Max Lucado Daily: How's Your Marriage
How's your marriage? On your wedding day, God loaned you an intricately crafted, precisely formed masterpiece. He entrusted you with a one-of-a-kind creation. Value her. Honor him. Some men collect wives as trophies; a means for pleasure, instead of a part of God's plan. Don't make this mistake. Be fiercely loyal to one spouse. Fiercely loyal. Don't even look twice at someone else. No flirting. No teasing. No loitering at her desk or lingering in his office. Who cares if you come across as rude or a prude? You've made a promise. Keep it.
Your spouse is not your trophy but your treasure. Make your wife the object of your highest devotion. Make your husband the recipient of your deepest passion. Love the one who wears your ring. Make her, make him your giant-size privilege, your towering priority!
From Facing Your Giants
Psalm 22
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.[f]
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.[g]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth[h] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[i] my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you[j] I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
Psalm 22:1 In Hebrew texts 22:1-31 is numbered 22:2-32.
Psalm 22:2 Or night, and am not silent
Psalm 22:3 Or Yet you are holy, / enthroned on the praises of Israel
Psalm 22:15 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text strength
Psalm 22:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text me, / like a lion
Psalm 22:25 Hebrew him
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, August 07, 2015
Read: Philippians 1:1-11
Greetings from Paul
This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders[a] and deacons.
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
7 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.
9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ[b]—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
Footnotes:
1:1 Or overseers; or bishops.
1:11 Greek with the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ.
INSIGHT:
Notice the depth of love Paul has for his fellow believers at Philippi. This is seen in how he speaks to them and what he desires for them. He speaks as one who loves them and longs for them deeply (v. 8). His desires are seen in his prayers—that they will experience a growing yet wise love (v. 9), a discerning yet genuine spirit (v. 10), and a fruitful and Christ-honoring life (v. 11). These are great things we too can pray for in the lives of those we love and in our own lives as well. Bill Crowder
Faultfinders Anonymous
By David McCasland
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more. —Philippians 1:9
Like many people, when I read a newspaper or magazine I notice the misteaks in grammar and spelling. (You saw that, didn’t you!) I’m not trying to find errors; they leap off the page at me! My usual reaction is to criticize the publication and the people who produce it. “Why don’t they use ‘spell check’ or hire a proofreader?”
You may have a similar experience in your area of expertise. It seems that often, the more we know about something, the more judgmental we become over mistakes. It can infect our relationships with people as well.
Yet Philippians 1:9 expresses a different approach. Paul wrote, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment.” God’s plan is that the more we know and understand, the more we love. Rather than cultivating a critical spirit and pretending we don’t notice or don’t care, our understanding should nourish empathy. Criticism is replaced by compassion.
Instead of our being faultfinders, the Lord calls us to be “filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (v. 11).
When the Lord fills our hearts, we can overlook mistakes, hold our criticism, and love others, no matter how much we know about them!
Lord, by Your grace, please replace my critical spirit with Your love and compassion for others.
To err is human; to forgive, divine. Alexander Pope
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 7, 2015
Prayer in the Father’s House
…they found Him in the temple….And He said to them, "…Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?" —Luke 2:46, 49
Our Lord’s childhood was not immaturity waiting to grow into manhood— His childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy, innocent child of God as a result of my identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look at my life as being in my Father’s house? Is the Son of God living in His Father’s house within me?
The only abiding reality is God Himself, and His order comes to me moment by moment. Am I continually in touch with the reality of God, or do I pray only when things have gone wrong— when there is some disturbance in my life? I must learn to identify myself closely with my Lord in ways of holy fellowship and oneness that some of us have not yet even begun to learn. “…I must be about My Father’s business”— and I must learn to live every moment of my life in my Father’s house.
Think about your own circumstances. Are you so closely identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that everything comes from His hands? Is the eternal Child in you living in His Father’s house? Is the grace of His ministering life being worked out through you in your home, your business, and in your circle of friends? Have you been wondering why you are going through certain circumstances? In fact, it is not that you have to go through them. It is because of your relationship with the Son of God who comes, through the providential will of His Father, into your life. You must allow Him to have His way with you, staying in perfect oneness with Him.
The life of your Lord is to become your vital, simple life, and the way He worked and lived among people while here on earth must be the way He works and lives in you.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We all have the trick of saying—If only I were not where I am!—If only I had not got the kind of people I have to live with! If our faith or our religion does not help us in the conditions we are in, we have either a further struggle to go through, or we had better abandon that faith and religion. The Shadow of an Agony, 1178 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, August 07, 2015
Handling the Overwhelming - #7455
Five-year-old Jeremy started school in the Fall, and it was more than he bargained for. It was his second morning of his kindergarten experience. Mom got Jeremy up and started helping him get ready. And then came this question, "Do I have to go back to school?" He wasn't counting on an encore. His rationale was, "Well, I already went yesterday." His mother told us, "I didn't have the heart to tell him he's got twelve more years of going to school." Well, he went off to day two - of year one - of twelve more years.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Handling the Overwhelming."
I think Jeremy was feeling overwhelmed, and he would have sunk if his mom had tried to explain the educational marathon he had ahead. He had no idea! But Jeremy will make it. Just like you did. And just like I did. Not by thinking about twelve years, but by doing that school thing one day at a time.
Now, you've probably gotten over the idea of school being overwhelming, but little Jeremy could never guess that life is a series of challenges that seem overwhelming. School is the least of it. Maybe you're facing one of those right now and it looks huge. You've got this bombardment of responsibilities and stressful deadlines, the lifetime ahead of raising that child. Or it's really hard to make your marriage work right now, or you've got a long medical marathon ahead of you. Maybe you're trying to dig out of a financial pit, or you're just trying to live your life for Jesus Christ.
Our word for today from the Word of God is from Deuteronomy 7:17. God writes to the Jews back then, "You may say to yourselves, 'These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?' But do not be afraid." See, as they enter the Promised Land they are facing huge walled cities, barbaric tribes, overwhelming obstacles and challenges.
Continuing in verse 22, "Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little." Man! What hope giving words! God will win this one with you and for you, but not in one great victory. Jeremy won't be able to get his education in one day or one week. It's going to be little by little.
That's God's plan for you to handle the overwhelming, little by little. Break it into daily chunks, manageable pieces. Have a good day. Let Jesus be the Lord of the undone at the end of that day. Remember, daily is how He promised He would give you the strength. He said, "Your strength will equal your days." Not weeks, not months, not years - days. There's no strength for Friday when it's Thursday. You only get Thursday's strength on Thursday. You run ahead of your strength and you'll sink like an army running ahead of its supply lines.
Maybe you've been wondering how you're going to ever beat that sin that has beaten you so many times, or how you can carry out your desire to dedicate your whole life to Jesus. You know what you do? You win for one day. You let Jesus be Lord of that weakness for this day. Then you do another twenty-four hour victory. And you don't try to dedicate your life to Jesus unless you do it by dedicating each new day. There's a reason Jesus said, "If any man would come after Me, let him take up his cross daily and follow Me." You give Him a day, you give Him the next day, give Him the day after that and He'll make a life out of it.
The Christian life is the sum total of a thousand little victories one day at a time. Just like little Jeremy going to school. He didn't have to worry. You don't have to worry about all those months and all those years ahead. The secret of handling the overwhelming is to do it little by little. Remember, "This is the day the Lord has made."
Friday, August 7, 2015
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Psalm 21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A Cure for the High and Mighty
God doesn't dislike arrogance…he hates it. Could he state it any clearer than Proverbs 8:13: "I hate pride and arrogance." And then a few chapters later it says God can't stomach arrogance or pretense. Believe me, he'll put those upstarts in their place. You don't want God to do that. It's far wiser to descend the mountain than fall from it!
Pursue humility. Humility doesn't mean you think less of yourself but that you think of yourself less. Paul described it in Romans 12:3, "Don't cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given to you." God has a cure for the high and mighty: come down from the mountain before he employs it. You'll be amazed what you hear and who you see. And you'll breathe a whole lot easier!
From Facing Your Giants
Psalm 21
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
How the king rejoices in your strength, O Lord!
He shouts with joy because you give him victory.
2 For you have given him his heart’s desire;
you have withheld nothing he requested. Interlude
3 You welcomed him back with success and prosperity.
You placed a crown of finest gold on his head.
4 He asked you to preserve his life,
and you granted his request.
The days of his life stretch on forever.
5 Your victory brings him great honor,
and you have clothed him with splendor and majesty.
6 You have endowed him with eternal blessings
and given him the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord.
The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling.
8 You will capture all your enemies.
Your strong right hand will seize all who hate you.
9 You will throw them in a flaming furnace
when you appear.
The Lord will consume them in his anger;
fire will devour them.
10 You will wipe their children from the face of the earth;
they will never have descendants.
11 Although they plot against you,
their evil schemes will never succeed.
12 For they will turn and run
when they see your arrows aimed at them.
13 Rise up, O Lord, in all your power.
With music and singing we celebrate your mighty acts.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, August 06, 2015
Read: John 1:6-14
God sent a man, John the Baptist,[a] 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
14 So the Word became human[b] and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.[c] And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
Footnotes:
1:6 Greek a man named John.
1:14a Greek became flesh.
1:14b Or grace and truth; also in 1:17.
INSIGHT:
The gospel of John was written to testify that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). From the onset, John presents Jesus as the Logos, the self-existent, pre-existent, omnipotent, eternal, creator God who spoke everything into existence (1:1-5). John also presents Jesus as God Incarnate—God in the flesh (vv. 9-14). The eternal God entered the world He created and became human like us in order to live with us (vv.11,14; Matt. 1:23). The New Testament also affirms Christ’s humanity (Gal. 4:4; 1 Tim. 3:16, Heb. 2:14-17). Sim Kay Tee
Family Privilege
By Lawrence Darmani
As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God. —John 1:12
When I was in primary school in Ghana, I had to live with a loving and caring family away from my parents. One day, all the children assembled for a special family meeting. The first part involved all of us sharing individual experiences. But next, when only “blood children” were required to be present, I was politely excluded. Then the stark reality hit me: I was not a “child of the house.” Despite their love for me, the family required that I should be excused because I was only living with them; I was not a legal part of their family.
This incident reminds me of John 1:11-12. The Son of God came to His own people and they rejected Him. Those who received Him then, and receive Him now, are given the right to become God’s children. When we are adopted into His family, “the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom. 8:16).
Jesus doesn't exclude anyone who is adopted by the Father.
Jesus doesn't exclude anybody who is adopted by the Father. Rather, He welcomes us as a permanent part of His family. “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
Thank You, Father, for making it possible for me to be Your child. I’m grateful to be Yours and not to have to worry about whether You will remove me from Your family. I am Yours and You are mine.
Assurance of salvation is not in what you know but who you know.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 6, 2015
The Cross in Prayer
In that day you will ask in My name… —John 16:26
We too often think of the Cross of Christ as something we have to get through, yet we get through for the purpose of getting into it. The Cross represents only one thing for us— complete, entire, absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ— and there is nothing in which this identification is more real to us than in prayer.
“Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Then why should we ask? The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only because we want answers, we will become irritated and angry with God. We receive an answer every time we pray, but it does not always come in the way we expect, and our spiritual irritation shows our refusal to identify ourselves truly with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove that God answers prayer, but to be living trophies of God’s grace.
“…I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you…” (John 16:26-27). Have you reached such a level of intimacy with God that the only thing that can account for your prayer life is that it has become one with the prayer life of Jesus Christ? Has our Lord exchanged your life with His vital life? If so, then “in that day” you will be so closely identified with Jesus that there will be no distinction.
When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to place the blame on someone else. That is always a trap of Satan. When you seem to have no answer, there is always a reason— God uses these times to give you deep personal instruction, and it is not for anyone else but you.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.
Disciples Indeed
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, August 06, 2015
Riding to Glory - #7454
I met a man from St. Joseph, Missouri, and I surprised him with my trivia knowledge when I said, "Oh, Pony Express country, right?" He confirmed my recollection that his town was the beginning of the famous Pony Express. What guys those were! Man, they rode their way right into the history books. They're practically legends of the Old West. I mean, they rode endless hours through hostile territory, risked their lives to deliver the mail to the West Coast. You knew that part. What you may not know is how many guys we're talking about here in this legendary operation-just 80 riders, and only one mail delivery was ever lost. How long did the Pony Express run? Only 18 months! It only took a few people a short time to make a great impact!
