Max Lucado Daily: He is Preparing a Place
God's purpose from all eternity is to prepare a family to indwell the kingdom of God. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11).
God's plotting for our good. In all the setbacks, He is ordaining the best for our future. Every event of our day is designed to draw us toward our God and our destiny. When people junk you in the pit, God can use it for good. When family members sell you out, God will recycle the pain. Falsely accused? Utterly abandoned? You may stumble but you will not fall. You will get through this!
Not because you are strong, but because God is. Not because you are big, but because God is. Not because you're good, but because God is. He has a place prepared for you!
From You'll Get Through This
Mark 10:1-31
Proverbs 14
The wise woman builds her house,
but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.
2 Whoever fears the Lord walks uprightly,
but those who despise him are devious in their ways.
3 A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride,
but the lips of the wise protect them.
4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.
5 An honest witness does not deceive,
but a false witness pours out lies.
6 The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none,
but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.
7 Stay away from a fool,
for you will not find knowledge on their lips.
8 The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,
but the folly of fools is deception.
9 Fools mock at making amends for sin,
but goodwill is found among the upright.
10 Each heart knows its own bitterness,
and no one else can share its joy.
11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
but the tent of the upright will flourish.
12 There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death.
13 Even in laughter the heart may ache,
and rejoicing may end in grief.
14 The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways,
and the good rewarded for theirs.
15 The simple believe anything,
but the prudent give thought to their steps.
16 The wise fear the Lord and shun evil,
but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure.
17 A quick-tempered person does foolish things,
and the one who devises evil schemes is hated.
18 The simple inherit folly,
but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
19 Evildoers will bow down in the presence of the good,
and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
20 The poor are shunned even by their neighbors,
but the rich have many friends.
21 It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor,
but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy.
22 Do not those who plot evil go astray?
But those who plan what is good find[c] love and faithfulness.
23 All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
24 The wealth of the wise is their crown,
but the folly of fools yields folly.
25 A truthful witness saves lives,
but a false witness is deceitful.
26 Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress,
and for their children it will be a refuge.
27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
turning a person from the snares of death.
28 A large population is a king’s glory,
but without subjects a prince is ruined.
29 Whoever is patient has great understanding,
but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.
30 A heart at peace gives life to the body,
but envy rots the bones.
31 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,
but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
32 When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down,
but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.
33 Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning
and even among fools she lets herself be known.[d]
34 Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin condemns any people.
35 A king delights in a wise servant,
but a shameful servant arouses his fury.
Footnotes:
Proverbs 14:22 Or show
Proverbs 14:33 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac discerning / but in the heart of fools she is not known
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Read: John 19:21-30
Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’”
22 Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.”
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice[a] for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.”[b] So that is what they did.
25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.
The Death of Jesus
28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”[c] 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.
Footnotes:
19:24a Greek cast lots.
19:24b Ps 22:18.
19:28 See Pss 22:15; 69:21.
INSIGHT:
At Jesus’ crucifixion, all of the disciples (except John) were in hiding (Matt. 26:56; John 19:26). However, a group of women from Galilee kept vigil at the execution grounds until His burial (Matt. 27:55; Luke 23:55-46). “Many other women” were also there (Mark 15:41), but only four are identified in John 19:25: “his mother” (Mary); “his mother's sister” (whom scholars say is Salome, the mother of Zebedee's sons James and John); “Mary the wife of Clopas” (believed to be “Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph”); and “Mary Magdalene” (see Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40). Sim Kay Tee
The Cross and the Crown
By Bill Crowder
I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die. John 11:25
Westminster Abbey in London has a rich historical background. In the 10th century, Benedictine monks began a tradition of daily worship there that still continues today. The Abbey is also the burial place of many famous people, and every English monarch since ad 1066 has been crowned at the Abbey. In fact, 17 of those monarchs are also buried there—their rule ending where it began.
No matter how grandiose their burial, world rulers rise and fall; they live and die. But another king, Jesus, though once dead, is no longer buried. In His first coming, Jesus was crowned with thorns and crucified as the “king of the Jews” (John 19:3,19). Because Jesus rose from the dead in victory, we who are believers in Christ have hope beyond the grave and the assurance that we will live with Him forever. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (11:25-26).
We serve a risen King! May we gladly yield to His rule in our lives now as we look forward to the day when the “Lord God Almighty” will reign for all eternity (Rev. 19:6).
