Max Lucado Daily: A Heart Like His
What if, for one day, Jesus were to become you? His priorities would be governing your actions. His love would be directing your behavior. Would people notice a change? How about your enemies? Would they receive more mercy? Keep working on this for a moment. Adjust the lens of your imagination until you have a clear picture of Jesus leading your life—then snap the shutter and frame the image. What you see is what God wants. Nothing short of a new heart. In Philippians 2:5 it says, to “think and act like Christ Jesus.” He wants you to have a heart like His.
I’m going to risk something here. It’s dangerous to sum up grand truths in one statement, but I’m going to try. God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus!
From Just Like Jesus
1 Samuel 2
Hannah’s Prayer of Praise
Then Hannah prayed:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord!
The Lord has made me strong.[l]
Now I have an answer for my enemies;
I rejoice because you rescued me.
2 No one is holy like the Lord!
There is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
3 “Stop acting so proud and haughty!
Don’t speak with such arrogance!
For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done;
he will judge your actions.
4 The bow of the mighty is now broken,
and those who stumbled are now strong.
5 Those who were well fed are now starving,
and those who were starving are now full.
The childless woman now has seven children,
and the woman with many children wastes away.
6 The Lord gives both death and life;
he brings some down to the grave[m] but raises others up.
7 The Lord makes some poor and others rich;
he brings some down and lifts others up.
8 He lifts the poor from the dust
and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
placing them in seats of honor.
For all the earth is the Lord’s,
and he has set the world in order.
9 “He will protect his faithful ones,
but the wicked will disappear in darkness.
No one will succeed by strength alone.
10 Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered.
He thunders against them from heaven;
the Lord judges throughout the earth.
He gives power to his king;
he increases the strength[n] of his anointed one.”
11 Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest.
Eli’s Wicked Sons
12 Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord 13 or for their duties as priests. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, Eli’s sons would send over a servant with a three-pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling, 14 the servant would stick the fork into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli’s sons. All the Israelites who came to worship at Shiloh were treated this way. 15 Sometimes the servant would come even before the animal’s fat had been burned on the altar. He would demand raw meat before it had been boiled so that it could be used for roasting.
16 The man offering the sacrifice might reply, “Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first.” Then the servant would demand, “No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” 17 So the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord’s sight, for they treated the Lord’s offerings with contempt.
18 But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest.[o] 19 Each year his mother made a small coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice. 20 Before they returned home, Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the Lord.[p]” 21 And the Lord blessed Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
22 Now Eli was very old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle.[q] 23 Eli said to them, “I have been hearing reports from all the people about the wicked things you are doing. Why do you keep sinning? 24 You must stop, my sons! The reports I hear among the Lord’s people are not good. 25 If someone sins against another person, God[r] can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede?” But Eli’s sons wouldn’t listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to put them to death.
26 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the Lord and with the people.
A Warning for Eli’s Family
27 One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord: “I revealed myself[s] to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. 28 I chose your ancestor Aaron[t] from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the priestly vest[u] as he served me. And I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you priests. 29 So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me—for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel!
30 “Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi[v] would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me. 31 The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age. 32 You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days. 33 The few not cut off from serving at my altar will survive, but only so their eyes can go blind and their hearts break, and their children will die a violent death.[w] 34 And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day!
35 “Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever. 36 Then all of your surviving family will bow before him, begging for money and food. ‘Please,’ they will say, ‘give us jobs among the priests so we will have enough to eat.’”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, April 06, 2015
Read: Psalm 18:1-3,46 |
For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang:
I love you, Lord;
you are my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
3 I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies.
The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock!
May the God of my salvation be exalted!
INSIGHT: Psalm 18 is a song of thanksgiving. The long superscription, taken from 2 Samuel 22:1, gives the circumstances that led David to write this song of deliverance: “A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” David used seven metaphors to describe the Lord: He is a rock, fortress, and deliverer. He is our strength, shield, horn of salvation, and stronghold (vv. 2-3).
Solid-Rock Faith
By Philip Yancey
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. —Psalm 18:2
My wife and I both have grandmothers who have lived past 100. Talking with them and their friends, I detect a trend that seems almost universal in the reminiscences of older people: They recall difficult times with a touch of nostalgia. The elderly swap stories about World War II and the Great Depression; they speak fondly of hardships such as blizzards, the childhood outhouse, and the time in college when they ate canned soup and stale bread 3 weeks in a row.
Paradoxically, difficult times may help nourish faith and strengthen personal bonds. Seeing this principle lived out, I can better understand one of the mysteries relating to God. Faith boils down to a question of trust. If I do stand on a solid rock of trust in God (Ps. 18:2), the worst of circumstances will not destroy that relationship.
Solid-rock faith allows me to believe that despite the chaos of the present moment, God does reign. Regardless of how worthless I may feel, I truly matter to a God of love. No pain lasts forever, and no evil triumphs in the end.
Solid-rock faith sees even the darkest deed of all history, the death of God’s Son, as a necessary prelude to the brightest moment in all history—His resurrection and triumph over death.
Lord, You are the Rock, the object of my faith. My faith stands on You and not on my shifting feelings; otherwise I would be sure to fall.
Christ, the Rock, is our sure hope.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, April 06, 2015
The Collision of God and Sin
…who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree… —1 Peter 2:24
The Cross of Christ is the revealed truth of God’s judgment on sin. Never associate the idea of martyrdom with the Cross of Christ. It was the supreme triumph, and it shook the very foundations of hell. There is nothing in time or eternity more absolutely certain and irrefutable than what Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross— He made it possible for the entire human race to be brought back into a right-standing relationship with God. He made redemption the foundation of human life; that is, He made a way for every person to have fellowship with God.
The Cross was not something that happened to Jesus— He came to die; the Cross was His purpose in coming. He is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). The incarnation of Christ would have no meaning without the Cross. Beware of separating “God was manifested in the flesh…” from “…He made Him…to be sin for us…” (1 Timothy 3:16 ; 2 Corinthians 5:21). The purpose of the incarnation was redemption. God came in the flesh to take sin away, not to accomplish something for Himself. The Cross is the central event in time and eternity, and the answer to all the problems of both.
The Cross is not the cross of a man, but the Cross of God, and it can never be fully comprehended through human experience. The Cross is God exhibiting His nature. It is the gate through which any and every individual can enter into oneness with God. But it is not a gate we pass right through; it is one where we abide in the life that is found there.
The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
When Life is Just "More Of The Same" - #6323
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Like most countries, America has some holidays that are pretty meaningful. We've got the Fourth of July to celebrate our independence. We've got Veterans' Day and Memorial Day, and those are great times to remember all those who've fought for our freedom. We celebrate the birthdays of some great Americans like Lincoln and Washington and Martin Luther King. And then there's this one oddball day on your calendar. Groundhog Day.
Only in America, huh? A day named for the chubby cousin of a rat. A town whose main event is a groundhog playing peek-a-boo. As Russian comedian Yakov Smirnoff says, "I love this country!"
We even have a movie called "Groundhog Day." It's actually set in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the home of the king groundhog. But it was hearing about the premise of the movie, not the location that intrigues me.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Life is Just 'More of the Same.'"
Basically, Bill Murray plays a TV newscaster who keeps reliving the same day over and over again. It happens to be Groundhog Day in the town that's the epicenter of that celebration. In the movie, the idea of repeating the same day again and again is played for laughs. Unfortunately, for too many people, that's their real life. And there's nothing funny about it.
"Same old, same old" - that's how life feels for a lot of people. Just a disconnected, seemingly meaningless series of events that start to feel pretty much the same. We start wondering about "why am I here?" somewhere in our turbulent teenage years I think. Unfortunately, a lot of us do our whole life and still don't know the answer. We've got this pile of puzzle pieces on the floor in front of us, and we don't have the top of the puzzle box. We can't figure out what it all makes.
For me, for countless millions over 2,000 years, that's where Jesus comes in. Not the religion called Christianity, but Jesus. People have written volumes on the purpose of life. God does it in six words in the Bible. He's talking about Jesus when He says we are "created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16 ). I'm created by Jesus. I'm created for Jesus. And life will not add up until I have Jesus. Or maybe more accurately, Jesus has me.
The only One who really knows the purpose of your life is the One who gave you your life. And He says that you were made for a relationship with Jesus, His Son. A relationship that honestly, our sin has spoiled. We've decided we'd do life our way instead of God's way. But it is a relationship that His death for our sin has made possible. And then three days after he died, He walked out of His grave under His own power so He can walk into your life, today. You know, the earth's life depends on its revolving around the sun. If the earth goes off on an orbit away from the sun, all life will cease. In the same way our life depends on our revolving around the Son. The Son of God.
Maybe you've never begun a personal relationship with Jesus. Maybe you do not yet belong to the One you were made by and made for. This could be the end of a lifetime search. It begins when you say, "Jesus, I get it now. I was made by You, I was made for You, but instead I've lived for me, and I am in trouble with God. But I believe, Jesus, that some of those sins You were dying for on that cross were mine. Because You're alive, I can tell You today, "I'm Yours."
I want to direct you to our website and ask you to spend a couple of minutes there checking it out, because I'm there and I've got a chance there to present to you in more detail how you can be sure you have this relationship with Jesus. The website is YoursForLife.net.
I'm thanking God today that life doesn't have to be a meaningless parade of days that replay the same old questions and the same old emptiness. On the day we step into the relationship we were made for, we step into the "more" God put us here for, and the search is over.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Sunday, April 5, 2015
1 Samuel 1, Bible reading and Daily Devotions
Max Lucado Daily: You Need A Savior
“If the Son makes you free, you will be truly free.” John 8:36
Trying to make it to heaven on our own goodness is like trying to get to the moon on a moon beam; nice idea, but try it and see what happens.
Listen. Quit trying to quench your own guilt. You can’t do it. There’s no way.
Not with a bottle of whiskey or perfect Sunday school attendance. Sorry. I don’t care how bad you are. You can’t be bad enough to forget it. And I don’t care how good you are. You can’t be good enough to overcome it.
You need a Savior.
1 Samuel 1
Elkanah and His Family
There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph[a] in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim. 2 Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.
3 Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle. The priests of the Lord at that time were the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas. 4 On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and each of her children. 5 And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion[b] because the Lord had given her no children. 6 So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children. 7 Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle.[c] Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat.
8 “Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?”
Hannah’s Prayer for a Son
9 Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle.[d] 10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. 11 And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.[e]”
12 As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. 13 Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. 14 “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!”
15 “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. 16 Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”
17 “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”
18 “Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.
Samuel’s Birth and Dedication
19 The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea, 20 and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,[f] for she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”
21 The next year Elkanah and his family went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and to keep his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go. She told her husband, “Wait until the boy is weaned. Then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there with the Lord permanently.[g]”
23 “Whatever you think is best,” Elkanah agreed. “Stay here for now, and may the Lord help you keep your promise.[h]” So she stayed home and nursed the boy until he was weaned.
24 When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull[i] for the sacrifice and a basket[j] of flour and some wine. 25 After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. 26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. 27 I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they[k] worshiped the Lord there.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, April 05, 2015
Read: John 20:24-31
Jesus Appears to Thomas
One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),[a] was not with the others when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
Purpose of the Book
30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe[b] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
Footnotes:
20:24 Greek Thomas, who was called Didymus.
20:31 Some manuscripts read that you may believe.
INSIGHT: The world remembers Thomas the disciple for his statement of doubt about Jesus’ resurrection. However, it was also Thomas who showed more loyalty to Christ than many of the others. When the Pharisees were actively seeking to kill Him, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us go to Judea again” (John 11:7). Thomas is the one who said, “Let us also go that we may die with Him” (v. 16).
Come To Me
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. —John 20:29
Charlotte Elliott wrote the hymn “Just As I Am” in 1834. She had been an invalid for many years, and though she wanted to help with a fund-raiser for a girl’s school, she was too ill. She felt useless, and this inner distress caused her to begin doubting her faith in Christ. She wrote “Just As I Am” as a response to her doubt. The crux of her distress is perhaps best expressed in these words:
Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Three days after His death and burial, Jesus rose from the grave and invited the disciple whom history has nicknamed “Doubting Thomas” to examine the marks of His crucifixion (John 20:27). When Thomas touched Jesus’ wounds, he finally believed in the resurrection. Christ responded, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (v.29).
As Christians today, we are the ones who have not seen but still believe. Yet at times our earthly circumstances create serious questions in our souls. Even then, we cry out: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Jesus welcomes us to come to Him just as we are.
Dear Jesus, help me to trust You when life doesn’t make sense. Please take my doubt and replace it with fresh faith in You.
The risen Christ opens the door for you to have fullness of life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, April 05, 2015
His Agony and Our Access
Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples…."Stay here and watch with Me." —Matthew 26:36, 38
We can never fully comprehend Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, but at least we don’t have to misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and man in one Person, coming face to face with sin. We cannot learn about Gethsemane through personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary represent something totally unique— they are the gateway into life for us.
It was not death on the cross that Jesus agonized over in Gethsemane. In fact, He stated very emphatically that He came with the purpose of dying. His concern here was that He might not get through this struggle as the Son of Man. He was confident of getting through it as the Son of God— Satan could not touch Him there. But Satan’s assault was that our Lord would come through for us on His own solely as the Son of Man. If Jesus had done that, He could not have been our Savior (see Hebrews 9:11-15). Read the record of His agony in Gethsemane in light of His earlier wilderness temptation— “…the devil…departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). In Gethsemane, Satan came back and was overthrown again. Satan’s final assault against our Lord as the Son of Man was in Gethsemane.