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Riding to Glory."
For most of us, our ride through this life will last, what do they say on average, 70 years or so? Some will get more, some a lot less. The question is how much of a mark will you leave in the years you have left? I think inside all of us is this deep desire to make our life count, to do something significant while we're here.
Maybe you know that restlessness that says, "I want to make a much greater difference with the rest of my life than I have made up until now." Then you need to hear our word for today from the Word of God in Daniel 12:3. It's God's roadmap to making the greatest possible mark you can make with the one life you have. Here's what it says. "Those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever." Wow!
God says the way to have a life that matters forever is to "lead many to righteousness." And this side of Jesus' cross, we know that means leading many people to Jesus. Now what immortalized those young men of the Pony Express? They were people with a message willing to risk whatever necessary to deliver that message. And they made a huge mark in a very short time.
If you belong to Jesus, you've got to see your life-assignment like God does. You're a person with a message to deliver. The significance of your life depends on how faithful you are in delivering it. In 2 Corinthians 5:19, the Bible says, "God has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us." The message: "Come to Jesus and get the relationship with God you were made for." The assignment: "ambassador"-Jesus' personal representative to the people where you work, or live, or go to school, or shop, or recreate. You're there by assignment from God to help some of those people be in heaven with you.
How are you doing? Maybe you say, "Well, I'm afraid to tell them about what Jesus did on the cross for them. I might mess it up." God doesn't need your perfect presentation to reach the heart of the person you care about. He does need for you to tell them about your Jesus. The only way you can fail in your mission is to remain silent.
Maybe you're not delivering your message because you fear the risks-the risk of building a relationship with someone who's lost, or getting started, of being rejected. But the Bible says, "God has not given us a spirit of fear." Please let God show you that the greatest risk of all is that you will lose this person forever because they never got the message about Jesus. Isn't that a greater fear what might happen to them than what could happen to you if you do tell them?
Like those heroic Pony Express riders, if you'll dedicate your life to delivering your life-giving message, if you'll risk whatever it takes to get that message through, then your heart-cry for a life that counts is going to be answered big-time. As you lead people to Jesus, you are riding to glory-eternal glory.
God doesn't dislike arrogance…he hates it. Could he state it any clearer than Proverbs 8:13: "I hate pride and arrogance." And then a few chapters later it says God can't stomach arrogance or pretense. Believe me, he'll put those upstarts in their place. You don't want God to do that. It's far wiser to descend the mountain than fall from it!
Pursue humility. Humility doesn't mean you think less of yourself but that you think of yourself less. Paul described it in Romans 12:3, "Don't cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given to you." God has a cure for the high and mighty: come down from the mountain before he employs it. You'll be amazed what you hear and who you see. And you'll breathe a whole lot easier!
From Facing Your Giants
Psalm 21
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
How the king rejoices in your strength, O Lord!
He shouts with joy because you give him victory.
2 For you have given him his heart’s desire;
you have withheld nothing he requested. Interlude
3 You welcomed him back with success and prosperity.
You placed a crown of finest gold on his head.
4 He asked you to preserve his life,
and you granted his request.
The days of his life stretch on forever.
5 Your victory brings him great honor,
and you have clothed him with splendor and majesty.
6 You have endowed him with eternal blessings
and given him the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord.
The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling.
8 You will capture all your enemies.
Your strong right hand will seize all who hate you.
9 You will throw them in a flaming furnace
when you appear.
The Lord will consume them in his anger;
fire will devour them.
10 You will wipe their children from the face of the earth;
they will never have descendants.
11 Although they plot against you,
their evil schemes will never succeed.
12 For they will turn and run
when they see your arrows aimed at them.
13 Rise up, O Lord, in all your power.
With music and singing we celebrate your mighty acts.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, August 06, 2015
Read: John 1:6-14
God sent a man, John the Baptist,[a] 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
14 So the Word became human[b] and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.[c] And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
Footnotes:
1:6 Greek a man named John.
1:14a Greek became flesh.
1:14b Or grace and truth; also in 1:17.
INSIGHT:
The gospel of John was written to testify that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). From the onset, John presents Jesus as the Logos, the self-existent, pre-existent, omnipotent, eternal, creator God who spoke everything into existence (1:1-5). John also presents Jesus as God Incarnate—God in the flesh (vv. 9-14). The eternal God entered the world He created and became human like us in order to live with us (vv.11,14; Matt. 1:23). The New Testament also affirms Christ’s humanity (Gal. 4:4; 1 Tim. 3:16, Heb. 2:14-17). Sim Kay Tee
Family Privilege
By Lawrence Darmani
As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God. —John 1:12
When I was in primary school in Ghana, I had to live with a loving and caring family away from my parents. One day, all the children assembled for a special family meeting. The first part involved all of us sharing individual experiences. But next, when only “blood children” were required to be present, I was politely excluded. Then the stark reality hit me: I was not a “child of the house.” Despite their love for me, the family required that I should be excused because I was only living with them; I was not a legal part of their family.
This incident reminds me of John 1:11-12. The Son of God came to His own people and they rejected Him. Those who received Him then, and receive Him now, are given the right to become God’s children. When we are adopted into His family, “the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom. 8:16).
Jesus doesn't exclude anyone who is adopted by the Father.
Jesus doesn't exclude anybody who is adopted by the Father. Rather, He welcomes us as a permanent part of His family. “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
Thank You, Father, for making it possible for me to be Your child. I’m grateful to be Yours and not to have to worry about whether You will remove me from Your family. I am Yours and You are mine.
Assurance of salvation is not in what you know but who you know.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 6, 2015
The Cross in Prayer
In that day you will ask in My name… —John 16:26
We too often think of the Cross of Christ as something we have to get through, yet we get through for the purpose of getting into it. The Cross represents only one thing for us— complete, entire, absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ— and there is nothing in which this identification is more real to us than in prayer.
“Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Then why should we ask? The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only because we want answers, we will become irritated and angry with God. We receive an answer every time we pray, but it does not always come in the way we expect, and our spiritual irritation shows our refusal to identify ourselves truly with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove that God answers prayer, but to be living trophies of God’s grace.
“…I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you…” (John 16:26-27). Have you reached such a level of intimacy with God that the only thing that can account for your prayer life is that it has become one with the prayer life of Jesus Christ? Has our Lord exchanged your life with His vital life? If so, then “in that day” you will be so closely identified with Jesus that there will be no distinction.
When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to place the blame on someone else. That is always a trap of Satan. When you seem to have no answer, there is always a reason— God uses these times to give you deep personal instruction, and it is not for anyone else but you.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.
Disciples Indeed
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, August 06, 2015
Riding to Glory - #7454
I met a man from St. Joseph, Missouri, and I surprised him with my trivia knowledge when I said, "Oh, Pony Express country, right?" He confirmed my recollection that his town was the beginning of the famous Pony Express. What guys those were! Man, they rode their way right into the history books. They're practically legends of the Old West. I mean, they rode endless hours through hostile territory, risked their lives to deliver the mail to the West Coast. You knew that part. What you may not know is how many guys we're talking about here in this legendary operation-just 80 riders, and only one mail delivery was ever lost. How long did the Pony Express run? Only 18 months! It only took a few people a short time to make a great impact!
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Riding to Glory."
For most of us, our ride through this life will last, what do they say on average, 70 years or so? Some will get more, some a lot less. The question is how much of a mark will you leave in the years you have left? I think inside all of us is this deep desire to make our life count, to do something significant while we're here.
Maybe you know that restlessness that says, "I want to make a much greater difference with the rest of my life than I have made up until now." Then you need to hear our word for today from the Word of God in Daniel 12:3. It's God's roadmap to making the greatest possible mark you can make with the one life you have. Here's what it says. "Those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever." Wow!
God says the way to have a life that matters forever is to "lead many to righteousness." And this side of Jesus' cross, we know that means leading many people to Jesus. Now what immortalized those young men of the Pony Express? They were people with a message willing to risk whatever necessary to deliver that message. And they made a huge mark in a very short time.
If you belong to Jesus, you've got to see your life-assignment like God does. You're a person with a message to deliver. The significance of your life depends on how faithful you are in delivering it. In 2 Corinthians 5:19, the Bible says, "God has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us." The message: "Come to Jesus and get the relationship with God you were made for." The assignment: "ambassador"-Jesus' personal representative to the people where you work, or live, or go to school, or shop, or recreate. You're there by assignment from God to help some of those people be in heaven with you.
How are you doing? Maybe you say, "Well, I'm afraid to tell them about what Jesus did on the cross for them. I might mess it up." God doesn't need your perfect presentation to reach the heart of the person you care about. He does need for you to tell them about your Jesus. The only way you can fail in your mission is to remain silent.
Maybe you're not delivering your message because you fear the risks-the risk of building a relationship with someone who's lost, or getting started, of being rejected. But the Bible says, "God has not given us a spirit of fear." Please let God show you that the greatest risk of all is that you will lose this person forever because they never got the message about Jesus. Isn't that a greater fear what might happen to them than what could happen to you if you do tell them?
Like those heroic Pony Express riders, if you'll dedicate your life to delivering your life-giving message, if you'll risk whatever it takes to get that message through, then your heart-cry for a life that counts is going to be answered big-time. As you lead people to Jesus, you are riding to glory-eternal glory.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Psalm 20, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Humility
I was on a flight where the attendant couldn't do anything right. Order soda and you would get juice. Ask for a pillow, she'd bring a blanket. I had just been a guest speaker at an event where people told me how lucky they were that I'd come. I don't know what was loonier: the fact they said it or that I believed it. I was feeling cocky, and I grumbled. Do you see what I was doing? Don't look at me like that. Haven't you felt a bit superior to someone? The clerk at the grocery store. The waiter at the restaurant?
But her question changed all of that. "Mr. Lucado? Aren't you the one who writes Christian books?" She filled the next few minutes with her pain. When she asked if I would pray for her, I did. But both God and I knew she was not the only one needing prayer!
From Facing Your Giants
Psalm 20
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
2 May he send you help from his sanctuary
and strengthen you from Jerusalem.[a]
3 May he remember all your gifts
and look favorably on your burnt offerings. Interlude
4 May he grant your heart’s desires
and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory
and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers.
6 Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king.
He will answer him from his holy heaven
and rescue him by his great power.
7 Some nations boast of their chariots and horses,
but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
8 Those nations will fall down and collapse,
but we will rise up and stand firm.
9 Give victory to our king, O Lord!
Answer our cry for help.
20:2 Hebrew Zion.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, August 05, 2015
Read: Romans 8:18-25
The Future Glory
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children,[a] including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope[b] for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
Footnotes:
8:23 Greek wait anxiously for sonship.
8:24 Some manuscripts read wait.
Insight:
As followers of Jesus we look forward in hope to the new heaven and the new earth where we will spend eternity in loving adoration and communion with the triune God and with each other. Today’s passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans suggests that reconciliation and restoration—the undoing of all the damage of sin—is not limited to humanity. God’s good creation (see Gen. 1) is also groaning under the weight of sin and is waiting for the ultimate realization of salvation provided by God through Christ. J.R. Hudberg
Chess Master
By Philip Yancey
We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. —2 Peter 3:13
In high school I took pride in my ability to play chess. I joined the chess club, and during lunch hour I could be found sitting at a table with other nerds, poring over books with titles like Classic King Pawn Openings. I studied techniques, won most of my matches, and put the game aside for 20 years. Then I met a truly fine chess player who had been perfecting his skills long since high school, and I learned what it is like to play against a master. Although I had complete freedom to make any move I wished, none of my strategies mattered very much. His superior skill guaranteed that my purposes inevitably ended up serving his own.
Perhaps there is a spiritual picture for us here. God grants us freedom to rebel against His original design, but even as we do so we end up serving His eventual goal of restoration (Rom. 8:21; 2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 21:1). This transformed the way I view both good and bad things. Good things—such as health, talent, and money—I can present to God as offerings to serve His purposes. And bad things—disability, poverty, family dysfunction, failure—can be “redeemed” as the very instruments that drive me to God.