Thank You, Jesus, for rising from the dead and that You are alive forever.
To learn more about the crown and cross Christ bore, check out The Mockery and Majesty of the Cross at discoveryseries.org/hp081
Jesus' resurrection spelled the death of death.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 18, 2015
The Key to the Missionary’s Devotion
…they went forth for His name’s sake… —3 John 7
Our Lord told us how our love for Him is to exhibit itself when He asked, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:17). And then He said, “Feed My sheep.” In effect, He said, “Identify yourself with My interests in other people,” not, “Identify Me with your interests in other people.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 shows us the characteristics of this love— it is actually the love of God expressing itself. The true test of my love for Jesus is a very practical one, and all the rest is sentimental talk.
Faithfulness to Jesus Christ is the supernatural work of redemption that has been performed in me by the Holy Spirit— “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit…” (Romans 5:5). And it is that love in me that effectively works through me and comes in contact with everyone I meet. I remain faithful to His name, even though the commonsense view of my life may seemingly deny that, and may appear to be declaring that He has no more power than the morning mist.
The key to the missionary’s devotion is that he is attached to nothing and to no one except our Lord Himself. It does not mean simply being detached from the external things surrounding us. Our Lord was amazingly in touch with the ordinary things of life, but He had an inner detachment except toward God. External detachment is often an actual indication of a secret, growing, inner attachment to the things we stay away from externally.
The duty of a faithful missionary is to concentrate on keeping his soul completely and continually open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The men and women our Lord sends out on His endeavors are ordinary human people, but people who are controlled by their devotion to Him, which has been brought about through the work of the Holy Spirit.
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, 1166 R
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Proverbs 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: God Chats in the Closet
Religious leaders loved to make theater out of their prayers. The show nauseated Jesus. In Matthew 6:6 He said, "When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and He will reward you."
The words surely stunned Jesus' audience. The people were simple farmers and stonemasons. They couldn't enter the temple. But they could enter their closets. The point? He is low on fancy, high on accessibility. You need not woo him with location! Or wow him with eloquence. It's the power of a simple prayer.
Join me every day for 4 weeks, to pray 4 minutes, a simple prayer. Sign on at BeforeAmen.com. Then get ready to connect with God like never before!
Before Amen
Proverbs 13
A wise child accepts a parent’s discipline;[a]
a mocker refuses to listen to correction.
2 Wise words will win you a good meal,
but treacherous people have an appetite for violence.
3 Those who control their tongue will have a long life;
opening your mouth can ruin everything.
4 Lazy people want much but get little,
but those who work hard will prosper.
5 The godly hate lies;
the wicked cause shame and disgrace.
6 Godliness guards the path of the blameless,
but the evil are misled by sin.
7 Some who are poor pretend to be rich;
others who are rich pretend to be poor.
8 The rich can pay a ransom for their lives,
but the poor won’t even get threatened.
9 The life of the godly is full of light and joy,
but the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.
10 Pride leads to conflict;
those who take advice are wise.
11 Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears;
wealth from hard work grows over time.
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.
13 People who despise advice are asking for trouble;
those who respect a command will succeed.
14 The instruction of the wise is like a life-giving fountain;
those who accept it avoid the snares of death.
15 A person with good sense is respected;
a treacherous person is headed for destruction.[b]
16 Wise people think before they act;
fools don’t—and even brag about their foolishness.
17 An unreliable messenger stumbles into trouble,
but a reliable messenger brings healing.
18 If you ignore criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace;
if you accept correction, you will be honored.
19 It is pleasant to see dreams come true,
but fools refuse to turn from evil to attain them.
20 Walk with the wise and become wise;
associate with fools and get in trouble.
21 Trouble chases sinners,
while blessings reward the righteous.
22 Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren,
but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly.
23 A poor person’s farm may produce much food,
but injustice sweeps it all away.
24 Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children.
Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.
25 The godly eat to their hearts’ content,
but the belly of the wicked goes hungry.
Footnotes:
13:1 Hebrew A wise son accepts his father’s discipline.
13:15 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads the way of the treacherous is lasting.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Read: Psalm 25:4-11
Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
5 Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you.
6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,
which you have shown from long ages past.
7 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you are merciful, O Lord.
8 The Lord is good and does what is right;
he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
9 He leads the humble in doing right,
teaching them his way.
10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness
all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.