The agony in Gethsemane was the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Savior of the world. The veil is pulled back here to reveal all that it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony was the basis for the simplicity of our salvation. The Cross of Christ was a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God.
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Luke 17:1-19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily:The Cry of a Sinner
What is the fruit of sin? Step into the briar patch of humanity and feel a few thistles. Shame. Fear. Disgrace. Discouragement. Anxiety! Haven't our hearts been caught in these brambles?
The heart of Jesus, however, had not. He had never been cut by the thorns of sin. Anxiety? He never worried. Guilt? He was never guilty. Fear? He never left the presence God, He never knew the fruits of sin until He became sin for us.
Can't you hear the emotion in His prayer? "My God, my God, why have you rejected me?" These are not the words of a saint. This is the cry of a sinner.
And these are words we should say, but these are words we don't have to say because Jesus said them for us.
From He Chose the Nails
Luke 17:1-19
Teachings about Forgiveness and Faith
One day Jesus said to his disciples, “There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting! 2 It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. 3 So watch yourselves!
“If another believer[a] sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. 4 Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”
6 The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it would obey you!
7 “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? 8 No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ 9 And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. 10 In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”
Ten Healed of Leprosy
11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”[b] And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.[c]”
Footnotes:
17:3 Greek If your brother.
17:14 See Lev 14:2-32.
17:19 Or Your faith has saved you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, April 04, 2015
Read: Matthew 27:27-35
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters[a] and called out the entire regiment. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. 29 They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it. 31 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.
The Crucifixion
32 Along the way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene,[b] and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. 33 And they went out to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). 34 The soldiers gave Jesus wine mixed with bitter gall, but when he had tasted it, he refused to drink it.
35 After they had nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.[c]
Footnotes:
27:27 Or into the Praetorium.
27:32 Cyrene was a city in northern Africa.
27:35 Greek by casting lots. A few late manuscripts add This fulfilled the word of the prophet: “They divided my garments among themselves and cast lots for my robe.” See Ps 22:18.
INSIGHT: The “garrison” of Roman troops mentioned in verse 27 is a detail that adds to our understanding of the events surrounding Christ’s death. Mark’s account of the same event translates the word as cohort (15:16 NASB). Garrison or cohort was a Roman military term that described a company of soldiers consisting of at least 200 and perhaps as many as 600 men. The same Greek word is used in John 18:3 when a “detachment of troops” comes to arrest Jesus in the garden. Imagine, possibly hundreds of men were sent to arrest Jesus and hundreds gathered around Him when He was tormented.
The Tree Of Love
By Dave Branon
[Jesus] bore our sins in His own body on the tree. —1 Peter 2:24
The corkscrew willow tree stood vigil over our backyard for more than 20 years. It shaded all four of our children as they played in the yard, and it provided shelter for the neighborhood squirrels. But when springtime came and the tree didn’t awaken from its winter slumber, it was time to bring it down.
Every day for a week I worked on that tree—first to fell it and then to chop two decades of growth into manageable pieces. It gave me a lot of time to think about trees.
I thought about the first tree—the one on which hung the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve just couldn’t resist (Gen. 3:6). God used that tree to test their loyalty and trust. Then there’s the tree in Psalm 1 that reminds us of the fruitfulness of godly living. And in Proverbs 3:18, wisdom is personified as a tree of life.
But it is a transplanted tree that is most important—the crude cross of Calvary that was hewn from a sturdy tree. There our Savior hung between heaven and earth to bear every sin of every generation on His shoulders. It stands above all trees as a symbol of love, sacrifice, and salvation.
At Calvary, God’s only Son suffered a horrible death on a cross. That’s the tree of life for us.
Father, on this day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we’re grateful for the cross and for Your Son who gave His life so that we might have life. Thank You.
The cross of Christ reveals man’s sin at its worst and God’s love at its best.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, April 04, 2015
The Way to Permanent Faith
Indeed the hour is coming…that you will be scattered… —John 16:32
Jesus was not rebuking the disciples in this passage. Their faith was real, but it was disordered and unfocused, and was not at work in the important realities of life. The disciples were scattered to their own concerns and they had interests apart from Jesus Christ. After we have the perfect relationship with God, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, our faith must be exercised in the realities of everyday life. We will be scattered, not into service but into the emptiness of our lives where we will see ruin and barrenness, to know what internal death to God’s blessings means. Are we prepared for this? It is certainly not of our own choosing, but God engineers our circumstances to take us there. Until we have been through that experience, our faith is sustained only by feelings and by blessings. But once we get there, no matter where God may place us or what inner emptiness we experience, we can praise God that all is well. That is what is meant by faith being exercised in the realities of life.
“…you…will leave Me alone.” Have we been scattered and have we left Jesus alone by not seeing His providential care for us? Do we not see God at work in our circumstances? Dark times are allowed and come to us through the sovereignty of God. Are we prepared to let God do what He wants with us? Are we prepared to be separated from the outward, evident blessings of God? Until Jesus Christ is truly our Lord, we each have goals of our own which we serve. Our faith is real, but it is not yet permanent. And God is never in a hurry. If we are willing to wait, we will see God pointing out that we have been interested only in His blessings, instead of in God Himself. The sense of God’s blessings is fundamental.
“…be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Unyielding spiritual fortitude is what we need.
What is the fruit of sin? Step into the briar patch of humanity and feel a few thistles. Shame. Fear. Disgrace. Discouragement. Anxiety! Haven't our hearts been caught in these brambles?
The heart of Jesus, however, had not. He had never been cut by the thorns of sin. Anxiety? He never worried. Guilt? He was never guilty. Fear? He never left the presence God, He never knew the fruits of sin until He became sin for us.
Can't you hear the emotion in His prayer? "My God, my God, why have you rejected me?" These are not the words of a saint. This is the cry of a sinner.
And these are words we should say, but these are words we don't have to say because Jesus said them for us.
From He Chose the Nails
Luke 17:1-19
Teachings about Forgiveness and Faith
One day Jesus said to his disciples, “There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting! 2 It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. 3 So watch yourselves!
“If another believer[a] sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. 4 Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”
6 The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it would obey you!
7 “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? 8 No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ 9 And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. 10 In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”
Ten Healed of Leprosy
11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”[b] And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.[c]”
Footnotes:
17:3 Greek If your brother.
17:14 See Lev 14:2-32.
17:19 Or Your faith has saved you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, April 04, 2015
Read: Matthew 27:27-35
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters[a] and called out the entire regiment. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. 29 They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it. 31 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.
The Crucifixion
32 Along the way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene,[b] and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. 33 And they went out to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). 34 The soldiers gave Jesus wine mixed with bitter gall, but when he had tasted it, he refused to drink it.
35 After they had nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.[c]
Footnotes:
27:27 Or into the Praetorium.
27:32 Cyrene was a city in northern Africa.
27:35 Greek by casting lots. A few late manuscripts add This fulfilled the word of the prophet: “They divided my garments among themselves and cast lots for my robe.” See Ps 22:18.
INSIGHT: The “garrison” of Roman troops mentioned in verse 27 is a detail that adds to our understanding of the events surrounding Christ’s death. Mark’s account of the same event translates the word as cohort (15:16 NASB). Garrison or cohort was a Roman military term that described a company of soldiers consisting of at least 200 and perhaps as many as 600 men. The same Greek word is used in John 18:3 when a “detachment of troops” comes to arrest Jesus in the garden. Imagine, possibly hundreds of men were sent to arrest Jesus and hundreds gathered around Him when He was tormented.
The Tree Of Love
By Dave Branon
[Jesus] bore our sins in His own body on the tree. —1 Peter 2:24
The corkscrew willow tree stood vigil over our backyard for more than 20 years. It shaded all four of our children as they played in the yard, and it provided shelter for the neighborhood squirrels. But when springtime came and the tree didn’t awaken from its winter slumber, it was time to bring it down.
Every day for a week I worked on that tree—first to fell it and then to chop two decades of growth into manageable pieces. It gave me a lot of time to think about trees.
I thought about the first tree—the one on which hung the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve just couldn’t resist (Gen. 3:6). God used that tree to test their loyalty and trust. Then there’s the tree in Psalm 1 that reminds us of the fruitfulness of godly living. And in Proverbs 3:18, wisdom is personified as a tree of life.
But it is a transplanted tree that is most important—the crude cross of Calvary that was hewn from a sturdy tree. There our Savior hung between heaven and earth to bear every sin of every generation on His shoulders. It stands above all trees as a symbol of love, sacrifice, and salvation.
At Calvary, God’s only Son suffered a horrible death on a cross. That’s the tree of life for us.
Father, on this day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we’re grateful for the cross and for Your Son who gave His life so that we might have life. Thank You.
The cross of Christ reveals man’s sin at its worst and God’s love at its best.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, April 04, 2015
The Way to Permanent Faith
Indeed the hour is coming…that you will be scattered… —John 16:32
Jesus was not rebuking the disciples in this passage. Their faith was real, but it was disordered and unfocused, and was not at work in the important realities of life. The disciples were scattered to their own concerns and they had interests apart from Jesus Christ. After we have the perfect relationship with God, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, our faith must be exercised in the realities of everyday life. We will be scattered, not into service but into the emptiness of our lives where we will see ruin and barrenness, to know what internal death to God’s blessings means. Are we prepared for this? It is certainly not of our own choosing, but God engineers our circumstances to take us there. Until we have been through that experience, our faith is sustained only by feelings and by blessings. But once we get there, no matter where God may place us or what inner emptiness we experience, we can praise God that all is well. That is what is meant by faith being exercised in the realities of life.
“…you…will leave Me alone.” Have we been scattered and have we left Jesus alone by not seeing His providential care for us? Do we not see God at work in our circumstances? Dark times are allowed and come to us through the sovereignty of God. Are we prepared to let God do what He wants with us? Are we prepared to be separated from the outward, evident blessings of God? Until Jesus Christ is truly our Lord, we each have goals of our own which we serve. Our faith is real, but it is not yet permanent. And God is never in a hurry. If we are willing to wait, we will see God pointing out that we have been interested only in His blessings, instead of in God Himself. The sense of God’s blessings is fundamental.
“…be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Unyielding spiritual fortitude is what we need.
Friday, April 3, 2015
Ruth 4 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: An Anchor for Your Soul
Six hours, one Friday. To the casual observer the six hours are mundane. But to a handful of awestruck witnesses, the most maddening of miracles is occurring. God is on a cross. The Creator of the universe is being executed!
It is no normal six hours; it is no normal Friday. His own friends ran for cover. And now his own father is beginning to turn his back on him, leaving him alone. What do you do with that day in history? If God did commandeer his own crucifixion. . .if he did turn his back on his own son. . .if he did storm Satan's gate, then those six hours that Friday were packed with tragic triumph. If that was God on that cross, then the hill called Skull is granite studded with stakes to which you can anchor your soul forever!
From On Calvary's Hill
Ruth 4
Boaz Marries Ruth
Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there. Just then the family redeemer he had mentioned came by, so Boaz called out to him, “Come over here and sit down, friend. I want to talk to you.” So they sat down together. 2 Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses. 3 And Boaz said to the family redeemer, “You know Naomi, who came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don’t want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you.”
The man replied, “All right, I’ll redeem it.”
5 Then Boaz told him, “Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way she can have children who will carry on her husband’s name and keep the land in the family.”
6 “Then I can’t redeem it,” the family redeemer replied, “because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land; I cannot do it.”
7 Now in those days it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party. This publicly validated the transaction. 8 So the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, “You buy the land.”
9 Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, “You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. 10 And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today.”
11 Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, “We are witnesses! May the Lord make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended! May you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 And may the Lord give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.”
The Descendants of Boaz
13 So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. 15 May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!”
16 Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. 17 The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.
18 This is the genealogical record of their ancestor Perez:
Perez was the father of Hezron.
19 Hezron was the father of Ram.
Ram was the father of Amminadab.
20 Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.[h]
21 Salmon was the father of Boaz.
Boaz was the father of Obed.
22 Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of David.
4:20 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 4:21); Hebrew reads Salma
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, April 03, 2015
Read: 2 Corinthians 5:1-8
New Bodies
For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.[a] 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.
Footnotes:
5:3 Greek we will not be naked.
INSIGHT: Paul uses metaphors such as “earthen vessels,” “earthly house,” and “tent” (2 Cor. 4:7; 5:1) to contrast the frailty and mortality of our earthly existence with the indestructibility, immortality, and glory of our resurrection bodies. When a believer dies, the body goes to the grave, becoming dust (Gen. 3:19; Job 34:15; Eccl. 3:20), but the spirit goes to be with Christ (Eccl. 12:7; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:21–25). When Jesus Christ returns for His own (John 14:3), our body and spirit shall be raised together for a glorious eternity with God (5:28-29; 1 Cor. 15:50-53; Phil. 3:21; 1 Thess. 4:16–18).