With the Grand Master, victory is assured, no matter how the board of life may look at any given moment.
Father, I’m grateful that in all of life Your purposes are being accomplished. May I learn to have open hands—to accept whatever You give to me and whatever You take from me. Help me to trust Your heart.
When we can’t see God’s hand, we can trust His heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
The Bewildering Call of God
August 5, 2015
"…and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished."…But they understood none of these things… —Luke 18:31, 34
God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s. But what seemed to be failure from man’s standpoint was a triumph from God’s standpoint, because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose.
This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.
If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, “I wonder why God allowed this or that?” And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
For the past three hundred years men have been pointing out how similar Jesus Christ’s teachings are to other good teachings. We have to remember that Christianity, if it is not a supernatural miracle, is a sham. The Highest Good, 548 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, August 05, 2015
Storm Preparations - #7453
Now, I've had a chance to see gridlock a lot in New York City. Vehicles choking at every intersection and literally nothing can move. I even saw gridlock in a grocery store. The weatherman had forecast a huge snowstorm for our area which was supposed to begin during the night. Well I stopped by the store late that evening (Dumb!) and I ended up trying to find the end of the line for the cash register. They only had two lanes open and there was a line of carts all the way to the Produce section all jammed together so no one could come in, no one could go out, and no one could go through. What brought this sudden urge to shop late at night? Word of an approaching storm.
Well I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Storm Preparations."
See, storms are a fact of everybody's life. If it's calm right now, you can be sure somewhere up ahead there's a storm. That's life. The question is are you ready for that time when things start spinning out of control around you and maybe inside of you? Since we know we're going to head into heavy weather sometimes, we need to know we have what it takes to make it through the crises that sink a lot of other people. Well here's the testimony of a man who lived through imprisonment, disability, injustice, assassination attempts - the Apostle Paul. The man was unsinkable because he was prepared for any storm. We've got a lot to learn from him.
Here's our word today from the Word of God, which he wrote. It's from 2 Timothy 1:12. He says, "I am not ashamed, because I know Whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." Paul is talking about a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the only man in history who was powerful enough to beat death and blow the doors off His grave. Paul says, "I'm convinced He's able to guard what's important to me." The ultimate security in life is knowing that you belong to this Jesus.
I was talking to my friend John recently - 10 cancer operations in 8 years. He's been at death's door three times. When you talk to him, you come away almost disbelieving that he's carrying all this pain. He's positive and generous, he's joyful, he's encouraging. The surgeon is even sending John to some other patients who just aren't handling the storm of cancer. John made a simple but heart-rending statement to me. He said, "Ron, you don't handle it well when you try to handle it without a Savior." That's the difference - the Savior difference; the Jesus difference.
See, all approaches to life work when things are going well. But the test of what's you're living for is the storm. Things like cancer, bankruptcy, getting fired, divorce, terminal illness. Even smaller storms can drive us to the edge and sometimes over the edge unless we've committed ourselves completely to this awesome Savior named Jesus.
See, He loves you unconditionally. You say, "How do I know?" He died on the cross for the very sins you've done against Him. He's willing to put your life in His eternal keeping and then give you eternal life beginning the day you entrust yourself totally to Him. This could be that day. You could do that right where you are. Maybe you could pray to Him like this, "Lord Jesus, I've been trying to do it without a Savior. I've lived my last day without you Jesus. I believe you died to pay the death penalty for the sinning I've done, and today I'm putting my total trust in you to begin my relationship with God, because I need a Savior. I need You."
If you've never done that. If you want this to be that turning point day; your new beginning, then you could go to our website which we've set up right there where I can help you know exactly how to begin this relationship and be sure you have. That website is ANewStory.com. If you want to talk with someone about how to begin this relationship, text us at 442-244-WORD.
See, Jesus - the one who during a life-threatening storm in His lifetime, stepped to the bow of the boat He was in and said, "Peace, be still" and it was. He wants to do that for you in your storm.
I was on a flight where the attendant couldn't do anything right. Order soda and you would get juice. Ask for a pillow, she'd bring a blanket. I had just been a guest speaker at an event where people told me how lucky they were that I'd come. I don't know what was loonier: the fact they said it or that I believed it. I was feeling cocky, and I grumbled. Do you see what I was doing? Don't look at me like that. Haven't you felt a bit superior to someone? The clerk at the grocery store. The waiter at the restaurant?
But her question changed all of that. "Mr. Lucado? Aren't you the one who writes Christian books?" She filled the next few minutes with her pain. When she asked if I would pray for her, I did. But both God and I knew she was not the only one needing prayer!
From Facing Your Giants
Psalm 20
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
2 May he send you help from his sanctuary
and strengthen you from Jerusalem.[a]
3 May he remember all your gifts
and look favorably on your burnt offerings. Interlude
4 May he grant your heart’s desires
and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory
and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers.
6 Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king.
He will answer him from his holy heaven
and rescue him by his great power.
7 Some nations boast of their chariots and horses,
but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
8 Those nations will fall down and collapse,
but we will rise up and stand firm.
9 Give victory to our king, O Lord!
Answer our cry for help.
20:2 Hebrew Zion.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, August 05, 2015
Read: Romans 8:18-25
The Future Glory
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children,[a] including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope[b] for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
Footnotes:
8:23 Greek wait anxiously for sonship.
8:24 Some manuscripts read wait.
Insight:
As followers of Jesus we look forward in hope to the new heaven and the new earth where we will spend eternity in loving adoration and communion with the triune God and with each other. Today’s passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans suggests that reconciliation and restoration—the undoing of all the damage of sin—is not limited to humanity. God’s good creation (see Gen. 1) is also groaning under the weight of sin and is waiting for the ultimate realization of salvation provided by God through Christ. J.R. Hudberg
Chess Master
By Philip Yancey
We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. —2 Peter 3:13
In high school I took pride in my ability to play chess. I joined the chess club, and during lunch hour I could be found sitting at a table with other nerds, poring over books with titles like Classic King Pawn Openings. I studied techniques, won most of my matches, and put the game aside for 20 years. Then I met a truly fine chess player who had been perfecting his skills long since high school, and I learned what it is like to play against a master. Although I had complete freedom to make any move I wished, none of my strategies mattered very much. His superior skill guaranteed that my purposes inevitably ended up serving his own.
Perhaps there is a spiritual picture for us here. God grants us freedom to rebel against His original design, but even as we do so we end up serving His eventual goal of restoration (Rom. 8:21; 2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 21:1). This transformed the way I view both good and bad things. Good things—such as health, talent, and money—I can present to God as offerings to serve His purposes. And bad things—disability, poverty, family dysfunction, failure—can be “redeemed” as the very instruments that drive me to God.
With the Grand Master, victory is assured, no matter how the board of life may look at any given moment.
Father, I’m grateful that in all of life Your purposes are being accomplished. May I learn to have open hands—to accept whatever You give to me and whatever You take from me. Help me to trust Your heart.
When we can’t see God’s hand, we can trust His heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
The Bewildering Call of God
August 5, 2015
"…and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished."…But they understood none of these things… —Luke 18:31, 34
God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s. But what seemed to be failure from man’s standpoint was a triumph from God’s standpoint, because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose.
This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.
If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, “I wonder why God allowed this or that?” And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
For the past three hundred years men have been pointing out how similar Jesus Christ’s teachings are to other good teachings. We have to remember that Christianity, if it is not a supernatural miracle, is a sham. The Highest Good, 548 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, August 05, 2015
Storm Preparations - #7453
Now, I've had a chance to see gridlock a lot in New York City. Vehicles choking at every intersection and literally nothing can move. I even saw gridlock in a grocery store. The weatherman had forecast a huge snowstorm for our area which was supposed to begin during the night. Well I stopped by the store late that evening (Dumb!) and I ended up trying to find the end of the line for the cash register. They only had two lanes open and there was a line of carts all the way to the Produce section all jammed together so no one could come in, no one could go out, and no one could go through. What brought this sudden urge to shop late at night? Word of an approaching storm.
Well I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Storm Preparations."
See, storms are a fact of everybody's life. If it's calm right now, you can be sure somewhere up ahead there's a storm. That's life. The question is are you ready for that time when things start spinning out of control around you and maybe inside of you? Since we know we're going to head into heavy weather sometimes, we need to know we have what it takes to make it through the crises that sink a lot of other people. Well here's the testimony of a man who lived through imprisonment, disability, injustice, assassination attempts - the Apostle Paul. The man was unsinkable because he was prepared for any storm. We've got a lot to learn from him.
Here's our word today from the Word of God, which he wrote. It's from 2 Timothy 1:12. He says, "I am not ashamed, because I know Whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." Paul is talking about a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the only man in history who was powerful enough to beat death and blow the doors off His grave. Paul says, "I'm convinced He's able to guard what's important to me." The ultimate security in life is knowing that you belong to this Jesus.
I was talking to my friend John recently - 10 cancer operations in 8 years. He's been at death's door three times. When you talk to him, you come away almost disbelieving that he's carrying all this pain. He's positive and generous, he's joyful, he's encouraging. The surgeon is even sending John to some other patients who just aren't handling the storm of cancer. John made a simple but heart-rending statement to me. He said, "Ron, you don't handle it well when you try to handle it without a Savior." That's the difference - the Savior difference; the Jesus difference.
See, all approaches to life work when things are going well. But the test of what's you're living for is the storm. Things like cancer, bankruptcy, getting fired, divorce, terminal illness. Even smaller storms can drive us to the edge and sometimes over the edge unless we've committed ourselves completely to this awesome Savior named Jesus.
See, He loves you unconditionally. You say, "How do I know?" He died on the cross for the very sins you've done against Him. He's willing to put your life in His eternal keeping and then give you eternal life beginning the day you entrust yourself totally to Him. This could be that day. You could do that right where you are. Maybe you could pray to Him like this, "Lord Jesus, I've been trying to do it without a Savior. I've lived my last day without you Jesus. I believe you died to pay the death penalty for the sinning I've done, and today I'm putting my total trust in you to begin my relationship with God, because I need a Savior. I need You."
If you've never done that. If you want this to be that turning point day; your new beginning, then you could go to our website which we've set up right there where I can help you know exactly how to begin this relationship and be sure you have. That website is ANewStory.com. If you want to talk with someone about how to begin this relationship, text us at 442-244-WORD.
See, Jesus - the one who during a life-threatening storm in His lifetime, stepped to the bow of the boat He was in and said, "Peace, be still" and it was. He wants to do that for you in your storm.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
John 9:24-41, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A Glimpse of God's Love
People can exhaust you. And there are times when all we can do is not enough. When a spouse leaves, we cannot force him or her to stay. When a spouse abuses, we shouldn't stay. I don't for a minute minimize the challenges you face. You are tired. Angry. Disappointed. This isn't the marriage you expected or the life you wanted.
But looming in your past is a promise you made. May I urge you to do all you can to keep it? To give it one more try? Why should you? So you can understand the depth of God's love. When you love the unloving, you get a glimpse of what God does for you. When you keep the porch light on for the prodigal child, when you love the weak and the sick, you do what God does every single moment!
From Facing Your Giants
John 9:24-41
So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this,[a] because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
26 “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”
27 “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
28 Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”
30 “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32 Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”
34 “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.
Spiritual Blindness
35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?[b]”
36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39 Then Jesus told him,[c] “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see[d] that they are blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”
41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.
Footnotes:
9:24 Or Give glory to God, not to Jesus; Greek reads Give glory to God.
9:35 Some manuscripts read the Son of God? “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
9:38-39a Some manuscripts do not include “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus. Then Jesus told him.
9:39b Greek those who see.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
Read: Proverbs 26:1-12
Honor is no more associated with fools
than snow with summer or rain with harvest.
2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.
3 Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle,
and a fool with a rod to his back!
4 Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools,
or you will become as foolish as they are.
5 Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools,
or they will become wise in their own estimation.
6 Trusting a fool to convey a message
is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison!
7 A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is as useless as a paralyzed leg.
8 Honoring a fool
is as foolish as tying a stone to a slingshot.
9 A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.
10 An employer who hires a fool or a bystander
is like an archer who shoots at random.
