Max Lucado Daily: He Cares About You
Maybe you don’t want to trouble God with your hurts. After all, “He’s got famines and pestilence and wars. He won’t care about my little struggles,” you think. Why don’t you let Him decide that?
Jesus cared enough about a wedding to provide the wine. He cared enough about the woman at the well to give her answers. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “He cares about you.”
Your first step is to go to the right person. Go to God. Your second step is to assume the right posture. Bow before God. Luke 18:7 reminds us, “God will always give what is right to His people who cry to Him night and day, and He will not be slow to answer them.”
Listen to the prayer in Psalm 25:1-2: “Lord, I give myself to You, my God. I trust You.” So, go…bow…and trust. It’s worth a try, don’t you think?
from Traveling Light
John 5:25-47
“And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. 26 The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. 27 And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man.[a] 28 Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, 29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. 30 I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.
Witnesses to Jesus
31 “If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. 32 But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true. 33 In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. 34 Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. 35 John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. 36 But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, 38 and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you.
39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.
41 “Your approval means nothing to me, 42 because I know you don’t have God’s love within you. 43 For I have come to you in my Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them. 44 No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God.[b]
45 “Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes. 46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. 47 But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”
Footnotes:
5:27 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
5:44 Some manuscripts read from the only One.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, July 05, 2015
Read: John 6:30-40
They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[a]”
32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”
35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. 37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”
Footnotes:
6:31 Exod 16:4; Ps 78:24.
INSIGHT:
The day after Jesus performed the miracle of feeding thousands of people with just five loaves of bread and two fish, the crowd asked Him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’ ” (John 6:30-31 niv). This question is significant because it was the same group of people (or at least part of that group) that Jesus fed the day before who were now asking for a sign. They claimed their ancestors believed because they ate the bread from heaven. They had just seen Jesus miraculously provide bread for them, but they lacked faith to believe Jesus was who He said He was.
Come to Me
By Anne Cetas
I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger. —John 6:35
When Jesus lived on this earth, He invited people to come to Him, and He still does today (John 6:35). But what do He and His Father in heaven have that we need?
Salvation. Jesus is the only way to have forgiveness of sin and the promise of heaven. “Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:15).
Purpose. We are to give all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength to following Jesus. “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mark 8:34).
Comfort. In trial or sorrow, the “God of all comfort . . . comforts us in all our tribulation” (2 Cor. 1:3-4).
Wisdom. We need wisdom beyond our own for making decisions. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, . . . and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).
Strength. When we’re weary, “the Lord will give strength to His people” (Ps. 29:11).
Abundant life. The fullest life is found in a relationship with Jesus. “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
Jesus said, “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). Come!
How can I grow closer to God today?
Jesus invites us to come to Him for life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, July 05, 2015
Don’t Plan Without God
Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. —Psalm 37:5
Don’t plan without God. God seems to have a delightful way of upsetting the plans we have made, when we have not taken Him into account. We get ourselves into circumstances that were not chosen by God, and suddenly we realize that we have been making our plans without Him— that we have not even considered Him to be a vital, living factor in the planning of our lives. And yet the only thing that will keep us from even the possibility of worrying is to bring God in as the greatest factor in all of our planning.
In spiritual issues it is customary for us to put God first, but we tend to think that it is inappropriate and unnecessary to put Him first in the practical, everyday issues of our lives. If we have the idea that we have to put on our “spiritual face” before we can come near to God, then we will never come near to Him. We must come as we are.
Don’t plan with a concern for evil in mind. Does God really mean for us to plan without taking the evil around us into account? “Love…thinks no evil” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). Love is not ignorant of the existence of evil, but it does not take it into account as a factor in planning. When we were apart from God, we did take evil into account, doing all of our planning with it in mind, and we tried to reason out all of our work from its standpoint.
Don’t plan with a rainy day in mind. You cannot hoard things for a rainy day if you are truly trusting Christ. Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:1). God will not keep your heart from being troubled. It is a command— “Let not….” To do it, continually pick yourself up, even if you fall a hundred and one times a day, until you get into the habit of putting God first and planning with Him in mind.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Saturday, July 4, 2015
2 Samuel 20 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Doesn’t Look Like a Hero
The apostle Paul shaped history. Yet Paul would die in the jail of a despot. No headlines announced his execution. No observer recorded the events. Doesn’t look like a hero. The fellow who changes the oil in your car could be a hero. Maybe as he works he prays, asking God to do with the heart of the driver what he does with the engine. I know, I know…. Doesn’t fit our image of a hero.
John Egglen, a deacon, stepped in and gave the sermon for a few folks who had arrived before a snowstorm that prevented the pastor from getting there. In a moment of courage, he looked straight at a young boy in the service and said, “Look to Jesus. Look!” The boy’s name? Charles Haddon Spurgeon, England’s “prince of preachers.” You never know… tomorrow’s Spurgeon may be in your church or be your neighbor. And the hero who inspires him might be in your mirror!
From When God Whispers Your Name
2 Samuel 20
The Revolt of Sheba
There happened to be a troublemaker there named Sheba son of Bicri, a man from the tribe of Benjamin. Sheba blew a ram’s horn and began to chant:
“Down with the dynasty of David!
We have no interest in the son of Jesse.
Come on, you men of Israel,
back to your homes!”
2 So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stayed with their king and escorted him from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.
3 When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and placed them in seclusion. Their needs were provided for, but he no longer slept with them. So each of them lived like a widow until she died.
4 Then the king told Amasa, “Mobilize the army of Judah within three days, and report back at that time.” 5 So Amasa went out to notify Judah, but it took him longer than the time he had been given.
6 Then David said to Abishai, “Sheba son of Bicri is going to hurt us more than Absalom did. Quick, take my troops and chase after him before he gets into a fortified town where we can’t reach him.”
7 So Abishai and Joab,[g] together with the king’s bodyguard[h] and all the mighty warriors, set out from Jerusalem to go after Sheba. 8 As they arrived at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa met them. Joab was wearing his military tunic with a dagger strapped to his belt. As he stepped forward to greet Amasa, he slipped the dagger from its sheath.[i]
9 “How are you, my cousin?” Joab said and took him by the beard with his right hand as though to kiss him. 10 Amasa didn’t notice the dagger in his left hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach with it so that his insides gushed out onto the ground. Joab did not need to strike again, and Amasa soon died. Joab and his brother Abishai left him lying there and continued after Sheba.
11 One of Joab’s young men shouted to Amasa’s troops, “If you are for Joab and David, come and follow Joab.” 12 But Amasa lay in his blood in the middle of the road, and Joab’s man saw that everyone was stopping to stare at him. So he pulled him off the road into a field and threw a cloak over him. 13 With Amasa’s body out of the way, everyone went on with Joab to capture Sheba son of Bicri.
14 Meanwhile, Sheba traveled through all the tribes of Israel and eventually came to the town of Abel-beth-maacah. All the members of his own clan, the Bicrites,[j] assembled for battle and followed him into the town. 15 When Joab’s forces arrived, they attacked Abel-beth-maacah. They built a siege ramp against the town’s fortifications and began battering down the wall. 16 But a wise woman in the town called out to Joab, “Listen to me, Joab. Come over here so I can talk to you.” 17 As he approached, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?”
“I am,” he replied.
So she said, “Listen carefully to your servant.”
“I’m listening,” he said.
18 Then she continued, “There used to be a saying, ‘If you want to settle an argument, ask advice at the town of Abel.’ 19 I am one who is peace loving and faithful in Israel. But you are destroying an important town in Israel.[k] Why do you want to devour what belongs to the Lord?”
20 And Joab replied, “Believe me, I don’t want to devour or destroy your town! 21 That’s not my purpose. All I want is a man named Sheba son of Bicri from the hill country of Ephraim, who has revolted against King David. If you hand over this one man to me, I will leave the town in peace.”
“All right,” the woman replied, “we will throw his head over the wall to you.” 22 Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice, and they cut off Sheba’s head and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn and called his troops back from the attack. They all returned to their homes, and Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.
23 Now Joab was the commander of the army of Israel. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king’s bodyguard. 24 Adoniram[l] was in charge of forced labor. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. 25 Sheva was the court secretary. Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. 26 And Ira, a descendant of Jair, was David’s personal priest.
Footnotes:
20:7a Hebrew So Joab’s men.
20:7b Hebrew the Kerethites and Pelethites; also in 20:23.
20:8 Hebrew As he stepped forward, it fell out.
20:14 As in Greek and Latin versions; Hebrew reads All the Berites.
20:19 Hebrew a town that is a mother in Israel.
20:24 As in Greek version (see also 1 Kgs 4:6; 5:14); Hebrew reads Adoram.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, July 04, 2015
Read: Ezra 1:1-4
Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Return
In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia,[a] the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah.[b] He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:
2 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
“The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you! 4 Wherever this Jewish remnant is found, let their neighbors contribute toward their expenses by giving them silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock, as well as a voluntary offering for the Temple of God in Jerusalem.”
Footnotes:
1:1a The first year of Cyrus’s reign over Babylon was 538 B.c.
1:1b See Jer 25:11-12; 29:10.
INSIGHT:
Ezra is one of the Old Testament books that deals with the Israelites’ return to the land of promise after their exile in Babylon. Along with the books of Nehemiah and Haggai, it focuses on rebuilding Jerusalem, the once proud capital of the southern kingdom. Ezra’s role as a scribe was to rebuild the religious life of the Israelites through the law of Moses. In Nehemiah, the focus is on rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem to once again make it a safe haven for the people. Haggai’s focus some years later was on the importance of rebuilding the temple, the center of the Israelites’ national life.
The Cyrus Cylinder
By Dave Branon
The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia. —Ezra 1:1
In 1879, archaeologists discovered a remarkable little item in an area now known as Iraq (biblical Babylon). Just 9 inches long, the Cyrus Cylinder records something that King Cyrus of Persia did 2,500 years ago. It says that Cyrus allowed a group of people to return to their homeland and rebuild their “holy cities.”
It’s the same story told in Ezra 1. There we read that “the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia” to make a proclamation (v. 1). And in that proclamation, Cyrus said he was releasing the captives in Babylon to go home to Jerusalem, re-establish their homes, and rebuild their temple (vv. 2-5).
But there’s more to the story. Daniel confessed his sins and his people’s sins and pleaded with God to end the Babylonian captivity (Dan. 9). In response to Daniel’s prayer, God sent an angel to speak to Daniel (v. 21). Later He moved Cyrus to release the Hebrews. (See also Jer. 25:11-12; 39:10.)
Together, the Cyrus Cylinder and God’s Word combine to show us that the king’s heart was changed and he allowed the exiled Hebrews to go home and worship.
This story has great implications for us today. In a world that seems out of control, we can rest assured that God can move the hearts of leaders. We read in Proverbs 21:1 that “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord.” And Romans 13:1 says that “there is no authority except from God.”
The Lord, who is able to change our own hearts as well as the hearts of our leaders, can be trusted for He is in control. Let’s ask Him to work.
Dear Father, the world so often seems out of control. We know You are sovereign over everything. We pray that Your will be done in our homeland and in the hearts of our leaders.
Rather than complain, pray.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, July 04, 2015
One of God’s Great “Don’ts”
Do not fret— it only causes harm. —Psalm 37:8
Fretting means getting ourselves “out of joint” mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, “Do not fret,” but something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret. It’s easy to say, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7) until our own little world is turned upside down and we are forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other people. Is it possible to “rest in the Lord” then? If this “Do not” doesn’t work there, then it will not work anywhere. This “Do not” must work during our days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our peaceful days, or it will never work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship with God Himself.
Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God.
Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all your opinions and speculations aside and “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God.
The apostle Paul shaped history. Yet Paul would die in the jail of a despot. No headlines announced his execution. No observer recorded the events. Doesn’t look like a hero. The fellow who changes the oil in your car could be a hero. Maybe as he works he prays, asking God to do with the heart of the driver what he does with the engine. I know, I know…. Doesn’t fit our image of a hero.
John Egglen, a deacon, stepped in and gave the sermon for a few folks who had arrived before a snowstorm that prevented the pastor from getting there. In a moment of courage, he looked straight at a young boy in the service and said, “Look to Jesus. Look!” The boy’s name? Charles Haddon Spurgeon, England’s “prince of preachers.” You never know… tomorrow’s Spurgeon may be in your church or be your neighbor. And the hero who inspires him might be in your mirror!
From When God Whispers Your Name
2 Samuel 20
The Revolt of Sheba
There happened to be a troublemaker there named Sheba son of Bicri, a man from the tribe of Benjamin. Sheba blew a ram’s horn and began to chant:
“Down with the dynasty of David!
We have no interest in the son of Jesse.
Come on, you men of Israel,
back to your homes!”
2 So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stayed with their king and escorted him from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.
3 When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and placed them in seclusion. Their needs were provided for, but he no longer slept with them. So each of them lived like a widow until she died.
4 Then the king told Amasa, “Mobilize the army of Judah within three days, and report back at that time.” 5 So Amasa went out to notify Judah, but it took him longer than the time he had been given.
6 Then David said to Abishai, “Sheba son of Bicri is going to hurt us more than Absalom did. Quick, take my troops and chase after him before he gets into a fortified town where we can’t reach him.”
7 So Abishai and Joab,[g] together with the king’s bodyguard[h] and all the mighty warriors, set out from Jerusalem to go after Sheba. 8 As they arrived at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa met them. Joab was wearing his military tunic with a dagger strapped to his belt. As he stepped forward to greet Amasa, he slipped the dagger from its sheath.[i]
9 “How are you, my cousin?” Joab said and took him by the beard with his right hand as though to kiss him. 10 Amasa didn’t notice the dagger in his left hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach with it so that his insides gushed out onto the ground. Joab did not need to strike again, and Amasa soon died. Joab and his brother Abishai left him lying there and continued after Sheba.
11 One of Joab’s young men shouted to Amasa’s troops, “If you are for Joab and David, come and follow Joab.” 12 But Amasa lay in his blood in the middle of the road, and Joab’s man saw that everyone was stopping to stare at him. So he pulled him off the road into a field and threw a cloak over him. 13 With Amasa’s body out of the way, everyone went on with Joab to capture Sheba son of Bicri.
14 Meanwhile, Sheba traveled through all the tribes of Israel and eventually came to the town of Abel-beth-maacah. All the members of his own clan, the Bicrites,[j] assembled for battle and followed him into the town. 15 When Joab’s forces arrived, they attacked Abel-beth-maacah. They built a siege ramp against the town’s fortifications and began battering down the wall. 16 But a wise woman in the town called out to Joab, “Listen to me, Joab. Come over here so I can talk to you.” 17 As he approached, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?”
“I am,” he replied.
So she said, “Listen carefully to your servant.”
“I’m listening,” he said.
18 Then she continued, “There used to be a saying, ‘If you want to settle an argument, ask advice at the town of Abel.’ 19 I am one who is peace loving and faithful in Israel. But you are destroying an important town in Israel.[k] Why do you want to devour what belongs to the Lord?”