And Then You Laugh
By Julie Ackerman Link
[God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. —2 Corinthians 5:21
Noise. Vibration. Pressure. Fireball. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield used these words to describe being launched into space. As the rocket raced toward the International Space Station, the weight of gravity increased and breathing became difficult. Just when he thought he would pass out, the rocket made a fiery breakthrough into weightlessness. Instead of lapsing into unconsciousness, he broke into laughter.
His description made me think of the days leading to my mother’s death. The heaviness of life kept increasing until she no longer had the strength to breathe. She was then released from her pain and broke free into the “weightlessness” of heaven. I like to think of her laughing when she took her first breath in Jesus’ presence.
On the Friday we call “good,” something similar happened to Jesus. God placed on Him the weight of the entire world’s sin—past, present, and future—until He could no longer breathe. Then He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit’ ” (Luke 23:46). After being suffocated by our sin, Jesus received back from God the life entrusted to Him and now lives where sin and death have no power. All who trust Christ will one day join Him, and I wonder if we’ll look back at this life and laugh.
Father in heaven, words cannot describe our gratitude for Your Son Jesus, who bore the weight of our sins. Thank You that to be absent from this body with its heavy burdens is to be present with You forever.
The sacrifice of Jesus points us to the joy of heaven.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, April 03, 2015
“If You Had Known!”
If you had known…in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. —Luke 19:42
Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly and the city was stirred to its very foundations, but a strange god was there– the pride of the Pharisees. It was a god that seemed religious and upright, but Jesus compared it to “whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27).
What is it that blinds you to the peace of God “in this your day”? Do you have a strange god– not a disgusting monster but perhaps an unholy nature that controls your life? More than once God has brought me face to face with a strange god in my life, and I knew that I should have given it up, but I didn’t do it. I got through the crisis “by the skin of my teeth,” only to find myself still under the control of that strange god. I am blind to the very things that make for my own peace. It is a shocking thing that we can be in the exact place where the Spirit of God should be having His completely unhindered way with us, and yet we only make matters worse, increasing our blame in God’s eyes.
“If you had known….” God’s words here cut directly to the heart, with the tears of Jesus behind them. These words imply responsibility for our own faults. God holds us accountable for what we refuse to see or are unable to see because of our sin. And “now they are hidden from your eyes” because you have never completely yielded your nature to Him. Oh, the deep, unending sadness for what might have been! God never again opens the doors that have been closed. He opens other doors, but He reminds us that there are doors which we have shut– doors which had no need to be shut. Never be afraid when God brings back your past. Let your memory have its way with you. It is a minister of God bringing its rebuke and sorrow to you. God will turn what might have been into a wonderful lesson of growth for the future.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, April 03, 2015
The Hope of Easter: Graves with Doors and Pits with Ladders - #7365
"We own the finish line!" That's exactly what Vice President Joe Biden said at the memorial service for the Boston Marathon bombing victims. I heard those words and I just said, "That's Easter!" Death - life's finish line - has never been the same since Jesus blew it away that first Easter morning.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Hope of Easter: Graves with Doors and Pits with Ladders."
Not long ago, I stood with some Native American friends at the graveside service of their dad who was suddenly gone. And I could say with absolute confidence as the casket was lowered into the grave, "Your Dad's not here" because ever since Jesus walked out of His tomb, graves have doors; a door that opens right into heaven. So all death can do to all those who belong to this death-beating Savior is to take them Home.
Because the Easter miracle is not isolated to one event in one ancient cemetery a long time ago. This conquering Jesus said, "Because I live, you will also live" (John 14:19). And Scripture pulls back the dark curtain of death to reveal that "when we are away from the body," we are "present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).
So "Dark King Death," you have been dethroned! My grave will only be my doorway to an unimaginable forever. Oh, not because that's what I deserve. Quite the contrary. I deserve to be forever away from the God whose right to run my life I have totally usurped.
But then came those six words when Jesus hung on that cross, paying for my sin. First, He said, "Father, forgive them." With a self-sacrificing love that's beyond words, Jesus was forgiving me; sinful, prideful, selfish me.
Then three more words, "It is finished!" That's a strangely triumphant cry with His life-blood draining away. He didn't say, "I am finished." He said, "It is finished!" The work for which He had come, the bill for human sin, the bill for my sin, for your sin, for everyone of us has been paid and was paid in full as Jesus died there.
But I don't have to wait for my expiration date to experience the power of the Easter miracle. Oh, no! He's alive right now! God's great ambassador, Paul, was literally at the end of his rope. Listen to our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9. He said, "We were under great pressure...beyond our ability to endure...we despaired even of life...in our hearts we felt the sentence of death" That's a pretty dark place to be wouldn't you say? A pretty deep pit. But do you know what he found in this pit? A ladder. A ladder out. The Jesus who crushed death.
Paul said, "But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." When I feel hopeless, when I feel desperate, when I feel dead inside, I lunge for Jesus. He is my death-reversing Savior! And when there's no me and when it's got to be all Him, I get a spiritual and emotional resurrection!
There's a door in the grave. There's a ladder out of the pit because of Easter. The question is, "Have you ever invited this living Jesus to become the leader, the driver, the Savior of your life? He's waiting to do that, and what better time of year to do it. Because He walked out of His grave so He could walk into your life today. It's no accident we got together today. He's come looking for you.
I'd love to show you how to get that relationship started or to make sure you belong to Him if you'll just meet in at our website ANewStory.com. Because of Jesus, we own the finish line.
Six hours, one Friday. To the casual observer the six hours are mundane. But to a handful of awestruck witnesses, the most maddening of miracles is occurring. God is on a cross. The Creator of the universe is being executed!
It is no normal six hours; it is no normal Friday. His own friends ran for cover. And now his own father is beginning to turn his back on him, leaving him alone. What do you do with that day in history? If God did commandeer his own crucifixion. . .if he did turn his back on his own son. . .if he did storm Satan's gate, then those six hours that Friday were packed with tragic triumph. If that was God on that cross, then the hill called Skull is granite studded with stakes to which you can anchor your soul forever!
From On Calvary's Hill
Ruth 4
Boaz Marries Ruth
Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there. Just then the family redeemer he had mentioned came by, so Boaz called out to him, “Come over here and sit down, friend. I want to talk to you.” So they sat down together. 2 Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses. 3 And Boaz said to the family redeemer, “You know Naomi, who came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don’t want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you.”
The man replied, “All right, I’ll redeem it.”
5 Then Boaz told him, “Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way she can have children who will carry on her husband’s name and keep the land in the family.”
6 “Then I can’t redeem it,” the family redeemer replied, “because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land; I cannot do it.”
7 Now in those days it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party. This publicly validated the transaction. 8 So the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, “You buy the land.”
9 Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, “You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. 10 And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today.”
11 Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, “We are witnesses! May the Lord make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended! May you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 And may the Lord give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.”
The Descendants of Boaz
13 So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. 15 May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!”
16 Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. 17 The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.
18 This is the genealogical record of their ancestor Perez:
Perez was the father of Hezron.
19 Hezron was the father of Ram.
Ram was the father of Amminadab.
20 Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.[h]
21 Salmon was the father of Boaz.
Boaz was the father of Obed.
22 Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of David.
4:20 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 4:21); Hebrew reads Salma
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, April 03, 2015
Read: 2 Corinthians 5:1-8
New Bodies
For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.[a] 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.
Footnotes:
5:3 Greek we will not be naked.
INSIGHT: Paul uses metaphors such as “earthen vessels,” “earthly house,” and “tent” (2 Cor. 4:7; 5:1) to contrast the frailty and mortality of our earthly existence with the indestructibility, immortality, and glory of our resurrection bodies. When a believer dies, the body goes to the grave, becoming dust (Gen. 3:19; Job 34:15; Eccl. 3:20), but the spirit goes to be with Christ (Eccl. 12:7; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:21–25). When Jesus Christ returns for His own (John 14:3), our body and spirit shall be raised together for a glorious eternity with God (5:28-29; 1 Cor. 15:50-53; Phil. 3:21; 1 Thess. 4:16–18).
And Then You Laugh
By Julie Ackerman Link
[God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. —2 Corinthians 5:21
Noise. Vibration. Pressure. Fireball. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield used these words to describe being launched into space. As the rocket raced toward the International Space Station, the weight of gravity increased and breathing became difficult. Just when he thought he would pass out, the rocket made a fiery breakthrough into weightlessness. Instead of lapsing into unconsciousness, he broke into laughter.
His description made me think of the days leading to my mother’s death. The heaviness of life kept increasing until she no longer had the strength to breathe. She was then released from her pain and broke free into the “weightlessness” of heaven. I like to think of her laughing when she took her first breath in Jesus’ presence.
On the Friday we call “good,” something similar happened to Jesus. God placed on Him the weight of the entire world’s sin—past, present, and future—until He could no longer breathe. Then He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit’ ” (Luke 23:46). After being suffocated by our sin, Jesus received back from God the life entrusted to Him and now lives where sin and death have no power. All who trust Christ will one day join Him, and I wonder if we’ll look back at this life and laugh.
Father in heaven, words cannot describe our gratitude for Your Son Jesus, who bore the weight of our sins. Thank You that to be absent from this body with its heavy burdens is to be present with You forever.
The sacrifice of Jesus points us to the joy of heaven.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, April 03, 2015
“If You Had Known!”
If you had known…in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. —Luke 19:42
Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly and the city was stirred to its very foundations, but a strange god was there– the pride of the Pharisees. It was a god that seemed religious and upright, but Jesus compared it to “whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27).
What is it that blinds you to the peace of God “in this your day”? Do you have a strange god– not a disgusting monster but perhaps an unholy nature that controls your life? More than once God has brought me face to face with a strange god in my life, and I knew that I should have given it up, but I didn’t do it. I got through the crisis “by the skin of my teeth,” only to find myself still under the control of that strange god. I am blind to the very things that make for my own peace. It is a shocking thing that we can be in the exact place where the Spirit of God should be having His completely unhindered way with us, and yet we only make matters worse, increasing our blame in God’s eyes.
“If you had known….” God’s words here cut directly to the heart, with the tears of Jesus behind them. These words imply responsibility for our own faults. God holds us accountable for what we refuse to see or are unable to see because of our sin. And “now they are hidden from your eyes” because you have never completely yielded your nature to Him. Oh, the deep, unending sadness for what might have been! God never again opens the doors that have been closed. He opens other doors, but He reminds us that there are doors which we have shut– doors which had no need to be shut. Never be afraid when God brings back your past. Let your memory have its way with you. It is a minister of God bringing its rebuke and sorrow to you. God will turn what might have been into a wonderful lesson of growth for the future.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, April 03, 2015
The Hope of Easter: Graves with Doors and Pits with Ladders - #7365
"We own the finish line!" That's exactly what Vice President Joe Biden said at the memorial service for the Boston Marathon bombing victims. I heard those words and I just said, "That's Easter!" Death - life's finish line - has never been the same since Jesus blew it away that first Easter morning.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Hope of Easter: Graves with Doors and Pits with Ladders."
Not long ago, I stood with some Native American friends at the graveside service of their dad who was suddenly gone. And I could say with absolute confidence as the casket was lowered into the grave, "Your Dad's not here" because ever since Jesus walked out of His tomb, graves have doors; a door that opens right into heaven. So all death can do to all those who belong to this death-beating Savior is to take them Home.
Because the Easter miracle is not isolated to one event in one ancient cemetery a long time ago. This conquering Jesus said, "Because I live, you will also live" (John 14:19). And Scripture pulls back the dark curtain of death to reveal that "when we are away from the body," we are "present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).
So "Dark King Death," you have been dethroned! My grave will only be my doorway to an unimaginable forever. Oh, not because that's what I deserve. Quite the contrary. I deserve to be forever away from the God whose right to run my life I have totally usurped.
But then came those six words when Jesus hung on that cross, paying for my sin. First, He said, "Father, forgive them." With a self-sacrificing love that's beyond words, Jesus was forgiving me; sinful, prideful, selfish me.
Then three more words, "It is finished!" That's a strangely triumphant cry with His life-blood draining away. He didn't say, "I am finished." He said, "It is finished!" The work for which He had come, the bill for human sin, the bill for my sin, for your sin, for everyone of us has been paid and was paid in full as Jesus died there.
But I don't have to wait for my expiration date to experience the power of the Easter miracle. Oh, no! He's alive right now! God's great ambassador, Paul, was literally at the end of his rope. Listen to our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9. He said, "We were under great pressure...beyond our ability to endure...we despaired even of life...in our hearts we felt the sentence of death" That's a pretty dark place to be wouldn't you say? A pretty deep pit. But do you know what he found in this pit? A ladder. A ladder out. The Jesus who crushed death.
Paul said, "But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." When I feel hopeless, when I feel desperate, when I feel dead inside, I lunge for Jesus. He is my death-reversing Savior! And when there's no me and when it's got to be all Him, I get a spiritual and emotional resurrection!
There's a door in the grave. There's a ladder out of the pit because of Easter. The question is, "Have you ever invited this living Jesus to become the leader, the driver, the Savior of your life? He's waiting to do that, and what better time of year to do it. Because He walked out of His grave so He could walk into your life today. It's no accident we got together today. He's come looking for you.
I'd love to show you how to get that relationship started or to make sure you belong to Him if you'll just meet in at our website ANewStory.com. Because of Jesus, we own the finish line.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Ruth 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Calvary
Come with me to the hill of Calvary. Watch as the soldiers shove the carpenter to the ground and stretch his arms against the beams. Jesus turns his face toward the nail just as the soldier lifts his hammer to strike it!
