the sky, the angel of the Lord ascended in the fire. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell with their faces to the ground.
21 The angel did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Manoah finally realized it was the angel of the Lord, 22 and he said to his wife, “We will certainly die, for we have seen God!”
23 But his wife said, “If the Lord were going to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He wouldn’t have appeared to us and told us this wonderful thing and done these miracles.”
24 When her son was born, she named him Samson. And the Lord blessed him as he grew up. 25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he lived in Mahaneh-dan, which is located between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Read: Nehemiah 1:4-11
When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. 5 Then I said,
“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! 7 We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.
8 “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth,[a] I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’
10 “The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. 11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me.[b] Put it into his heart to be kind to me.”
In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.
Footnotes:
1:9 Hebrew of the heavens.
1:11 Hebrew today in the sight of this man.
INSIGHT: Today’s passage contains a beautiful insight into what makes our future in heaven so wonderful. In verse 9, Nehemiah quotes Moses saying that God will bring His people into the place where His name dwells. It is God’s presence that makes our future worth waiting for.
A Place To Be
By Randy Kilgore
In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. —John 14:2
A thousand strands of time, events, and people weave into a tapestry we call place. More than just a house, place is where meaning, belonging, and safety come together under the covering of our best efforts at unconditional love. Place beckons us with memories buried deep in our souls. Even when our place isn’t perfect, its hold on us is dramatic, magnetic.
The Bible speaks frequently of place. We see an example in Nehemiah’s longing for a restored Jerusalem (Neh. 1:3-4; 2:2). It’s no surprise, then, that Jesus would speak of place when He wants to comfort us. “Let not your heart be troubled,” He began. Then He added: “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:1-2).
For those who have fond memories of earthly places, this promise links us to something we can easily understand and look forward to. And for those whose places have been anything but comforting and safe, Jesus promises that one day they will hear the sweet song place sings, for they will inhabit it with Him.
Whatever the struggle, whatever the faltering on your faith journey, remember this: There’s a place in heaven already waiting, fitted just for you. Jesus wouldn’t have said so if it weren’t true.
Jesus, I can’t wait to live in the home You have prepared for me. Thank You that no matter what my earthly place holds, comfort or pain, my home with You will be so much better.
May the memory of our earthly place point us with hope to our heavenly place.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 19, 2015
He went out, not knowing where he was going. —Hebrews 11:8
In the Old Testament, a person’s relationship with God was seen by the degree of separation in that person’s life. This separation is exhibited in the life of Abraham by his separation from his country and his family. When we think of separation today, we do not mean to be literally separated from those family members who do not have a personal relationship with God, but to be separated mentally and morally from their viewpoints. This is what Jesus Christ was referring to in Luke 14:26.
Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason— a life of knowing Him who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world.
The final stage in the life of faith is the attainment of character, and we encounter many changes in the process. We feel the presence of God around us when we pray, yet we are only momentarily changed. We tend to keep going back to our everyday ways and the glory vanishes. A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles’ wings, but is a life of day-in and day-out consistency; a life of walking without fainting (see Isaiah 40:31). It is not even a question of the holiness of sanctification, but of something which comes much farther down the road. It is a faith that has been tried and proved and has withstood the test. Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith— a faith, tested and true, built on the true God. “Abraham believed God…” (Romans 4:3).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 19, 2015
How Your Rough Times Can Help You Help Others - #7354
I was in Georgia when a friend said to me, "Do you know which team is one of the best football teams in our state?" When I said I didn't know, he said, "The Georgia School for the Deaf." I've got to tell you that kind of caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting a school for the deaf to be like football champions. He said, "Man, we played them when I was in high school and you always had to get up for that game. They were always the toughest."
I began to think, how could you play football if you can't hear the signals being called? You can't hear the plays being called. How would you play football? He said, "Well, they bring their band to every game and the signals are called through the drum beats, and they feel the signals through their face." Well, I couldn't do that. But they can. They've got radar I don't have because they face a challenge I haven't faced.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Your Rough Times Can Help You Help Others."
Our word for today from the Word of God is in 2 Corinthians 1, beginning in verse 3. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Father of compassion, the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow into our lives, so also should the comfort of Christ overflow."
Verse 3 here talks about this beautiful side of God. He's the God of all comfort. He's the God of compassion; the healing hugs of God, who brings what only He can bring us; a supernatural comfort deep inside of us where no human being can go. I hope you've experienced that.
There's a comfort cycle here. It says that we're supposed to comfort with the comfort we got from Him. This word comforting is really the Greek word that means "called alongside of to help." It's saying God comes alongside to encourage us so that we then can do that for others. The comfort isn't just for us to get comfortable. It's to fill us up with love and support that we pass on to others.
How does this happen? Well, you go through a deep valley. Maybe you lose someone, you have a season alone, some lingering illness, maybe a financial disaster, or you're abandoned, you're betrayed, and it hurts. But God does something beautiful with that hurt. He turns it into sensitivity; into radar for people who are hurting in that same area.