20 And Joab replied, “Believe me, I don’t want to devour or destroy your town! 21 That’s not my purpose. All I want is a man named Sheba son of Bicri from the hill country of Ephraim, who has revolted against King David. If you hand over this one man to me, I will leave the town in peace.”
“All right,” the woman replied, “we will throw his head over the wall to you.” 22 Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice, and they cut off Sheba’s head and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn and called his troops back from the attack. They all returned to their homes, and Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.
23 Now Joab was the commander of the army of Israel. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king’s bodyguard. 24 Adoniram[l] was in charge of forced labor. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. 25 Sheva was the court secretary. Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. 26 And Ira, a descendant of Jair, was David’s personal priest.
Footnotes:
20:7a Hebrew So Joab’s men.
20:7b Hebrew the Kerethites and Pelethites; also in 20:23.
20:8 Hebrew As he stepped forward, it fell out.
20:14 As in Greek and Latin versions; Hebrew reads All the Berites.
20:19 Hebrew a town that is a mother in Israel.
20:24 As in Greek version (see also 1 Kgs 4:6; 5:14); Hebrew reads Adoram.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, July 04, 2015
Read: Ezra 1:1-4
Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Return
In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia,[a] the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah.[b] He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:
2 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
“The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you! 4 Wherever this Jewish remnant is found, let their neighbors contribute toward their expenses by giving them silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock, as well as a voluntary offering for the Temple of God in Jerusalem.”
Footnotes:
1:1a The first year of Cyrus’s reign over Babylon was 538 B.c.
1:1b See Jer 25:11-12; 29:10.
INSIGHT:
Ezra is one of the Old Testament books that deals with the Israelites’ return to the land of promise after their exile in Babylon. Along with the books of Nehemiah and Haggai, it focuses on rebuilding Jerusalem, the once proud capital of the southern kingdom. Ezra’s role as a scribe was to rebuild the religious life of the Israelites through the law of Moses. In Nehemiah, the focus is on rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem to once again make it a safe haven for the people. Haggai’s focus some years later was on the importance of rebuilding the temple, the center of the Israelites’ national life.
The Cyrus Cylinder
By Dave Branon
The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia. —Ezra 1:1
In 1879, archaeologists discovered a remarkable little item in an area now known as Iraq (biblical Babylon). Just 9 inches long, the Cyrus Cylinder records something that King Cyrus of Persia did 2,500 years ago. It says that Cyrus allowed a group of people to return to their homeland and rebuild their “holy cities.”
It’s the same story told in Ezra 1. There we read that “the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia” to make a proclamation (v. 1). And in that proclamation, Cyrus said he was releasing the captives in Babylon to go home to Jerusalem, re-establish their homes, and rebuild their temple (vv. 2-5).
But there’s more to the story. Daniel confessed his sins and his people’s sins and pleaded with God to end the Babylonian captivity (Dan. 9). In response to Daniel’s prayer, God sent an angel to speak to Daniel (v. 21). Later He moved Cyrus to release the Hebrews. (See also Jer. 25:11-12; 39:10.)
Together, the Cyrus Cylinder and God’s Word combine to show us that the king’s heart was changed and he allowed the exiled Hebrews to go home and worship.
This story has great implications for us today. In a world that seems out of control, we can rest assured that God can move the hearts of leaders. We read in Proverbs 21:1 that “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord.” And Romans 13:1 says that “there is no authority except from God.”
The Lord, who is able to change our own hearts as well as the hearts of our leaders, can be trusted for He is in control. Let’s ask Him to work.
Dear Father, the world so often seems out of control. We know You are sovereign over everything. We pray that Your will be done in our homeland and in the hearts of our leaders.
Rather than complain, pray.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, July 04, 2015
One of God’s Great “Don’ts”
Do not fret— it only causes harm. —Psalm 37:8
Fretting means getting ourselves “out of joint” mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, “Do not fret,” but something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret. It’s easy to say, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7) until our own little world is turned upside down and we are forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other people. Is it possible to “rest in the Lord” then? If this “Do not” doesn’t work there, then it will not work anywhere. This “Do not” must work during our days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our peaceful days, or it will never work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship with God Himself.
Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God.
Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all your opinions and speculations aside and “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God.
Friday, July 3, 2015
2 Samuel 19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: The Spite House ·
In 1882 in New York City, Joseph Richardson owned a narrow strip of land 5 feet wide and 104 feet long. Next door was a normal-sized lot owned by a man who wanted to erect an apartment building. He offered Richardson $1,000 for his plot. Deeply offended, Richardson demanded $5,000 which the builder refused to pay. The builder built the apartment building, assuming the slender lot would remain vacant and the view exposed. But Richardson built a house instead—blocking the view! Dubbed the “Spite House”, Richardson spent the last fourteen years of his life in the narrow residence that seemed to fit his narrow state of mind.
Revenge builds a lonely, narrow house. Space enough for one person. No wonder God insists we “keep a sharp eye out for the weeds of bitter discontent!” (Heb. 12:14-17).
From You’ll Get Through This
2 Samuel 19
Joab Rebukes the King
[a]Word soon reached Joab that the king was weeping and mourning for Absalom. 2 As all the people heard of the king’s deep grief for his son, the joy of that day’s victory was turned into deep sadness. 3 They crept back into the town that day as though they were ashamed and had deserted in battle. 4 The king covered his face with his hands and kept on crying, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
5 Then Joab went to the king’s room and said to him, “We saved your life today and the lives of your sons, your daughters, and your wives and concubines. Yet you act like this, making us feel ashamed of ourselves. 6 You seem to love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that your commanders and troops mean nothing to you. It seems that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died, you would be pleased. 7 Now go out there and congratulate your troops, for I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out, not a single one of them will remain here tonight. Then you will be worse off than ever before.”
8 So the king went out and took his seat at the town gate, and as the news spread throughout the town that he was there, everyone went to him.
Meanwhile, the Israelites who had supported Absalom fled to their homes. 9 And throughout all the tribes of Israel there was much discussion and argument going on. The people were saying, “The king rescued us from our enemies and saved us from the Philistines, but Absalom chased him out of the country. 10 Now Absalom, whom we anointed to rule over us, is dead. Why not ask David to come back and be our king again?”
11 Then King David sent Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, to say to the elders of Judah, “Why are you the last ones to welcome back the king into his palace? For I have heard that all Israel is ready. 12 You are my relatives, my own tribe, my own flesh and blood! So why are you the last ones to welcome back the king?” 13 And David told them to tell Amasa, “Since you are my own flesh and blood, like Joab, may God strike me and even kill me if I do not appoint you as commander of my army in his place.”
14 Then Amasa[b] convinced all the men of Judah, and they responded unanimously. They sent word to the king, “Return to us, and bring back all who are with you.”
David’s Return to Jerusalem
15 So the king started back to Jerusalem. And when he arrived at the Jordan River, the people of Judah came to Gilgal to meet him and escort him across the river. 16 Shimei son of Gera, the man from Bahurim in Benjamin, hurried across with the men of Judah to welcome King David. 17 A thousand other men from the tribe of Benjamin were with him, including Ziba, the chief servant of the house of Saul, and Ziba’s fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan to meet the king. 18 They crossed the shallows of the Jordan to bring the king’s household across the river, helping him in every way they could.
David’s Mercy to Shimei
As the king was about to cross the river, Shimei fell down before him. 19 “My lord the king, please forgive me,” he pleaded. “Forget the terrible thing your servant did when you left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind. 20 I know how much I sinned. That is why I have come here today, the very first person in all Israel[c] to greet my lord the king.”
21 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said, “Shimei should die, for he cursed the Lord’s anointed king!”
22 “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah!” David exclaimed. “Why have you become my adversary[d] today? This is not a day for execution, for today I am once again the king of Israel!” 23 Then, turning to Shimei, David vowed, “Your life will be spared.”
David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth
24 Now Mephibosheth,[e] Saul’s grandson, came down from Jerusalem to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes since the day the king left Jerusalem. 25 “Why didn’t you come with me, Mephibosheth?” the king asked him.
26 Mephibosheth replied, “My lord the king, my servant Ziba deceived me. I told him, ‘Saddle my donkey[f] so I can go with the king.’ For as you know I am crippled. 27 Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come. But I know that my lord the king is like an angel of God, so do what you think is best. 28 All my relatives and I could expect only death from you, my lord, but instead you have honored me by allowing me to eat at your own table! What more can I ask?”
29 “You’ve said enough,” David replied. “I’ve decided that you and Ziba will divide your land equally between you.”
30 “Give him all of it,” Mephibosheth said. “I am content just to have you safely back again, my lord the king!”
David’s Kindness to Barzillai
31 Barzillai of Gilead had come down from Rogelim to escort the king across the Jordan. 32 He was very old—eighty years of age—and very wealthy. He was the one who had provided food for the king during his stay in Mahanaim. 33 “Come across with me and live in Jerusalem,” the king said to Barzillai. “I will take care of you there.”
34 “No,” he replied, “I am far too old to go with the king to Jerusalem. 35 I am eighty years old today, and I can no longer enjoy anything. Food and wine are no longer tasty, and I cannot hear the singers as they sing. I would only be a burden to my lord the king. 36 Just to go across the Jordan River with the king is all the honor I need! 37 Then let me return again to die in my own town, where my father and mother are buried. But here is your servant, my son Kimham. Let him go with my lord the king and receive whatever you want to give him.”
38 “Good,” the king agreed. “Kimham will go with me, and I will help him in any way you would like. And I will do for you anything you want.” 39 So all the people crossed the Jordan with the king. After David had blessed Barzillai and kissed him, Barzillai returned to his own home.
40 The king then crossed over to Gilgal, taking Kimham with him. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel escorted the king on his way.
An Argument over the King
41 But all the men of Israel complained to the king, “The men of Judah stole the king and didn’t give us the honor of helping take you, your household, and all your men across the Jordan.”
42 The men of Judah replied, “The king is one of our own kinsmen. Why should this make you angry? We haven’t eaten any of the king’s food or received any special favors!”
43 “But there are ten tribes in Israel,” the others replied. “So we have ten times as much right to the king as you do. What right do you have to treat us with such contempt? Weren’t we the first to speak of bringing him back to be our king again?” The argument continued back and forth, and the men of Judah spoke even more harshly than the men of Israel.
Footnotes:
19:1 Verses 19:1-43 are numbered 19:2-44 in Hebrew text.
19:14 Or David; Hebrew reads he.
19:20 Hebrew in the house of Joseph.
19:22 Or my prosecutor.
19:24 Mephibosheth is another name for Merib-baal.
19:26 As in Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions; Hebrew reads I will saddle a donkey for myself.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, July 03, 2015
Read: 2 Timothy 4:1-8
I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: 2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.
3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
5 But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.
6 As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.
INSIGHT:
Titus and 1 Timothy were probably written after the apostle Paul was released from house arrest in Rome (ad 61-62) and during his fourth missionary journey (ad 62–63; see Acts 28:30-31). When persecution broke out under Emperor Nero, Paul was imprisoned again. During this second Roman imprisonment, Paul wrote 2 Timothy (ad 65-67). This time he knew his death was imminent (4:6-7). Paul warns that a time is coming when Christians will not “endure sound doctrine” and will turn away from the truth (vv. 3-7). To counter false teaching, Timothy is to “preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (v. 2).
A Letter from the Battlefield
By David C. McCasland
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. —2 Timothy 4:7
For more than two decades, Andrew Carroll has been urging people not to throw away the letters written by family members or friends during a time of war. Carroll, director of the Center for American War Letters at Chapman University in California, considers them an irreplaceable link to tie families together and open a door of understanding. “Younger generations are reading these letters,” Carroll says, “and asking questions and saying, ‘Now I understand what you endured, what you sacrificed.’ ”
When the apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome and knew his life would soon end, he wrote a letter to a young man whom he considered a “son in the faith,” Timothy. Like a soldier on the battlefield, Paul opened his heart to him: “The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6-8).
When we read the letters in the Bible that the heroes of the Christian faith have left for us and grasp what they endured because of their love for Christ, we gain courage to follow their example and to stand strong for those who come after us.
Lord, give us strength for the spiritual battles we face today, knowing that You have won the ultimate victory and that we will one day live eternally with You.
Run the race with eternity in view.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, July 03, 2015
The Concentration of Personal Sin
Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips… —Isaiah 6:5
When I come into the very presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense, but I suddenly realize and the focus of my attention is directed toward the concentration of sin in a particular area of my life. A person will easily say, “Oh yes, I know I am a sinner,” but when he comes into the presence of God he cannot get away with such a broad and indefinite statement. Our conviction is focused on our specific sin, and we realize, as Isaiah did, what we really are. This is always the sign that a person is in the presence of God. There is never any vague sense of sin, but a focusing on the concentration of sin in some specific, personal area of life. God begins by convicting us of the very thing to which His Spirit has directed our mind’s attention. If we will surrender, submitting to His conviction of that particular sin, He will lead us down to where He can reveal the vast underlying nature of sin. That is the way God always deals with us when we are consciously aware of His presence.
This experience of our attention being directed to our concentration of personal sin is true in everyone’s life, from the greatest of saints to the worst of sinners. When a person first begins climbing the ladder of experience, he might say, “I don’t know where I’ve gone wrong,” but the Spirit of God will point out some definite and specific thing to him. The effect of Isaiah’s vision of the holiness of the Lord was the directing of his attention to the fact that he was “a man of unclean lips.” “He touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged’ ” (Isaiah 6:7). The cleansing fire had to be applied where the sin had been concentrated.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 03, 2015
Never Surrender - #7430
If you're from Texas, you know that Alamo is more than just a rental car agency. The Alamo, you know, is that old Spanish Mission in the heart of downtown San Antonio where an estimated 200 brave freedom fighters took their stand against the army of Mexico in the battle for Texas independence. Now, I've been there and I've seen the Alamo. And on my last visit, I was moved again by the sacrifice that those people made. They gave their lives for the cause of freedom. But only after inflicting heavy losses on the enemy army and inspiring what turned out to be the ultimate victory with the Texas battle cry, "Remember the Alamo!"
Now, Lieutenant Colonel William Travis was in command of the garrison that day as his valiant band stood against those overwhelming odds. I was really moved as I read the letter that Colonel Travis wrote addressed to The People of Texas and all Americans. In fact, I was so moved, I read part of it to the 5,000 young people I spoke to that night. He said, "The enemy has demanded a surrender. Otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword if the fort is taken." Listen to this, "I have answered the demand with a cannon shot! And our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat."
Man, that's more than history. That's a battle cry for you and me.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Never Surrender."
In the spiritual battle raging all around you, your enemy the Devil keeps calling for you to surrender to discouragement, to despair, to bitterness, to disobedience, to retreat. And during those grueling days when Satan tried to get our Lord to surrender to temptation, we learn how you can answer those temptations.
Our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 4, "...for forty days Jesus was tempted by the Devil" it says. "He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them He was hungry. The Devil said to Him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.'" In other words, "You've got this need, right? Why don't you do something to meet your need, even if it's a little outside of what God wants you to do?"