Couldn't Jesus have stopped him? With a flex of bicep, a clench of the fist, he could've resisted. But the moment isn't aborted. Why? Why didn't Jesus resist? As the soldier pressed his arm, Jesus saw a nail-yes. The soldier's hand-yes. But he saw something else. A long list of our lusts and lies and greedy moments and prodigal years. A list of our sins. He knew the price of those sins was death. He knew the source of those sins was you. And he couldn't bear the thought of eternity without you. He chose the nails!
From On Calvary's Hill
Ruth 3
Ruth at the Threshing Floor
One day Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, it’s time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you will be provided for. 2 Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he’s been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women. Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor. 3 Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do.”
5 “I will do everything you say,” Ruth replied. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother-in-law.
7 After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he lay down at the far end of the pile of grain and went to sleep. Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8 Around midnight Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over. He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet! 9 “Who are you?” he asked.
“I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.”
10 “The Lord bless you, my daughter!” Boaz exclaimed. “You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man, whether rich or poor. 11 Now don’t worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman. 12 But while it’s true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am. 13 Stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, very well. Let him marry you. But if he is not willing, then as surely as the Lord lives, I will redeem you myself! Now lie down here until morning.”
14 So Ruth lay at Boaz’s feet until the morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. For Boaz had said, “No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor.” 15 Then Boaz said to her, “Bring your cloak and spread it out.” He measured six scoops[f] of barley into the cloak and placed it on her back. Then he[g] returned to the town.
16 When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “What happened, my daughter?”
Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her, 17 and she added, “He gave me these six scoops of barley and said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
18 Then Naomi said to her, “Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, April 02, 2015
Read: 1 Corinthians 11:23-34
For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you.[a] Do this to remember me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.
27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against[b] the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ,[c] you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.
31 But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. 32 Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
33 So, my dear brothers and sisters,[d] when you gather for the Lord’s Supper, wait for each other. 34 If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won’t bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together. I’ll give you instructions about the other matters after I arrive.
Footnotes:
11:24 Greek which is for you; other manuscripts read which is broken for you.
11:27 Or is responsible for.
11:29 Greek the body; other manuscripts read the Lord’s body.
11:33 Greek brothers.
INSIGHT: The Lord’s Supper—communion—is a time to remember the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Paul writes to the Corinthian believers to remind them not to partake of this supper in an “unworthy manner” (v. 27). The ESV Study Bible explains: “When the Corinthians observe the Lord’s Supper they are not rightly representing the sacrificial death of Christ (vv. 24,26) and the true character of the Lord. . . . The few who are wealthy in Corinth (1:26) have no regard for those who are hungry or who have nothing, while others have too much and some even get drunk.” The practical application of Paul’s instruction culminates in verse 33: “Wait for one another.”
Enjoying His Meal
By Keila Ochoa
Do this in remembrance of Me. —1 Corinthians 11:24
It’s not about the table, whether it’s square or round. It’s not about the chairs—plastic or wooden. It’s not about the food, although it helps if it has been cooked with love. A good meal is enjoyed when we turn off the TV and our cell phones and concentrate on those we’re with.
I love gathering around the table, enjoying a good chat with friends and family and talking about a multitude of topics. However, instant technology has made it difficult. Sometimes we are more concerned about what others—sometimes miles away—have to say than what the person just across the table is saying.
We have been invited to another meal at the table when we come together in one place to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. It’s not about the church, if it’s big or small. It’s not about the type of bread. It’s about turning off our thoughts from our worries and concerns and focusing on Jesus.
When was the last time we enjoyed being at the Lord’s Table? Do we enjoy His presence, or are we more concerned with what’s going on somewhere else? This is important, “for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).
I want to learn, dear Lord, when I sit at Your Table, to concentrate only on Your great love and sacrifice for us. Help me to enjoy the fellowship of others as we remember together what Jesus did for us at Calvary.
Remembering Christ’s death gives us courage for today and hope for tomorrow.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, April 02, 2015
The Glory That’s Unsurpassed
…the Lord Jesus…has sent me that you may receive your sight… —Acts 9:17
When Paul received his sight, he also received spiritual insight into the Person of Jesus Christ. His entire life and preaching from that point on were totally consumed with nothing but Jesus Christ— “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul never again allowed anything to attract and hold the attention of his mind and soul except the face of Jesus Christ.
We must learn to maintain a strong degree of character in our lives, even to the level that has been revealed in our vision of Jesus Christ.
The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others. The overruling passion of his life is Jesus Christ. Whenever you see this quality in a person, you get the feeling that he is truly a man after God’s own heart (see Acts 13:22).
Never allow anything to divert you from your insight into Jesus Christ. It is the true test of whether you are spiritual or not. To be unspiritual means that other things have a growing fascination for you.
Since mine eyes have looked on Jesus,
I’ve lost sight of all beside,
So enchained my spirit’s vision,
Gazing on the Crucified.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, April 02, 2015
Where Was I on Good Friday? - #7364
You've got to feel bad for the youngest child. Look, there's a thousand pictures of the firstborn, "Hey, we've never had one of these before!" Maybe 300 or 400 of the second born. And then, if you're lucky, maybe like 30 of the final arrival. Oh, we loved him just as much. We just didn't have as many pictures of him. Probably because his brother and sister wore us out.
When we've watched our family movies each Christmas, our youngest wouldn't stay for long. But every once in a while, he'd poke his head in and ask, "Am I in it yet?" He got a whole lot done while he was waiting. Honestly, most of us do look for ourselves when we look at pictures or videos. Oh, we'll moan about how we look in them, but we'll still try to find ourselves in the picture. Now we even take selfies all the time, right, so we make sure we're in it?
It's Good Friday this week, and I think I've found me in the Bible picture of that dark day when Jesus died that unspeakable death on the cross; a death so horrible that the word "excruciating" actually comes from it. The word comes from the Latin words "out of the cross" - excruciating.
I can identify with Mel Gibson's conclusion when he was filming the crucifixion scene for "The Passion of the Christ." When it came time for the portrayal of a Roman soldier driving the spikes into Jesus' hands, Gibson asked the actor to step aside so his hand would be the one nailing Jesus to the cross. Here's how he explained it: "It was me who put Him on the cross. It was my sins."
Well, it was mine too. "He carried our sins in His own body on the tree," the Bible says (1 Peter 2:24). Beyond the historic event of the death of Christ...beyond all the religious ceremonies and rituals and symbols, what happened on that cross was something intensely personal, because sin isn't just some universal, theoretical spiritual idea. It's about me. About every dark and dirty, prideful and hurtful, selfish and God-defying thing I've ever done; a lifetime of open rebellion against the rule of the King of heaven.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Where Was I on Good Friday?"
As I review the cast of Good Friday, I've found me in the picture, and I'm Barabbas.
Here's how the Bible tells it. "It was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, 'Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ?' (Matthew 27:15-17).
The religious leaders who wanted Jesus dead (it says) "persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed" (Matthew 27:20). Barabbas went free. Jesus went to the cross.
My mind imagines this man, with his face covered, watching the torture and crucifixion of Jesus from the bottom of Skull Hill. Then, when that eerie darkness set in at noon and people began to leave, I see this man slowly making his way up the hill to the foot of the cross. There stands Barabbas, looking into Jesus' face, brutalized beyond recognition the Bible says. And the liberated prisoner chokes out these words: "Jesus, that's my cross! I'm the one who should be dying there. But because you're dying there, Jesus, I don't have to die!"
That's me. It still moves me beyond words. The punishment I deserve, Jesus took on Himself. Our word for today from the Word of God tell us in Isaiah 53:5-6 (and I'll make it personal), "He was pierced for my rebellion, crushed for my sins...the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all" the sins of me (Isaiah 53:5-6 - NLT). So you're Barabbas, too. We all are.
And there couldn't be a better time than Good Friday to make your way up Skull Hill to the foot of Jesus' cross. And say, "Jesus, I'm the one who should die for my sins. But because you died there, I don't have to die." And then the commitment that will make the Savior your Savior, "Jesus, I'm pinning all my hopes on You, because no one can rescue me but You. And no one loves me like You do."
You go to the cross dirty. You come away clean. You go to the cross with a death penalty. You come away with eternal life, because of two words that could change your life now and change your forever.
"For me. Jesus, Good Friday was for me. And beginning today, I am Yours." I invite you to go to our website and there find out how you can this very day make this Jesus yours. It's ANewStory.com. This is the day where all that He did becomes yours.
Come with me to the hill of Calvary. Watch as the soldiers shove the carpenter to the ground and stretch his arms against the beams. Jesus turns his face toward the nail just as the soldier lifts his hammer to strike it!
Couldn't Jesus have stopped him? With a flex of bicep, a clench of the fist, he could've resisted. But the moment isn't aborted. Why? Why didn't Jesus resist? As the soldier pressed his arm, Jesus saw a nail-yes. The soldier's hand-yes. But he saw something else. A long list of our lusts and lies and greedy moments and prodigal years. A list of our sins. He knew the price of those sins was death. He knew the source of those sins was you. And he couldn't bear the thought of eternity without you. He chose the nails!
From On Calvary's Hill
Ruth 3
Ruth at the Threshing Floor
One day Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, it’s time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you will be provided for. 2 Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he’s been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women. Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor. 3 Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do.”
5 “I will do everything you say,” Ruth replied. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother-in-law.
7 After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he lay down at the far end of the pile of grain and went to sleep. Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8 Around midnight Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over. He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet! 9 “Who are you?” he asked.
“I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.”
10 “The Lord bless you, my daughter!” Boaz exclaimed. “You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man, whether rich or poor. 11 Now don’t worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman. 12 But while it’s true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am. 13 Stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, very well. Let him marry you. But if he is not willing, then as surely as the Lord lives, I will redeem you myself! Now lie down here until morning.”
14 So Ruth lay at Boaz’s feet until the morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. For Boaz had said, “No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor.” 15 Then Boaz said to her, “Bring your cloak and spread it out.” He measured six scoops[f] of barley into the cloak and placed it on her back. Then he[g] returned to the town.
16 When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “What happened, my daughter?”
Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her, 17 and she added, “He gave me these six scoops of barley and said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
18 Then Naomi said to her, “Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, April 02, 2015
Read: 1 Corinthians 11:23-34
For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you.[a] Do this to remember me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.
27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against[b] the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ,[c] you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.
31 But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. 32 Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
33 So, my dear brothers and sisters,[d] when you gather for the Lord’s Supper, wait for each other. 34 If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won’t bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together. I’ll give you instructions about the other matters after I arrive.
Footnotes:
11:24 Greek which is for you; other manuscripts read which is broken for you.
11:27 Or is responsible for.
11:29 Greek the body; other manuscripts read the Lord’s body.
11:33 Greek brothers.
INSIGHT: The Lord’s Supper—communion—is a time to remember the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Paul writes to the Corinthian believers to remind them not to partake of this supper in an “unworthy manner” (v. 27). The ESV Study Bible explains: “When the Corinthians observe the Lord’s Supper they are not rightly representing the sacrificial death of Christ (vv. 24,26) and the true character of the Lord. . . . The few who are wealthy in Corinth (1:26) have no regard for those who are hungry or who have nothing, while others have too much and some even get drunk.” The practical application of Paul’s instruction culminates in verse 33: “Wait for one another.”
Enjoying His Meal
By Keila Ochoa
Do this in remembrance of Me. —1 Corinthians 11:24
It’s not about the table, whether it’s square or round. It’s not about the chairs—plastic or wooden. It’s not about the food, although it helps if it has been cooked with love. A good meal is enjoyed when we turn off the TV and our cell phones and concentrate on those we’re with.
I love gathering around the table, enjoying a good chat with friends and family and talking about a multitude of topics. However, instant technology has made it difficult. Sometimes we are more concerned about what others—sometimes miles away—have to say than what the person just across the table is saying.
We have been invited to another meal at the table when we come together in one place to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. It’s not about the church, if it’s big or small. It’s not about the type of bread. It’s about turning off our thoughts from our worries and concerns and focusing on Jesus.
When was the last time we enjoyed being at the Lord’s Table? Do we enjoy His presence, or are we more concerned with what’s going on somewhere else? This is important, “for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).
I want to learn, dear Lord, when I sit at Your Table, to concentrate only on Your great love and sacrifice for us. Help me to enjoy the fellowship of others as we remember together what Jesus did for us at Calvary.
Remembering Christ’s death gives us courage for today and hope for tomorrow.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, April 02, 2015
The Glory That’s Unsurpassed
…the Lord Jesus…has sent me that you may receive your sight… —Acts 9:17
When Paul received his sight, he also received spiritual insight into the Person of Jesus Christ. His entire life and preaching from that point on were totally consumed with nothing but Jesus Christ— “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul never again allowed anything to attract and hold the attention of his mind and soul except the face of Jesus Christ.
We must learn to maintain a strong degree of character in our lives, even to the level that has been revealed in our vision of Jesus Christ.
The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others. The overruling passion of his life is Jesus Christ. Whenever you see this quality in a person, you get the feeling that he is truly a man after God’s own heart (see Acts 13:22).
Never allow anything to divert you from your insight into Jesus Christ. It is the true test of whether you are spiritual or not. To be unspiritual means that other things have a growing fascination for you.