11 As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his foolishness.
12 There is more hope for fools
than for people who think they are wise.
Insight:
The Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) is Hebrew poetry that uses a variety of poetic devices. In today’s reading, metaphors and analogies are used. The foolish person is compared to weather that is inappropriate for the season (v. 1), an animal that needs to be constrained (v. 3), a leg that is useless (v. 7), and a sling that is powerless (v. 8). These comparisons warn about the self-destructive nature of foolish choices. Bill Crowder
Web Wisdom
A quarrelsome person starts fights as easily as hot embers light charcoal or fire lights wood. —Proverbs 26:21 nlt
Scroll to the bottom of many online news sites and you’ll find the “Comments” section where readers can leave their observations. Even the most reputable sites have no shortage of rude rants, uninformed insults, and name-calling.
The book of Proverbs was collected about 3,000 years ago, but its timeless wisdom is as up-to-date as today’s breaking news. Two proverbs in chapter 26 seem at first glance to contradict each other, yet they apply perfectly to social media. “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him” (v. 4). And then, “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes” (v. 5).
We are always free to ask God for wisdom.
The balance in those statements is in the “according to”: Don’t answer in the way a fool would answer. But respond so that foolishness is not considered wisdom.
My problem is that the foolishness I encounter is often my own. I have at times posted a sarcastic comment or turned someone else’s statement back on them. God hates it when I treat my fellow human beings with such disrespect, even when they’re also being foolish.
God gives us an amazing range of freedoms. We are free to choose what we will say, and when and how we say it. And we are always free to ask Him for wisdom.
Things to keep in mind: Is what I am saying true, and is it loving? What is my motivation? Will it help anyone? Will this reflect the character of Jesus?
Leave your thoughts about this topic.
Let love be your highest goal.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
The Brave Friendship of God
August 4, 2015
He took the twelve aside… —Luke 18:31
Oh, the bravery of God in trusting us! Do you say, “But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing good in me and I have no value”? That is exactly why He chose you. As long as you think that you are of value to Him He cannot choose you, because you have purposes of your own to serve. But if you will allow Him to take you to the end of your own self-sufficiency, then He can choose you to go with Him “to Jerusalem” (Luke 18:31). And that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.
We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a matter of natural virtues, of strength of character, of knowledge, or of experience— all of that is of no avail in this concern. The only thing of value is being taken into the compelling purpose of God and being made His friends (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). God’s friendship is with people who know their poverty. He can accomplish nothing with the person who thinks that he is of use to God. As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all— we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same. We do not know what God’s compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him. We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
The Bible is a relation of facts, the truth of which must be tested. Life may go on all right for a while, when suddenly a bereavement comes, or some crisis; unrequited love or a new love, a disaster, a business collapse, or a shocking sin, and we turn up our Bibles again and God’s word comes straight home, and we say, “Why, I never saw that there before.” Shade of His Hand, 1223 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
Close Enough To Save Them - #7452
For some reason, for over a century, people remain intrigued with the Titanic. I mean, it hit an iceberg and it sank over a century ago, and there have been a handful of big screen movies made. Of course, the one that was made most recently by James Cameron. The story has been made into two television miniseries. There have been explorations of the wreckage, even sales of pieces of coal from the Titanic.
It's hard to get that image out of our minds isn't it? The proudest ship ever built. It was supposed to be unsinkable, and on her maiden voyage she sank; haunting images of her disappearing into the icy waters of the Atlantic. I can kind of see it in my mind's eye right now. Over 1,500 people died that night. It wasn't that the Titanic didn't try to get help. They set off flares and they radioed an SOS. The signal was picked up by a ship called the California. Historians for a while thought the California was about 20 miles away that fatal night - too far away to help. That was until we learned exactly where the Titanic went down.
Looking at the location of the California that night and the location of the Titanic revealed something very disturbing. It turns out that the California was only about five miles away! Which means they were close enough to save people. And they just didn't respond.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Close Enough to Save Them."
The passengers on the Titanic did not have to die, many of them. There were people close enough that could have saved them; those who were in the water and in their life jackets. They were still alive after the boat went down. But there were those people that rowed off in their lifeboats and left the others in the water to die ultimately from hypothermia.
They were in a position to save them. That tragedy is not unique to the night the Titanic went down, because it's happening all the time spiritually.
Here's our word for today from the Word of God, Matthew 9:36-37. "When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them ..." By the way, in the Greek language, it means He felt something way down deep inside him, and it says He felt that "because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." His heart broke over these lost people. Then He gave this heartbreaking scenario, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."
Of course, the harvest idea is talking about people. Like harvest crops, they're ready. And folks today are probably more ready for Jesus than they've ever been. They don't know they are, but inside their soul, their family, and all around them are issues that can only be fixed one way - by a Savior like Jesus.
But also like harvest crops, if you don't get to them in time, they will die. Or just like those people who died the night the Titanic went down. The greatest heartbreak for Jesus isn't that those people are dying. It's that they wouldn't have to die if only some people would get to them with the life-saving message about Jesus; the message you have in your heart. He's got lots of lost people ready to hear about Him. His problem is His own people. He can't get us to go to in for the rescue!
God's assigned you to a neighborhood, a workplace, a school, a social circle to put you in a position to represent Jesus there. That's why you're there. With your life, but also with your words. People aren't going to figure out that Jesus took their place on the cross just by watching your life. You have to tell them that!
So you are, like that ship the California, close enough to rescue these people. In fact, you may be closer to some lost person than any other Christian on earth. They're more likely to listen to you than anybody, as imperfect, as inadequate as you may feel. The Bible is crystal clear that people who die with their sins unforgiven cannot go to heaven and they will die eternally. And only the Savior, Jesus, who died for their sins can forgive their sins. You know that.
This is the Jesus you know. He is the Jesus they need. This is life-or-death stuff. You are in a position to rescue someone from a life on earth without a Savior and from a hopeless eternity. To do nothing? It's tragically, it's eternally wrong.
People can exhaust you. And there are times when all we can do is not enough. When a spouse leaves, we cannot force him or her to stay. When a spouse abuses, we shouldn't stay. I don't for a minute minimize the challenges you face. You are tired. Angry. Disappointed. This isn't the marriage you expected or the life you wanted.
But looming in your past is a promise you made. May I urge you to do all you can to keep it? To give it one more try? Why should you? So you can understand the depth of God's love. When you love the unloving, you get a glimpse of what God does for you. When you keep the porch light on for the prodigal child, when you love the weak and the sick, you do what God does every single moment!
From Facing Your Giants
John 9:24-41
So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this,[a] because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
26 “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”
27 “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
28 Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”
30 “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32 Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”
34 “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.
Spiritual Blindness
35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?[b]”
36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39 Then Jesus told him,[c] “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see[d] that they are blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”
41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.
Footnotes:
9:24 Or Give glory to God, not to Jesus; Greek reads Give glory to God.
9:35 Some manuscripts read the Son of God? “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
9:38-39a Some manuscripts do not include “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus. Then Jesus told him.
9:39b Greek those who see.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
Read: Proverbs 26:1-12
Honor is no more associated with fools
than snow with summer or rain with harvest.
2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.
3 Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle,
and a fool with a rod to his back!
4 Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools,
or you will become as foolish as they are.
5 Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools,
or they will become wise in their own estimation.
6 Trusting a fool to convey a message
is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison!
7 A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is as useless as a paralyzed leg.
8 Honoring a fool
is as foolish as tying a stone to a slingshot.
9 A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.
10 An employer who hires a fool or a bystander
is like an archer who shoots at random.
11 As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his foolishness.
12 There is more hope for fools
than for people who think they are wise.
Insight:
The Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) is Hebrew poetry that uses a variety of poetic devices. In today’s reading, metaphors and analogies are used. The foolish person is compared to weather that is inappropriate for the season (v. 1), an animal that needs to be constrained (v. 3), a leg that is useless (v. 7), and a sling that is powerless (v. 8). These comparisons warn about the self-destructive nature of foolish choices. Bill Crowder
Web Wisdom
A quarrelsome person starts fights as easily as hot embers light charcoal or fire lights wood. —Proverbs 26:21 nlt
Scroll to the bottom of many online news sites and you’ll find the “Comments” section where readers can leave their observations. Even the most reputable sites have no shortage of rude rants, uninformed insults, and name-calling.
The book of Proverbs was collected about 3,000 years ago, but its timeless wisdom is as up-to-date as today’s breaking news. Two proverbs in chapter 26 seem at first glance to contradict each other, yet they apply perfectly to social media. “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him” (v. 4). And then, “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes” (v. 5).
We are always free to ask God for wisdom.
The balance in those statements is in the “according to”: Don’t answer in the way a fool would answer. But respond so that foolishness is not considered wisdom.
My problem is that the foolishness I encounter is often my own. I have at times posted a sarcastic comment or turned someone else’s statement back on them. God hates it when I treat my fellow human beings with such disrespect, even when they’re also being foolish.
God gives us an amazing range of freedoms. We are free to choose what we will say, and when and how we say it. And we are always free to ask Him for wisdom.
Things to keep in mind: Is what I am saying true, and is it loving? What is my motivation? Will it help anyone? Will this reflect the character of Jesus?
Leave your thoughts about this topic.
Let love be your highest goal.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
The Brave Friendship of God
August 4, 2015
He took the twelve aside… —Luke 18:31
Oh, the bravery of God in trusting us! Do you say, “But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing good in me and I have no value”? That is exactly why He chose you. As long as you think that you are of value to Him He cannot choose you, because you have purposes of your own to serve. But if you will allow Him to take you to the end of your own self-sufficiency, then He can choose you to go with Him “to Jerusalem” (Luke 18:31). And that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.
We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a matter of natural virtues, of strength of character, of knowledge, or of experience— all of that is of no avail in this concern. The only thing of value is being taken into the compelling purpose of God and being made His friends (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). God’s friendship is with people who know their poverty. He can accomplish nothing with the person who thinks that he is of use to God. As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all— we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same. We do not know what God’s compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him. We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
The Bible is a relation of facts, the truth of which must be tested. Life may go on all right for a while, when suddenly a bereavement comes, or some crisis; unrequited love or a new love, a disaster, a business collapse, or a shocking sin, and we turn up our Bibles again and God’s word comes straight home, and we say, “Why, I never saw that there before.” Shade of His Hand, 1223 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
Close Enough To Save Them - #7452
For some reason, for over a century, people remain intrigued with the Titanic. I mean, it hit an iceberg and it sank over a century ago, and there have been a handful of big screen movies made. Of course, the one that was made most recently by James Cameron. The story has been made into two television miniseries. There have been explorations of the wreckage, even sales of pieces of coal from the Titanic.
It's hard to get that image out of our minds isn't it? The proudest ship ever built. It was supposed to be unsinkable, and on her maiden voyage she sank; haunting images of her disappearing into the icy waters of the Atlantic. I can kind of see it in my mind's eye right now. Over 1,500 people died that night. It wasn't that the Titanic didn't try to get help. They set off flares and they radioed an SOS. The signal was picked up by a ship called the California. Historians for a while thought the California was about 20 miles away that fatal night - too far away to help. That was until we learned exactly where the Titanic went down.
Looking at the location of the California that night and the location of the Titanic revealed something very disturbing. It turns out that the California was only about five miles away! Which means they were close enough to save people. And they just didn't respond.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Close Enough to Save Them."
The passengers on the Titanic did not have to die, many of them. There were people close enough that could have saved them; those who were in the water and in their life jackets. They were still alive after the boat went down. But there were those people that rowed off in their lifeboats and left the others in the water to die ultimately from hypothermia.
They were in a position to save them. That tragedy is not unique to the night the Titanic went down, because it's happening all the time spiritually.
Here's our word for today from the Word of God, Matthew 9:36-37. "When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them ..." By the way, in the Greek language, it means He felt something way down deep inside him, and it says He felt that "because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." His heart broke over these lost people. Then He gave this heartbreaking scenario, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."
Of course, the harvest idea is talking about people. Like harvest crops, they're ready. And folks today are probably more ready for Jesus than they've ever been. They don't know they are, but inside their soul, their family, and all around them are issues that can only be fixed one way - by a Savior like Jesus.