Jesus answered that call for surrender with a cannon shot. "It is written, 'Man does not live on bread alone.'" Jesus answers the heavy artillery of hell with a statement from the Word of God; the heavier artillery of heaven. Now, Satan then takes Jesus to a mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world. He offers them to Jesus, "If you worship me, it will all be yours." In other words, "Just bow down. No cross to go to. You could have it all. It could be easy, without all the pain." Jesus answered, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'" Again the temptation to surrender is answered with a cannonball of God's Word.
It could be that the enemy is working overtime right now to deceive you into some moral or spiritual compromise, retreat, surrender. He's saying something like, "Things are dark, and I don't know that they're ever going to change." He's wanting to discourage you. Or maybe he's trying to say, "You know, you could really benefit from just a little compromise; just giving in a little to this temptation. It's wrong, but it might help you right now. Surrender to temptation." Maybe your enemy's saying, "Oh listen, there's no hope for this marriage, man. Surrender to divorce." "There's no hope of an answer. Surrender to taking charge of things yourself. Surrender to self-solutions or giving up." Or, "Hey, if you take a stand for Jesus, it's going to cost you too much, man. You'd better surrender to backing down on this Jesus thing."
As Colonel Travis so dramatically demonstrated at the Alamo, when the enemy calls for surrender, you cannot answer that passively. You have to answer aggressively - boldly. Go to God's words about that issue in the Bible and you use God's own words "like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces..." it says in the Bible, or like a cannonball.
Stand on God's truths. Stand in God's strength, in Jesus' name. He sent me to tell you to take your stand right now. And declare it boldly, "The flag of Jesus still flies proudly from these walls. I shall never surrender or retreat!"
In 1882 in New York City, Joseph Richardson owned a narrow strip of land 5 feet wide and 104 feet long. Next door was a normal-sized lot owned by a man who wanted to erect an apartment building. He offered Richardson $1,000 for his plot. Deeply offended, Richardson demanded $5,000 which the builder refused to pay. The builder built the apartment building, assuming the slender lot would remain vacant and the view exposed. But Richardson built a house instead—blocking the view! Dubbed the “Spite House”, Richardson spent the last fourteen years of his life in the narrow residence that seemed to fit his narrow state of mind.
Revenge builds a lonely, narrow house. Space enough for one person. No wonder God insists we “keep a sharp eye out for the weeds of bitter discontent!” (Heb. 12:14-17).
From You’ll Get Through This
2 Samuel 19
Joab Rebukes the King
[a]Word soon reached Joab that the king was weeping and mourning for Absalom. 2 As all the people heard of the king’s deep grief for his son, the joy of that day’s victory was turned into deep sadness. 3 They crept back into the town that day as though they were ashamed and had deserted in battle. 4 The king covered his face with his hands and kept on crying, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
5 Then Joab went to the king’s room and said to him, “We saved your life today and the lives of your sons, your daughters, and your wives and concubines. Yet you act like this, making us feel ashamed of ourselves. 6 You seem to love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that your commanders and troops mean nothing to you. It seems that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died, you would be pleased. 7 Now go out there and congratulate your troops, for I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out, not a single one of them will remain here tonight. Then you will be worse off than ever before.”
8 So the king went out and took his seat at the town gate, and as the news spread throughout the town that he was there, everyone went to him.
Meanwhile, the Israelites who had supported Absalom fled to their homes. 9 And throughout all the tribes of Israel there was much discussion and argument going on. The people were saying, “The king rescued us from our enemies and saved us from the Philistines, but Absalom chased him out of the country. 10 Now Absalom, whom we anointed to rule over us, is dead. Why not ask David to come back and be our king again?”
11 Then King David sent Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, to say to the elders of Judah, “Why are you the last ones to welcome back the king into his palace? For I have heard that all Israel is ready. 12 You are my relatives, my own tribe, my own flesh and blood! So why are you the last ones to welcome back the king?” 13 And David told them to tell Amasa, “Since you are my own flesh and blood, like Joab, may God strike me and even kill me if I do not appoint you as commander of my army in his place.”
14 Then Amasa[b] convinced all the men of Judah, and they responded unanimously. They sent word to the king, “Return to us, and bring back all who are with you.”
David’s Return to Jerusalem
15 So the king started back to Jerusalem. And when he arrived at the Jordan River, the people of Judah came to Gilgal to meet him and escort him across the river. 16 Shimei son of Gera, the man from Bahurim in Benjamin, hurried across with the men of Judah to welcome King David. 17 A thousand other men from the tribe of Benjamin were with him, including Ziba, the chief servant of the house of Saul, and Ziba’s fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan to meet the king. 18 They crossed the shallows of the Jordan to bring the king’s household across the river, helping him in every way they could.
David’s Mercy to Shimei
As the king was about to cross the river, Shimei fell down before him. 19 “My lord the king, please forgive me,” he pleaded. “Forget the terrible thing your servant did when you left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind. 20 I know how much I sinned. That is why I have come here today, the very first person in all Israel[c] to greet my lord the king.”
21 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said, “Shimei should die, for he cursed the Lord’s anointed king!”
22 “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah!” David exclaimed. “Why have you become my adversary[d] today? This is not a day for execution, for today I am once again the king of Israel!” 23 Then, turning to Shimei, David vowed, “Your life will be spared.”
David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth
24 Now Mephibosheth,[e] Saul’s grandson, came down from Jerusalem to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes since the day the king left Jerusalem. 25 “Why didn’t you come with me, Mephibosheth?” the king asked him.
26 Mephibosheth replied, “My lord the king, my servant Ziba deceived me. I told him, ‘Saddle my donkey[f] so I can go with the king.’ For as you know I am crippled. 27 Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come. But I know that my lord the king is like an angel of God, so do what you think is best. 28 All my relatives and I could expect only death from you, my lord, but instead you have honored me by allowing me to eat at your own table! What more can I ask?”
29 “You’ve said enough,” David replied. “I’ve decided that you and Ziba will divide your land equally between you.”
30 “Give him all of it,” Mephibosheth said. “I am content just to have you safely back again, my lord the king!”
David’s Kindness to Barzillai
31 Barzillai of Gilead had come down from Rogelim to escort the king across the Jordan. 32 He was very old—eighty years of age—and very wealthy. He was the one who had provided food for the king during his stay in Mahanaim. 33 “Come across with me and live in Jerusalem,” the king said to Barzillai. “I will take care of you there.”
34 “No,” he replied, “I am far too old to go with the king to Jerusalem. 35 I am eighty years old today, and I can no longer enjoy anything. Food and wine are no longer tasty, and I cannot hear the singers as they sing. I would only be a burden to my lord the king. 36 Just to go across the Jordan River with the king is all the honor I need! 37 Then let me return again to die in my own town, where my father and mother are buried. But here is your servant, my son Kimham. Let him go with my lord the king and receive whatever you want to give him.”
38 “Good,” the king agreed. “Kimham will go with me, and I will help him in any way you would like. And I will do for you anything you want.” 39 So all the people crossed the Jordan with the king. After David had blessed Barzillai and kissed him, Barzillai returned to his own home.
40 The king then crossed over to Gilgal, taking Kimham with him. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel escorted the king on his way.
An Argument over the King
41 But all the men of Israel complained to the king, “The men of Judah stole the king and didn’t give us the honor of helping take you, your household, and all your men across the Jordan.”
42 The men of Judah replied, “The king is one of our own kinsmen. Why should this make you angry? We haven’t eaten any of the king’s food or received any special favors!”
43 “But there are ten tribes in Israel,” the others replied. “So we have ten times as much right to the king as you do. What right do you have to treat us with such contempt? Weren’t we the first to speak of bringing him back to be our king again?” The argument continued back and forth, and the men of Judah spoke even more harshly than the men of Israel.
Footnotes:
19:1 Verses 19:1-43 are numbered 19:2-44 in Hebrew text.
19:14 Or David; Hebrew reads he.
19:20 Hebrew in the house of Joseph.
19:22 Or my prosecutor.
19:24 Mephibosheth is another name for Merib-baal.
19:26 As in Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions; Hebrew reads I will saddle a donkey for myself.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, July 03, 2015
Read: 2 Timothy 4:1-8
I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: 2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.
3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
5 But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.
6 As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.
INSIGHT:
Titus and 1 Timothy were probably written after the apostle Paul was released from house arrest in Rome (ad 61-62) and during his fourth missionary journey (ad 62–63; see Acts 28:30-31). When persecution broke out under Emperor Nero, Paul was imprisoned again. During this second Roman imprisonment, Paul wrote 2 Timothy (ad 65-67). This time he knew his death was imminent (4:6-7). Paul warns that a time is coming when Christians will not “endure sound doctrine” and will turn away from the truth (vv. 3-7). To counter false teaching, Timothy is to “preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (v. 2).
A Letter from the Battlefield
By David C. McCasland
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. —2 Timothy 4:7
For more than two decades, Andrew Carroll has been urging people not to throw away the letters written by family members or friends during a time of war. Carroll, director of the Center for American War Letters at Chapman University in California, considers them an irreplaceable link to tie families together and open a door of understanding. “Younger generations are reading these letters,” Carroll says, “and asking questions and saying, ‘Now I understand what you endured, what you sacrificed.’ ”
When the apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome and knew his life would soon end, he wrote a letter to a young man whom he considered a “son in the faith,” Timothy. Like a soldier on the battlefield, Paul opened his heart to him: “The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6-8).
When we read the letters in the Bible that the heroes of the Christian faith have left for us and grasp what they endured because of their love for Christ, we gain courage to follow their example and to stand strong for those who come after us.
Lord, give us strength for the spiritual battles we face today, knowing that You have won the ultimate victory and that we will one day live eternally with You.
Run the race with eternity in view.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, July 03, 2015
The Concentration of Personal Sin
Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips… —Isaiah 6:5
When I come into the very presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense, but I suddenly realize and the focus of my attention is directed toward the concentration of sin in a particular area of my life. A person will easily say, “Oh yes, I know I am a sinner,” but when he comes into the presence of God he cannot get away with such a broad and indefinite statement. Our conviction is focused on our specific sin, and we realize, as Isaiah did, what we really are. This is always the sign that a person is in the presence of God. There is never any vague sense of sin, but a focusing on the concentration of sin in some specific, personal area of life. God begins by convicting us of the very thing to which His Spirit has directed our mind’s attention. If we will surrender, submitting to His conviction of that particular sin, He will lead us down to where He can reveal the vast underlying nature of sin. That is the way God always deals with us when we are consciously aware of His presence.
This experience of our attention being directed to our concentration of personal sin is true in everyone’s life, from the greatest of saints to the worst of sinners. When a person first begins climbing the ladder of experience, he might say, “I don’t know where I’ve gone wrong,” but the Spirit of God will point out some definite and specific thing to him. The effect of Isaiah’s vision of the holiness of the Lord was the directing of his attention to the fact that he was “a man of unclean lips.” “He touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged’ ” (Isaiah 6:7). The cleansing fire had to be applied where the sin had been concentrated.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 03, 2015
Never Surrender - #7430
If you're from Texas, you know that Alamo is more than just a rental car agency. The Alamo, you know, is that old Spanish Mission in the heart of downtown San Antonio where an estimated 200 brave freedom fighters took their stand against the army of Mexico in the battle for Texas independence. Now, I've been there and I've seen the Alamo. And on my last visit, I was moved again by the sacrifice that those people made. They gave their lives for the cause of freedom. But only after inflicting heavy losses on the enemy army and inspiring what turned out to be the ultimate victory with the Texas battle cry, "Remember the Alamo!"
Now, Lieutenant Colonel William Travis was in command of the garrison that day as his valiant band stood against those overwhelming odds. I was really moved as I read the letter that Colonel Travis wrote addressed to The People of Texas and all Americans. In fact, I was so moved, I read part of it to the 5,000 young people I spoke to that night. He said, "The enemy has demanded a surrender. Otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword if the fort is taken." Listen to this, "I have answered the demand with a cannon shot! And our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat."
Man, that's more than history. That's a battle cry for you and me.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Never Surrender."
In the spiritual battle raging all around you, your enemy the Devil keeps calling for you to surrender to discouragement, to despair, to bitterness, to disobedience, to retreat. And during those grueling days when Satan tried to get our Lord to surrender to temptation, we learn how you can answer those temptations.
Our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 4, "...for forty days Jesus was tempted by the Devil" it says. "He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them He was hungry. The Devil said to Him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.'" In other words, "You've got this need, right? Why don't you do something to meet your need, even if it's a little outside of what God wants you to do?"
Jesus answered that call for surrender with a cannon shot. "It is written, 'Man does not live on bread alone.'" Jesus answers the heavy artillery of hell with a statement from the Word of God; the heavier artillery of heaven. Now, Satan then takes Jesus to a mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world. He offers them to Jesus, "If you worship me, it will all be yours." In other words, "Just bow down. No cross to go to. You could have it all. It could be easy, without all the pain." Jesus answered, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'" Again the temptation to surrender is answered with a cannonball of God's Word.
It could be that the enemy is working overtime right now to deceive you into some moral or spiritual compromise, retreat, surrender. He's saying something like, "Things are dark, and I don't know that they're ever going to change." He's wanting to discourage you. Or maybe he's trying to say, "You know, you could really benefit from just a little compromise; just giving in a little to this temptation. It's wrong, but it might help you right now. Surrender to temptation." Maybe your enemy's saying, "Oh listen, there's no hope for this marriage, man. Surrender to divorce." "There's no hope of an answer. Surrender to taking charge of things yourself. Surrender to self-solutions or giving up." Or, "Hey, if you take a stand for Jesus, it's going to cost you too much, man. You'd better surrender to backing down on this Jesus thing."
As Colonel Travis so dramatically demonstrated at the Alamo, when the enemy calls for surrender, you cannot answer that passively. You have to answer aggressively - boldly. Go to God's words about that issue in the Bible and you use God's own words "like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces..." it says in the Bible, or like a cannonball.
Stand on God's truths. Stand in God's strength, in Jesus' name. He sent me to tell you to take your stand right now. And declare it boldly, "The flag of Jesus still flies proudly from these walls. I shall never surrender or retreat!"
Thursday, July 2, 2015
John 5:1-24, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: God's Transforming Power
Family pain is often the deepest pain because it was inflicted so early, and because it involves people who should have been trustworthy. You were too young to process the mistreatment. You didn't know how to defend yourself. Besides the perpetrators of your pain were so large. Your dad, mom, uncle, big brother-they towered over you, usually in size, always in rank. When they judged you falsely, you believed them. All this time you've been operating on faulty data. "You're stupid. . .slow. . .dumb, like your daddy.
Decades later these voices of defeat still echo in your subconscious. But they don't have to! Romans 12:2 says, "Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." And 1st Corinthians 13:11 adds, "Let Him replace childish thinking with mature truth!" You are not who they said you were. You are God's child!
From You'll Get Through This
John 5:1-24
Jesus Heals a Lame Man
Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. 2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda,[a] with five covered porches. 3 Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.[b] 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”
7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”
8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”
9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 10 so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”
11 But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.
13 The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. 14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” 15 Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.