11 For the honor of your name, O Lord,
forgive my many, many sins.
INSIGHT:
In verse 8 of today’s reading, David describes the Lord as good and upright. What God’s character causes Him to do, however, is quite surprising. Rather than His holiness leading Him away from us—who are sinful and far from holy—His mercy leads Him to instruct us in His ways. Because we know God is good, we can trust Him. J.R. Hudberg
The Rugged Road
By David Roper
Ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16
A fishing buddy of mine told me about an alpine lake located high on the north flank of Jughandle Mountain here in Idaho. Rumor had it that large cutthroat trout lurked up there. My friend got a pencil and scrap of napkin and drew a map for me. Several weeks later I gassed up my truck and set out to follow his directions.
His map put me on one of the worst roads I’ve ever driven! It was an old logging road that had been bulldozed through the forest and never regraded. Washouts, fallen timber, deep ruts, and large rocks battered my spine and bent the undercarriage of my truck. It took half a morning to reach my destination, and when I finally arrived I asked myself, “Why would a friend send me up a road like this?”
But the lake was magnificent and the fish were indeed large and scrappy! My friend had put me on the right road—one I would have chosen myself and patiently endured had I known what I knew at the end.
There is a faithful saying: “All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant” (Ps. 25:10). Some of God’s paths for us are rough and rugged, others tedious and boring, but all are filled with His love and faithfulness. When we come to the end of our journey and know what we then will know, we will say, “God’s path was best for me.”
Father, we don’t see the end of the road, but You do. We trust You for what we can’t see. We know that You are bringing us through it.
Our path may have obstacles, but God will lead us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, October 17, 2015
The Key of the Greater Work
…I say to you, he who believes in Me,…greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. —John 14:12
Prayer does not equip us for greater works— prayer is the greater work. Yet we think of prayer as some commonsense exercise of our higher powers that simply prepares us for God’s work. In the teachings of Jesus Christ, prayer is the working of the miracle of redemption in me, which produces the miracle of redemption in others, through the power of God. The way fruit remains firm is through prayer, but remember that it is prayer based on the agony of Christ in redemption, not on my own agony. We must go to God as His child, because only a child gets his prayers answered; a “wise” man does not (see Matthew 11:25).
Prayer is the battle, and it makes no difference where you are. However God may engineer your circumstances, your duty is to pray. Never allow yourself this thought, “I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly cannot be used where you have not yet been placed. Wherever God has placed you and whatever your circumstances, you should pray, continually offering up prayers to Him. And He promises, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do…” (John 14:13). Yet we refuse to pray unless it thrills or excites us, which is the most intense form of spiritual selfishness. We must learn to work according to God’s direction, and He says to pray. “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:38).
There is nothing thrilling about a laboring person’s work, but it is the laboring person who makes the ideas of the genius possible. And it is the laboring saint who makes the ideas of his Master possible. When you labor at prayer, from God’s perspective there are always results. What an astonishment it will be to see, once the veil is finally lifted, all the souls that have been reaped by you, simply because you have been in the habit of taking your orders from Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
Religious leaders loved to make theater out of their prayers. The show nauseated Jesus. In Matthew 6:6 He said, "When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and He will reward you."
The words surely stunned Jesus' audience. The people were simple farmers and stonemasons. They couldn't enter the temple. But they could enter their closets. The point? He is low on fancy, high on accessibility. You need not woo him with location! Or wow him with eloquence. It's the power of a simple prayer.
Join me every day for 4 weeks, to pray 4 minutes, a simple prayer. Sign on at BeforeAmen.com. Then get ready to connect with God like never before!
Before Amen
Proverbs 13
A wise child accepts a parent’s discipline;[a]
a mocker refuses to listen to correction.
2 Wise words will win you a good meal,
but treacherous people have an appetite for violence.
3 Those who control their tongue will have a long life;
opening your mouth can ruin everything.
4 Lazy people want much but get little,
but those who work hard will prosper.
5 The godly hate lies;
the wicked cause shame and disgrace.
6 Godliness guards the path of the blameless,
but the evil are misled by sin.
7 Some who are poor pretend to be rich;
others who are rich pretend to be poor.
8 The rich can pay a ransom for their lives,
but the poor won’t even get threatened.
9 The life of the godly is full of light and joy,
but the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.
10 Pride leads to conflict;
those who take advice are wise.