Since mine eyes have looked on Jesus,
I’ve lost sight of all beside,
So enchained my spirit’s vision,
Gazing on the Crucified.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, April 02, 2015
Where Was I on Good Friday? - #7364
You've got to feel bad for the youngest child. Look, there's a thousand pictures of the firstborn, "Hey, we've never had one of these before!" Maybe 300 or 400 of the second born. And then, if you're lucky, maybe like 30 of the final arrival. Oh, we loved him just as much. We just didn't have as many pictures of him. Probably because his brother and sister wore us out.
When we've watched our family movies each Christmas, our youngest wouldn't stay for long. But every once in a while, he'd poke his head in and ask, "Am I in it yet?" He got a whole lot done while he was waiting. Honestly, most of us do look for ourselves when we look at pictures or videos. Oh, we'll moan about how we look in them, but we'll still try to find ourselves in the picture. Now we even take selfies all the time, right, so we make sure we're in it?
It's Good Friday this week, and I think I've found me in the Bible picture of that dark day when Jesus died that unspeakable death on the cross; a death so horrible that the word "excruciating" actually comes from it. The word comes from the Latin words "out of the cross" - excruciating.
I can identify with Mel Gibson's conclusion when he was filming the crucifixion scene for "The Passion of the Christ." When it came time for the portrayal of a Roman soldier driving the spikes into Jesus' hands, Gibson asked the actor to step aside so his hand would be the one nailing Jesus to the cross. Here's how he explained it: "It was me who put Him on the cross. It was my sins."
Well, it was mine too. "He carried our sins in His own body on the tree," the Bible says (1 Peter 2:24). Beyond the historic event of the death of Christ...beyond all the religious ceremonies and rituals and symbols, what happened on that cross was something intensely personal, because sin isn't just some universal, theoretical spiritual idea. It's about me. About every dark and dirty, prideful and hurtful, selfish and God-defying thing I've ever done; a lifetime of open rebellion against the rule of the King of heaven.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Where Was I on Good Friday?"
As I review the cast of Good Friday, I've found me in the picture, and I'm Barabbas.
Here's how the Bible tells it. "It was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, 'Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ?' (Matthew 27:15-17).
The religious leaders who wanted Jesus dead (it says) "persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed" (Matthew 27:20). Barabbas went free. Jesus went to the cross.
My mind imagines this man, with his face covered, watching the torture and crucifixion of Jesus from the bottom of Skull Hill. Then, when that eerie darkness set in at noon and people began to leave, I see this man slowly making his way up the hill to the foot of the cross. There stands Barabbas, looking into Jesus' face, brutalized beyond recognition the Bible says. And the liberated prisoner chokes out these words: "Jesus, that's my cross! I'm the one who should be dying there. But because you're dying there, Jesus, I don't have to die!"
That's me. It still moves me beyond words. The punishment I deserve, Jesus took on Himself. Our word for today from the Word of God tell us in Isaiah 53:5-6 (and I'll make it personal), "He was pierced for my rebellion, crushed for my sins...the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all" the sins of me (Isaiah 53:5-6 - NLT). So you're Barabbas, too. We all are.
And there couldn't be a better time than Good Friday to make your way up Skull Hill to the foot of Jesus' cross. And say, "Jesus, I'm the one who should die for my sins. But because you died there, I don't have to die." And then the commitment that will make the Savior your Savior, "Jesus, I'm pinning all my hopes on You, because no one can rescue me but You. And no one loves me like You do."
You go to the cross dirty. You come away clean. You go to the cross with a death penalty. You come away with eternal life, because of two words that could change your life now and change your forever.
"For me. Jesus, Good Friday was for me. And beginning today, I am Yours." I invite you to go to our website and there find out how you can this very day make this Jesus yours. It's ANewStory.com. This is the day where all that He did becomes yours.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Ruth 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: The Sign on Christ’s Cross · April 1
John 19:19 says, “Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross: Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.”
Why is a sign placed over the head of Jesus? Could it be that this piece of wood is a picture of God’s devotion? A symbol of his passion to tell the world about his Son? Pilate intended the sign to threaten and mock the Jews. But God had another purpose. Every passerby could read the sign, for every passerby could read Hebrew, Latin or Greek. In the language of culture, Christ was declared King in them all. There’s no language he will not speak. Which leads us to the delightful question: What language is he speaking to you? I’m referring to the day-to-day drama of your life. God does speak, you know. He speaks in any language that we will understand.
From On Calvary’s Hill
Ruth 2
Ruth Works in Boaz’s Field
Now there was a wealthy and influential man in Bethlehem named Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech.
2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it.”
Naomi replied, “All right, my daughter, go ahead.” 3 So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech.
4 While she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters. “The Lord be with you!” he said.
“The Lord bless you!” the harvesters replied.
5 Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?”
6 And the foreman replied, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. 7 She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.”
8 Boaz went over and said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Stay right here with us when you gather grain; don’t go to any other fields. Stay right behind the young women working in my field. 9 See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well.”
10 Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. “What have I done to deserve such kindness?” she asked. “I am only a foreigner.”
11 “Yes, I know,” Boaz replied. “But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. 12 May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”
13 “I hope I continue to please you, sir,” she replied. “You have comforted me by speaking so kindly to me, even though I am not one of your workers.”
14 At mealtime Boaz called to her, “Come over here, and help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the sour wine.” So she sat with his harvesters, and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat. She ate all she wanted and still had some left over.
15 When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her. 16 And pull out some heads of barley from the bundles and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time!”
17 So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the grain that evening, it filled an entire basket.[c] 18 She carried it back into town and showed it to her mother-in-law. Ruth also gave her the roasted grain that was left over from her meal.
19 “Where did you gather all this grain today?” Naomi asked. “Where did you work? May the Lord bless the one who helped you!”
So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the man in whose field she had worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”
20 “May the Lord bless him!” Naomi told her daughter-in-law. “He is showing his kindness to us as well as to your dead husband.[d] That man is one of our closest relatives, one of our family redeemers.”
21 Then Ruth[e] said, “What’s more, Boaz even told me to come back and stay with his harvesters until the entire harvest is completed.”
22 “Good!” Naomi exclaimed. “Do as he said, my daughter. Stay with his young women right through the whole harvest. You might be harassed in other fields, but you’ll be safe with him.”
23 So Ruth worked alongside the women in Boaz’s fields and gathered grain with them until the end of the barley harvest. Then she continued working with them through the wheat harvest in early summer. And all the while she lived with her mother-in-law.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
Read: John 16:17-24
Some of the disciples asked each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’? 18 And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.”
19 Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, “Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won’t see me, but a little while after that you will see me again. 20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. 21 It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world. 22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. 23 At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. 24 You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
INSIGHT: John 16 concludes Jesus’ most extended teaching session recorded in the gospel of John (Chs. 13–16). Jesus had begun the evening by washing the disciples’ feet in a remarkable act of servitude (13:1-17). After this He would go to Gethsemane and, ultimately, to Calvary. There He would make the ultimate sacrifice as He died on the cross for the sins of humanity.
Pain With A Purpose
By David C. McCasland
[Jesus said,] “I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.” —John 16:22
I asked several friends what their most difficult, painful experience in life had been. Their answers included war, divorce, surgery, and the loss of a loved one. My wife’s reply was, “The birth of our first child.” It was a long and difficult labor in a lonely army hospital. But looking back, she said she considers it joyful “because the pain had a big purpose.”
Just before Jesus went to the cross, He told His followers they were about to go through a time of great pain and sorrow. The Lord compared their coming experience to that of a woman during childbirth when her anguish turns to joy after her child is born (John 16:20-21). “Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you” (v.22).
Sorrow comes to us all along the road of life. But Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Heb. 12:2), purchased forgiveness and freedom for all who open their hearts to Him. His painful sacrifice accomplished God’s eternal purpose of opening the way to friendship and fellowship with Him.
The joy of our Savior outweighed His suffering, just as the joy He gives us overshadows all our pain.
Dear Father, Your precious Son Jesus chose suffering for me. Thank You for His sacrifice on my behalf. Thank You that even my pain can be a tool in Your hands to make me more like Your Son.
Suffering can be like a magnet that draws the Christian close to Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
Helpful or Heartless Toward Others?
It is Christ…who also makes intercession for us….the Spirit…makes intercession for the saints… —Romans 8:34, 27
Do we need any more arguments than these to become intercessors– that Christ “always lives to make intercession” (Hebrews 7:25), and that the Holy Spirit “makes intercession for the saints”? Are we living in such a relationship with others that we do the work of intercession as a result of being the children of God who are taught by His Spirit? We should take a look at our current circumstances. Do crises which affect us or others in our home, business, country, or elsewhere, seem to be crushing in on us? Are we being pushed out of the presence of God and left with no time for worship? If so, we must put a stop to such distractions and get into such a living relationship with God that our relationship with others is maintained through the work of intercession, where God works His miracles.
Beware of getting ahead of God by your very desire to do His will. We run ahead of Him in a thousand and one activities, becoming so burdened with people and problems that we don’t worship God, and we fail to intercede. If a burden and its resulting pressure come upon us while we are not in an attitude of worship, it will only produce a hardness toward God and despair in our own souls. God continually introduces us to people in whom we have no interest, and unless we are worshiping God the natural tendency is to be heartless toward them. We give them a quick verse of Scripture, like jabbing them with a spear, or leave them with a hurried, uncaring word of counsel before we go. A heartless Christian must be a terrible grief to our Lord.
Are our lives in the proper place so that we may participate in the intercession of our Lord and the Holy Spirit?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
PALM SUNDAY'S SUPER DONKEY - #7363
On the Sunday before Easter, my pastor was talking about the donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. And my mind wandered, (not the pastor's fault) to a horse that I met one day in Texas.
I was recording my youth broadcast with a live teenage audience on a Texas cattle ranch, and I asked if they could arrange a horse for this city boy to ride. Now, I had two adjectives to defined my equine request: "old and harmless." Here I am dressed in a cowboy hat and chaps, (which they provided and the photos have been burned), and I mounted the steed that they found for me.
I should have asked his name sooner. See, this town had a monster tornado some years before, and guess what my horse's name was? I'm already on it...yep, "Tornado". There was no turning back!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Palm Sunday's Super Donkey."
All right, back to the Palm Sunday donkey. When two of Jesus' disciples went to fetch the animal for Jesus' entry to Jerusalem, they might well have named him Tornado. Because Jesus said the donkey He sent them for was one (the Bible says) "no one has ever ridden" (Luke 19:30). We're talking here a long-eared version of a buckin' bronco!
But I think that might be the overlooked miracle of Palm Sunday. With Jesus on board, that wild donkey just isn't wild. Even when they're passing through surging crowds of "loud voices", the Bible says, praising Jesus, that unbroken donkey doesn't bolt, doesn't freak out. Once again, Jesus is on board, which gives me another reason to join those voices who celebrated Jesus on the first day of the week that changed the world. He has power to tame what has never been tamed, including the animal inside me and inside you.
We don't have to accept as un-tamable that temper that scars the people we love, or that lustful passion that makes us feel so defeated and ashamed. This Jesus, who one week after Palm Sunday blew death away, has power to conquer in us what has been unconquerable for us. The Bible radiates hope of winning with this promise in our word for today from the Word of God in Romans 6:14-18: "Sin shall not be your master...you have been set free from sin."
The taming miracle of Jesus begins when you relinquish the reins to Him. Because, as the Bible says, "our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ...gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness" (Titus 2:13-14). When He had bled out His life for us on the cross, He declared, "It is finished!" And that blood-bought victory included breaking the power of the animal inside you and me.
Oh yeah, my pastor prompted another thought during the Palm Sunday sermon. The disciples were given the curious assignment of just finding this donkey, untying him and bringing him to Jesus without asking the owner. Now, I don't know about you, but I'd be thinking about how I would look in prison stripes. But Jesus had told them, "If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it'" (Luke 19:31). That's all the owner needed to hear. Little did he know that his nondescript beast of burden would be immortalized for carrying the King of kings to His date with destiny.
I think Jesus is still asking us to release something we have so He can use it. A talent, an ability, some money or some valuables that we've been hanging onto, maybe a ministry that we've hijacked from Him, a position of influence we have, our career, our retirement plans, or a child that will not release to the call that God has given them. The finger of God may be reaching down from heaven and pointing to something or someone that you're holding tightly and He's saying, "The Lord needs it."
More importantly, it may be your time to make this Jesus more than the Savior of the world. It's time to make Him your Savior. If you want to know more about how you can take that step and you want to begin your relationship with Him and have the animal inside of you finally tamed by the One who walked out of His grave and has the power to do it, I want you to go to ANewStory.com, our website. Let's get together there about how you can begin this relationship.
If we will let it go, whatever we've been hanging onto, even our life, He will do with it what we could never imagine. And He'll make whatever you release to Him into a miracle...like Palm Sunday's Super Donkey.
John 19:19 says, “Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross: Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.”
Why is a sign placed over the head of Jesus? Could it be that this piece of wood is a picture of God’s devotion? A symbol of his passion to tell the world about his Son? Pilate intended the sign to threaten and mock the Jews. But God had another purpose. Every passerby could read the sign, for every passerby could read Hebrew, Latin or Greek. In the language of culture, Christ was declared King in them all. There’s no language he will not speak. Which leads us to the delightful question: What language is he speaking to you? I’m referring to the day-to-day drama of your life. God does speak, you know. He speaks in any language that we will understand.