Jesus Claims to Be the Son of God
16 So the Jewish leaders began harassing[c] Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. 17 But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” 18 So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.
19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. 21 For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants. 22 In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, 23 so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.
24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
Footnotes:
5:2 Other manuscripts read Beth-zatha; still others read Bethsaida.
5:3 Some manuscripts add an expanded conclusion to verse 3 and all of verse 4: waiting for a certain movement of the water, 4 for an angel of the Lord came from time to time and stirred up the water. And the first person to step in after the water was stirred was healed of whatever disease he had.
5:16 Or persecuting.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 02, 2015
Read: James 3:2-10
Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.[a]
7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!
Footnotes:
3:6 Or for it will burn in hell (Greek Gehenna).
INSIGHT:
The book of James is often referred to as “the Proverbs of the New Testament.” The emphasis on wisdom and behavior throughout its five brief chapters makes the comparison understandable. James’s well-known warning about the explosive threat hiding behind our lips is sandwiched between verses about the relationship between faith and deeds (2:14-26) and between wisdom and deeds (3:13-18). It seems that James is suggesting that faith and wisdom are both significantly demonstrated in our ability to control our tongue. In other words, our speech puts our faith and our wisdom on display for everyone to see.
Fiery Conversation
By Lawrence Darmani
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt. —Colossians 4:6
Where I come from in northern Ghana, bush fires are regular occurrences in the dry season between December and March. I’ve witnessed many acres of farmland set ablaze when the winds carried tiny embers from fireplaces or from cigarette butts carelessly thrown by the roadside. With the dry grassland vegetation, all that is needed to start a devastating fire is a little spark.
That is how James describes the tongue, calling it “a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:6 niv). A false statement made here or backbiting there, a vicious remark somewhere else, and relationships are destroyed. “The words of the reckless pierce like swords,” says Proverbs 12:18, “but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (niv). Just as fire has both destructive and useful elements, so “death and life are in the power of the tongue” (18:21).
For conversation that reflects God’s presence in us and pleases Him, let it “always be with grace” (Col. 4:6). When expressing our opinions during disagreements, let’s ask God to help us choose wholesome language that brings honor to Him.
Guide my conversation today, Lord. May the words I choose bless and encourage others and build them up rather than tear them down. May You be pleased with what You hear.
Anger can make us speak our mind when we should be minding our speech.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 02, 2015
The Conditions of Discipleship
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also….And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me….So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. —Luke 14:26-27, 33
If the closest relationships of a disciple’s life conflict with the claims of Jesus Christ, then our Lord requires instant obedience to Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person— our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between devotion to a person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause— He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To be a disciple is to be a devoted bondservant motivated by love for the Lord Jesus. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are not truly devoted to Jesus Christ. No one on earth has this passionate love for the Lord Jesus unless the Holy Spirit has given it to him. We may admire, respect, and revere Him, but we cannot love Him on our own. The only One who truly loves the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit, and it is He who has “poured out in our hearts” the very “love of God” (Romans 5:5). Whenever the Holy Spirit sees an opportunity to glorify Jesus through you, He will take your entire being and set you ablaze with glowing devotion to Jesus Christ.
The Christian life is a life characterized by true and spontaneous creativity. Consequently, a disciple is subject to the same charge that was leveled against Jesus Christ, namely, the charge of inconsistency. But Jesus Christ was always consistent in His relationship to God, and a Christian must be consistent in his relationship to the life of the Son of God in him, not consistent to strict, unyielding doctrines. People pour themselves into their own doctrines, and God has to blast them out of their preconceived ideas before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 02, 2015
How to be the Person They'll Never Forget - #7429
Missy lost her mother yesterday and Andy's wife filed for divorce today. A friend texted recently, heartbroken over his sister-in-law's cancer verdict. Some reservation friends of ours are grieving over one young suicide after another.
It just seems that we always know someone who's walking their own personal "trail of tears." Some weeks I think we could be sending a sympathy card like every day. And we've taken our turn. No family is immune. Bad news from the doctor. Burying someone we dearly love. A broken heart over a life that's broken. And you know what? We never forgot the person who was there when it was dark.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to be the Person They'll Never Forget."
My wife and I are honored to call many wonderful Cherokee friends our brothers and sisters. Some are really like family. And you can't be with Cherokees for very long without recollections of their people's darkest hour; one of the most infamous chapters in our nation's history. You've probably heard of it - The Trail of Tears.
The forced removal from their ancestral homelands. The brutal stockade imprisonments, and then the 800-mile Trail of Tears under military guard in a horrific six-month walk through one of the fiercest winters in American history. An estimated one-fourth of the Cherokee Nation died on or because of the Trail of Tears. I've stood with Cherokee friends at unmarked graves where some of those people are buried. I'll tell you what, I've wiped my eyes as they sang in Cherokee, the hymn that sustained their people amid all the dying - "Amazing Grace."
There were people on that trail who didn't have to be there; missionaries who loved the Cherokee people, who represented Jesus among the Cherokees. And now, who chose to be by their side, sharing their suffering.
There's a nearly 200-year old mission church on Cherokee land in Oklahoma today. But it wasn't built in Oklahoma. It was built in Georgia. And I'm told that the missionaries had so won the respect of the people that the chief actually ordered that the mission be dismantled and moved with the people. See, you never forget the person who walked with you on your trail of tears. Because everyone's so busy, so stressed, just too preoccupied to enter into someone else's grief. But if you've walked your own trail of tears, you are uniquely qualified to walk with someone else on theirs. And in so doing, you can find meaning in your pain.
In his recent book, Rob Moll says it well: "When suffering turns to compassion, the questions provoked by suffering can find resolution." A reviewer of that book commented, "Pain breaks us open, allowing us to become kinder and more generous toward others who suffer."
Or, as the Bible says in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, "God...the source of all comfort...comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others."
No one had more to do - no one had more important things to do - than Jesus did in His world-changing three-year ministry. But He stopped for the blind man by the side of the road. He stopped for the mother who had just lost her son, for the leper no one else would touch. And He's stopped for me. Again and again, He has "carried me." In the words of the Bible, "as a father carries his son" (Deuteronomy 1:31) when I couldn't walk another step. When all I could do was reach up and cry, "Daddy, carry me!"
So I am to be, as Oswald Chambers says, "not one who merely proclaims the gospel, but one who becomes broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for the sake of others."
Showing up when they're falling down as Jesus has shown up for me. He didn't stay in the comfort of His heaven. He came to us as "a man of sorrows, acquainted with the deepest grief" (Isaiah 53:3) carrying my burden all the way to the cross.
Now I am called. I am privileged to be His face, His voice, His arms, and His hands so someone doesn't have to walk their trail of tears alone.
Family pain is often the deepest pain because it was inflicted so early, and because it involves people who should have been trustworthy. You were too young to process the mistreatment. You didn't know how to defend yourself. Besides the perpetrators of your pain were so large. Your dad, mom, uncle, big brother-they towered over you, usually in size, always in rank. When they judged you falsely, you believed them. All this time you've been operating on faulty data. "You're stupid. . .slow. . .dumb, like your daddy.
Decades later these voices of defeat still echo in your subconscious. But they don't have to! Romans 12:2 says, "Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." And 1st Corinthians 13:11 adds, "Let Him replace childish thinking with mature truth!" You are not who they said you were. You are God's child!
From You'll Get Through This
John 5:1-24
Jesus Heals a Lame Man
Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. 2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda,[a] with five covered porches. 3 Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.[b] 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”
7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”
8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”
9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 10 so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”
11 But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.
13 The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. 14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” 15 Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.
Jesus Claims to Be the Son of God
16 So the Jewish leaders began harassing[c] Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. 17 But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” 18 So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.
19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. 21 For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants. 22 In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, 23 so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.
24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
Footnotes:
5:2 Other manuscripts read Beth-zatha; still others read Bethsaida.
5:3 Some manuscripts add an expanded conclusion to verse 3 and all of verse 4: waiting for a certain movement of the water, 4 for an angel of the Lord came from time to time and stirred up the water. And the first person to step in after the water was stirred was healed of whatever disease he had.
5:16 Or persecuting.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 02, 2015
Read: James 3:2-10
Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.[a]
7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!
Footnotes:
3:6 Or for it will burn in hell (Greek Gehenna).
INSIGHT:
The book of James is often referred to as “the Proverbs of the New Testament.” The emphasis on wisdom and behavior throughout its five brief chapters makes the comparison understandable. James’s well-known warning about the explosive threat hiding behind our lips is sandwiched between verses about the relationship between faith and deeds (2:14-26) and between wisdom and deeds (3:13-18). It seems that James is suggesting that faith and wisdom are both significantly demonstrated in our ability to control our tongue. In other words, our speech puts our faith and our wisdom on display for everyone to see.
Fiery Conversation
By Lawrence Darmani
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt. —Colossians 4:6
Where I come from in northern Ghana, bush fires are regular occurrences in the dry season between December and March. I’ve witnessed many acres of farmland set ablaze when the winds carried tiny embers from fireplaces or from cigarette butts carelessly thrown by the roadside. With the dry grassland vegetation, all that is needed to start a devastating fire is a little spark.
That is how James describes the tongue, calling it “a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:6 niv). A false statement made here or backbiting there, a vicious remark somewhere else, and relationships are destroyed. “The words of the reckless pierce like swords,” says Proverbs 12:18, “but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (niv). Just as fire has both destructive and useful elements, so “death and life are in the power of the tongue” (18:21).
For conversation that reflects God’s presence in us and pleases Him, let it “always be with grace” (Col. 4:6). When expressing our opinions during disagreements, let’s ask God to help us choose wholesome language that brings honor to Him.
Guide my conversation today, Lord. May the words I choose bless and encourage others and build them up rather than tear them down. May You be pleased with what You hear.
Anger can make us speak our mind when we should be minding our speech.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 02, 2015
The Conditions of Discipleship
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also….And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me….So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. —Luke 14:26-27, 33
If the closest relationships of a disciple’s life conflict with the claims of Jesus Christ, then our Lord requires instant obedience to Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person— our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between devotion to a person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause— He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To be a disciple is to be a devoted bondservant motivated by love for the Lord Jesus. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are not truly devoted to Jesus Christ. No one on earth has this passionate love for the Lord Jesus unless the Holy Spirit has given it to him. We may admire, respect, and revere Him, but we cannot love Him on our own. The only One who truly loves the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit, and it is He who has “poured out in our hearts” the very “love of God” (Romans 5:5). Whenever the Holy Spirit sees an opportunity to glorify Jesus through you, He will take your entire being and set you ablaze with glowing devotion to Jesus Christ.
The Christian life is a life characterized by true and spontaneous creativity. Consequently, a disciple is subject to the same charge that was leveled against Jesus Christ, namely, the charge of inconsistency. But Jesus Christ was always consistent in His relationship to God, and a Christian must be consistent in his relationship to the life of the Son of God in him, not consistent to strict, unyielding doctrines. People pour themselves into their own doctrines, and God has to blast them out of their preconceived ideas before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 02, 2015
How to be the Person They'll Never Forget - #7429
Missy lost her mother yesterday and Andy's wife filed for divorce today. A friend texted recently, heartbroken over his sister-in-law's cancer verdict. Some reservation friends of ours are grieving over one young suicide after another.
It just seems that we always know someone who's walking their own personal "trail of tears." Some weeks I think we could be sending a sympathy card like every day. And we've taken our turn. No family is immune. Bad news from the doctor. Burying someone we dearly love. A broken heart over a life that's broken. And you know what? We never forgot the person who was there when it was dark.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to be the Person They'll Never Forget."
My wife and I are honored to call many wonderful Cherokee friends our brothers and sisters. Some are really like family. And you can't be with Cherokees for very long without recollections of their people's darkest hour; one of the most infamous chapters in our nation's history. You've probably heard of it - The Trail of Tears.
The forced removal from their ancestral homelands. The brutal stockade imprisonments, and then the 800-mile Trail of Tears under military guard in a horrific six-month walk through one of the fiercest winters in American history. An estimated one-fourth of the Cherokee Nation died on or because of the Trail of Tears. I've stood with Cherokee friends at unmarked graves where some of those people are buried. I'll tell you what, I've wiped my eyes as they sang in Cherokee, the hymn that sustained their people amid all the dying - "Amazing Grace."
There were people on that trail who didn't have to be there; missionaries who loved the Cherokee people, who represented Jesus among the Cherokees. And now, who chose to be by their side, sharing their suffering.
There's a nearly 200-year old mission church on Cherokee land in Oklahoma today. But it wasn't built in Oklahoma. It was built in Georgia. And I'm told that the missionaries had so won the respect of the people that the chief actually ordered that the mission be dismantled and moved with the people. See, you never forget the person who walked with you on your trail of tears. Because everyone's so busy, so stressed, just too preoccupied to enter into someone else's grief. But if you've walked your own trail of tears, you are uniquely qualified to walk with someone else on theirs. And in so doing, you can find meaning in your pain.
In his recent book, Rob Moll says it well: "When suffering turns to compassion, the questions provoked by suffering can find resolution." A reviewer of that book commented, "Pain breaks us open, allowing us to become kinder and more generous toward others who suffer."
Or, as the Bible says in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, "God...the source of all comfort...comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others."
No one had more to do - no one had more important things to do - than Jesus did in His world-changing three-year ministry. But He stopped for the blind man by the side of the road. He stopped for the mother who had just lost her son, for the leper no one else would touch. And He's stopped for me. Again and again, He has "carried me." In the words of the Bible, "as a father carries his son" (Deuteronomy 1:31) when I couldn't walk another step. When all I could do was reach up and cry, "Daddy, carry me!"
So I am to be, as Oswald Chambers says, "not one who merely proclaims the gospel, but one who becomes broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for the sake of others."
Showing up when they're falling down as Jesus has shown up for me. He didn't stay in the comfort of His heaven. He came to us as "a man of sorrows, acquainted with the deepest grief" (Isaiah 53:3) carrying my burden all the way to the cross.
Now I am called. I am privileged to be His face, His voice, His arms, and His hands so someone doesn't have to walk their trail of tears alone.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
2 Samuel 18, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: He Wants Your Heart Whole
God gives us more by going deeper than we ask. He wants not only your whole heart-He wants your heart whole. Why? Hurt people hurt people. Think about it. Why do you fly off the handle? Why do you avoid conflict? Why do you seek to please everyone? Might your tendencies have something to do with an unhealed hurt in your heart? God wants to help you for your sake.
Your family history has some sad chapters. But your history doesn't have to be your future. The generational garbage can stop here and now.You don't have to give your kids what your ancestors gave you. Talk to God about the scandals and scoundrels. Invite Him to relive the betrayal with you. The process may take a long time. It may take a lifetime. Difficult for certain. But let God do His work!
From You'll Get Through This
2 Samuel 18
Absalom’s Defeat and Death
David now mustered the men who were with him and appointed generals and captains[i] to lead them. 2 He sent the troops out in three groups, placing one group under Joab, one under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and one under Ittai, the man from Gath. The king told his troops, “I am going out with you.”