Joni Eareckson Toda was paralyzed as a teenager in a dive that day, and it was a terrible tragedy. But the worst thing that ever happened to her has given her a worldwide ministry. She knows how disabled and wounded people feel.
My friend, Jean, was abused as a girl. She's got a wonderful ministry to abused girls. My friend, Don, was raised in a broken home. He has an incredible ability to work with kids from troubled backgrounds. When you open up your hurt and your wounds to the God of all comfort, He can use you in ways you never dreamed.
When life's trouble hits you, it can be a tool either for Satan or for God. You dwell on the pain, you dwell on the people who hurt you or on yourself, and you're going to start a downward cycle of depression. That might be where you are right now.
But if you surrender to Jesus all the pain, all those people who hurt you, all the questions, you're on your way to turning a loss into a victory like those football players at the Georgia School for the Deaf. They have special sensitivity because of their loss, because of their handicap. You can too.
It might be that you're going through so many of life's troubles, so much of life's pain without the Great Comforter, without the God of all compassion because you don't have a relationship with Him. You might have a religion, but you don't know Him personally.
I tell you that Jesus came here to walk the most painful road anyone has ever walked, to die on a brutal cross to pay for the sin that keeps us from God, so the wall could come down between you and Him this very day. And all His resources are yours to walk through the pain and the storm. Our website will show you how to get started with Him – AnewStory.com.
God can give you radar from your rough times; radar that will make you the one who can be Jesus' person for another hurting person.
Some people feel so saved they never serve. Some serve at the hope of being saved. Does one of these sentences describe you? Do you feel so saved that you never serve? So content in what God has done that you do nothing? The fact is, we're here to glorify God in our service.
Or is your tendency the opposite? Perhaps you always serve for fear of not being saved. You're worried there is a secret card that exists with your score written on it; and your score is not enough. Is that you? If so, know this: The blood of Jesus is enough to save you. John 1:29 announces that Jesus is "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."
The blood of Christ doesn't cover your sins, conceal your sins, postpone or diminish your sins. It takes away your sins, once and for all! So…since you are saved, you can serve!
From He Chose the Nails
Judges 13
The Birth of Samson
Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines, who oppressed them for forty years.
2 In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant, and they had no children. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food.[a] 5 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”
6 The woman ran and told her husband, “A man of God appeared to me! He looked like one of God’s angels, terrifying to see. I didn’t ask where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. For your son will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the moment of his birth until the day of his death.’”
8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, saying, “Lord, please let the man of God come back to us again and give us more instructions about this son who is to be born.”
9 God answered Manoah’s prayer, and the angel of God appeared once again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But her husband, Manoah, was not with her. 10 So she quickly ran and told her husband, “The man who appeared to me the other day is here again!”
11 Manoah ran back with his wife and asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife the other day?”
“Yes,” he replied, “I am.”
12 So Manoah asked him, “When your words come true, what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work?”
13 The angel of the Lord replied, “Be sure your wife follows the instructions I gave her. 14 She must not eat grapes or raisins, drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, or eat any forbidden food.”
15 Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please stay here until we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.”
16 “I will stay,” the angel of the Lord replied, “but I will not eat anything. However, you may prepare a burnt offering as a sacrifice to the Lord.” (Manoah didn’t realize it was the angel of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, “What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you.”
18 “Why do you ask my name?” the angel of the Lord replied. “It is too wonderful for you to understand.”
19 Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered it on a rock as a sacrifice to the Lord. And as Manoah and his wife watched, the Lord did an amazing thing. 20 As the flames from the altar shot up toward the sky, the angel of the Lord ascended in the fire. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell with their faces to the ground.
21 The angel did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Manoah finally realized it was the angel of the Lord, 22 and he said to his wife, “We will certainly die, for we have seen God!”
23 But his wife said, “If the Lord were going to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He wouldn’t have appeared to us and told us this wonderful thing and done these miracles.”
24 When her son was born, she named him Samson. And the Lord blessed him as he grew up. 25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he lived in Mahaneh-dan, which is located between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Read: Nehemiah 1:4-11
When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. 5 Then I said,
“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! 7 We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.
8 “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth,[a] I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’
10 “The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. 11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me.[b] Put it into his heart to be kind to me.”
In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.
Footnotes:
1:9 Hebrew of the heavens.
1:11 Hebrew today in the sight of this man.
INSIGHT: Today’s passage contains a beautiful insight into what makes our future in heaven so wonderful. In verse 9, Nehemiah quotes Moses saying that God will bring His people into the place where His name dwells. It is God’s presence that makes our future worth waiting for.
A Place To Be
By Randy Kilgore
In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. —John 14:2
A thousand strands of time, events, and people weave into a tapestry we call place. More than just a house, place is where meaning, belonging, and safety come together under the covering of our best efforts at unconditional love. Place beckons us with memories buried deep in our souls. Even when our place isn’t perfect, its hold on us is dramatic, magnetic.