But also like harvest crops, if you don't get to them in time, they will die. Or just like those people who died the night the Titanic went down. The greatest heartbreak for Jesus isn't that those people are dying. It's that they wouldn't have to die if only some people would get to them with the life-saving message about Jesus; the message you have in your heart. He's got lots of lost people ready to hear about Him. His problem is His own people. He can't get us to go to in for the rescue!
God's assigned you to a neighborhood, a workplace, a school, a social circle to put you in a position to represent Jesus there. That's why you're there. With your life, but also with your words. People aren't going to figure out that Jesus took their place on the cross just by watching your life. You have to tell them that!
So you are, like that ship the California, close enough to rescue these people. In fact, you may be closer to some lost person than any other Christian on earth. They're more likely to listen to you than anybody, as imperfect, as inadequate as you may feel. The Bible is crystal clear that people who die with their sins unforgiven cannot go to heaven and they will die eternally. And only the Savior, Jesus, who died for their sins can forgive their sins. You know that.
This is the Jesus you know. He is the Jesus they need. This is life-or-death stuff. You are in a position to rescue someone from a life on earth without a Savior and from a hopeless eternity. To do nothing? It's tragically, it's eternally wrong.
Monday, August 3, 2015
Psalm 19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Your Nevertheless
Two types of thoughts continually vie for your attention. One says, God will help you. The other lies, God has left you. Here is the great news: you select the voice you hear! Why give ear to pea-brains when you can, with the same ear, listen to the voice of God?
I had a friend who battled the stronghold of alcohol. He tried a fresh tactic. He gave me and a few others permission to slug him if we ever saw him drinking. He was determined to hear the right voices. He succeeded; and I never slugged him.
Try something drastic. Turn a deaf ear to the old voices. Open a wide eye to the new choices. God loves to give them. He gave one to Peter. Remember "Speak-now-and-think-later Pete?" God turned impetuous Peter into the apostle Peter. And you? He'll do something similar. He will help you.
From Facing Your Giants
Psalm 19
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
2 Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
3 They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.[a]
4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens
and follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat.
7 The instructions of the Lord are perfect,
reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The commandments of the Lord are right,
bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
giving insight for living.
9 Reverence for the Lord is pure,
lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true;
each one is fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold,
even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even honey dripping from the comb.
11 They are a warning to your servant,
a great reward for those who obey them.
12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
Don’t let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt
and innocent of great sin.
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Footnotes:
19:3 Or There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, August 03, 2015
Read: Romans 6:16-23
Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Insight:
Having proven that all people are sinners and having shown how sinners are justified through faith in Jesus (Rom. 1–4), Paul now describes the new life we can have because of what Jesus did (chs. 5–8). We can live differently, we can choose not to sin, and we can live holy lives (6:1-14). In today’s passage, Paul warns that we become the slave of whatever we choose to obey (vv. 16-20). Rather than give ourselves to sin, we are to give ourselves to God (vv. 22-23). When we do sin, we bear the consequences of our sins and experience a lack of fellowship with God (Gal. 6:7-8). Sim Kay Tee
On the Edge
By David H. Roper
Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. John 8:34
There’s an underground lava tube south of Kuna, Idaho, that has gained a certain amount of local notoriety. The only entrance, as far as I know, is a yawning shaft that plunges straight down into darkness.
Some years ago I stood at the edge of that shaft and looked down. I was drawn to venture closer and almost lost my balance. I felt a moment of heart-pounding terror and stepped away from the opening.
Sin is like that: Curiosity can draw us toward the darkness. How often have men and women gotten too close to the edge, lost their balance, and fallen into the darkness? They’ve destroyed their families, reputations, and careers through adulterous affairs that began with a “mere” flirtation but then progressed to thoughts and actions. Looking back they almost always say, “I never thought it would come to this.”
We think we can flirt with temptation, get very close to the edge, and walk away, but that’s a fool’s dream. We know an action is wrong and yet we toy with it. Then, inescapably, we are drawn into deeper and darker perversions. Jesus put it simply: “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34).
And so, seeing our own need for God’s help, we pray as David did in Psalm 19:13, “Keep back Your servant also from [deliberate] sins; let them not have dominion over me.”
Heavenly Father, whether we are being tempted now, or have fallen, we thank You that You are always there, and You love us with relentless love. We have nowhere to turn but to You.
A big fall begins with a little stumble.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 3, 2015
The Compelling Purpose of God
He…said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…" —Luke 18:31
Jerusalem, in the life of our Lord, represents the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will. Jesus said, “I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30). Seeking to do “the will of the Father” was the one dominating concern throughout our Lord’s life. And whatever He encountered along the way, whether joy or sorrow, success or failure, He was never deterred from that purpose. “…He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem…” (Luke 9:51).
The greatest thing for us to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfill God’s purpose, not our own. In the natural life our ambitions are our own, but in the Christian life we have no goals of our own. We talk so much today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, and our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament the only aspect that is brought out is the compelling purpose of God. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” (John 15:16).
We are not taken into a conscious agreement with God’s purpose— we are taken into God’s purpose with no awareness of it at all. We have no idea what God’s goal may be; as we continue, His purpose becomes even more and more vague. God’s aim appears to have missed the mark, because we are too nearsighted to see the target at which He is aiming. At the beginning of the Christian life, we have our own ideas as to what God’s purpose is. We say, “God means for me to go over there,” and, “God has called me to do this special work.” We do what we think is right, and yet the compelling purpose of God remains upon us. The work we do is of no account when compared with the compelling purpose of God. It is simply the scaffolding surrounding His work and His plan. “He took the twelve aside…” (Luke 18:31). God takes us aside all the time. We have not yet understood all there is to know of the compelling purpose of God.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.”
The Shadow of an Agony
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 03, 2015
Your Light in a Dark Night - #7451
My wife is like a human camera. She's able to record in her mind life experiences in living color and in full detail. I wish I could do it! And growing up on a little farm in the hills gave her a childhood full of memorable memories.
For example, on wintry nights her parents would go out to the barn to milk the cows and they had a lantern in their hand because they didn't have any electricity. And their house was in a hollow in the woods where the darkness was really dark. So my wife kept watching the lantern. She remembers one time when she heard people talking about a panther in the area. That's what a little girl wants to hear, right? And the adult said that you would know the panther was around when you heard its sound, and it would be like the scream of a woman.
One particular night she stood there with one hand on the screen door of the house and the other hand on her tiny little sister waiting for her parents to come back from the barn, watching that lantern. That's when she heard it; the screams of the panther. Well, you can only imagine the rush of thoughts in a little girl's mind; the fears racing through her little mind. But my wife said, "I knew my parents were okay as long as that light was steady. I just kept watching that lantern for a steady light."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Light in a Dark Night."
Now, at one time or another in our life we have all been that little girl in the door of that farmhouse. It's dark; it's scary and something you fear seems close. It may be that kind of time in your life right now and you need a steady light to give you something you can count on in this darkness.
Well, there's our word for today from the Word of God, John 8:12. Listen to what Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." So, Jesus said, "I am the light." And Jesus is a sure guarantee, "If I am your light, you will never walk in darkness." He said He's the steady light we're looking for.
Now, you've lived long enough to probably have other lights let you down. Right? The people who were going to be there for you? The light went out. A job you could count on is suddenly gone. A religion that maybe it met your needs but at the time when you needed answers the most, it just couldn't deliver. And now maybe in a dark place, Jesus - the light - stands before you and He's beckoning, He's extending His invitation, "Follow Me." "Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" He said.
See, those who commit their lives to Jesus Christ live under this wonderful promise, "I will never leave you or forsake you." When no one else can do it, Jesus is there. When the situation is bigger than you are, the Son of God is bigger than the situation is. When earth has no answers, Jesus will lead you through the confusion and the hurt. But you can't see it right now as long as there's a wall between you and Him. That wall separates you and it's what the Bible calls sin. You don't have any power to remove it.
But in the words of the Bible, "While we were still sinners..." In other words, while the wall was still there, "Christ died for us." He died so He could tear down your sin-wall by paying your death penalty for running your own life. And now He waits for you to say, "Jesus, I'm putting my total trust in You to rescue me from my sin, from the penalty of my sin."
Have you ever reached out to Him in that way? Have you ever had a time when you grabbed Jesus like a drowning person would grab a lifeguard and say, "Jesus, you're my only hope"? If you've never done that, you want to be sure you belong to Him. From this moment on you're not going to walk alone through the dark ever again.
You can go to our website ANewStory.com and there you'll find all the information you need to be sure you belong to Him. And if you want to talk with someone about what it means to follow Jesus, then text us at 442-244-WORD.
That dark and scary night on that little farm, that little girl found security because she could see a steady light out there. And there's one waiting for you. That security is Jesus Christ, our ever-living Savior. Follow His light and you will always be safe.
Two types of thoughts continually vie for your attention. One says, God will help you. The other lies, God has left you. Here is the great news: you select the voice you hear! Why give ear to pea-brains when you can, with the same ear, listen to the voice of God?
I had a friend who battled the stronghold of alcohol. He tried a fresh tactic. He gave me and a few others permission to slug him if we ever saw him drinking. He was determined to hear the right voices. He succeeded; and I never slugged him.
Try something drastic. Turn a deaf ear to the old voices. Open a wide eye to the new choices. God loves to give them. He gave one to Peter. Remember "Speak-now-and-think-later Pete?" God turned impetuous Peter into the apostle Peter. And you? He'll do something similar. He will help you.
From Facing Your Giants
Psalm 19
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
2 Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
3 They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.[a]
4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens
and follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat.
7 The instructions of the Lord are perfect,
reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The commandments of the Lord are right,
bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
giving insight for living.
9 Reverence for the Lord is pure,
lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true;
each one is fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold,
even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even honey dripping from the comb.
11 They are a warning to your servant,
a great reward for those who obey them.
12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
Don’t let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt
and innocent of great sin.
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Footnotes:
19:3 Or There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, August 03, 2015
Read: Romans 6:16-23
Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Insight:
Having proven that all people are sinners and having shown how sinners are justified through faith in Jesus (Rom. 1–4), Paul now describes the new life we can have because of what Jesus did (chs. 5–8). We can live differently, we can choose not to sin, and we can live holy lives (6:1-14). In today’s passage, Paul warns that we become the slave of whatever we choose to obey (vv. 16-20). Rather than give ourselves to sin, we are to give ourselves to God (vv. 22-23). When we do sin, we bear the consequences of our sins and experience a lack of fellowship with God (Gal. 6:7-8). Sim Kay Tee
On the Edge
By David H. Roper
Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. John 8:34
There’s an underground lava tube south of Kuna, Idaho, that has gained a certain amount of local notoriety. The only entrance, as far as I know, is a yawning shaft that plunges straight down into darkness.
Some years ago I stood at the edge of that shaft and looked down. I was drawn to venture closer and almost lost my balance. I felt a moment of heart-pounding terror and stepped away from the opening.
Sin is like that: Curiosity can draw us toward the darkness. How often have men and women gotten too close to the edge, lost their balance, and fallen into the darkness? They’ve destroyed their families, reputations, and careers through adulterous affairs that began with a “mere” flirtation but then progressed to thoughts and actions. Looking back they almost always say, “I never thought it would come to this.”
We think we can flirt with temptation, get very close to the edge, and walk away, but that’s a fool’s dream. We know an action is wrong and yet we toy with it. Then, inescapably, we are drawn into deeper and darker perversions. Jesus put it simply: “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34).
And so, seeing our own need for God’s help, we pray as David did in Psalm 19:13, “Keep back Your servant also from [deliberate] sins; let them not have dominion over me.”
Heavenly Father, whether we are being tempted now, or have fallen, we thank You that You are always there, and You love us with relentless love. We have nowhere to turn but to You.
A big fall begins with a little stumble.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 3, 2015
The Compelling Purpose of God
He…said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…" —Luke 18:31
Jerusalem, in the life of our Lord, represents the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will. Jesus said, “I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30). Seeking to do “the will of the Father” was the one dominating concern throughout our Lord’s life. And whatever He encountered along the way, whether joy or sorrow, success or failure, He was never deterred from that purpose. “…He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem…” (Luke 9:51).