3 But his men objected strongly. “You must not go,” they urged. “If we have to turn and run—and even if half of us die—it will make no difference to Absalom’s troops; they will be looking only for you. You are worth 10,000 of us,[j] and it is better that you stay here in the town and send help if we need it.”
4 “If you think that’s the best plan, I’ll do it,” the king answered. So he stood alongside the gate of the town as all the troops marched out in groups of hundreds and of thousands.
5 And the king gave this command to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake, deal gently with young Absalom.” And all the troops heard the king give this order to his commanders.
6 So the battle began in the forest of Ephraim, 7 and the Israelite troops were beaten back by David’s men. There was a great slaughter that day, and 20,000 men laid down their lives. 8 The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men died because of the forest than were killed by the sword.
9 During the battle, Absalom happened to come upon some of David’s men. He tried to escape on his mule, but as he rode beneath the thick branches of a great tree, his hair[k] got caught in the tree. His mule kept going and left him dangling in the air. 10 One of David’s men saw what had happened and told Joab, “I saw Absalom dangling from a great tree.”
11 “What?” Joab demanded. “You saw him there and didn’t kill him? I would have rewarded you with ten pieces of silver[l] and a hero’s belt!”
12 “I would not kill the king’s son for even a thousand pieces of silver,[m]” the man replied to Joab. “We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, please spare young Absalom.’ 13 And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son—and the king would certainly find out who did it—you yourself would be the first to abandon me.”
14 “Enough of this nonsense,” Joab said. Then he took three daggers and plunged them into Absalom’s heart as he dangled, still alive, in the great tree. 15 Ten of Joab’s young armor bearers then surrounded Absalom and killed him.
16 Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and his men returned from chasing the army of Israel. 17 They threw Absalom’s body into a deep pit in the forest and piled a great heap of stones over it. And all Israel fled to their homes.
18 During his lifetime, Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to carry on my name.” He named the monument after himself, and it is known as Absalom’s Monument to this day.
David Mourns Absalom’s Death
19 Then Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said, “Let me run to the king with the good news that the Lord has rescued him from his enemies.”
20 “No,” Joab told him, “it wouldn’t be good news to the king that his son is dead. You can be my messenger another time, but not today.”
21 Then Joab said to a man from Ethiopia,[n] “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The man bowed and ran off.
22 But Ahimaaz continued to plead with Joab, “Whatever happens, please let me go, too.”
“Why should you go, my son?” Joab replied. “There will be no reward for your news.”
23 “Yes, but let me go anyway,” he begged.
Joab finally said, “All right, go ahead.” So Ahimaaz took the less demanding route by way of the plain and ran to Mahanaim ahead of the Ethiopian.
24 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates of the town, the watchman climbed to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked, he saw a lone man running toward them. 25 He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.”
As the messenger came closer, 26 the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted down, “Here comes another one!”
The king replied, “He also will have news.”
27 “The first man runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok,” the watchman said.
“He is a good man and comes with good news,” the king replied.
28 Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “Everything is all right!” He bowed before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise to the Lord your God, who has handed over the rebels who dared to stand against my lord the king.”
29 “What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?”
Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab told me to come, there was a lot of commotion. But I didn’t know what was happening.”
30 “Wait here,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stepped aside.
31 Then the man from Ethiopia arrived and said, “I have good news for my lord the king. Today the Lord has rescued you from all those who rebelled against you.”
32 “What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?”
And the Ethiopian replied, “May all of your enemies, my lord the king, both now and in the future, share the fate of that young man!”
33 [o]The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”
Footnotes:
18:1 Hebrew appointed commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
18:3 As in two Hebrew manuscripts and some Greek and Latin manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts read Now there are 10,000 like us.
18:9 Hebrew his head.
18:11 Hebrew 10 [shekels] of silver, about 4 ounces or 114 grams in weight.
18:12 Hebrew 1,000 [shekels] of silver, about 25 pounds or 11.4 kilograms in weight.
18:21 Hebrew from Cush; similarly in 18:23, 31, 32.
18:33 Verse 18:33 is numbered 19:1 in Hebrew text.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
Read: John 4:7-15,28-30
Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.[a] She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”
Footnotes:
4:9 Some manuscripts do not include this sentence.
INSIGHT:
Jesus crossed racial, cultural, theological, gender, and social boundaries when He spoke to the woman at the well. Samaritans were the descendants of the Israelites who intermarried with the Assyrians. Because of this, Samaritan customs and theology often differed from those of the Jews. The Samaritan woman was also an outcast among her own people for her failed relationships and immoral behavior. What a wonderful picture of the Savior reaching beyond all barriers with His love.
Raise Your Hand
By Julie Ackerman Link
God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. —John 3:17
The St. Olaf Choir from Northfield, Minnesota, is renowned for making beautiful music. One reason for its excellence is the selection process. Applicants are chosen based not only on how well they sing but also on how they sound as part of the whole. Another reason is that all members agree to make the choir their first priority and commit to a rigorous rehearsal and performance schedule.
One of the things that intrigues me the most about this choir is what happens during rehearsals. Whenever members make a mistake, they raise their hand. Instead of trying to hide the blunder, they call attention to it! This allows the conductor to help each singer learn the difficult part, and it increases the likelihood of a flawless performance.
I think this is the kind of community Jesus was establishing when He told Nicodemus that God sent His Son into the world to save it, not condemn it (John 3:17). Shortly after this conversation, Jesus encountered a Samaritan woman at the public well. He made it easy for her to admit failure by promising her a better way of life where she could enjoy His forgiveness (John 4).
As members of Christ’s body on Earth, we should not fear admitting our wrongs but welcome it as an opportunity to together experience and rejoice in the forgiveness of God.
Lord, it’s our tendency to hide our sins and flaws. May we come to You in full honesty, understanding that we are loved and forgiven by You.
For further help in understanding the gift of forgiveness, read The Forgiveness of God at discoveryseries.org/q0602
We can’t put our sins behind us until we are ready to face them.
The Inevitable Penalty
You will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. —Matthew 5:26
There is no heaven that has a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure, holy, and right, and He will not allow you to escape from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit for even one moment. He urged you to come to judgment immediately when He convicted you, but you did not obey. Then the inevitable process began to work, bringing its inevitable penalty. Now you have been “thrown into prison, [and]…you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny” (5:25-26). Yet you ask, “Is this a God of mercy and love?” When seen from God’s perspective, it is a glorious ministry of love. God is going to bring you out pure, spotless, and undefiled, but He wants you to recognize the nature you were exhibiting— the nature of demanding your right to yourself. The moment you are willing for God to change your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. And the moment you realize that God’s purpose is to get you into the right relationship with Himself and then with others, He will reach to the very limits of the universe to help you take the right road. Decide to do it right now, saying, “Yes, Lord, I will write that letter,” or, “I will be reconciled to that person now.”
These sermons of Jesus Christ are meant for your will and your conscience, not for your head. If you dispute these verses from the Sermon on the Mount with your head, you will dull the appeal to your heart.
If you find yourself asking, “I wonder why I’m not growing spiritually with God?”— then ask yourself if you are paying your debts from God’s standpoint. Do now what you will have to do someday. Every moral question or call comes with an “ought” behind it— the knowledge of knowing what we ought to do.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
The Most Sinful Part of Your Body - #7428
I used to sing this little song in Sunday school. Actually, all of the kids sang it: "Be Careful Little Eyes What You See." That was the first verse. And then we went on to "Be careful little ears what you hear." And then "Be careful little hands what you do." Of course, "Be careful little feet where you go," and so on. Actually, there is a practical truth hidden in that little song. It's about this thing called sin, which isn't just a church word or a preacher's word. I mean, it's real. I mean, your hands sin, your eyes sin, your ears sin; it's not just a concept.
I've always found it convenient to think of sin in terms of things that someone else is doing, right? Well, when I make a list of the worst sins there are, it's usually things that I don't do. Maybe you do. Then I realize the body part that should be voted most likely to sin. I'm on the list.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Most Sinful Part of Your Body."
Here's our word for today from the Word of God. We're in the third chapter of the book of Romans. It's a very interesting passage because it's like a spiritual X-ray, and the doctor, if you want to put it that way, gives the conclusion of this X-ray and what he has discovered in chapter 3 verse 12 and then again in verse 23. In verse 12 he says, "All have turned away, all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one." Then in verse 23 it's reiterated when he says, "For all have sinned..." I mean, there is no exception here. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The spiritual X-ray shows that we all have cancer - spiritual cancer.
Then he goes into more detail between verses 12 and 23 with how that sinful cancer shows up. Listen to these statements, "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit". "The poison of vipers is on their lips." "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood." "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Did you notice there are six statements here that show the kind of spiritual cancer we have, and they all are really like biological; they involve parts of the body? One had to do with the eyes; one had to do with our feet. The other four had to do with the same area of the body: the tongue, lips, mouth and throat. So it would appear that most sinning is done with your mouth. Isn't that interesting? The most spiritually infected part of your body; the cancer comes out through our mouth more often than anywhere else.
The Bible says, "No human being can tame the tongue." That's in James 3:8. We tend to think of sin in terms of adultery, abortion, murder, abuse, drugs, stealing. But this brings it right down to where I live, because the greatest sins - the most frequent sins - are sins of the tongue. Think about it, the hurt that you and I inflict on people, the things we say in anger, the putdowns, the lies, the criticism, the negative comments, the gossip. They all come through our mouth.
This indictment tells me two things. Number one: I really need a Savior because if sin is mostly sin done with my mouth and my tongue, I really need a Savior. And you may have never experienced what it is to have the man who died for you on a cross forgive you of every wrong thing, every hurting thing, every angry thing, every dirty thing you've ever said or done. It's so wonderful to be clean. He can do that for you!
Secondly, I must focus the lordship of Christ on my mouth and say, "Jesus, be Lord of what I say; how I talk. The cancer of sin has poisoned my daily speech, but David said, "The Lord put a new song in my mouth."
If you are interested in starting this transforming relationship with Jesus Christ, let me suggest to you either go to our website ANewStory.com or you text us at 442-244-WORD. Let's get together and talk about a new beginning of a new you.
God gives us more by going deeper than we ask. He wants not only your whole heart-He wants your heart whole. Why? Hurt people hurt people. Think about it. Why do you fly off the handle? Why do you avoid conflict? Why do you seek to please everyone? Might your tendencies have something to do with an unhealed hurt in your heart? God wants to help you for your sake.
Your family history has some sad chapters. But your history doesn't have to be your future. The generational garbage can stop here and now.You don't have to give your kids what your ancestors gave you. Talk to God about the scandals and scoundrels. Invite Him to relive the betrayal with you. The process may take a long time. It may take a lifetime. Difficult for certain. But let God do His work!
From You'll Get Through This
2 Samuel 18
Absalom’s Defeat and Death
David now mustered the men who were with him and appointed generals and captains[i] to lead them. 2 He sent the troops out in three groups, placing one group under Joab, one under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and one under Ittai, the man from Gath. The king told his troops, “I am going out with you.”
3 But his men objected strongly. “You must not go,” they urged. “If we have to turn and run—and even if half of us die—it will make no difference to Absalom’s troops; they will be looking only for you. You are worth 10,000 of us,[j] and it is better that you stay here in the town and send help if we need it.”
4 “If you think that’s the best plan, I’ll do it,” the king answered. So he stood alongside the gate of the town as all the troops marched out in groups of hundreds and of thousands.
5 And the king gave this command to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake, deal gently with young Absalom.” And all the troops heard the king give this order to his commanders.
6 So the battle began in the forest of Ephraim, 7 and the Israelite troops were beaten back by David’s men. There was a great slaughter that day, and 20,000 men laid down their lives. 8 The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men died because of the forest than were killed by the sword.
9 During the battle, Absalom happened to come upon some of David’s men. He tried to escape on his mule, but as he rode beneath the thick branches of a great tree, his hair[k] got caught in the tree. His mule kept going and left him dangling in the air. 10 One of David’s men saw what had happened and told Joab, “I saw Absalom dangling from a great tree.”
11 “What?” Joab demanded. “You saw him there and didn’t kill him? I would have rewarded you with ten pieces of silver[l] and a hero’s belt!”
12 “I would not kill the king’s son for even a thousand pieces of silver,[m]” the man replied to Joab. “We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, please spare young Absalom.’ 13 And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son—and the king would certainly find out who did it—you yourself would be the first to abandon me.”
14 “Enough of this nonsense,” Joab said. Then he took three daggers and plunged them into Absalom’s heart as he dangled, still alive, in the great tree. 15 Ten of Joab’s young armor bearers then surrounded Absalom and killed him.
16 Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and his men returned from chasing the army of Israel. 17 They threw Absalom’s body into a deep pit in the forest and piled a great heap of stones over it. And all Israel fled to their homes.
18 During his lifetime, Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to carry on my name.” He named the monument after himself, and it is known as Absalom’s Monument to this day.
David Mourns Absalom’s Death
19 Then Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said, “Let me run to the king with the good news that the Lord has rescued him from his enemies.”
20 “No,” Joab told him, “it wouldn’t be good news to the king that his son is dead. You can be my messenger another time, but not today.”
21 Then Joab said to a man from Ethiopia,[n] “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The man bowed and ran off.
22 But Ahimaaz continued to plead with Joab, “Whatever happens, please let me go, too.”
“Why should you go, my son?” Joab replied. “There will be no reward for your news.”
23 “Yes, but let me go anyway,” he begged.
Joab finally said, “All right, go ahead.” So Ahimaaz took the less demanding route by way of the plain and ran to Mahanaim ahead of the Ethiopian.
24 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates of the town, the watchman climbed to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked, he saw a lone man running toward them. 25 He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.”
As the messenger came closer, 26 the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted down, “Here comes another one!”
The king replied, “He also will have news.”
27 “The first man runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok,” the watchman said.
“He is a good man and comes with good news,” the king replied.
28 Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “Everything is all right!” He bowed before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise to the Lord your God, who has handed over the rebels who dared to stand against my lord the king.”
29 “What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?”
Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab told me to come, there was a lot of commotion. But I didn’t know what was happening.”
30 “Wait here,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stepped aside.
31 Then the man from Ethiopia arrived and said, “I have good news for my lord the king. Today the Lord has rescued you from all those who rebelled against you.”
32 “What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?”
And the Ethiopian replied, “May all of your enemies, my lord the king, both now and in the future, share the fate of that young man!”
33 [o]The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”
Footnotes:
18:1 Hebrew appointed commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
18:3 As in two Hebrew manuscripts and some Greek and Latin manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts read Now there are 10,000 like us.
18:9 Hebrew his head.
18:11 Hebrew 10 [shekels] of silver, about 4 ounces or 114 grams in weight.
18:12 Hebrew 1,000 [shekels] of silver, about 25 pounds or 11.4 kilograms in weight.
18:21 Hebrew from Cush; similarly in 18:23, 31, 32.