11 Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears;
wealth from hard work grows over time.
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.
13 People who despise advice are asking for trouble;
those who respect a command will succeed.
14 The instruction of the wise is like a life-giving fountain;
those who accept it avoid the snares of death.
15 A person with good sense is respected;
a treacherous person is headed for destruction.[b]
16 Wise people think before they act;
fools don’t—and even brag about their foolishness.
17 An unreliable messenger stumbles into trouble,
but a reliable messenger brings healing.
18 If you ignore criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace;
if you accept correction, you will be honored.
19 It is pleasant to see dreams come true,
but fools refuse to turn from evil to attain them.
20 Walk with the wise and become wise;
associate with fools and get in trouble.
21 Trouble chases sinners,
while blessings reward the righteous.
22 Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren,
but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly.
23 A poor person’s farm may produce much food,
but injustice sweeps it all away.
24 Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children.
Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.
25 The godly eat to their hearts’ content,
but the belly of the wicked goes hungry.
Footnotes:
13:1 Hebrew A wise son accepts his father’s discipline.
13:15 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads the way of the treacherous is lasting.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Read: Psalm 25:4-11
Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
5 Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you.
6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,
which you have shown from long ages past.
7 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you are merciful, O Lord.
8 The Lord is good and does what is right;
he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
9 He leads the humble in doing right,
teaching them his way.
10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness
all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.
11 For the honor of your name, O Lord,
forgive my many, many sins.
INSIGHT:
In verse 8 of today’s reading, David describes the Lord as good and upright. What God’s character causes Him to do, however, is quite surprising. Rather than His holiness leading Him away from us—who are sinful and far from holy—His mercy leads Him to instruct us in His ways. Because we know God is good, we can trust Him. J.R. Hudberg
The Rugged Road
By David Roper
Ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16
A fishing buddy of mine told me about an alpine lake located high on the north flank of Jughandle Mountain here in Idaho. Rumor had it that large cutthroat trout lurked up there. My friend got a pencil and scrap of napkin and drew a map for me. Several weeks later I gassed up my truck and set out to follow his directions.
His map put me on one of the worst roads I’ve ever driven! It was an old logging road that had been bulldozed through the forest and never regraded. Washouts, fallen timber, deep ruts, and large rocks battered my spine and bent the undercarriage of my truck. It took half a morning to reach my destination, and when I finally arrived I asked myself, “Why would a friend send me up a road like this?”
But the lake was magnificent and the fish were indeed large and scrappy! My friend had put me on the right road—one I would have chosen myself and patiently endured had I known what I knew at the end.
There is a faithful saying: “All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant” (Ps. 25:10). Some of God’s paths for us are rough and rugged, others tedious and boring, but all are filled with His love and faithfulness. When we come to the end of our journey and know what we then will know, we will say, “God’s path was best for me.”
Father, we don’t see the end of the road, but You do. We trust You for what we can’t see. We know that You are bringing us through it.
Our path may have obstacles, but God will lead us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, October 17, 2015
The Key of the Greater Work
…I say to you, he who believes in Me,…greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. —John 14:12
Prayer does not equip us for greater works— prayer is the greater work. Yet we think of prayer as some commonsense exercise of our higher powers that simply prepares us for God’s work. In the teachings of Jesus Christ, prayer is the working of the miracle of redemption in me, which produces the miracle of redemption in others, through the power of God. The way fruit remains firm is through prayer, but remember that it is prayer based on the agony of Christ in redemption, not on my own agony. We must go to God as His child, because only a child gets his prayers answered; a “wise” man does not (see Matthew 11:25).
Prayer is the battle, and it makes no difference where you are. However God may engineer your circumstances, your duty is to pray. Never allow yourself this thought, “I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly cannot be used where you have not yet been placed. Wherever God has placed you and whatever your circumstances, you should pray, continually offering up prayers to Him. And He promises, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do…” (John 14:13). Yet we refuse to pray unless it thrills or excites us, which is the most intense form of spiritual selfishness. We must learn to work according to God’s direction, and He says to pray. “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:38).
There is nothing thrilling about a laboring person’s work, but it is the laboring person who makes the ideas of the genius possible. And it is the laboring saint who makes the ideas of his Master possible. When you labor at prayer, from God’s perspective there are always results. What an astonishment it will be to see, once the veil is finally lifted, all the souls that have been reaped by you, simply because you have been in the habit of taking your orders from Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
Friday, October 16, 2015
Acts 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Look to Jesus to Comfort You
Joshua 5:14 says "Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped." He was a five-star general. Forty-thousand soldiers saluted as he passed. Two-million people looked up to him. Yet in the presence of God, he fell on his face, and worshiped.