From On Calvary’s Hill
Ruth 2
Ruth Works in Boaz’s Field
Now there was a wealthy and influential man in Bethlehem named Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech.
2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it.”
Naomi replied, “All right, my daughter, go ahead.” 3 So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech.
4 While she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters. “The Lord be with you!” he said.
“The Lord bless you!” the harvesters replied.
5 Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?”
6 And the foreman replied, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. 7 She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.”
8 Boaz went over and said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Stay right here with us when you gather grain; don’t go to any other fields. Stay right behind the young women working in my field. 9 See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well.”
10 Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. “What have I done to deserve such kindness?” she asked. “I am only a foreigner.”
11 “Yes, I know,” Boaz replied. “But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. 12 May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”
13 “I hope I continue to please you, sir,” she replied. “You have comforted me by speaking so kindly to me, even though I am not one of your workers.”
14 At mealtime Boaz called to her, “Come over here, and help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the sour wine.” So she sat with his harvesters, and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat. She ate all she wanted and still had some left over.
15 When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her. 16 And pull out some heads of barley from the bundles and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time!”
17 So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the grain that evening, it filled an entire basket.[c] 18 She carried it back into town and showed it to her mother-in-law. Ruth also gave her the roasted grain that was left over from her meal.
19 “Where did you gather all this grain today?” Naomi asked. “Where did you work? May the Lord bless the one who helped you!”
So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the man in whose field she had worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”
20 “May the Lord bless him!” Naomi told her daughter-in-law. “He is showing his kindness to us as well as to your dead husband.[d] That man is one of our closest relatives, one of our family redeemers.”
21 Then Ruth[e] said, “What’s more, Boaz even told me to come back and stay with his harvesters until the entire harvest is completed.”
22 “Good!” Naomi exclaimed. “Do as he said, my daughter. Stay with his young women right through the whole harvest. You might be harassed in other fields, but you’ll be safe with him.”
23 So Ruth worked alongside the women in Boaz’s fields and gathered grain with them until the end of the barley harvest. Then she continued working with them through the wheat harvest in early summer. And all the while she lived with her mother-in-law.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
Read: John 16:17-24
Some of the disciples asked each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’? 18 And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.”
19 Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, “Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won’t see me, but a little while after that you will see me again. 20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. 21 It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world. 22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. 23 At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. 24 You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
INSIGHT: John 16 concludes Jesus’ most extended teaching session recorded in the gospel of John (Chs. 13–16). Jesus had begun the evening by washing the disciples’ feet in a remarkable act of servitude (13:1-17). After this He would go to Gethsemane and, ultimately, to Calvary. There He would make the ultimate sacrifice as He died on the cross for the sins of humanity.
Pain With A Purpose
By David C. McCasland
[Jesus said,] “I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.” —John 16:22
I asked several friends what their most difficult, painful experience in life had been. Their answers included war, divorce, surgery, and the loss of a loved one. My wife’s reply was, “The birth of our first child.” It was a long and difficult labor in a lonely army hospital. But looking back, she said she considers it joyful “because the pain had a big purpose.”
Just before Jesus went to the cross, He told His followers they were about to go through a time of great pain and sorrow. The Lord compared their coming experience to that of a woman during childbirth when her anguish turns to joy after her child is born (John 16:20-21). “Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you” (v.22).
Sorrow comes to us all along the road of life. But Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Heb. 12:2), purchased forgiveness and freedom for all who open their hearts to Him. His painful sacrifice accomplished God’s eternal purpose of opening the way to friendship and fellowship with Him.
The joy of our Savior outweighed His suffering, just as the joy He gives us overshadows all our pain.
Dear Father, Your precious Son Jesus chose suffering for me. Thank You for His sacrifice on my behalf. Thank You that even my pain can be a tool in Your hands to make me more like Your Son.
Suffering can be like a magnet that draws the Christian close to Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
Helpful or Heartless Toward Others?
It is Christ…who also makes intercession for us….the Spirit…makes intercession for the saints… —Romans 8:34, 27
Do we need any more arguments than these to become intercessors– that Christ “always lives to make intercession” (Hebrews 7:25), and that the Holy Spirit “makes intercession for the saints”? Are we living in such a relationship with others that we do the work of intercession as a result of being the children of God who are taught by His Spirit? We should take a look at our current circumstances. Do crises which affect us or others in our home, business, country, or elsewhere, seem to be crushing in on us? Are we being pushed out of the presence of God and left with no time for worship? If so, we must put a stop to such distractions and get into such a living relationship with God that our relationship with others is maintained through the work of intercession, where God works His miracles.
Beware of getting ahead of God by your very desire to do His will. We run ahead of Him in a thousand and one activities, becoming so burdened with people and problems that we don’t worship God, and we fail to intercede. If a burden and its resulting pressure come upon us while we are not in an attitude of worship, it will only produce a hardness toward God and despair in our own souls. God continually introduces us to people in whom we have no interest, and unless we are worshiping God the natural tendency is to be heartless toward them. We give them a quick verse of Scripture, like jabbing them with a spear, or leave them with a hurried, uncaring word of counsel before we go. A heartless Christian must be a terrible grief to our Lord.
Are our lives in the proper place so that we may participate in the intercession of our Lord and the Holy Spirit?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
PALM SUNDAY'S SUPER DONKEY - #7363
On the Sunday before Easter, my pastor was talking about the donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. And my mind wandered, (not the pastor's fault) to a horse that I met one day in Texas.
I was recording my youth broadcast with a live teenage audience on a Texas cattle ranch, and I asked if they could arrange a horse for this city boy to ride. Now, I had two adjectives to defined my equine request: "old and harmless." Here I am dressed in a cowboy hat and chaps, (which they provided and the photos have been burned), and I mounted the steed that they found for me.
I should have asked his name sooner. See, this town had a monster tornado some years before, and guess what my horse's name was? I'm already on it...yep, "Tornado". There was no turning back!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Palm Sunday's Super Donkey."
All right, back to the Palm Sunday donkey. When two of Jesus' disciples went to fetch the animal for Jesus' entry to Jerusalem, they might well have named him Tornado. Because Jesus said the donkey He sent them for was one (the Bible says) "no one has ever ridden" (Luke 19:30). We're talking here a long-eared version of a buckin' bronco!
But I think that might be the overlooked miracle of Palm Sunday. With Jesus on board, that wild donkey just isn't wild. Even when they're passing through surging crowds of "loud voices", the Bible says, praising Jesus, that unbroken donkey doesn't bolt, doesn't freak out. Once again, Jesus is on board, which gives me another reason to join those voices who celebrated Jesus on the first day of the week that changed the world. He has power to tame what has never been tamed, including the animal inside me and inside you.
We don't have to accept as un-tamable that temper that scars the people we love, or that lustful passion that makes us feel so defeated and ashamed. This Jesus, who one week after Palm Sunday blew death away, has power to conquer in us what has been unconquerable for us. The Bible radiates hope of winning with this promise in our word for today from the Word of God in Romans 6:14-18: "Sin shall not be your master...you have been set free from sin."
The taming miracle of Jesus begins when you relinquish the reins to Him. Because, as the Bible says, "our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ...gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness" (Titus 2:13-14). When He had bled out His life for us on the cross, He declared, "It is finished!" And that blood-bought victory included breaking the power of the animal inside you and me.
Oh yeah, my pastor prompted another thought during the Palm Sunday sermon. The disciples were given the curious assignment of just finding this donkey, untying him and bringing him to Jesus without asking the owner. Now, I don't know about you, but I'd be thinking about how I would look in prison stripes. But Jesus had told them, "If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it'" (Luke 19:31). That's all the owner needed to hear. Little did he know that his nondescript beast of burden would be immortalized for carrying the King of kings to His date with destiny.
I think Jesus is still asking us to release something we have so He can use it. A talent, an ability, some money or some valuables that we've been hanging onto, maybe a ministry that we've hijacked from Him, a position of influence we have, our career, our retirement plans, or a child that will not release to the call that God has given them. The finger of God may be reaching down from heaven and pointing to something or someone that you're holding tightly and He's saying, "The Lord needs it."
More importantly, it may be your time to make this Jesus more than the Savior of the world. It's time to make Him your Savior. If you want to know more about how you can take that step and you want to begin your relationship with Him and have the animal inside of you finally tamed by the One who walked out of His grave and has the power to do it, I want you to go to ANewStory.com, our website. Let's get together there about how you can begin this relationship.
If we will let it go, whatever we've been hanging onto, even our life, He will do with it what we could never imagine. And He'll make whatever you release to Him into a miracle...like Palm Sunday's Super Donkey.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Ruth 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: He Wore Our Sin
Scripture often describes our behavior as the clothes we wear. 1 Peter 5:5 urges us to be "clothed with humility." In Psalm 109:18, David speaks of evil people who clothe themselves "with cursing." Garments can symbolize character; and like his garment, Jesus' character was uninterrupted perfection.
But when Christ was nailed to the cross, he took off his robe of seamless perfection and assumed a different wardrobe… the wardrobe of indignity. Stripped before his own mother. Shamed before his family. The indignity of failure. For a few pain-filled hours, the religious leaders were victors, and Christ appeared the loser. Worst of all, he wore the indignity of sin. Scripture says, "He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree." The cloth of Christ on the cross? Sin-yours and mine. The sins of all humanity.
From On Calvary's Hill
Ruth 1
Elimelech Moves His Family to Moab
In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there.
3 Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. 4 The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.
Naomi and Ruth Return
6 Then Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good crops again. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her homeland. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she set out from the place where she had been living, and they took the road that would lead them back to Judah.
8 But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the Lord reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me. 9 May the Lord bless you with the security of another marriage.” Then she kissed them good-bye, and they all broke down and wept.
10 “No,” they said. “We want to go with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi replied, “Why should you go on with me? Can I still give birth to other sons who could grow up to be your husbands? 12 No, my daughters, return to your parents’ homes, for I am too old to marry again. And even if it were possible, and I were to get married tonight and bear sons, then what? 13 Would you wait for them to grow up and refuse to marry someone else? No, of course not, my daughters! Things are far more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord himself has raised his fist against me.”
14 And again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi. 15 “Look,” Naomi said to her, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. You should do the same.”
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.
19 So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked.
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara,[a] for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer[b] and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”
22 So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Read: Mark 14:10-21
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted when they heard why he had come, and they promised to give him money. So he began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
The Last Supper
12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?”
13 So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: “As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ 15 He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.” 16 So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.
17 In the evening Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 As they were at the table[a] eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.”
19 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?”
20 He replied, “It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me. 21 For the Son of Man[b] must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”
Footnotes:
14:18 Or As they reclined.
14:21 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
INSIGHT: There are two apostles named Judas in the New Testament, and the gospel writers Luke and John are careful to distinguish them. Luke states, “Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor” (6:16), and John says, “Judas (not Iscariot)” (14:22).
Why Me?
By David C. Egner
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8
British pastor Joseph Parker was asked, “Why did Jesus choose Judas to be one of His disciples?” He thought deeply about the question for a while but could not come up with an answer. He said that he kept running into an even more baffling question: “Why did He choose me?”
That’s a question that has been asked throughout the centuries. When people become painfully aware of their sin and are overcome with guilt, they cry out to Jesus for mercy. In joyous wonder they experience the truth that God loves them, that Jesus died for them, and that they are forgiven of all their sins. It’s incomprehensible!
I too have asked, “Why me?” I know that the dark and sinful deeds of my life were motivated by a heart even darker, and yet God loved me! (Rom. 5:8). I was undeserving, wretched, and helpless, yet He opened His arms and His heart to me. I could almost hear Him whisper, “I love you even more than you loved your sin.”
It’s true! I cherished my sin. I protected it. I denied its wrongdoing. Yet God loved me enough to forgive me and set me free.
“Why me?” It’s beyond my understanding. Yet I know He loves me—and He loves you too!
How wonderful is Your grace, Jesus! It’s greater than all my sin. You’ve taken away my burdens and set my spirit free. Thank You.
God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who He is.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Heedfulness or Hypocrisy in Ourselves?
If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. —1 John 5:16
If we are not heedful and pay no attention to the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other people are failing, and then we take our discernment and turn it into comments of ridicule and criticism, instead of turning it into intercession on their behalf. God reveals this truth about others to us not through the sharpness of our minds but through the direct penetration of His Spirit. If we are not attentive, we will be completely unaware of the source of the discernment God has given us, becoming critical of others and forgetting that God says, “…he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” Be careful that you don’t become a hypocrite by spending all your time trying to get others right with God before you worship Him yourself.
One of the most subtle and illusive burdens God ever places on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning others. He gives us discernment so that we may accept the responsibility for those souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them (see Philippians 2:5). We should intercede in accordance with what God says He will give us, namely, “life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” It is not that we are able to bring God into contact with our minds, but that we awaken ourselves to the point where God is able to convey His mind to us regarding the people for whom we intercede.