18:33 Verse 18:33 is numbered 19:1 in Hebrew text.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
Read: John 4:7-15,28-30
Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.[a] She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”
Footnotes:
4:9 Some manuscripts do not include this sentence.
INSIGHT:
Jesus crossed racial, cultural, theological, gender, and social boundaries when He spoke to the woman at the well. Samaritans were the descendants of the Israelites who intermarried with the Assyrians. Because of this, Samaritan customs and theology often differed from those of the Jews. The Samaritan woman was also an outcast among her own people for her failed relationships and immoral behavior. What a wonderful picture of the Savior reaching beyond all barriers with His love.
Raise Your Hand
By Julie Ackerman Link
God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. —John 3:17
The St. Olaf Choir from Northfield, Minnesota, is renowned for making beautiful music. One reason for its excellence is the selection process. Applicants are chosen based not only on how well they sing but also on how they sound as part of the whole. Another reason is that all members agree to make the choir their first priority and commit to a rigorous rehearsal and performance schedule.
One of the things that intrigues me the most about this choir is what happens during rehearsals. Whenever members make a mistake, they raise their hand. Instead of trying to hide the blunder, they call attention to it! This allows the conductor to help each singer learn the difficult part, and it increases the likelihood of a flawless performance.
I think this is the kind of community Jesus was establishing when He told Nicodemus that God sent His Son into the world to save it, not condemn it (John 3:17). Shortly after this conversation, Jesus encountered a Samaritan woman at the public well. He made it easy for her to admit failure by promising her a better way of life where she could enjoy His forgiveness (John 4).
As members of Christ’s body on Earth, we should not fear admitting our wrongs but welcome it as an opportunity to together experience and rejoice in the forgiveness of God.
Lord, it’s our tendency to hide our sins and flaws. May we come to You in full honesty, understanding that we are loved and forgiven by You.
For further help in understanding the gift of forgiveness, read The Forgiveness of God at discoveryseries.org/q0602
We can’t put our sins behind us until we are ready to face them.
You will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. —Matthew 5:26
There is no heaven that has a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure, holy, and right, and He will not allow you to escape from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit for even one moment. He urged you to come to judgment immediately when He convicted you, but you did not obey. Then the inevitable process began to work, bringing its inevitable penalty. Now you have been “thrown into prison, [and]…you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny” (5:25-26). Yet you ask, “Is this a God of mercy and love?” When seen from God’s perspective, it is a glorious ministry of love. God is going to bring you out pure, spotless, and undefiled, but He wants you to recognize the nature you were exhibiting— the nature of demanding your right to yourself. The moment you are willing for God to change your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. And the moment you realize that God’s purpose is to get you into the right relationship with Himself and then with others, He will reach to the very limits of the universe to help you take the right road. Decide to do it right now, saying, “Yes, Lord, I will write that letter,” or, “I will be reconciled to that person now.”
These sermons of Jesus Christ are meant for your will and your conscience, not for your head. If you dispute these verses from the Sermon on the Mount with your head, you will dull the appeal to your heart.
If you find yourself asking, “I wonder why I’m not growing spiritually with God?”— then ask yourself if you are paying your debts from God’s standpoint. Do now what you will have to do someday. Every moral question or call comes with an “ought” behind it— the knowledge of knowing what we ought to do.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
The Most Sinful Part of Your Body - #7428
I used to sing this little song in Sunday school. Actually, all of the kids sang it: "Be Careful Little Eyes What You See." That was the first verse. And then we went on to "Be careful little ears what you hear." And then "Be careful little hands what you do." Of course, "Be careful little feet where you go," and so on. Actually, there is a practical truth hidden in that little song. It's about this thing called sin, which isn't just a church word or a preacher's word. I mean, it's real. I mean, your hands sin, your eyes sin, your ears sin; it's not just a concept.
I've always found it convenient to think of sin in terms of things that someone else is doing, right? Well, when I make a list of the worst sins there are, it's usually things that I don't do. Maybe you do. Then I realize the body part that should be voted most likely to sin. I'm on the list.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Most Sinful Part of Your Body."
Here's our word for today from the Word of God. We're in the third chapter of the book of Romans. It's a very interesting passage because it's like a spiritual X-ray, and the doctor, if you want to put it that way, gives the conclusion of this X-ray and what he has discovered in chapter 3 verse 12 and then again in verse 23. In verse 12 he says, "All have turned away, all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one." Then in verse 23 it's reiterated when he says, "For all have sinned..." I mean, there is no exception here. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The spiritual X-ray shows that we all have cancer - spiritual cancer.
Then he goes into more detail between verses 12 and 23 with how that sinful cancer shows up. Listen to these statements, "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit". "The poison of vipers is on their lips." "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood." "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Did you notice there are six statements here that show the kind of spiritual cancer we have, and they all are really like biological; they involve parts of the body? One had to do with the eyes; one had to do with our feet. The other four had to do with the same area of the body: the tongue, lips, mouth and throat. So it would appear that most sinning is done with your mouth. Isn't that interesting? The most spiritually infected part of your body; the cancer comes out through our mouth more often than anywhere else.
The Bible says, "No human being can tame the tongue." That's in James 3:8. We tend to think of sin in terms of adultery, abortion, murder, abuse, drugs, stealing. But this brings it right down to where I live, because the greatest sins - the most frequent sins - are sins of the tongue. Think about it, the hurt that you and I inflict on people, the things we say in anger, the putdowns, the lies, the criticism, the negative comments, the gossip. They all come through our mouth.
This indictment tells me two things. Number one: I really need a Savior because if sin is mostly sin done with my mouth and my tongue, I really need a Savior. And you may have never experienced what it is to have the man who died for you on a cross forgive you of every wrong thing, every hurting thing, every angry thing, every dirty thing you've ever said or done. It's so wonderful to be clean. He can do that for you!
Secondly, I must focus the lordship of Christ on my mouth and say, "Jesus, be Lord of what I say; how I talk. The cancer of sin has poisoned my daily speech, but David said, "The Lord put a new song in my mouth."
If you are interested in starting this transforming relationship with Jesus Christ, let me suggest to you either go to our website ANewStory.com or you text us at 442-244-WORD. Let's get together and talk about a new beginning of a new you.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
2 Samuel 17, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Say Thank You
The Apostle Paul says, "Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20).
You don't have to name a child after God, but then again, you could. Or you could draft a letter listing all His blessings or write a song in His honor. You could sponsor an orphan or adopt a child just because God adopted you. The surest path out of a slump is marked by the road sign, "Thank you."
But what of the disastrous days? Are you grateful then? Jesus was. "On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it…" (1 Corinthians 11:23-24). Not often are the words betrayed and thanks in the same sentence, much less in the same heart. Anyone can thank God for the light. Jesus teaches us to thank God for the night!
From You'll Get Through This
2 Samuel 17
Now Ahithophel urged Absalom, “Let me choose 12,000 men to start out after David tonight. 2 I will catch up with him while he is weary and discouraged. He and his troops will panic, and everyone will run away. Then I will kill only the king, 3 and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride returns to her husband. After all, it is only one man’s life that you seek.[e] Then you will be at peace with all the people.” 4 This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel.
Hushai Counters Ahithophel’s Advice
5 But then Absalom said, “Bring in Hushai the Arkite. Let’s see what he thinks about this.” 6 When Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had said. Then he asked, “What is your opinion? Should we follow Ahithophel’s advice? If not, what do you suggest?”
7 “Well,” Hushai replied to Absalom, “this time Ahithophel has made a mistake. 8 You know your father and his men; they are mighty warriors. Right now they are as enraged as a mother bear who has been robbed of her cubs. And remember that your father is an experienced man of war. He won’t be spending the night among the troops. 9 He has probably already hidden in some pit or cave. And when he comes out and attacks and a few of your men fall, there will be panic among your troops, and the word will spread that Absalom’s men are being slaughtered. 10 Then even the bravest soldiers, though they have the heart of a lion, will be paralyzed with fear. For all Israel knows what a mighty warrior your father is and how courageous his men are.
11 “I recommend that you mobilize the entire army of Israel, bringing them from as far away as Dan in the north and Beersheba in the south. That way you will have an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. And I advise that you personally lead the troops. 12 When we find David, we’ll fall on him like dew that falls on the ground. Then neither he nor any of his men will be left alive. 13 And if David were to escape into some town, you will have all Israel there at your command. Then we can take ropes and drag the walls of the town into the nearest valley until every stone is torn down.”
14 Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “Hushai’s advice is better than Ahithophel’s.” For the Lord had determined to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, which really was the better plan, so that he could bring disaster on Absalom!
Hushai Warns David to Escape
15 Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had said to Absalom and the elders of Israel and what he himself had advised instead. 16 “Quick!” he told them. “Find David and urge him not to stay at the shallows of the Jordan River[f] tonight. He must go across at once into the wilderness beyond. Otherwise he will die and his entire army with him.”
17 Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been staying at En-rogel so as not to be seen entering and leaving the city. Arrangements had been made for a servant girl to bring them the message they were to take to King David. 18 But a boy spotted them at En-rogel, and he told Absalom about it. So they quickly escaped to Bahurim, where a man hid them down inside a well in his courtyard. 19 The man’s wife put a cloth over the top of the well and scattered grain on it to dry in the sun; so no one suspected they were there.
20 When Absalom’s men arrived, they asked her, “Have you seen Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”
The woman replied, “They were here, but they crossed over the brook.” Absalom’s men looked for them without success and returned to Jerusalem.
21 Then the two men crawled out of the well and hurried on to King David. “Quick!” they told him, “cross the Jordan tonight!” And they told him how Ahithophel had advised that he be captured and killed. 22 So David and all the people with him went across the Jordan River during the night, and they were all on the other bank before dawn.
23 When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey, went to his hometown, set his affairs in order, and hanged himself. He died there and was buried in the family tomb.
24 David soon arrived at Mahanaim. By now, Absalom had mobilized the entire army of Israel and was leading his troops across the Jordan River. 25 Absalom had appointed Amasa as commander of his army, replacing Joab, who had been commander under David. (Amasa was Joab’s cousin. His father was Jether,[g] an Ishmaelite.[h] His mother, Abigail daughter of Nahash, was the sister of Joab’s mother, Zeruiah.) 26 Absalom and the Israelite army set up camp in the land of Gilead.
27 When David arrived at Mahanaim, he was warmly greeted by Shobi son of Nahash, who came from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and by Makir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and by Barzillai of Gilead from Rogelim. 28 They brought sleeping mats, cooking pots, serving bowls, wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans, lentils, 29 honey, butter, sheep, goats, and cheese for David and those who were with him. For they said, “You must all be very hungry and tired and thirsty after your long march through the wilderness.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Read: Job 19:23-29
“Oh, that my words could be recorded.
Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
engraved forever in the rock.
25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26 And after my body has decayed,
yet in my body I will see God![a]
27 I will see him for myself.
Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
I am overwhelmed at the thought!
28 “How dare you go on persecuting me,
saying, ‘It’s his own fault’?
29 You should fear punishment yourselves,
for your attitude deserves punishment.
Then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”
Footnotes:
19:26 Or without my body I will see God. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
INSIGHT:
Accused of secret sin that had caused his suffering, Job maintained his innocence. In verse 25 he speaks of a Redeemer who will one day vindicate him. The word used here for “Redeemer” frequently refers in the Old Testament to the kinsman-redeemer, the person who defended or avenged the cause of another, or who provided protection or legal aid for close relatives who could not do so for themselves (Deut. 19:6-12; Num. 35:19–27; Prov. 23:10–11; Jer. 50:34). Some see a correlation between the Old Testament kinsman-redeemer and the redemptive ministry of Jesus Christ.
Christ the Redeemer
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
I know that my Redeemer lives. —Job 19:25
The famous statue Christ the Redeemer overlooks the city of Rio de Janeiro. The statue is a model of Christ with His arms extended so that His body forms the shape of a cross. Brazilian architect Heitor da Silva Costa designed the figure. He imagined that the city’s residents would see it as the first image to emerge from the darkness at dawn. At dusk, he hoped the city dwellers would view the setting sun as a halo behind the statue’s head.
There is value in keeping our eyes on our Redeemer each day, during the good times and the difficult times. As he suffered, Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth” (Job 19:25).
The cry of Job’s heart points us to Jesus—our living Savior who will visit the earth again one day (1 Thess. 4:16-18). Keeping our eyes on Jesus means remembering that we have been rescued from our sin. Jesus “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people” (Titus 2:14).
Anyone who has accepted Jesus as Savior has a reason to be glad today. No matter what we endure on earth, we can have hope today and look forward to enjoying eternity with Him.
Dear Jesus, You are my rescuer. Because You died and rose again, I am free from the consequences of my sin forever. Thank You for redeeming my life.
Through His cross and resurrection, Jesus rescues and redeems.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Do It Now!
Agree with your adversary quickly… —Matthew 5:25
In this verse, Jesus Christ laid down a very important principle by saying, “Do what you know you must do— now. Do it quickly. If you don’t, an inevitable process will begin to work ‘till you have paid the last penny’ (Matthew 5:26) in pain, agony, and distress.” God’s laws are unchangeable and there is no escape from them. The teachings of Jesus always penetrate right to the heart of our being.
Wanting to make sure that my adversary gives me all my rights is a natural thing. But Jesus says that it is a matter of inescapable and eternal importance to me that I pay my adversary what I owe him. From our Lord’s standpoint it doesn’t matter whether I am cheated or not, but what does matter is that I don’t cheat someone else. Am I insisting on having my own rights, or am I paying what I owe from Jesus Christ’s standpoint?
Do it quickly— bring yourself to judgment now. In moral and spiritual matters, you must act immediately. If you don’t, the inevitable, relentless process will begin to work. God is determined to have His child as pure, clean, and white as driven snow, and as long as there is disobedience in any point of His teaching, He will allow His Spirit to use whatever process it may take to bring us to obedience. The fact that we insist on proving that we are right is almost always a clear indication that we have some point of disobedience. No wonder the Spirit of God so strongly urges us to stay steadfastly in the light! (see John 3:19-21).
“Agree with your adversary quickly….” Have you suddenly reached a certain place in your relationship with someone, only to find that you have anger in your heart? Confess it quickly— make it right before God. Be reconciled to that person— do it now!
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Why We Keep Hurting People We Love - #7427
I was sitting in the van we drove back then, idling at a red light, when suddenly this cloud of dark, acrid smoke starts belching out of my exhaust pipe. It was disgusting! Apparently, the motorists behind me felt the same way because they started honking at me! That helped a lot! I just wish honking would have solved the problem. It didn't. One mechanic told me, "I wouldn't leave town with that van if I were you." And he was right. Guess what? The smoke wasn't the problem. The problem was the engine, and it didn't need to be fixed. It was too far gone for that. It had to be replaced!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why We Keep Hurting People We Love."