We're never so strong or mighty that we don't need to worship. Worship-less people have no power greater than themselves to call on. The worship-less heart faces Jericho all alone. Don't go to your Jericho without first going to your Commander. Let him remind you of his all-encompassing power.
In Hebrews 13:5 he has given you this promise. "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you." Look to Jesus for comfort. Turn your gaze away from Jericho. You've looked at it long enough. Your Jericho may be strong but your Jesus is stronger. Let him be your strength.
From Glory Days
Acts 1
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
1 In my first book[a] I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with[b] water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The Ascension of Jesus
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
Matthias Replaces Judas
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.[c] 13 When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.
Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), and Judas (son of James). 14 They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.
15 During this time, when about 120 believers[d] were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them. 16 “Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David. 17 Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”
18 (Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines. 19 The news of his death spread to all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)
20 Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’[e]
21 “So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus— 22 from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”
23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen 25 as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.
Footnotes:
1:1 The reference is to the Gospel of Luke.
1:5 Or in; also in 1:5b.
1:12 Greek a Sabbath day’s journey.
1:15 Greek brothers.
1:20 Pss 69:25; 109:8.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, October 16, 2015
Read: Matthew 6:19-24
Teaching about Money and Possessions
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
22 “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!
24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
INSIGHT:
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is His well-known teaching on kingdom living. Because of the importance of the ideas conveyed, it is likely that He revisited these themes multiple times during His earthly ministry. The Scriptures describe two of those presentations, which are similar yet distinct. Matthew 5–7 tells us that Jesus taught His message on a mountain (5:1), while Luke’s account takes place on a level area (6:17-49). Matthew’s account includes eight blessings known as the Beatitudes (5:3-12), while Luke’s rendering includes only four blessings and a series of four woes (6:20-26). Bill Crowder
Treasures in Heaven
By Lawrence Darmani
Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. —nkjv Matthew 6:20
Poorly installed electric wiring caused a fire that burned down our newly built home. The flames leveled our house within an hour, leaving nothing but rubble. Another time, we returned home from church one Sunday to find our house had been broken into and some of our possessions stolen.
In our imperfect world, loss of material wealth is all too common—vehicles are stolen or crashed, ships sink, buildings crumble, homes are flooded, and personal belongings are stolen. This makes Jesus’ admonition not to put our trust in earthly wealth very meaningful (Matt. 6:19).
Nothing lasts forever—except what our God enables us to do for others.
Jesus told a story of a man who accumulated abundant treasures and decided to store up everything for himself (Luke 12:16-21). “Take life easy,” the man told himself; “eat, drink and be merry” (v. 19). But that night he lost everything, including his life. In conclusion, Jesus said, “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (v. 21).
Material wealth is temporary. Nothing lasts forever—except what our God enables us to do for others. Giving of our time and resources to spread the good news, visiting those who are lonely, and helping those in need are just some of the many ways to store up treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:20).
In what ways are you storing up treasures in heaven? How might you change and grow in this area of your life?
Our real wealth is what we invest for eternity.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 16, 2015
The Key to the Master’s Orders
Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. —Matthew 9:38
The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the Master’s orders— the key is prayer. “Pray the Lord of the harvest….” In the natural realm, prayer is not practical but absurd. We have to realize that prayer is foolish from the commonsense point of view.
From Jesus Christ’s perspective, there are no nations, but only the world. How many of us pray without regard to the persons, but with regard to only one Person— Jesus Christ? He owns the harvest that is produced through distress and through conviction of sin. This is the harvest for which we have to pray that laborers be sent out to reap. We stay busy at work, while people all around us are ripe and ready to be harvested; we do not reap even one of them, but simply waste our Lord’s time in over-energized activities and programs. Suppose a crisis were to come into your father’s or your brother’s life— are you there as a laborer to reap the harvest for Jesus Christ? Is your response, “Oh, but I have a special work to do!” No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ’s own, “a servant [who] is not greater than his master” (John 13:16), and someone who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do. Our Lord calls us to no special work— He calls us to Himself. “Pray the Lord of the harvest,” and He will engineer your circumstances to send you out as His laborer.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, light comes through them. The Place of Help, 1032 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, October 16, 2015
THE BAD NEWS OF A DYING MARRIAGE - #7505
There's nothing like a famous divorce to sell newspapers. You know, people put together the words fault and divorce, and an American public collectively says, "Oh, tell me more! Whose fault? Tell me more! Put it in the newspapers! Put it on the news!" So the press obliges us, and rumors become front page headlines, especially as you're checking out of the supermarket. There are speculations about every gory detail: financial, historical, interpersonal, and extramarital.