The Bible speaks frequently of place. We see an example in Nehemiah’s longing for a restored Jerusalem (Neh. 1:3-4; 2:2). It’s no surprise, then, that Jesus would speak of place when He wants to comfort us. “Let not your heart be troubled,” He began. Then He added: “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:1-2).
For those who have fond memories of earthly places, this promise links us to something we can easily understand and look forward to. And for those whose places have been anything but comforting and safe, Jesus promises that one day they will hear the sweet song place sings, for they will inhabit it with Him.
Whatever the struggle, whatever the faltering on your faith journey, remember this: There’s a place in heaven already waiting, fitted just for you. Jesus wouldn’t have said so if it weren’t true.
Jesus, I can’t wait to live in the home You have prepared for me. Thank You that no matter what my earthly place holds, comfort or pain, my home with You will be so much better.
May the memory of our earthly place point us with hope to our heavenly place.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 19, 2015
He went out, not knowing where he was going. —Hebrews 11:8
In the Old Testament, a person’s relationship with God was seen by the degree of separation in that person’s life. This separation is exhibited in the life of Abraham by his separation from his country and his family. When we think of separation today, we do not mean to be literally separated from those family members who do not have a personal relationship with God, but to be separated mentally and morally from their viewpoints. This is what Jesus Christ was referring to in Luke 14:26.
Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason— a life of knowing Him who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world.
The final stage in the life of faith is the attainment of character, and we encounter many changes in the process. We feel the presence of God around us when we pray, yet we are only momentarily changed. We tend to keep going back to our everyday ways and the glory vanishes. A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles’ wings, but is a life of day-in and day-out consistency; a life of walking without fainting (see Isaiah 40:31). It is not even a question of the holiness of sanctification, but of something which comes much farther down the road. It is a faith that has been tried and proved and has withstood the test. Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith— a faith, tested and true, built on the true God. “Abraham believed God…” (Romans 4:3).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 19, 2015
How Your Rough Times Can Help You Help Others - #7354
I was in Georgia when a friend said to me, "Do you know which team is one of the best football teams in our state?" When I said I didn't know, he said, "The Georgia School for the Deaf." I've got to tell you that kind of caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting a school for the deaf to be like football champions. He said, "Man, we played them when I was in high school and you always had to get up for that game. They were always the toughest."
I began to think, how could you play football if you can't hear the signals being called? You can't hear the plays being called. How would you play football? He said, "Well, they bring their band to every game and the signals are called through the drum beats, and they feel the signals through their face." Well, I couldn't do that. But they can. They've got radar I don't have because they face a challenge I haven't faced.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Your Rough Times Can Help You Help Others."
Our word for today from the Word of God is in 2 Corinthians 1, beginning in verse 3. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Father of compassion, the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow into our lives, so also should the comfort of Christ overflow."
Verse 3 here talks about this beautiful side of God. He's the God of all comfort. He's the God of compassion; the healing hugs of God, who brings what only He can bring us; a supernatural comfort deep inside of us where no human being can go. I hope you've experienced that.
There's a comfort cycle here. It says that we're supposed to comfort with the comfort we got from Him. This word comforting is really the Greek word that means "called alongside of to help." It's saying God comes alongside to encourage us so that we then can do that for others. The comfort isn't just for us to get comfortable. It's to fill us up with love and support that we pass on to others.
How does this happen? Well, you go through a deep valley. Maybe you lose someone, you have a season alone, some lingering illness, maybe a financial disaster, or you're abandoned, you're betrayed, and it hurts. But God does something beautiful with that hurt. He turns it into sensitivity; into radar for people who are hurting in that same area.
Joni Eareckson Toda was paralyzed as a teenager in a dive that day, and it was a terrible tragedy. But the worst thing that ever happened to her has given her a worldwide ministry. She knows how disabled and wounded people feel.
My friend, Jean, was abused as a girl. She's got a wonderful ministry to abused girls. My friend, Don, was raised in a broken home. He has an incredible ability to work with kids from troubled backgrounds. When you open up your hurt and your wounds to the God of all comfort, He can use you in ways you never dreamed.
When life's trouble hits you, it can be a tool either for Satan or for God. You dwell on the pain, you dwell on the people who hurt you or on yourself, and you're going to start a downward cycle of depression. That might be where you are right now.
But if you surrender to Jesus all the pain, all those people who hurt you, all the questions, you're on your way to turning a loss into a victory like those football players at the Georgia School for the Deaf. They have special sensitivity because of their loss, because of their handicap. You can too.
It might be that you're going through so many of life's troubles, so much of life's pain without the Great Comforter, without the God of all compassion because you don't have a relationship with Him. You might have a religion, but you don't know Him personally.
I tell you that Jesus came here to walk the most painful road anyone has ever walked, to die on a brutal cross to pay for the sin that keeps us from God, so the wall could come down between you and Him this very day. And all His resources are yours to walk through the pain and the storm. Our website will show you how to get started with Him – AnewStory.com.
God can give you radar from your rough times; radar that will make you the one who can be Jesus' person for another hurting person.
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