The van I drove away from that garage looked like the same van I drove into that garage. But that was not true! It was new on the inside, and as a result it was no longer leaving an ugly trail. Actually, a lot of us have some emissions coming out of our lives that aren't too pleasant either. Maybe you know some of those feelings, and too often there's anger spewing out. There's self-pity because you feel like a victim, or just critical attitudes, negative attitudes. You later regret what you said. You do something that you regret later. Maybe you're hooked on what you wish you could stop and wish you'd never started. We leave a trail behind us of people who have choked on the smoke and the pollution we put out.
And it's not that we haven't tried to fix it; New Years resolutions, religion, self-improvement. We've tried to stop polluting our own lives and the lives of those around us, but there's a problem inside. And God diagnoses that problem in His Book in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" The engine is shot and it can't be fixed. It has to be replaced.
Which leads us to God's tremendous offer; our word for today from the Word of God. This is great! Ezekiel 36:26, "I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you. I will remove from you a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit in you." God says our heart is too darkened and hardened by sin to ever quit putting out pollution.
We can certainly never get into His totally unpolluted heaven with this polluted heart. We all have it. Our only hope for this life and for eternal life is a new heart. And we can't perform heart surgery on ourselves. Only the Divine Surgeon can do that, and He stands ready to take that heart of yours that's been hardened by all the hurt, the anger, the sin, and He will replace it with a heart that is clean, and sensitive and new. He'll put His Holy Spirit in you to make you the person you've wanted to be but never could be.
But the operation had to be paid for; just as the engine replacement on my van had to be paid for. And, you know, I didn't have the money to pay. But to my amazement, some of God's people quietly got together and actually paid that bill. That's what Jesus was doing for you when He was agonizing on the cross. He was paying the bill for your sins that you could never pay so you could be forgiven.
You ready for a new heart? Well, then, it's time to open your heart to Jesus Christ. I would love to help you be sure that you have been forgiven, that you are free, and that you have begun this transforming, personal love relationship with Jesus Christ. That's why our website is there. It's ANewStory.com. I hope as soon as you can you will get there, meet me there and let me walk you through, using God's Word, how to be sure you belong to Him.
All our lives we try to stop the ugly stuff that comes out of us, but it just doesn't come until we get a new engine - a new heart. Jesus is waiting for you right now to tell Him that you want it.
The Apostle Paul says, "Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20).
You don't have to name a child after God, but then again, you could. Or you could draft a letter listing all His blessings or write a song in His honor. You could sponsor an orphan or adopt a child just because God adopted you. The surest path out of a slump is marked by the road sign, "Thank you."
But what of the disastrous days? Are you grateful then? Jesus was. "On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it…" (1 Corinthians 11:23-24). Not often are the words betrayed and thanks in the same sentence, much less in the same heart. Anyone can thank God for the light. Jesus teaches us to thank God for the night!
From You'll Get Through This
2 Samuel 17
Now Ahithophel urged Absalom, “Let me choose 12,000 men to start out after David tonight. 2 I will catch up with him while he is weary and discouraged. He and his troops will panic, and everyone will run away. Then I will kill only the king, 3 and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride returns to her husband. After all, it is only one man’s life that you seek.[e] Then you will be at peace with all the people.” 4 This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel.
Hushai Counters Ahithophel’s Advice
5 But then Absalom said, “Bring in Hushai the Arkite. Let’s see what he thinks about this.” 6 When Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had said. Then he asked, “What is your opinion? Should we follow Ahithophel’s advice? If not, what do you suggest?”
7 “Well,” Hushai replied to Absalom, “this time Ahithophel has made a mistake. 8 You know your father and his men; they are mighty warriors. Right now they are as enraged as a mother bear who has been robbed of her cubs. And remember that your father is an experienced man of war. He won’t be spending the night among the troops. 9 He has probably already hidden in some pit or cave. And when he comes out and attacks and a few of your men fall, there will be panic among your troops, and the word will spread that Absalom’s men are being slaughtered. 10 Then even the bravest soldiers, though they have the heart of a lion, will be paralyzed with fear. For all Israel knows what a mighty warrior your father is and how courageous his men are.
11 “I recommend that you mobilize the entire army of Israel, bringing them from as far away as Dan in the north and Beersheba in the south. That way you will have an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. And I advise that you personally lead the troops. 12 When we find David, we’ll fall on him like dew that falls on the ground. Then neither he nor any of his men will be left alive. 13 And if David were to escape into some town, you will have all Israel there at your command. Then we can take ropes and drag the walls of the town into the nearest valley until every stone is torn down.”
14 Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “Hushai’s advice is better than Ahithophel’s.” For the Lord had determined to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, which really was the better plan, so that he could bring disaster on Absalom!
Hushai Warns David to Escape
15 Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had said to Absalom and the elders of Israel and what he himself had advised instead. 16 “Quick!” he told them. “Find David and urge him not to stay at the shallows of the Jordan River[f] tonight. He must go across at once into the wilderness beyond. Otherwise he will die and his entire army with him.”
17 Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been staying at En-rogel so as not to be seen entering and leaving the city. Arrangements had been made for a servant girl to bring them the message they were to take to King David. 18 But a boy spotted them at En-rogel, and he told Absalom about it. So they quickly escaped to Bahurim, where a man hid them down inside a well in his courtyard. 19 The man’s wife put a cloth over the top of the well and scattered grain on it to dry in the sun; so no one suspected they were there.
20 When Absalom’s men arrived, they asked her, “Have you seen Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”
The woman replied, “They were here, but they crossed over the brook.” Absalom’s men looked for them without success and returned to Jerusalem.
21 Then the two men crawled out of the well and hurried on to King David. “Quick!” they told him, “cross the Jordan tonight!” And they told him how Ahithophel had advised that he be captured and killed. 22 So David and all the people with him went across the Jordan River during the night, and they were all on the other bank before dawn.
23 When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey, went to his hometown, set his affairs in order, and hanged himself. He died there and was buried in the family tomb.
24 David soon arrived at Mahanaim. By now, Absalom had mobilized the entire army of Israel and was leading his troops across the Jordan River. 25 Absalom had appointed Amasa as commander of his army, replacing Joab, who had been commander under David. (Amasa was Joab’s cousin. His father was Jether,[g] an Ishmaelite.[h] His mother, Abigail daughter of Nahash, was the sister of Joab’s mother, Zeruiah.) 26 Absalom and the Israelite army set up camp in the land of Gilead.
27 When David arrived at Mahanaim, he was warmly greeted by Shobi son of Nahash, who came from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and by Makir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and by Barzillai of Gilead from Rogelim. 28 They brought sleeping mats, cooking pots, serving bowls, wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans, lentils, 29 honey, butter, sheep, goats, and cheese for David and those who were with him. For they said, “You must all be very hungry and tired and thirsty after your long march through the wilderness.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Read: Job 19:23-29
“Oh, that my words could be recorded.
Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
engraved forever in the rock.
25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26 And after my body has decayed,
yet in my body I will see God![a]
27 I will see him for myself.
Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
I am overwhelmed at the thought!
28 “How dare you go on persecuting me,
saying, ‘It’s his own fault’?
29 You should fear punishment yourselves,
for your attitude deserves punishment.
Then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”
Footnotes:
19:26 Or without my body I will see God. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
INSIGHT:
Accused of secret sin that had caused his suffering, Job maintained his innocence. In verse 25 he speaks of a Redeemer who will one day vindicate him. The word used here for “Redeemer” frequently refers in the Old Testament to the kinsman-redeemer, the person who defended or avenged the cause of another, or who provided protection or legal aid for close relatives who could not do so for themselves (Deut. 19:6-12; Num. 35:19–27; Prov. 23:10–11; Jer. 50:34). Some see a correlation between the Old Testament kinsman-redeemer and the redemptive ministry of Jesus Christ.
Christ the Redeemer
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
I know that my Redeemer lives. —Job 19:25
The famous statue Christ the Redeemer overlooks the city of Rio de Janeiro. The statue is a model of Christ with His arms extended so that His body forms the shape of a cross. Brazilian architect Heitor da Silva Costa designed the figure. He imagined that the city’s residents would see it as the first image to emerge from the darkness at dawn. At dusk, he hoped the city dwellers would view the setting sun as a halo behind the statue’s head.
There is value in keeping our eyes on our Redeemer each day, during the good times and the difficult times. As he suffered, Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth” (Job 19:25).
The cry of Job’s heart points us to Jesus—our living Savior who will visit the earth again one day (1 Thess. 4:16-18). Keeping our eyes on Jesus means remembering that we have been rescued from our sin. Jesus “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people” (Titus 2:14).
Anyone who has accepted Jesus as Savior has a reason to be glad today. No matter what we endure on earth, we can have hope today and look forward to enjoying eternity with Him.
Dear Jesus, You are my rescuer. Because You died and rose again, I am free from the consequences of my sin forever. Thank You for redeeming my life.
Through His cross and resurrection, Jesus rescues and redeems.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Do It Now!
Agree with your adversary quickly… —Matthew 5:25
In this verse, Jesus Christ laid down a very important principle by saying, “Do what you know you must do— now. Do it quickly. If you don’t, an inevitable process will begin to work ‘till you have paid the last penny’ (Matthew 5:26) in pain, agony, and distress.” God’s laws are unchangeable and there is no escape from them. The teachings of Jesus always penetrate right to the heart of our being.
Wanting to make sure that my adversary gives me all my rights is a natural thing. But Jesus says that it is a matter of inescapable and eternal importance to me that I pay my adversary what I owe him. From our Lord’s standpoint it doesn’t matter whether I am cheated or not, but what does matter is that I don’t cheat someone else. Am I insisting on having my own rights, or am I paying what I owe from Jesus Christ’s standpoint?
Do it quickly— bring yourself to judgment now. In moral and spiritual matters, you must act immediately. If you don’t, the inevitable, relentless process will begin to work. God is determined to have His child as pure, clean, and white as driven snow, and as long as there is disobedience in any point of His teaching, He will allow His Spirit to use whatever process it may take to bring us to obedience. The fact that we insist on proving that we are right is almost always a clear indication that we have some point of disobedience. No wonder the Spirit of God so strongly urges us to stay steadfastly in the light! (see John 3:19-21).
“Agree with your adversary quickly….” Have you suddenly reached a certain place in your relationship with someone, only to find that you have anger in your heart? Confess it quickly— make it right before God. Be reconciled to that person— do it now!
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Why We Keep Hurting People We Love - #7427
I was sitting in the van we drove back then, idling at a red light, when suddenly this cloud of dark, acrid smoke starts belching out of my exhaust pipe. It was disgusting! Apparently, the motorists behind me felt the same way because they started honking at me! That helped a lot! I just wish honking would have solved the problem. It didn't. One mechanic told me, "I wouldn't leave town with that van if I were you." And he was right. Guess what? The smoke wasn't the problem. The problem was the engine, and it didn't need to be fixed. It was too far gone for that. It had to be replaced!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why We Keep Hurting People We Love."
The van I drove away from that garage looked like the same van I drove into that garage. But that was not true! It was new on the inside, and as a result it was no longer leaving an ugly trail. Actually, a lot of us have some emissions coming out of our lives that aren't too pleasant either. Maybe you know some of those feelings, and too often there's anger spewing out. There's self-pity because you feel like a victim, or just critical attitudes, negative attitudes. You later regret what you said. You do something that you regret later. Maybe you're hooked on what you wish you could stop and wish you'd never started. We leave a trail behind us of people who have choked on the smoke and the pollution we put out.
And it's not that we haven't tried to fix it; New Years resolutions, religion, self-improvement. We've tried to stop polluting our own lives and the lives of those around us, but there's a problem inside. And God diagnoses that problem in His Book in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" The engine is shot and it can't be fixed. It has to be replaced.
Which leads us to God's tremendous offer; our word for today from the Word of God. This is great! Ezekiel 36:26, "I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you. I will remove from you a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit in you." God says our heart is too darkened and hardened by sin to ever quit putting out pollution.
We can certainly never get into His totally unpolluted heaven with this polluted heart. We all have it. Our only hope for this life and for eternal life is a new heart. And we can't perform heart surgery on ourselves. Only the Divine Surgeon can do that, and He stands ready to take that heart of yours that's been hardened by all the hurt, the anger, the sin, and He will replace it with a heart that is clean, and sensitive and new. He'll put His Holy Spirit in you to make you the person you've wanted to be but never could be.
But the operation had to be paid for; just as the engine replacement on my van had to be paid for. And, you know, I didn't have the money to pay. But to my amazement, some of God's people quietly got together and actually paid that bill. That's what Jesus was doing for you when He was agonizing on the cross. He was paying the bill for your sins that you could never pay so you could be forgiven.
You ready for a new heart? Well, then, it's time to open your heart to Jesus Christ. I would love to help you be sure that you have been forgiven, that you are free, and that you have begun this transforming, personal love relationship with Jesus Christ. That's why our website is there. It's ANewStory.com. I hope as soon as you can you will get there, meet me there and let me walk you through, using God's Word, how to be sure you belong to Him.
All our lives we try to stop the ugly stuff that comes out of us, but it just doesn't come until we get a new engine - a new heart. Jesus is waiting for you right now to tell Him that you want it.
Monday, June 29, 2015
2 Samuel 16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Give Thanks
Some things just weren’t made to coexist. Long-tailed cats and rocking chairs? Bulls in a china shop? Not a good idea. Blessings and bitterness? The mixture doesn’t go over well with God. Combine heavenly kindness with earthly ingratitude and expect a sour concoction. Perhaps you’ve sampled it. Gratitude doesn’t come naturally. Self-pity does. Bellyaches do. Grumbles and mumbles—no one has to remind us to offer them. Yet they don’t mix well with the kindness we’ve been given.
Gratitude gets us through the hard stuff. To reflect on your blessings is to rehearse God’s accomplishments. To rehearse His accomplishments is to discover His heart. Gratitude always leaves us looking at God and away from dread. “Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).
From You’ll Get Through This
2 Samuel 16
David and Ziba
When David had gone a little beyond the summit of the Mount of Olives, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth,[a] was waiting there for him. He had two donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 bunches of summer fruit, and a wineskin full of wine.
2 “What are these for?” the king asked Ziba.
Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s people to ride on, and the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat. The wine is for those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
3 “And where is Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson?” the king asked him.
“He stayed in Jerusalem,” Ziba replied. “He said, ‘Today I will get back the kingdom of my grandfather Saul.’”
4 “In that case,” the king told Ziba, “I give you everything Mephibosheth owns.”
“I bow before you,” Ziba replied. “May I always be pleasing to you, my lord the king.”
Shimei Curses David
5 As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul’s family. 6 He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him. 7 “Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. 8 “The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!”
9 “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. “Let me go over and cut off his head!”
10 “No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”
11 Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul[b] have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it. 12 And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged[c] and will bless me because of these curses today.” 13 So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David.
14 The king and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River.[d]
Ahithophel Advises Absalom
15 Meanwhile, Absalom and all the army of Israel arrived at Jerusalem, accompanied by Ahithophel. 16 When David’s friend Hushai the Arkite arrived, he went immediately to see Absalom. “Long live the king!” he exclaimed. “Long live the king!”
17 “Is this the way you treat your friend David?” Absalom asked him. “Why aren’t you with him?”