I remember when my friends who only came every three years from being missionaries in Beirut, Lebanon would stop at our house – last stop before they left after visiting Christians all over the country. And I would always ask them the same question, "What's changed since you were here last time?" And I remember they soberly said to me after this one trip, "Christian divorce." They said, "It just wasn't like this only three years ago."
Oh, it's not just in the headlines. It's in lives all around us. Sometimes you feel like saying, "Enough all ready! I'm sick of all this talk about divorce." Well, I know someone who's been feeling that way for a long time.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Bad News of a Dying Marriage."
Here's the word for today from the Word of God. It's from Malachi, and I'm reading from the second chapter. Verse 13 says, "You flood the Lord's altar with tears. You weep and wail because He no longer looks with favor on your offering or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, 'Why?' It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not God made you One? You belong to Him in body and spirit. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth." Listen to these words, "'I hate divorce' says the Lord God of Israel."
There was a time when a believer in Christ just didn't consider divorce as an option no matter what their marital troubles were. God calls this broken faith with your marriage partner. Of course, today divorce is not an attractive option for a Christian who's struggling in a marriage, but a whole lot feel it's an option. See, they continued to widen the justifiable grounds for ending a marriage, at least in their own minds.
While we discourage divorce, we see it happening all around. Listen to the clear voice of God, "I hate divorce." He seems to be saying here that breaking the marriage covenant is tearing up your relationship with Him too. Those three words should be deeply etched on our hearts; on the heart of every married person – God's words, "I hate divorce."
Now, He didn't say, "I hate divorced people." But God does not take the death of a family lightly and neither should we. We need to hate it like He does. After hearing so much about people trying to justify divorce, I've had people say, "I'm sick about all this talk about divorce." Well, actually, that's how God feels about our softness to what He hates. I know you want God's blessing in your life.
Well, you need to nail shut that back door; that one that's on your marriage vows that is a door that you feel like, "Well, maybe if I have to, I'll slip out the back door." The moment you allow divorce to be even a possible option, you make it much more likely that it will happen. You start to divide your energy. You start to say, "Well, there is that possibility."
You've got to focus your energy on making this marriage thrive. Fight for a marriage, face the problems, don't deny them, and determine before God you will fight for it.
Divorce is an option, but God hates it and a divorce is always really bad news!
Joshua 5:14 says "Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped." He was a five-star general. Forty-thousand soldiers saluted as he passed. Two-million people looked up to him. Yet in the presence of God, he fell on his face, and worshiped.
We're never so strong or mighty that we don't need to worship. Worship-less people have no power greater than themselves to call on. The worship-less heart faces Jericho all alone. Don't go to your Jericho without first going to your Commander. Let him remind you of his all-encompassing power.
In Hebrews 13:5 he has given you this promise. "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you." Look to Jesus for comfort. Turn your gaze away from Jericho. You've looked at it long enough. Your Jericho may be strong but your Jesus is stronger. Let him be your strength.
From Glory Days
Acts 1
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
1 In my first book[a] I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with[b] water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The Ascension of Jesus
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
Matthias Replaces Judas
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.[c] 13 When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.
Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), and Judas (son of James). 14 They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.
15 During this time, when about 120 believers[d] were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them. 16 “Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David. 17 Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”
18 (Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines. 19 The news of his death spread to all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)
20 Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’[e]
21 “So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus— 22 from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”
23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen 25 as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.
Footnotes:
1:1 The reference is to the Gospel of Luke.
1:5 Or in; also in 1:5b.
1:12 Greek a Sabbath day’s journey.
1:15 Greek brothers.
1:20 Pss 69:25; 109:8.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, October 16, 2015
Read: Matthew 6:19-24
Teaching about Money and Possessions
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
22 “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!