The greatest thing for us to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfill God’s purpose, not our own. In the natural life our ambitions are our own, but in the Christian life we have no goals of our own. We talk so much today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, and our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament the only aspect that is brought out is the compelling purpose of God. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” (John 15:16).
We are not taken into a conscious agreement with God’s purpose— we are taken into God’s purpose with no awareness of it at all. We have no idea what God’s goal may be; as we continue, His purpose becomes even more and more vague. God’s aim appears to have missed the mark, because we are too nearsighted to see the target at which He is aiming. At the beginning of the Christian life, we have our own ideas as to what God’s purpose is. We say, “God means for me to go over there,” and, “God has called me to do this special work.” We do what we think is right, and yet the compelling purpose of God remains upon us. The work we do is of no account when compared with the compelling purpose of God. It is simply the scaffolding surrounding His work and His plan. “He took the twelve aside…” (Luke 18:31). God takes us aside all the time. We have not yet understood all there is to know of the compelling purpose of God.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.”
The Shadow of an Agony
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 03, 2015
Your Light in a Dark Night - #7451
My wife is like a human camera. She's able to record in her mind life experiences in living color and in full detail. I wish I could do it! And growing up on a little farm in the hills gave her a childhood full of memorable memories.
For example, on wintry nights her parents would go out to the barn to milk the cows and they had a lantern in their hand because they didn't have any electricity. And their house was in a hollow in the woods where the darkness was really dark. So my wife kept watching the lantern. She remembers one time when she heard people talking about a panther in the area. That's what a little girl wants to hear, right? And the adult said that you would know the panther was around when you heard its sound, and it would be like the scream of a woman.
One particular night she stood there with one hand on the screen door of the house and the other hand on her tiny little sister waiting for her parents to come back from the barn, watching that lantern. That's when she heard it; the screams of the panther. Well, you can only imagine the rush of thoughts in a little girl's mind; the fears racing through her little mind. But my wife said, "I knew my parents were okay as long as that light was steady. I just kept watching that lantern for a steady light."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Light in a Dark Night."
Now, at one time or another in our life we have all been that little girl in the door of that farmhouse. It's dark; it's scary and something you fear seems close. It may be that kind of time in your life right now and you need a steady light to give you something you can count on in this darkness.
Well, there's our word for today from the Word of God, John 8:12. Listen to what Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." So, Jesus said, "I am the light." And Jesus is a sure guarantee, "If I am your light, you will never walk in darkness." He said He's the steady light we're looking for.
Now, you've lived long enough to probably have other lights let you down. Right? The people who were going to be there for you? The light went out. A job you could count on is suddenly gone. A religion that maybe it met your needs but at the time when you needed answers the most, it just couldn't deliver. And now maybe in a dark place, Jesus - the light - stands before you and He's beckoning, He's extending His invitation, "Follow Me." "Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" He said.
See, those who commit their lives to Jesus Christ live under this wonderful promise, "I will never leave you or forsake you." When no one else can do it, Jesus is there. When the situation is bigger than you are, the Son of God is bigger than the situation is. When earth has no answers, Jesus will lead you through the confusion and the hurt. But you can't see it right now as long as there's a wall between you and Him. That wall separates you and it's what the Bible calls sin. You don't have any power to remove it.
But in the words of the Bible, "While we were still sinners..." In other words, while the wall was still there, "Christ died for us." He died so He could tear down your sin-wall by paying your death penalty for running your own life. And now He waits for you to say, "Jesus, I'm putting my total trust in You to rescue me from my sin, from the penalty of my sin."
Have you ever reached out to Him in that way? Have you ever had a time when you grabbed Jesus like a drowning person would grab a lifeguard and say, "Jesus, you're my only hope"? If you've never done that, you want to be sure you belong to Him. From this moment on you're not going to walk alone through the dark ever again.
You can go to our website ANewStory.com and there you'll find all the information you need to be sure you belong to Him. And if you want to talk with someone about what it means to follow Jesus, then text us at 442-244-WORD.
That dark and scary night on that little farm, that little girl found security because she could see a steady light out there. And there's one waiting for you. That security is Jesus Christ, our ever-living Savior. Follow His light and you will always be safe.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Psalm 17, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Chapters in Life
Certain chapters in this life seem so unnecessary—like nostrils on the pre-born. Like suffering. Loneliness. Disease. Holocausts. Martyrdom. Hurricanes, earthquakes and monsoons.
If we assume this world exists just for pre-grave happiness, these atrocities disqualify it from doing so! But what if this earth is the womb? Might these challenges, severe as they may be, serve to prepare us, equip us for the world to come?
The apostle Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians 4:17: “These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing.”
Eternal glory? I’d like a large cup of that, wouldn’t you?
Everything in this life is preparing us for the next.
Psalm 17
A prayer of David.
1 O Lord, hear my plea for justice.
Listen to my cry for help.
Pay attention to my prayer,
for it comes from honest lips.
2 Declare me innocent,
for you see those who do right.
3 You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night.
You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong.
I am determined not to sin in what I say.
4 I have followed your commands,
which keep me from following cruel and evil people.
5 My steps have stayed on your path;
I have not wavered from following you.
6 I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God.
Bend down and listen as I pray.
7 Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways.
By your mighty power you rescue
those who seek refuge from their enemies.
8 Guard me as you would guard your own eyes.[a]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
9 Protect me from wicked people who attack me,
from murderous enemies who surround me.
10 They are without pity.
Listen to their boasting!
11 They track me down and surround me,
watching for the chance to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like hungry lions, eager to tear me apart—
like young lions hiding in ambush.
13 Arise, O Lord!
Stand against them, and bring them to their knees!
Rescue me from the wicked with your sword!
14 By the power of your hand, O Lord,
destroy those who look to this world for their reward.
But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones.
May their children have plenty,
leaving an inheritance for their descendants.
15 Because I am righteous, I will see you.
When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.
Footnotes:
17:8 Hebrew as the pupil of your eye.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, August 02, 2015
Read: Romans 5:1-11
Faith Brings Joy
5 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace[a] with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Footnotes:
5:1 Some manuscripts read let us have peace.
INSIGHT:
In the letter to the Romans, Paul discusses what salvation means. Today’s passage twice mentions that we are justified, which means to be made right with God. In verse 1 Paul says that this happens by faith, and in verse 9 he writes that the blood of Christ justifies us. The sacrifice of Christ’s blood for us is what makes justification possible, and faith is how we receive that justification. Hebrews 9:22 tells us: “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (niv). J.R. Hudberg
God’s Good Heart
By Anne Cetas
Count it all joy when you fall into various trials. James 1:2
Roger had been through a lot. He had open-heart surgery to repair a leaky valve. Then, within just a couple of weeks, doctors had to perform the surgery again because of complications. He had just begun to heal with physical therapy when he had a biking accident and broke his collarbone. Added to this, Roger also experienced the heartbreak of losing his mother during this time. He became very discouraged. When a friend asked him if he had seen God at work in any small ways, he confessed that he really didn’t feel he had.
I appreciate Roger’s honesty. Feelings of discouragement or doubt are part of my life too. In Romans, the apostle Paul says, “We can rejoice . . . when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation” (5:3-4 nlt). But that doesn’t mean we always feel the joy. We may just need someone to sit down and listen to us pour out our hearts to them, and to talk with God. Sometimes it takes looking back on the situation before we see how our faith has grown during trials and doubts.
Knowing that God wants to use our difficulties to strengthen our faith can help us to trust His good heart for us.
In what ways has God used trials in your life? Are you learning to trust Him more?
God may lead us into troubled waters to deepen our trust in Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
The Teaching of Adversity
August 2, 2015
The Teaching of Adversity
In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. —John 16:33
The typical view of the Christian life is that it means being delivered from all adversity. But it actually means being delivered in adversity, which is something very different. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling…” (Psalm 91:1,10)— the place where you are at one with God.
If you are a child of God, you will certainly encounter adversities, but Jesus says you should not be surprised when they come. “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” He is saying, “There is nothing for you to fear.” The same people who refused to talk about their adversities before they were saved often complain and worry after being born again because they have the wrong idea of what it means to live the life of a saint.
God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. Are you asking God to give you life, liberty, and joy? He cannot, unless you are willing to accept the strain. And once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength. Overcome your own timidity and take the first step. Then God will give you nourishment— “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life…” (Revelation 2:7). If you completely give of yourself physically, you become exhausted. But when you give of yourself spiritually, you get more strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the moment. Our temptation is to face adversities from the standpoint of our own common sense. But a saint can “be of good cheer” even when seemingly defeated by adversities, because victory is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
The main characteristic which is the proof of the indwelling Spirit is an amazing tenderness in personal dealing, and a blazing truthfulness with regard to God’s Word. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
Certain chapters in this life seem so unnecessary—like nostrils on the pre-born. Like suffering. Loneliness. Disease. Holocausts. Martyrdom. Hurricanes, earthquakes and monsoons.
If we assume this world exists just for pre-grave happiness, these atrocities disqualify it from doing so! But what if this earth is the womb? Might these challenges, severe as they may be, serve to prepare us, equip us for the world to come?
The apostle Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians 4:17: “These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing.”
Eternal glory? I’d like a large cup of that, wouldn’t you?
Everything in this life is preparing us for the next.
Psalm 17
A prayer of David.
1 O Lord, hear my plea for justice.
Listen to my cry for help.
Pay attention to my prayer,
for it comes from honest lips.
2 Declare me innocent,
for you see those who do right.
3 You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night.
You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong.
I am determined not to sin in what I say.
4 I have followed your commands,
which keep me from following cruel and evil people.
5 My steps have stayed on your path;
I have not wavered from following you.
6 I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God.
Bend down and listen as I pray.
7 Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways.
By your mighty power you rescue
those who seek refuge from their enemies.
8 Guard me as you would guard your own eyes.[a]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
9 Protect me from wicked people who attack me,
from murderous enemies who surround me.
10 They are without pity.
Listen to their boasting!
11 They track me down and surround me,
watching for the chance to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like hungry lions, eager to tear me apart—
like young lions hiding in ambush.
13 Arise, O Lord!
Stand against them, and bring them to their knees!
Rescue me from the wicked with your sword!
14 By the power of your hand, O Lord,
destroy those who look to this world for their reward.
But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones.
May their children have plenty,
leaving an inheritance for their descendants.
15 Because I am righteous, I will see you.
When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.
Footnotes:
17:8 Hebrew as the pupil of your eye.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, August 02, 2015
Read: Romans 5:1-11
Faith Brings Joy
5 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace[a] with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Footnotes:
5:1 Some manuscripts read let us have peace.
INSIGHT:
In the letter to the Romans, Paul discusses what salvation means. Today’s passage twice mentions that we are justified, which means to be made right with God. In verse 1 Paul says that this happens by faith, and in verse 9 he writes that the blood of Christ justifies us. The sacrifice of Christ’s blood for us is what makes justification possible, and faith is how we receive that justification. Hebrews 9:22 tells us: “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (niv). J.R. Hudberg
God’s Good Heart
By Anne Cetas
Count it all joy when you fall into various trials. James 1:2
Roger had been through a lot. He had open-heart surgery to repair a leaky valve. Then, within just a couple of weeks, doctors had to perform the surgery again because of complications. He had just begun to heal with physical therapy when he had a biking accident and broke his collarbone. Added to this, Roger also experienced the heartbreak of losing his mother during this time. He became very discouraged. When a friend asked him if he had seen God at work in any small ways, he confessed that he really didn’t feel he had.
I appreciate Roger’s honesty. Feelings of discouragement or doubt are part of my life too. In Romans, the apostle Paul says, “We can rejoice . . . when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation” (5:3-4 nlt). But that doesn’t mean we always feel the joy. We may just need someone to sit down and listen to us pour out our hearts to them, and to talk with God. Sometimes it takes looking back on the situation before we see how our faith has grown during trials and doubts.
Knowing that God wants to use our difficulties to strengthen our faith can help us to trust His good heart for us.
In what ways has God used trials in your life? Are you learning to trust Him more?
God may lead us into troubled waters to deepen our trust in Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
The Teaching of Adversity
August 2, 2015
The Teaching of Adversity
In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. —John 16:33
The typical view of the Christian life is that it means being delivered from all adversity. But it actually means being delivered in adversity, which is something very different. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling…” (Psalm 91:1,10)— the place where you are at one with God.