Can Jesus Christ see the agony of His soul in us? He can’t unless we are so closely identified with Him that we have His view concerning the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelmingly satisfied with us as intercessors.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Spiritual Drowning and How to Be Rescued - #7362
I grew up around Lake Michigan. And when I was little, I used to go in it. Now I mostly just look at it when I'm in Chicago or in the Great Lakes area. Part of that is because of what happened to me when I was ten years old. My memories of that lake are memories of a struggle I will never forget. I was out with my friends. I didn't know how to swim and I was too proud to tell them. Well, I started to go under. No one took me seriously. I mean, I'm yelling. I'm trying to get some help. I'm drinking the lake! I'm in a panic, flailing around, and my friends are going, "Oh, Ron, you know him. He's such a clown!" Great! Finally, just in the nick of time, someone came. They grabbed me and they literally saved my life.
Let me tell you what I contributed to my rescue. That's right, absolutely nothing.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Spiritual Drowning and How to Be Rescued."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians 2:8-9. "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." Okay, fasten your seat belt, because these statements out of God's Word are so radical they basically challenge every religious system in the world, whether it's Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, you name it. Because every system says, "Here are some good things you can do that will commend you to God, and He'll forgive the bad based on the good you do."
But this says, "No good you can do will pay off the bad." "Not by works." Those are radical words! Nothing you can do to contribute to your rescue. No amount of religion. No amount of being a good boy or girl. This word "saved" here indicates that there's a rescue needed. We're dying spiritually because we have broken God's laws. We're away from God. We're powerless to get back to Him. It's like me in Lake Michigan that day. You can't rescue yourself.
Maybe you've been depending somehow on your own goodness to get you to heaven, or your family connections, on the fact that you agree with all the Jesus stuff. You've got Christ in your head but maybe not in your heart. It is, the Bible says, "the gift of God" paid for. Not by you, but by Jesus Christ. You don't pay for your gifts. It's paid for by Jesus because you and I couldn't pay for it. He took your hell. He took your payment for your sin dying on the cross.
How do you get it? It says, "through faith." Faith is what happened that day I grabbed that lifeguard. I just pinned all my hopes on him. For us to be saved-to be rescued-through faith, it means that we recognize that we are drowning spiritually, powerless to rescue ourselves. Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to surrender your self-efforts in order to finally get the peace of really knowing God personally?
You quit depending on your religion. It's not Jesus plus anything else. It's just Jesus. So you grab heaven's lifeguard like a drowning person would grab the person coming to rescue them. When did you do this? Have you ever had that moment with Jesus? You say, "I don't know I have." Well, then, you probably haven't. Maybe God is coming to you through this conversation today because He's courting you. He's after you. He's reaching out His hand to save you. This is life-or-death stuff-forever life or death.
If you haven't pinned all your hopes on Jesus, do it now. If you're not sure you belong to Jesus, let me invite you to go to our website. It's there so I can help you nail down your own relationship with Jesus and know for sure that you belong to Him. Not just believe in Him, but that you belong to Him. Let's get together at ANewStory.com.
Jesus plunged into your world to rescue you from sin. You can't rescue yourself from it. Today, as He comes to you, grab hold of your Rescuer.
Scripture often describes our behavior as the clothes we wear. 1 Peter 5:5 urges us to be "clothed with humility." In Psalm 109:18, David speaks of evil people who clothe themselves "with cursing." Garments can symbolize character; and like his garment, Jesus' character was uninterrupted perfection.
But when Christ was nailed to the cross, he took off his robe of seamless perfection and assumed a different wardrobe… the wardrobe of indignity. Stripped before his own mother. Shamed before his family. The indignity of failure. For a few pain-filled hours, the religious leaders were victors, and Christ appeared the loser. Worst of all, he wore the indignity of sin. Scripture says, "He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree." The cloth of Christ on the cross? Sin-yours and mine. The sins of all humanity.
From On Calvary's Hill
Ruth 1
Elimelech Moves His Family to Moab
In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there.
3 Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. 4 The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.
Naomi and Ruth Return
6 Then Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good crops again. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her homeland. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she set out from the place where she had been living, and they took the road that would lead them back to Judah.
8 But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the Lord reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me. 9 May the Lord bless you with the security of another marriage.” Then she kissed them good-bye, and they all broke down and wept.
10 “No,” they said. “We want to go with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi replied, “Why should you go on with me? Can I still give birth to other sons who could grow up to be your husbands? 12 No, my daughters, return to your parents’ homes, for I am too old to marry again. And even if it were possible, and I were to get married tonight and bear sons, then what? 13 Would you wait for them to grow up and refuse to marry someone else? No, of course not, my daughters! Things are far more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord himself has raised his fist against me.”
14 And again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi. 15 “Look,” Naomi said to her, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. You should do the same.”
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.
19 So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked.
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara,[a] for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer[b] and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”
22 So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Read: Mark 14:10-21
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted when they heard why he had come, and they promised to give him money. So he began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
The Last Supper
12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?”
13 So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: “As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ 15 He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.” 16 So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.
17 In the evening Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 As they were at the table[a] eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.”
19 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?”
20 He replied, “It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me. 21 For the Son of Man[b] must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”
Footnotes:
14:18 Or As they reclined.
14:21 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
INSIGHT: There are two apostles named Judas in the New Testament, and the gospel writers Luke and John are careful to distinguish them. Luke states, “Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor” (6:16), and John says, “Judas (not Iscariot)” (14:22).
Why Me?
By David C. Egner
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8
British pastor Joseph Parker was asked, “Why did Jesus choose Judas to be one of His disciples?” He thought deeply about the question for a while but could not come up with an answer. He said that he kept running into an even more baffling question: “Why did He choose me?”
That’s a question that has been asked throughout the centuries. When people become painfully aware of their sin and are overcome with guilt, they cry out to Jesus for mercy. In joyous wonder they experience the truth that God loves them, that Jesus died for them, and that they are forgiven of all their sins. It’s incomprehensible!
I too have asked, “Why me?” I know that the dark and sinful deeds of my life were motivated by a heart even darker, and yet God loved me! (Rom. 5:8). I was undeserving, wretched, and helpless, yet He opened His arms and His heart to me. I could almost hear Him whisper, “I love you even more than you loved your sin.”
It’s true! I cherished my sin. I protected it. I denied its wrongdoing. Yet God loved me enough to forgive me and set me free.
“Why me?” It’s beyond my understanding. Yet I know He loves me—and He loves you too!
How wonderful is Your grace, Jesus! It’s greater than all my sin. You’ve taken away my burdens and set my spirit free. Thank You.
God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who He is.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Heedfulness or Hypocrisy in Ourselves?
If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. —1 John 5:16
If we are not heedful and pay no attention to the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other people are failing, and then we take our discernment and turn it into comments of ridicule and criticism, instead of turning it into intercession on their behalf. God reveals this truth about others to us not through the sharpness of our minds but through the direct penetration of His Spirit. If we are not attentive, we will be completely unaware of the source of the discernment God has given us, becoming critical of others and forgetting that God says, “…he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” Be careful that you don’t become a hypocrite by spending all your time trying to get others right with God before you worship Him yourself.
One of the most subtle and illusive burdens God ever places on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning others. He gives us discernment so that we may accept the responsibility for those souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them (see Philippians 2:5). We should intercede in accordance with what God says He will give us, namely, “life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” It is not that we are able to bring God into contact with our minds, but that we awaken ourselves to the point where God is able to convey His mind to us regarding the people for whom we intercede.
Can Jesus Christ see the agony of His soul in us? He can’t unless we are so closely identified with Him that we have His view concerning the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelmingly satisfied with us as intercessors.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Spiritual Drowning and How to Be Rescued - #7362
I grew up around Lake Michigan. And when I was little, I used to go in it. Now I mostly just look at it when I'm in Chicago or in the Great Lakes area. Part of that is because of what happened to me when I was ten years old. My memories of that lake are memories of a struggle I will never forget. I was out with my friends. I didn't know how to swim and I was too proud to tell them. Well, I started to go under. No one took me seriously. I mean, I'm yelling. I'm trying to get some help. I'm drinking the lake! I'm in a panic, flailing around, and my friends are going, "Oh, Ron, you know him. He's such a clown!" Great! Finally, just in the nick of time, someone came. They grabbed me and they literally saved my life.
Let me tell you what I contributed to my rescue. That's right, absolutely nothing.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Spiritual Drowning and How to Be Rescued."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians 2:8-9. "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." Okay, fasten your seat belt, because these statements out of God's Word are so radical they basically challenge every religious system in the world, whether it's Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, you name it. Because every system says, "Here are some good things you can do that will commend you to God, and He'll forgive the bad based on the good you do."
But this says, "No good you can do will pay off the bad." "Not by works." Those are radical words! Nothing you can do to contribute to your rescue. No amount of religion. No amount of being a good boy or girl. This word "saved" here indicates that there's a rescue needed. We're dying spiritually because we have broken God's laws. We're away from God. We're powerless to get back to Him. It's like me in Lake Michigan that day. You can't rescue yourself.
Maybe you've been depending somehow on your own goodness to get you to heaven, or your family connections, on the fact that you agree with all the Jesus stuff. You've got Christ in your head but maybe not in your heart. It is, the Bible says, "the gift of God" paid for. Not by you, but by Jesus Christ. You don't pay for your gifts. It's paid for by Jesus because you and I couldn't pay for it. He took your hell. He took your payment for your sin dying on the cross.
How do you get it? It says, "through faith." Faith is what happened that day I grabbed that lifeguard. I just pinned all my hopes on him. For us to be saved-to be rescued-through faith, it means that we recognize that we are drowning spiritually, powerless to rescue ourselves. Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to surrender your self-efforts in order to finally get the peace of really knowing God personally?
You quit depending on your religion. It's not Jesus plus anything else. It's just Jesus. So you grab heaven's lifeguard like a drowning person would grab the person coming to rescue them. When did you do this? Have you ever had that moment with Jesus? You say, "I don't know I have." Well, then, you probably haven't. Maybe God is coming to you through this conversation today because He's courting you. He's after you. He's reaching out His hand to save you. This is life-or-death stuff-forever life or death.
If you haven't pinned all your hopes on Jesus, do it now. If you're not sure you belong to Jesus, let me invite you to go to our website. It's there so I can help you nail down your own relationship with Jesus and know for sure that you belong to Him. Not just believe in Him, but that you belong to Him. Let's get together at ANewStory.com.
Jesus plunged into your world to rescue you from sin. You can't rescue yourself from it. Today, as He comes to you, grab hold of your Rescuer.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Luke 16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Far From Christ
Imagine the scene at the cross. Soldiers huddled in a circle, dice-throwing-casting lots for the possessions of Christ. Common soldiers witnessing the world's most uncommon event. To them he is just another criminal; the cross is forgotten.
It makes me think of us. The religious. Those who claim heritage at the cross. All of us. The strict…the loose…the simple…spirit-filled…evangelical. All of us! We're not so unlike these soldiers. We too, play games at the foot of the cross. We compete for members. We scramble for status. Competition. Selfishness. Personal gain. It's all there. We major in the trivial, we split into little huddles. Another name. Another doctrine. So close to the cross but so far from the Christ. "May they all be one," Jesus prayed. One. Not one in groups of two thousand. One church. One faith. One Lord. No hierarchies. No traditions. Just Christ.
From On Calvary's Hill
Luke 16
Parable of the Shrewd Manager
Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. 2 So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’
3 “The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. 4 Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’
5 “So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ 6 The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.[a]’
7 “‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.[b]’
8 “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. 9 Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.[c]
10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12 And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?
13 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. 15 Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.
16 “Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in.[d] 17 But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.
18 “For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
19 Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. 20 At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.
22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham.[e] The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and his soul went to the place of the dead.[f] There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’
25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. 28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’
30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Footnotes:
16:6 Greek 100 baths . . . 50 [baths].
16:7 Greek 100 korous . . . 80 [korous].
16:9 Or you will be welcomed into eternal homes.
16:16 Or everyone is urged to enter in.
16:22 Greek into Abraham’s bosom.
16:23 Greek to Hades.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, March 30, 2015
Read: Mark 14:3-9
Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating,[a] a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.
4 Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. 5 “It could have been sold for a year’s wages[b] and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly.
6 But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? 7 You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”
Footnotes:
14:3 Or reclining.
14:5 Greek for 300 denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.
INSIGHT: The account of the woman who anointed Jesus with oil is preceded by the Pharisees’ plot to kill Him (14:1-2) and is followed by Judas agreeing to betray Him (vv. 10-12). The events relating to those who plotted to kill Jesus are given only brief and cursory treatment (two verses each), while the account of the woman who anointed Jesus with perfume is given a full and detailed description (seven verses). Clearly this woman’s actions will be remembered (v. 9).
It’s Beautiful!
By Anne Cetas
Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.” —Mark 14:6
After being away on business, Terry wanted to pick up some small gifts for his children. The clerk at the airport gift shop recommended a number of costly items. “I don’t have that much money with me,” he said. “I need something less expensive.” The clerk tried to make him feel that he was being cheap. But Terry knew his children would be happy with whatever he gave them, because it came from a heart of love. And he was right—they loved the gifts he brought them.
During Jesus’ last visit to the town of Bethany, Mary wanted to show her love for Him (Mark 14:3-9). So she brought “an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard” and anointed Him (v.3). The disciples asked angrily, “Why this waste?” (Matt. 26:8). Jesus told them to stop troubling her, for “she has done a good work for Me” (Mark 14:6). Another translation reads, “She has done a beautiful thing to Me.” Jesus delighted in her gift, for it came from a heart of love. Even anointing Him for burial was beautiful!