24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
INSIGHT:
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is His well-known teaching on kingdom living. Because of the importance of the ideas conveyed, it is likely that He revisited these themes multiple times during His earthly ministry. The Scriptures describe two of those presentations, which are similar yet distinct. Matthew 5–7 tells us that Jesus taught His message on a mountain (5:1), while Luke’s account takes place on a level area (6:17-49). Matthew’s account includes eight blessings known as the Beatitudes (5:3-12), while Luke’s rendering includes only four blessings and a series of four woes (6:20-26). Bill Crowder
Treasures in Heaven
By Lawrence Darmani
Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. —nkjv Matthew 6:20
Poorly installed electric wiring caused a fire that burned down our newly built home. The flames leveled our house within an hour, leaving nothing but rubble. Another time, we returned home from church one Sunday to find our house had been broken into and some of our possessions stolen.
In our imperfect world, loss of material wealth is all too common—vehicles are stolen or crashed, ships sink, buildings crumble, homes are flooded, and personal belongings are stolen. This makes Jesus’ admonition not to put our trust in earthly wealth very meaningful (Matt. 6:19).
Nothing lasts forever—except what our God enables us to do for others.
Jesus told a story of a man who accumulated abundant treasures and decided to store up everything for himself (Luke 12:16-21). “Take life easy,” the man told himself; “eat, drink and be merry” (v. 19). But that night he lost everything, including his life. In conclusion, Jesus said, “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (v. 21).
Material wealth is temporary. Nothing lasts forever—except what our God enables us to do for others. Giving of our time and resources to spread the good news, visiting those who are lonely, and helping those in need are just some of the many ways to store up treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:20).
In what ways are you storing up treasures in heaven? How might you change and grow in this area of your life?
Our real wealth is what we invest for eternity.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 16, 2015
The Key to the Master’s Orders
Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. —Matthew 9:38
The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the Master’s orders— the key is prayer. “Pray the Lord of the harvest….” In the natural realm, prayer is not practical but absurd. We have to realize that prayer is foolish from the commonsense point of view.
From Jesus Christ’s perspective, there are no nations, but only the world. How many of us pray without regard to the persons, but with regard to only one Person— Jesus Christ? He owns the harvest that is produced through distress and through conviction of sin. This is the harvest for which we have to pray that laborers be sent out to reap. We stay busy at work, while people all around us are ripe and ready to be harvested; we do not reap even one of them, but simply waste our Lord’s time in over-energized activities and programs. Suppose a crisis were to come into your father’s or your brother’s life— are you there as a laborer to reap the harvest for Jesus Christ? Is your response, “Oh, but I have a special work to do!” No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ’s own, “a servant [who] is not greater than his master” (John 13:16), and someone who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do. Our Lord calls us to no special work— He calls us to Himself. “Pray the Lord of the harvest,” and He will engineer your circumstances to send you out as His laborer.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, light comes through them. The Place of Help, 1032 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, October 16, 2015
THE BAD NEWS OF A DYING MARRIAGE - #7505
There's nothing like a famous divorce to sell newspapers. You know, people put together the words fault and divorce, and an American public collectively says, "Oh, tell me more! Whose fault? Tell me more! Put it in the newspapers! Put it on the news!" So the press obliges us, and rumors become front page headlines, especially as you're checking out of the supermarket. There are speculations about every gory detail: financial, historical, interpersonal, and extramarital.
I remember when my friends who only came every three years from being missionaries in Beirut, Lebanon would stop at our house – last stop before they left after visiting Christians all over the country. And I would always ask them the same question, "What's changed since you were here last time?" And I remember they soberly said to me after this one trip, "Christian divorce." They said, "It just wasn't like this only three years ago."
Oh, it's not just in the headlines. It's in lives all around us. Sometimes you feel like saying, "Enough all ready! I'm sick of all this talk about divorce." Well, I know someone who's been feeling that way for a long time.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Bad News of a Dying Marriage."
Here's the word for today from the Word of God. It's from Malachi, and I'm reading from the second chapter. Verse 13 says, "You flood the Lord's altar with tears. You weep and wail because He no longer looks with favor on your offering or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, 'Why?' It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not God made you One? You belong to Him in body and spirit. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth." Listen to these words, "'I hate divorce' says the Lord God of Israel."
There was a time when a believer in Christ just didn't consider divorce as an option no matter what their marital troubles were. God calls this broken faith with your marriage partner. Of course, today divorce is not an attractive option for a Christian who's struggling in a marriage, but a whole lot feel it's an option. See, they continued to widen the justifiable grounds for ending a marriage, at least in their own minds.