18 “I’m here because I belong to the man who is chosen by the Lord and by all the men of Israel,” Hushai replied. 19 “And anyway, why shouldn’t I serve you? Just as I was your father’s adviser, now I will be your adviser!”
20 Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, “What should I do next?”
21 Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.” 22 So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines.
23 Absalom followed Ahithophel’s advice, just as David had done. For every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God.
Footnotes:
16:1 Mephibosheth is another name for Merib-baal.
16:11 Hebrew this Benjaminite.
16:12 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads see my iniquity.
16:14 As in Greek version (see also 17:16); Hebrew reads when they reached their destination.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, June 29, 2015
Read: Genesis 19:12-25
Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 13 For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.”
14 So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking.
15 At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!”
16 When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. 17 When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
18 “Oh no, my lord!” Lot begged. 19 “You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown such great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. 20 See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.”
21 “All right,” the angel said, “I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village. 22 But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.” (This explains why that village was known as Zoar, which means “little place.”)
23 Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon. 24 Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25 He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation.
Rescuing the Reluctant
By David C. McCasland
The men took hold of his hand, . . . the Lord being merciful to him, and they . . . set him outside the city. —Genesis 19:16
Many years ago during a water safety class, we were taught how to save a drowning person who is resisting rescue. “Approach the person from behind,” the instructor told us. “Place one arm across the person’s chest and flailing arms, and swim toward safety. If you approach from the front, the person may grab you and pull both of you down.” Panic and fear can paralyze the ability to think and act wisely.
When two angels sent by God came to rescue Lot and his family from the impending destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:12-13), they encountered resistance. Lot’s sons-in-law thought the warning was a joke (v. 14). When the angels told Lot to hurry and leave, he hesitated (v. 15). At that point, the two angels “took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters,” and led them safely out of the city because God was merciful toward them (v. 16).
When we reflect on our journey of faith in Christ, we can see God’s faithfulness in overcoming our reluctance and resistance. When we encounter people lashing out in spiritual desperation and fear, may we have God’s wisdom to show His love to them—and to every person who is reluctant to be rescued by Him.
Father, as I look at my own heart, I know I have resisted You and have been reluctant at times to come to You. Thank You for Your mercy. Help me to share with others who You are.
God’s mercy can overcome our resistance.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, June 29, 2015
The Strictest Discipline
If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. —Matthew 5:30
Jesus did not say that everyone must cut off his right hand, but that “if your right hand causes you to sin” in your walk with Him, then it is better to “cut it off.” There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God you cannot do them. Your right hand is one of the best things you have, but Jesus says that if it hinders you in following His precepts, then “cut it off.” The principle taught here is the strictest discipline or lesson that ever hit humankind.
When God changes you through regeneration, giving you new life through spiritual rebirth, your life initially has the characteristic of being maimed. There are a hundred and one things that you dare not do— things that would be sin for you, and would be recognized as sin by those who really know you. But the unspiritual people around you will say, “What’s so wrong with doing that? How absurd you are!” There has never yet been a saint who has not lived a maimed life initially. Yet it is better to enter into life maimed but lovely in God’s sight than to appear lovely to man’s eyes but lame to God’s. At first, Jesus Christ through His Spirit has to restrain you from doing a great many things that may be perfectly right for everyone else but not right for you. Yet, see that you don’t use your restrictions to criticize someone else.
The Christian life is a maimed life initially, but in Matthew 5:48 Jesus gave us the picture of a perfectly well-rounded life— “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, June 29, 2015
Still Filming - #7426
In our treasury of family videos - now DVDs - we have a few moments that are considered classics. Most folks outside the family wouldn't think so, but you had to be there. The classics are usually either very touching or give us a chance to laugh very loudly at one of the five Hutchcrafts; such as the one from our Alaska trip. Our oldest son (we will call him son number one for the purpose of this illustration), was about 14, the youngest son, (we'll call him son number two) was about 12; at the age where a boy's voice isn't quite sure where it will go on the next word. You know? Now, we're filming some dog team races, and we trusted the camera to our least-technical family member - son number one. Like Father, like son. Now, son number two, being more technically oriented, was providing unsolicited coaching on video filming.
Well, the race ended. And son number one was no longer aiming the camera. And we all assumed that since the show was over the camera was off. Oh, no! So today here is our video memory: We get seasick watching this video that careened from the pavement to a dirty snow drift to the sky. I mean, it's all over the place! And there in the background you just hear son number two with his frustrated 12-year-old voice squeaking, "You're still filming!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Still Filming."
The camera was running, even though we thought it wasn't. God's camera is like that. Our word for today from the Word of God, Proverbs 5:21. It happens to be in the context of someone sinning sexually and thinking no one knows. Here's what it says, "A man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths." So it is in the midst of "nobody knows". That's why God says in Numbers 32:23, "Be sure your sins will find you out."
See, there are those times in our lives when it feels as if we're getting away with our sin. Nobody knows. When you're relaxing or you're in a place where nobody knows you, your guard is down. The wrong stuff just sort of slides into your mind or into your actions. Or when you're drinking or on drugs it seems as if you're not accountable for what you're doing. "Hey, I don't even remember what I did!" God does. He's still filming.
When you're alone or you're someplace where no one knows you, you feel unseen, anonymous. Your heart leads you to believe that this one's sliding by. God is still filming. When you rationalize, "Oh, I'm not hurting anyone" you're very wrong. Jesus is seeing and hearing it all, and you are deeply wounding the One who died to pay for the very junk you're doing.
If Jesus was there watching it all would you do it? Would you still say that? He is, and someday you're going to meet what God has been recording unless you repent of it and leave it at Jesus' cross and make a clean start. Look, you're already meeting the consequences of that sin; maybe emotional consequences, family consequences, physical, distance from God, damage to your reputation, no peace, prayers that aren't answered.
Right now your Savior's calling you to make a new beginning, to drop the junk He died for. Listen to 1 Peter 2:24, "He himself bore our sins (your sins) in His own body on the tree that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed." For many, the great shock of God's judgment seat will be in essence what God has recorded on His video. "God, you mean You were still filming?"
Yes. Remember, "A man's ways are in full view of the Lord" (Proverbs 5:21). You're not ready for eternity. You're not ready for that last breath; that last heart beat until you know you have had every sin forgiven and there's not one that God has missed. But there's not one that Jesus didn't pay for when he died on the cross.
Today is your day to be forgiven. Today's your day for the wall to come down between you and God. If you're ready for that, you say, "Jesus, I'm yours." Go to our website. Let me invite you there - ANewStory.com, because this could be for you, today, page one, chapter one of your new story.
Some things just weren’t made to coexist. Long-tailed cats and rocking chairs? Bulls in a china shop? Not a good idea. Blessings and bitterness? The mixture doesn’t go over well with God. Combine heavenly kindness with earthly ingratitude and expect a sour concoction. Perhaps you’ve sampled it. Gratitude doesn’t come naturally. Self-pity does. Bellyaches do. Grumbles and mumbles—no one has to remind us to offer them. Yet they don’t mix well with the kindness we’ve been given.
Gratitude gets us through the hard stuff. To reflect on your blessings is to rehearse God’s accomplishments. To rehearse His accomplishments is to discover His heart. Gratitude always leaves us looking at God and away from dread. “Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).
From You’ll Get Through This
2 Samuel 16
David and Ziba
When David had gone a little beyond the summit of the Mount of Olives, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth,[a] was waiting there for him. He had two donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 bunches of summer fruit, and a wineskin full of wine.
2 “What are these for?” the king asked Ziba.
Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s people to ride on, and the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat. The wine is for those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
3 “And where is Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson?” the king asked him.
“He stayed in Jerusalem,” Ziba replied. “He said, ‘Today I will get back the kingdom of my grandfather Saul.’”
4 “In that case,” the king told Ziba, “I give you everything Mephibosheth owns.”
“I bow before you,” Ziba replied. “May I always be pleasing to you, my lord the king.”
Shimei Curses David
5 As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul’s family. 6 He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him. 7 “Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. 8 “The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!”
9 “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. “Let me go over and cut off his head!”
10 “No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”
11 Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul[b] have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it. 12 And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged[c] and will bless me because of these curses today.” 13 So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David.
14 The king and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River.[d]
Ahithophel Advises Absalom
15 Meanwhile, Absalom and all the army of Israel arrived at Jerusalem, accompanied by Ahithophel. 16 When David’s friend Hushai the Arkite arrived, he went immediately to see Absalom. “Long live the king!” he exclaimed. “Long live the king!”
17 “Is this the way you treat your friend David?” Absalom asked him. “Why aren’t you with him?”
18 “I’m here because I belong to the man who is chosen by the Lord and by all the men of Israel,” Hushai replied. 19 “And anyway, why shouldn’t I serve you? Just as I was your father’s adviser, now I will be your adviser!”
20 Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, “What should I do next?”
21 Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.” 22 So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines.
23 Absalom followed Ahithophel’s advice, just as David had done. For every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God.
Footnotes:
16:1 Mephibosheth is another name for Merib-baal.
16:11 Hebrew this Benjaminite.
16:12 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads see my iniquity.
16:14 As in Greek version (see also 17:16); Hebrew reads when they reached their destination.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, June 29, 2015
Read: Genesis 19:12-25
Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 13 For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.”
14 So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking.
15 At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!”
16 When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. 17 When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
18 “Oh no, my lord!” Lot begged. 19 “You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown such great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. 20 See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.”
21 “All right,” the angel said, “I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village. 22 But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.” (This explains why that village was known as Zoar, which means “little place.”)
23 Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon. 24 Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25 He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation.
Rescuing the Reluctant
By David C. McCasland
The men took hold of his hand, . . . the Lord being merciful to him, and they . . . set him outside the city. —Genesis 19:16
Many years ago during a water safety class, we were taught how to save a drowning person who is resisting rescue. “Approach the person from behind,” the instructor told us. “Place one arm across the person’s chest and flailing arms, and swim toward safety. If you approach from the front, the person may grab you and pull both of you down.” Panic and fear can paralyze the ability to think and act wisely.
When two angels sent by God came to rescue Lot and his family from the impending destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:12-13), they encountered resistance. Lot’s sons-in-law thought the warning was a joke (v. 14). When the angels told Lot to hurry and leave, he hesitated (v. 15). At that point, the two angels “took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters,” and led them safely out of the city because God was merciful toward them (v. 16).
When we reflect on our journey of faith in Christ, we can see God’s faithfulness in overcoming our reluctance and resistance. When we encounter people lashing out in spiritual desperation and fear, may we have God’s wisdom to show His love to them—and to every person who is reluctant to be rescued by Him.
Father, as I look at my own heart, I know I have resisted You and have been reluctant at times to come to You. Thank You for Your mercy. Help me to share with others who You are.
God’s mercy can overcome our resistance.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, June 29, 2015
The Strictest Discipline
If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. —Matthew 5:30
Jesus did not say that everyone must cut off his right hand, but that “if your right hand causes you to sin” in your walk with Him, then it is better to “cut it off.” There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God you cannot do them. Your right hand is one of the best things you have, but Jesus says that if it hinders you in following His precepts, then “cut it off.” The principle taught here is the strictest discipline or lesson that ever hit humankind.
When God changes you through regeneration, giving you new life through spiritual rebirth, your life initially has the characteristic of being maimed. There are a hundred and one things that you dare not do— things that would be sin for you, and would be recognized as sin by those who really know you. But the unspiritual people around you will say, “What’s so wrong with doing that? How absurd you are!” There has never yet been a saint who has not lived a maimed life initially. Yet it is better to enter into life maimed but lovely in God’s sight than to appear lovely to man’s eyes but lame to God’s. At first, Jesus Christ through His Spirit has to restrain you from doing a great many things that may be perfectly right for everyone else but not right for you. Yet, see that you don’t use your restrictions to criticize someone else.
The Christian life is a maimed life initially, but in Matthew 5:48 Jesus gave us the picture of a perfectly well-rounded life— “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, June 29, 2015
Still Filming - #7426
In our treasury of family videos - now DVDs - we have a few moments that are considered classics. Most folks outside the family wouldn't think so, but you had to be there. The classics are usually either very touching or give us a chance to laugh very loudly at one of the five Hutchcrafts; such as the one from our Alaska trip. Our oldest son (we will call him son number one for the purpose of this illustration), was about 14, the youngest son, (we'll call him son number two) was about 12; at the age where a boy's voice isn't quite sure where it will go on the next word. You know? Now, we're filming some dog team races, and we trusted the camera to our least-technical family member - son number one. Like Father, like son. Now, son number two, being more technically oriented, was providing unsolicited coaching on video filming.
Well, the race ended. And son number one was no longer aiming the camera. And we all assumed that since the show was over the camera was off. Oh, no! So today here is our video memory: We get seasick watching this video that careened from the pavement to a dirty snow drift to the sky. I mean, it's all over the place! And there in the background you just hear son number two with his frustrated 12-year-old voice squeaking, "You're still filming!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Still Filming."
The camera was running, even though we thought it wasn't. God's camera is like that. Our word for today from the Word of God, Proverbs 5:21. It happens to be in the context of someone sinning sexually and thinking no one knows. Here's what it says, "A man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths." So it is in the midst of "nobody knows". That's why God says in Numbers 32:23, "Be sure your sins will find you out."
See, there are those times in our lives when it feels as if we're getting away with our sin. Nobody knows. When you're relaxing or you're in a place where nobody knows you, your guard is down. The wrong stuff just sort of slides into your mind or into your actions. Or when you're drinking or on drugs it seems as if you're not accountable for what you're doing. "Hey, I don't even remember what I did!" God does. He's still filming.
When you're alone or you're someplace where no one knows you, you feel unseen, anonymous. Your heart leads you to believe that this one's sliding by. God is still filming. When you rationalize, "Oh, I'm not hurting anyone" you're very wrong. Jesus is seeing and hearing it all, and you are deeply wounding the One who died to pay for the very junk you're doing.
If Jesus was there watching it all would you do it? Would you still say that? He is, and someday you're going to meet what God has been recording unless you repent of it and leave it at Jesus' cross and make a clean start. Look, you're already meeting the consequences of that sin; maybe emotional consequences, family consequences, physical, distance from God, damage to your reputation, no peace, prayers that aren't answered.
Right now your Savior's calling you to make a new beginning, to drop the junk He died for. Listen to 1 Peter 2:24, "He himself bore our sins (your sins) in His own body on the tree that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed." For many, the great shock of God's judgment seat will be in essence what God has recorded on His video. "God, you mean You were still filming?"
Yes. Remember, "A man's ways are in full view of the Lord" (Proverbs 5:21). You're not ready for eternity. You're not ready for that last breath; that last heart beat until you know you have had every sin forgiven and there's not one that God has missed. But there's not one that Jesus didn't pay for when he died on the cross.
Today is your day to be forgiven. Today's your day for the wall to come down between you and God. If you're ready for that, you say, "Jesus, I'm yours." Go to our website. Let me invite you there - ANewStory.com, because this could be for you, today, page one, chapter one of your new story.
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