What would you like to give to Jesus to show your love? Your time, talent, treasure? It doesn’t matter if it’s costly or inexpensive, whether others understand or criticize. Whatever is given from a heart of love is beautiful to Him.
Nothing I could give You, Father, could repay You for Your sacrifice. But I want to give You what You would think is beautiful. I give You my heart today in thankfulness for Your love.
A healthy heart beats with love for Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 30, 2015
Holiness or Hardness Toward God?
He…wondered that there was no intercessor… —Isaiah 59:16
The reason many of us stop praying and become hard toward God is that we only have an emotional interest in prayer. It sounds good to say that we pray, and we read books on prayer which tell us that prayer is beneficial— that our minds are quieted and our souls are uplifted when we pray. But Isaiah implied in this verse that God is amazed at such thoughts about prayer.
Worship and intercession must go together; one is impossible without the other. Intercession means raising ourselves up to the point of getting the mind of Christ regarding the person for whom we are praying (see Philippians 2:5). Instead of worshiping God, we recite speeches to God about how prayer is supposed to work. Are we worshiping God or disputing Him when we say, “But God, I just don’t see how you are going to do this”? This is a sure sign that we are not worshiping. When we lose sight of God, we become hard and dogmatic. We throw our petitions at His throne and dictate to Him what we want Him to do. We don’t worship God, nor do we seek to conform our minds to the mind of Christ. And if we are hard toward God, we will become hard toward other people.
Are we worshiping God in a way that will raise us up to where we can take hold of Him, having such intimate contact with Him that we know His mind about the ones for whom we pray? Are we living in a holy relationship with God, or have we become hard and dogmatic?
Do you find yourself thinking that there is no one interceding properly? Then be that person yourself. Be a person who worships God and lives in a holy relationship with Him. Get involved in the real work of intercession, remembering that it truly is work— work that demands all your energy, but work which has no hidden pitfalls. Preaching the gospel has its share of pitfalls, but intercessory prayer has none whatsoever.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 30, 2015
Control Freaks and Chronic Worry - #7361
I had a mountain of work to do to prepare for some radio programs that I was scheduled to record, and the way things worked out I ended up doing it on the road. I was traveling by van about 12 hours with two of our team members. Now, let me make one thing clear. I like to drive; a guy thing maybe. I'm not the greatest passenger. I don't really like to ride, but I had so much work to do, I needed all the time we were driving on the trip to get it done. So they actually set up this little office for me in the back of the van, and they brought along a little power pack that would allow me to use my computer all the way. Very reluctantly, I climbed into the back of the van and settled in to work and watch someone else drive. At first it drove me nuts. But by the end of the trip, I realized how much creative work I'd gotten done in my office on wheels. What a productive day I had! All because I let someone else drive.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Control Freaks and Chronic Worry."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 6, beginning at verse 25. Now, Jesus is describing what happens when we live as a passenger instead of a driver. "Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body what you will wear." Then He says in verse 26, "Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them."
He says in verse 32, "Pagans run after all these things. But your Heavenly Father knows you need them. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." See, when it comes to the important needs and issues in our life, we control freaks want to make sure we're handling it. Jesus says, "You're not driving. Get in the back seat. Your needs are your Father's job."
Worrying, which He cautions against three times here, if not commands against, is a sure sign that you're driving. Yes, worry says you're driving. You obviously have not turned over your trip to the Lord. In fact, Driver wouldn't be a bad synonym for Lord. We follow the Driver, Jesus Christ.
People without a relationship with the Heavenly Father have to hang onto the wheel, spending the best of their energies and their time looking out for their agenda. But Jesus nailed that controlling approach to life with these simple words, "Your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. Quit trying to meet your own needs; it's His job." Then Jesus says you'll be able to focus on God's agenda, "seeking first His kingdom" to really get His work done, to live for what matters to Him. Why? For the same reason I was able to get so much done that day of a long drive. Someone else was driving.
When we're focused on driving our own life, driving those relationships, driving our ministry, driving our business, driving our children, driving our mate, we can't focus on serving and saving others. No, we're too busy driving.
It could be that the Lord right now is trying to pry your hands off that steering wheel of your life or some areas of your life that you've just got to control. He's inviting you to do what my team members invited me to do that day in the van. Just go to the back. Let someone else drive and focus your efforts on your Master and His work.
Life can be so much more productive if you relinquish the wheel. God has so much He wants to do in you and through you, but you've just been too busy driving. Take it from a driver who's finally learning to ride. It's so much better being a passenger in a life that Jesus is driving.
You know, actually the whole essence of our broken relationship with God is the wrong person has been driving. I guess that's why the middle letter of sin is "I". Because I'm running a life God was supposed to run. And when we relinquish that wheel and give it to the One who died for us, we begin a relationship with God that now starts to take our life where it was created to be.
Maybe you've never made that choice and you're intrigued with it. Would you check out our website and find out how you can begin to have a life that is driven by the One who gave it to you in the first place? Our website is ANewStory.com.
Jesus won't fall asleep at the wheel, He won't ever let go on turns, and He will never crash. And you? You'll finally enjoy the blessed peace and productivity of being the passenger. That's the passenger advantage.
Imagine the scene at the cross. Soldiers huddled in a circle, dice-throwing-casting lots for the possessions of Christ. Common soldiers witnessing the world's most uncommon event. To them he is just another criminal; the cross is forgotten.
It makes me think of us. The religious. Those who claim heritage at the cross. All of us. The strict…the loose…the simple…spirit-filled…evangelical. All of us! We're not so unlike these soldiers. We too, play games at the foot of the cross. We compete for members. We scramble for status. Competition. Selfishness. Personal gain. It's all there. We major in the trivial, we split into little huddles. Another name. Another doctrine. So close to the cross but so far from the Christ. "May they all be one," Jesus prayed. One. Not one in groups of two thousand. One church. One faith. One Lord. No hierarchies. No traditions. Just Christ.
From On Calvary's Hill
Luke 16
Parable of the Shrewd Manager
Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. 2 So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’
3 “The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. 4 Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’
5 “So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ 6 The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.[a]’
7 “‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.[b]’
8 “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. 9 Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.[c]
10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12 And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?
13 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. 15 Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.
16 “Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in.[d] 17 But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.
18 “For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
19 Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. 20 At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.
22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham.[e] The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and his soul went to the place of the dead.[f] There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’
25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. 28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’
30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Footnotes:
16:6 Greek 100 baths . . . 50 [baths].
16:7 Greek 100 korous . . . 80 [korous].
16:9 Or you will be welcomed into eternal homes.
16:16 Or everyone is urged to enter in.
16:22 Greek into Abraham’s bosom.
16:23 Greek to Hades.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, March 30, 2015
Read: Mark 14:3-9
Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating,[a] a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.
4 Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. 5 “It could have been sold for a year’s wages[b] and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly.
6 But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? 7 You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”
Footnotes:
14:3 Or reclining.
14:5 Greek for 300 denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.
INSIGHT: The account of the woman who anointed Jesus with oil is preceded by the Pharisees’ plot to kill Him (14:1-2) and is followed by Judas agreeing to betray Him (vv. 10-12). The events relating to those who plotted to kill Jesus are given only brief and cursory treatment (two verses each), while the account of the woman who anointed Jesus with perfume is given a full and detailed description (seven verses). Clearly this woman’s actions will be remembered (v. 9).
It’s Beautiful!
By Anne Cetas
Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.” —Mark 14:6
After being away on business, Terry wanted to pick up some small gifts for his children. The clerk at the airport gift shop recommended a number of costly items. “I don’t have that much money with me,” he said. “I need something less expensive.” The clerk tried to make him feel that he was being cheap. But Terry knew his children would be happy with whatever he gave them, because it came from a heart of love. And he was right—they loved the gifts he brought them.
During Jesus’ last visit to the town of Bethany, Mary wanted to show her love for Him (Mark 14:3-9). So she brought “an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard” and anointed Him (v.3). The disciples asked angrily, “Why this waste?” (Matt. 26:8). Jesus told them to stop troubling her, for “she has done a good work for Me” (Mark 14:6). Another translation reads, “She has done a beautiful thing to Me.” Jesus delighted in her gift, for it came from a heart of love. Even anointing Him for burial was beautiful!
What would you like to give to Jesus to show your love? Your time, talent, treasure? It doesn’t matter if it’s costly or inexpensive, whether others understand or criticize. Whatever is given from a heart of love is beautiful to Him.
Nothing I could give You, Father, could repay You for Your sacrifice. But I want to give You what You would think is beautiful. I give You my heart today in thankfulness for Your love.
A healthy heart beats with love for Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 30, 2015
Holiness or Hardness Toward God?
He…wondered that there was no intercessor… —Isaiah 59:16
The reason many of us stop praying and become hard toward God is that we only have an emotional interest in prayer. It sounds good to say that we pray, and we read books on prayer which tell us that prayer is beneficial— that our minds are quieted and our souls are uplifted when we pray. But Isaiah implied in this verse that God is amazed at such thoughts about prayer.
Worship and intercession must go together; one is impossible without the other. Intercession means raising ourselves up to the point of getting the mind of Christ regarding the person for whom we are praying (see Philippians 2:5). Instead of worshiping God, we recite speeches to God about how prayer is supposed to work. Are we worshiping God or disputing Him when we say, “But God, I just don’t see how you are going to do this”? This is a sure sign that we are not worshiping. When we lose sight of God, we become hard and dogmatic. We throw our petitions at His throne and dictate to Him what we want Him to do. We don’t worship God, nor do we seek to conform our minds to the mind of Christ. And if we are hard toward God, we will become hard toward other people.
Are we worshiping God in a way that will raise us up to where we can take hold of Him, having such intimate contact with Him that we know His mind about the ones for whom we pray? Are we living in a holy relationship with God, or have we become hard and dogmatic?
Do you find yourself thinking that there is no one interceding properly? Then be that person yourself. Be a person who worships God and lives in a holy relationship with Him. Get involved in the real work of intercession, remembering that it truly is work— work that demands all your energy, but work which has no hidden pitfalls. Preaching the gospel has its share of pitfalls, but intercessory prayer has none whatsoever.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 30, 2015
Control Freaks and Chronic Worry - #7361
I had a mountain of work to do to prepare for some radio programs that I was scheduled to record, and the way things worked out I ended up doing it on the road. I was traveling by van about 12 hours with two of our team members. Now, let me make one thing clear. I like to drive; a guy thing maybe. I'm not the greatest passenger. I don't really like to ride, but I had so much work to do, I needed all the time we were driving on the trip to get it done. So they actually set up this little office for me in the back of the van, and they brought along a little power pack that would allow me to use my computer all the way. Very reluctantly, I climbed into the back of the van and settled in to work and watch someone else drive. At first it drove me nuts. But by the end of the trip, I realized how much creative work I'd gotten done in my office on wheels. What a productive day I had! All because I let someone else drive.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Control Freaks and Chronic Worry."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 6, beginning at verse 25. Now, Jesus is describing what happens when we live as a passenger instead of a driver. "Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body what you will wear." Then He says in verse 26, "Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them."
He says in verse 32, "Pagans run after all these things. But your Heavenly Father knows you need them. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." See, when it comes to the important needs and issues in our life, we control freaks want to make sure we're handling it. Jesus says, "You're not driving. Get in the back seat. Your needs are your Father's job."
Worrying, which He cautions against three times here, if not commands against, is a sure sign that you're driving. Yes, worry says you're driving. You obviously have not turned over your trip to the Lord. In fact, Driver wouldn't be a bad synonym for Lord. We follow the Driver, Jesus Christ.
People without a relationship with the Heavenly Father have to hang onto the wheel, spending the best of their energies and their time looking out for their agenda. But Jesus nailed that controlling approach to life with these simple words, "Your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. Quit trying to meet your own needs; it's His job." Then Jesus says you'll be able to focus on God's agenda, "seeking first His kingdom" to really get His work done, to live for what matters to Him. Why? For the same reason I was able to get so much done that day of a long drive. Someone else was driving.
When we're focused on driving our own life, driving those relationships, driving our ministry, driving our business, driving our children, driving our mate, we can't focus on serving and saving others. No, we're too busy driving.
It could be that the Lord right now is trying to pry your hands off that steering wheel of your life or some areas of your life that you've just got to control. He's inviting you to do what my team members invited me to do that day in the van. Just go to the back. Let someone else drive and focus your efforts on your Master and His work.
Life can be so much more productive if you relinquish the wheel. God has so much He wants to do in you and through you, but you've just been too busy driving. Take it from a driver who's finally learning to ride. It's so much better being a passenger in a life that Jesus is driving.
You know, actually the whole essence of our broken relationship with God is the wrong person has been driving. I guess that's why the middle letter of sin is "I". Because I'm running a life God was supposed to run. And when we relinquish that wheel and give it to the One who died for us, we begin a relationship with God that now starts to take our life where it was created to be.
Maybe you've never made that choice and you're intrigued with it. Would you check out our website and find out how you can begin to have a life that is driven by the One who gave it to you in the first place? Our website is ANewStory.com.
Jesus won't fall asleep at the wheel, He won't ever let go on turns, and He will never crash. And you? You'll finally enjoy the blessed peace and productivity of being the passenger. That's the passenger advantage.
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