If you are a child of God, you will certainly encounter adversities, but Jesus says you should not be surprised when they come. “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” He is saying, “There is nothing for you to fear.” The same people who refused to talk about their adversities before they were saved often complain and worry after being born again because they have the wrong idea of what it means to live the life of a saint.
God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. Are you asking God to give you life, liberty, and joy? He cannot, unless you are willing to accept the strain. And once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength. Overcome your own timidity and take the first step. Then God will give you nourishment— “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life…” (Revelation 2:7). If you completely give of yourself physically, you become exhausted. But when you give of yourself spiritually, you get more strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the moment. Our temptation is to face adversities from the standpoint of our own common sense. But a saint can “be of good cheer” even when seemingly defeated by adversities, because victory is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
The main characteristic which is the proof of the indwelling Spirit is an amazing tenderness in personal dealing, and a blazing truthfulness with regard to God’s Word. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
Saturday, August 1, 2015
John 9:1-23, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Jesus Knows Just How You Feel
The next time your world goes from calm to chaos-ponder this: Jesus knows how you feel. His eyes have grown weary. His heart has grown heavy. He knows how you feel. You're no doubt convinced Jesus is acquainted with sorrow and has wrestled with fear. Most people accept that. But can God relate to the hassles and headaches of your life? For some reason this is harder to believe.
Listen to Hebrews 4:15, ". . .he Himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation, except that He never sinned." The writer of Hebrews anticipates our objections. "God, it's easy for you up there. You don't know how hard it is from down here." Listen again. He has shared fully. Not nearly. Not to a large degree, but entirely! In all our experience, in every hurt and every ache. Why? So that when you hurt, you'll go to Him-who knows how you feel!
From In the Eye of the Storm
Exodus 12
John 9:1-23
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.[a] The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”
But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”
10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”
11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”
12 “Where is he now?” they asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied.
13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”
The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”
18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”
20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
Footnotes:
9:4 Other manuscripts read I must quickly carry out the tasks assigned me by the one who sent me; still others read We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, August 01, 2015
Read: Colossians 1:15-23
Christ Is Supreme
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,[a]
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.[b]
So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.
Footnotes:
1:15 Or He is the firstborn of all creation.
1:18 Or the firstborn from the dead.
INSIGHT:
In verse 15 of today’s reading the key word is image. Because “God is Spirit” (John 4:24), and therefore invisible (Col. 1:15), how can we see and know Him? The answer is that Christ came in human form, yet perfectly exhibited the heart, character, and life of the Father. This is where the word image comes in. It is the Greek term eikon (from which we get the word icon), which means “representation.” We cannot see the Father, so the Son came as His representative to show us who He is and what He is like. This was so perfectly accomplished that Jesus told His disciples, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Bill Crowder
How To Have Peace
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1
The Kamppi Chapel of Silence in Helsinki, Finland, stands out in its urban setting. The curved structure, covered with wood, buffers the noise from the busy city outside. Designers created the chapel as a quiet space and a “calm environment for visitors to compose themselves.” It’s a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Many people long for peace, and a few minutes of silence may soothe our minds. But the Bible teaches that real peace—peace with God—comes from His Son. The apostle Paul said, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). Without Christ, we are enemies of God because of our sin. Thankfully, accepting Jesus’ sacrifice reconciles us to God and ends the hostility that existed between us (Col. 1:19-21). He now sees us as Christ presents us—“holy, and blameless, and above reproach” (v. 22).
Because of Christ, the true peace of God can fill our hearts.
Having peace with God does not ensure problem-free living. However, it does steady us during difficult times. Jesus told His followers, “In the world you will have tribulation,” but He also said, “In Me you may have peace” (John 16:33). Because of Christ, the true peace of God can fill our hearts (Col. 3:15).
Father, we long for Your peace in the midst of our turmoil. Please help us to rest in You.
Peace floods the soul when Christ rules the heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 1, 2015
Learning About His Ways
When Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples…He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. —Matthew 11:1
He comes where He commands us to leave. If you stayed home when God told you to go because you were so concerned about your own people there, then you actually robbed them of the teaching of Jesus Christ Himself. When you obeyed and left all the consequences to God, the Lord went into your city to teach, but as long as you were disobedient, you blocked His way. Watch where you begin to debate with Him and put what you call your duty into competition with His commands. If you say, “I know that He told me to go, but my duty is here,” it simply means that you do not believe that Jesus means what He says.
He teaches where He instructs us not to teach. “Master…let us make three tabernacles…” (Luke 9:33).
Are we playing the part of an amateur providence, trying to play God’s role in the lives of others? Are we so noisy in our instruction of other people that God cannot get near them? We must learn to keep our mouths shut and our spirits alert. God wants to instruct us regarding His Son, and He wants to turn our times of prayer into mounts of transfiguration. When we become certain that God is going to work in a particular way, He will never work in that way again.
He works where He sends us to wait. “…tarry…until…” (Luke 24:49). “Wait on the Lord” and He will work (Psalm 37:34). But don’t wait sulking spiritually and feeling sorry for yourself, just because you can’t see one inch in front of you! Are we detached enough from our own spiritual fits of emotion to “wait patiently for Him”? (Psalm 37:7). Waiting is not sitting with folded hands doing nothing, but it is learning to do what we are told.
These are some of the facets of His ways that we rarely recognize.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
The next time your world goes from calm to chaos-ponder this: Jesus knows how you feel. His eyes have grown weary. His heart has grown heavy. He knows how you feel. You're no doubt convinced Jesus is acquainted with sorrow and has wrestled with fear. Most people accept that. But can God relate to the hassles and headaches of your life? For some reason this is harder to believe.
Listen to Hebrews 4:15, ". . .he Himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation, except that He never sinned." The writer of Hebrews anticipates our objections. "God, it's easy for you up there. You don't know how hard it is from down here." Listen again. He has shared fully. Not nearly. Not to a large degree, but entirely! In all our experience, in every hurt and every ache. Why? So that when you hurt, you'll go to Him-who knows how you feel!
From In the Eye of the Storm
Exodus 12
John 9:1-23
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.[a] The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”
But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”
10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”
11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”
12 “Where is he now?” they asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied.
13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”
The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”
18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”
20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
Footnotes:
9:4 Other manuscripts read I must quickly carry out the tasks assigned me by the one who sent me; still others read We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, August 01, 2015
Read: Colossians 1:15-23
Christ Is Supreme
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,[a]
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.[b]
So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.
Footnotes:
1:15 Or He is the firstborn of all creation.
1:18 Or the firstborn from the dead.
INSIGHT:
In verse 15 of today’s reading the key word is image. Because “God is Spirit” (John 4:24), and therefore invisible (Col. 1:15), how can we see and know Him? The answer is that Christ came in human form, yet perfectly exhibited the heart, character, and life of the Father. This is where the word image comes in. It is the Greek term eikon (from which we get the word icon), which means “representation.” We cannot see the Father, so the Son came as His representative to show us who He is and what He is like. This was so perfectly accomplished that Jesus told His disciples, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Bill Crowder
How To Have Peace
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1
The Kamppi Chapel of Silence in Helsinki, Finland, stands out in its urban setting. The curved structure, covered with wood, buffers the noise from the busy city outside. Designers created the chapel as a quiet space and a “calm environment for visitors to compose themselves.” It’s a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Many people long for peace, and a few minutes of silence may soothe our minds. But the Bible teaches that real peace—peace with God—comes from His Son. The apostle Paul said, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). Without Christ, we are enemies of God because of our sin. Thankfully, accepting Jesus’ sacrifice reconciles us to God and ends the hostility that existed between us (Col. 1:19-21). He now sees us as Christ presents us—“holy, and blameless, and above reproach” (v. 22).
Because of Christ, the true peace of God can fill our hearts.
Having peace with God does not ensure problem-free living. However, it does steady us during difficult times. Jesus told His followers, “In the world you will have tribulation,” but He also said, “In Me you may have peace” (John 16:33). Because of Christ, the true peace of God can fill our hearts (Col. 3:15).
Father, we long for Your peace in the midst of our turmoil. Please help us to rest in You.
Peace floods the soul when Christ rules the heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 1, 2015
Learning About His Ways
When Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples…He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. —Matthew 11:1
He comes where He commands us to leave. If you stayed home when God told you to go because you were so concerned about your own people there, then you actually robbed them of the teaching of Jesus Christ Himself. When you obeyed and left all the consequences to God, the Lord went into your city to teach, but as long as you were disobedient, you blocked His way. Watch where you begin to debate with Him and put what you call your duty into competition with His commands. If you say, “I know that He told me to go, but my duty is here,” it simply means that you do not believe that Jesus means what He says.
He teaches where He instructs us not to teach. “Master…let us make three tabernacles…” (Luke 9:33).
Are we playing the part of an amateur providence, trying to play God’s role in the lives of others? Are we so noisy in our instruction of other people that God cannot get near them? We must learn to keep our mouths shut and our spirits alert. God wants to instruct us regarding His Son, and He wants to turn our times of prayer into mounts of transfiguration. When we become certain that God is going to work in a particular way, He will never work in that way again.
He works where He sends us to wait. “…tarry…until…” (Luke 24:49). “Wait on the Lord” and He will work (Psalm 37:34). But don’t wait sulking spiritually and feeling sorry for yourself, just because you can’t see one inch in front of you! Are we detached enough from our own spiritual fits of emotion to “wait patiently for Him”? (Psalm 37:7). Waiting is not sitting with folded hands doing nothing, but it is learning to do what we are told.
These are some of the facets of His ways that we rarely recognize.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
Friday, July 31, 2015
Psalm 16 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Open Bible, Open Heart, Open Ears
Do you have a Bible? Read it! When anxiety termites away at your peace, read Philippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Or perhaps laziness is knocking on your door. Read Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.”
Don’t make a decision, large or small, without sitting before God with an open Bible, an open heart, and open ears. Philippians 2:13 says, “God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases Him.”
You have all you need to face the giant-size questions of your life. Most of all you have a God who loves you too much to let you wander. You have a heart for God? Heed it! Have a Bible? Read it.
From Facing Your Giants
Psalm 16
A psalm[a] of David.
Keep me safe, O God,
for I have come to you for refuge.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Master!
Every good thing I have comes from you.”
3 The godly people in the land
are my true heroes!
I take pleasure in them!
4 Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods.
I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood
or even speak the names of their gods.
5 Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.
You guard all that is mine.
6 The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
What a wonderful inheritance!
7 I will bless the Lord who guides me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
9 No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.[b]
My body rests in safety.
10 For you will not leave my soul among the dead[c]
or allow your holy one[d] to rot in the grave.
11 You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever.[e]
Footnotes:
16:Title Hebrew miktam. This may be a literary or musical term.
16:9 Greek version reads and my tongue shouts his praises. Compare Acts 2:26.
16:10a Hebrew in Sheol.
16:10b Or your Holy One.
16:11 Greek version reads You have shown me the way of life, / and you will fill me with the joy of your presence. Compare Acts 2:28.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, July 31, 2015
Read: Luke 19:1-10
Jesus and Zacchaeus
Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.
5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”
6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.
8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man[a] came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Footnotes:
19:10 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
INSIGHT:
Jesus’ description of His mission to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10) is pictured beautifully in His trilogy of parables in Luke 15. He begins in verses 3-7, describing a shepherd who pursues the one lost sheep. The theme continues in verses 8-10 with a woman searching diligently for a lost coin. The trilogy finds its apex in the parable of the prodigal son in verses 11-32. Two common threads run through these three parables. The first is the passion and determination of the seeker—a picture of God’s great love for us. The second is the absolute joy and celebration every time the lost is found. What a marvelous expression of God’s loving pursuit of us.
He Found Me
By Bill Crowder
The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. —Luke 19:10
The film Amazing Grace was set in the late 1700s. It tells the story of William Wilberforce, a politician who was driven by his faith in Christ to commit his money and energy to abolishing the slave trade in England. In one scene, Wilberforce’s butler finds him praying. The butler asks, “You found God, Sir?” Wilberforce responds, “I think He found me.”
The Bible pictures humanity as wayward and wandering sheep. It says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way” (Isa. 53:6). In fact, this wayward condition is so deeply rooted in us that the apostle Paul said: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside” (Rom. 3:10-12). That is why Jesus came. We would never seek Him, so He came seeking us. Jesus declared His mission with the words, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
Wilberforce was exactly right. Jesus came to find us, for we could never have found Him if left to ourselves. It is a clear expression of the Creator’s love for His lost creation that He pursues us and desires to make us His own.
Amazing grace—how sweet the sound—that saved a wretch like me!?I once was lost but now am found,?was blind, but now I see. John Newton
Once lost, now found. Eternally thankful!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 31, 2015
Becoming Entirely His
Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. —James 1:4
Many of us appear to be all right in general, but there are still some areas in which we are careless and lazy; it is not a matter of sin, but the remnants of our carnal life that tend to make us careless. Carelessness is an insult to the Holy Spirit. We should have no carelessness about us either in the way we worship God, or even in the way we eat and drink.
Not only must our relationship to God be right, but the outward expression of that relationship must also be right. Ultimately, God will allow nothing to escape; every detail of our lives is under His scrutiny. God will bring us back in countless ways to the same point over and over again. And He never tires of bringing us back to that one point until we learn the lesson, because His purpose is to produce the finished product. It may be a problem arising from our impulsive nature, but again and again, with the most persistent patience, God has brought us back to that one particular point. Or the problem may be our idle and wandering thinking, or our independent nature and self-interest. Through this process, God is trying to impress upon us the one thing that is not entirely right in our lives.
We have been having a wonderful time in our studies over the revealed truth of God’s redemption, and our hearts are perfect toward Him. And His wonderful work in us makes us know that overall we are right with Him. “Let patience have its perfect work….” The Holy Spirit speaking through James said, “Now let your patience become a finished product.” Beware of becoming careless over the small details of life and saying, “Oh, that will have to do for now.” Whatever it may be, God will point it out with persistence until we become entirely His.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 31, 2015
How Satan Takes You Where You Never Thought You'd Go - #7450
I remember one time years ago when our area had a garbage strike. (It's not a great memory!) The garbage piled up in our garage while the sanitation folks figured out their deal, and it took a while. And it took awhile to get the smell out of our garage.
Now, I know how nasty garbage can get, so I was sympathetic to this man I heard about. There was a garbage strike in his area, and he came up with a creative way to get rid of all that accumulating junk. He sim-ply took some of his garbage each day, put it in a box, and gift wrapped it. Then he left that little gift each day on the bus or the subway. I'm not sure what happened to any of the lucky recipients of all those packages, but you've got to admit, if you've got garbage to move, it's pretty smart to gift wrap it.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Satan Takes You Where You Never Thought You'd Go."
That man was not the first to think of this idea. Satan thought of it a long time ago. He's got garbage that he wants you to pick up. And he knows you won't take it unless it's gift-wrapped. He has no product to give you except pain and disappointment, slavery, death. But he does know how to create a package that will get things into your life that you would never let in if you knew what it was or where it was going to take you. Satan never starts with where he wants you to end up. You don't find that out until it's too late.
It's because the devil gift wraps his junk. And that's why Paul tells us what he does in our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Corinthians 2:11. He tells us to not let Satan "outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes." Like gift-wrapping death. Like the man with pretty garbage, making it look like something it isn't.
What kind of gift-wrapping does your enemy use? Well, sometimes he puts his garbage in an entertaining package. His goal is to get you to think about it and then to want it, because he got you thinking about it first, and then to do what he got you to want, and then to finally pay for it. Think about it, want it, do it, pay for it. And the easiest way to plant sin in your heart is when your guard is down. Satan shows up in the music you love, a movie you really wanted to see, a clever or popular TV show, a great website, a book. But inside what may be a very entertaining package could be images and ideas and values that Satan wants to use to ruin you.
Your enemy also puts his garbage in a personal package. He gets it into your life through a person you really like or respect. He sends the garbage through a teacher you really respect, or someone of the opposite sex you're attracted to, or friends you really don't want to lose. He knows that if he has his sinful idea delivered to you by the right person, you might fall for his lie.
And the devil will even gift-wrap his lies in a spiritual package and get you to wander away from Jesus into something that sounds very spiritual but is very wrong. Dead wrong. They may talk about God and spirituality, maybe meditation, maybe about the Bible; anything that sounds almost Christian, but it's a deadly detour from the truth. You can just assume that the enemy is trying to wear you down right now in some area by offering you garbage in a package designed to really disarm you. That's why God wants you to know who you really are.
In 2 Corinthians 6:16 Paul says, "We are the temple of the living God. As God said, 'I will live with them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be My people.'" And then he says, "Don't touch the filthy things and I will welcome you." He says don't even touch the package!
God lives in you. You're God's blood-bought child. Don't pollute yourself with the devil's stinking garbage no matter how irresistible the wrapping paper is. It's trash, no matter how good it looks!
Do you have a Bible? Read it! When anxiety termites away at your peace, read Philippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Or perhaps laziness is knocking on your door. Read Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.”
Don’t make a decision, large or small, without sitting before God with an open Bible, an open heart, and open ears. Philippians 2:13 says, “God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases Him.”
You have all you need to face the giant-size questions of your life. Most of all you have a God who loves you too much to let you wander. You have a heart for God? Heed it! Have a Bible? Read it.
From Facing Your Giants
Psalm 16
A psalm[a] of David.
Keep me safe, O God,
for I have come to you for refuge.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Master!
Every good thing I have comes from you.”
3 The godly people in the land
are my true heroes!
I take pleasure in them!
4 Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods.
I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood
or even speak the names of their gods.
5 Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.
You guard all that is mine.
6 The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
What a wonderful inheritance!
7 I will bless the Lord who guides me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
9 No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.[b]
My body rests in safety.
10 For you will not leave my soul among the dead[c]
or allow your holy one[d] to rot in the grave.
11 You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever.[e]
Footnotes:
16:Title Hebrew miktam. This may be a literary or musical term.
16:9 Greek version reads and my tongue shouts his praises. Compare Acts 2:26.
16:10a Hebrew in Sheol.
16:10b Or your Holy One.
16:11 Greek version reads You have shown me the way of life, / and you will fill me with the joy of your presence. Compare Acts 2:28.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, July 31, 2015
Read: Luke 19:1-10
Jesus and Zacchaeus
Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.
5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”
6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.
8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man[a] came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Footnotes:
19:10 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
INSIGHT:
Jesus’ description of His mission to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10) is pictured beautifully in His trilogy of parables in Luke 15. He begins in verses 3-7, describing a shepherd who pursues the one lost sheep. The theme continues in verses 8-10 with a woman searching diligently for a lost coin. The trilogy finds its apex in the parable of the prodigal son in verses 11-32. Two common threads run through these three parables. The first is the passion and determination of the seeker—a picture of God’s great love for us. The second is the absolute joy and celebration every time the lost is found. What a marvelous expression of God’s loving pursuit of us.
He Found Me
By Bill Crowder
The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. —Luke 19:10
The film Amazing Grace was set in the late 1700s. It tells the story of William Wilberforce, a politician who was driven by his faith in Christ to commit his money and energy to abolishing the slave trade in England. In one scene, Wilberforce’s butler finds him praying. The butler asks, “You found God, Sir?” Wilberforce responds, “I think He found me.”
The Bible pictures humanity as wayward and wandering sheep. It says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way” (Isa. 53:6). In fact, this wayward condition is so deeply rooted in us that the apostle Paul said: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside” (Rom. 3:10-12). That is why Jesus came. We would never seek Him, so He came seeking us. Jesus declared His mission with the words, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
Wilberforce was exactly right. Jesus came to find us, for we could never have found Him if left to ourselves. It is a clear expression of the Creator’s love for His lost creation that He pursues us and desires to make us His own.
Amazing grace—how sweet the sound—that saved a wretch like me!?I once was lost but now am found,?was blind, but now I see. John Newton
Once lost, now found. Eternally thankful!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 31, 2015
Becoming Entirely His
Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. —James 1:4
Many of us appear to be all right in general, but there are still some areas in which we are careless and lazy; it is not a matter of sin, but the remnants of our carnal life that tend to make us careless. Carelessness is an insult to the Holy Spirit. We should have no carelessness about us either in the way we worship God, or even in the way we eat and drink.
Not only must our relationship to God be right, but the outward expression of that relationship must also be right. Ultimately, God will allow nothing to escape; every detail of our lives is under His scrutiny. God will bring us back in countless ways to the same point over and over again. And He never tires of bringing us back to that one point until we learn the lesson, because His purpose is to produce the finished product. It may be a problem arising from our impulsive nature, but again and again, with the most persistent patience, God has brought us back to that one particular point. Or the problem may be our idle and wandering thinking, or our independent nature and self-interest. Through this process, God is trying to impress upon us the one thing that is not entirely right in our lives.
We have been having a wonderful time in our studies over the revealed truth of God’s redemption, and our hearts are perfect toward Him. And His wonderful work in us makes us know that overall we are right with Him. “Let patience have its perfect work….” The Holy Spirit speaking through James said, “Now let your patience become a finished product.” Beware of becoming careless over the small details of life and saying, “Oh, that will have to do for now.” Whatever it may be, God will point it out with persistence until we become entirely His.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 31, 2015
How Satan Takes You Where You Never Thought You'd Go - #7450
I remember one time years ago when our area had a garbage strike. (It's not a great memory!) The garbage piled up in our garage while the sanitation folks figured out their deal, and it took a while. And it took awhile to get the smell out of our garage.
Now, I know how nasty garbage can get, so I was sympathetic to this man I heard about. There was a garbage strike in his area, and he came up with a creative way to get rid of all that accumulating junk. He sim-ply took some of his garbage each day, put it in a box, and gift wrapped it. Then he left that little gift each day on the bus or the subway. I'm not sure what happened to any of the lucky recipients of all those packages, but you've got to admit, if you've got garbage to move, it's pretty smart to gift wrap it.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Satan Takes You Where You Never Thought You'd Go."
That man was not the first to think of this idea. Satan thought of it a long time ago. He's got garbage that he wants you to pick up. And he knows you won't take it unless it's gift-wrapped. He has no product to give you except pain and disappointment, slavery, death. But he does know how to create a package that will get things into your life that you would never let in if you knew what it was or where it was going to take you. Satan never starts with where he wants you to end up. You don't find that out until it's too late.
It's because the devil gift wraps his junk. And that's why Paul tells us what he does in our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Corinthians 2:11. He tells us to not let Satan "outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes." Like gift-wrapping death. Like the man with pretty garbage, making it look like something it isn't.
What kind of gift-wrapping does your enemy use? Well, sometimes he puts his garbage in an entertaining package. His goal is to get you to think about it and then to want it, because he got you thinking about it first, and then to do what he got you to want, and then to finally pay for it. Think about it, want it, do it, pay for it. And the easiest way to plant sin in your heart is when your guard is down. Satan shows up in the music you love, a movie you really wanted to see, a clever or popular TV show, a great website, a book. But inside what may be a very entertaining package could be images and ideas and values that Satan wants to use to ruin you.
Your enemy also puts his garbage in a personal package. He gets it into your life through a person you really like or respect. He sends the garbage through a teacher you really respect, or someone of the opposite sex you're attracted to, or friends you really don't want to lose. He knows that if he has his sinful idea delivered to you by the right person, you might fall for his lie.
And the devil will even gift-wrap his lies in a spiritual package and get you to wander away from Jesus into something that sounds very spiritual but is very wrong. Dead wrong. They may talk about God and spirituality, maybe meditation, maybe about the Bible; anything that sounds almost Christian, but it's a deadly detour from the truth. You can just assume that the enemy is trying to wear you down right now in some area by offering you garbage in a package designed to really disarm you. That's why God wants you to know who you really are.
In 2 Corinthians 6:16 Paul says, "We are the temple of the living God. As God said, 'I will live with them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be My people.'" And then he says, "Don't touch the filthy things and I will welcome you." He says don't even touch the package!
God lives in you. You're God's blood-bought child. Don't pollute yourself with the devil's stinking garbage no matter how irresistible the wrapping paper is. It's trash, no matter how good it looks!
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