While we discourage divorce, we see it happening all around. Listen to the clear voice of God, "I hate divorce." He seems to be saying here that breaking the marriage covenant is tearing up your relationship with Him too. Those three words should be deeply etched on our hearts; on the heart of every married person – God's words, "I hate divorce."
Now, He didn't say, "I hate divorced people." But God does not take the death of a family lightly and neither should we. We need to hate it like He does. After hearing so much about people trying to justify divorce, I've had people say, "I'm sick about all this talk about divorce." Well, actually, that's how God feels about our softness to what He hates. I know you want God's blessing in your life.
Well, you need to nail shut that back door; that one that's on your marriage vows that is a door that you feel like, "Well, maybe if I have to, I'll slip out the back door." The moment you allow divorce to be even a possible option, you make it much more likely that it will happen. You start to divide your energy. You start to say, "Well, there is that possibility."
You've got to focus your energy on making this marriage thrive. Fight for a marriage, face the problems, don't deny them, and determine before God you will fight for it.
Divorce is an option, but God hates it and a divorce is always really bad news!
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Proverbs 12, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: He is in Charge
We need to know that God is near. We are never alone. In our darkest hour, in our deepest questions, the Lord never leaves us!
When my daughters were small, they would occasionally cry out in the middle of the night. They would hear a noise on the street. They would shout, "Daddy!" I would do what all daddies do-tell their mother. (Just kidding). I would get up, walk down the hall, and step into their room. When I did the atmosphere changed. Strange noises didn't matter. Daddy was here.
You need to know this- your Father is here. Do you face a diagnosis, difficulty or defeat that keeps you from entering your Promised Land? Paul says in Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" All authority has been given to him. He is in charge of it all. He has the final word on everything!
From Glory Days
Proverbs 12
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but whoever hates correction is stupid.
2 Good people obtain favor from the Lord,
but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.
3 No one can be established through wickedness,
but the righteous cannot be uprooted.
4 A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,
but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.
5 The plans of the righteous are just,
but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.
6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,
but the speech of the upright rescues them.
7 The wicked are overthrown and are no more,
but the house of the righteous stands firm.
8 A person is praised according to their prudence,
and one with a warped mind is despised.
9 Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant
than pretend to be somebody and have no food.
10 The righteous care for the needs of their animals,
but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.
11 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
but those who chase fantasies have no sense.
12 The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,
but the root of the righteous endures.
13 Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk,
and so the innocent escape trouble.
14 From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things,
and the work of their hands brings them reward.
15 The way of fools seems right to them,
but the wise listen to advice.
16 Fools show their annoyance at once,
but the prudent overlook an insult.
17 An honest witness tells the truth,
but a false witness tells lies.
18 The words of the reckless pierce like swords,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
19 Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
20 Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
but those who promote peace have joy.
21 No harm overtakes the righteous,
but the wicked have their fill of trouble.
22 The Lord detests lying lips,
but he delights in people who are trustworthy.
23 The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves,
but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.
24 Diligent hands will rule,
but laziness ends in forced labor.
25 Anxiety weighs down the heart,
but a kind word cheers it up.
26 The righteous choose their friends carefully,
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
27 The lazy do not roast[d] any game,
but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.
28 In the way of righteousness there is life;
along that path is immortality.
Footnotes:
Proverbs 12:27 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Read: Proverbs 3:1–8
Trusting in the Lord
My child,[a] never forget the things I have taught you.
Store my commands in your heart.
2 If you do this, you will live many years,
and your life will be satisfying.
3 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!
Tie them around your neck as a reminder.
Write them deep within your heart.
4 Then you will find favor with both God and people,
and you will earn a good reputation.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8 Then you will have healing for your body
and strength for your bones.
Footnotes:
3:1 Hebrew My son; also in 3:11, 21.
INSIGHT:
The book of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings, advice, instructions, and warnings. It is structured as a life manual from a father to his son—an encouragement to live wisely and in a way that obeys and honors God. Solomon, who spoke about 3,000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32), is the main author (see Prov. 1:1-6; 10:1; 25:1). Other authors include unnamed Jewish wise men (22:17–24:34), Agur (ch. 30), and Lemuel (ch. 31). In today’s reading Solomon admonishes us not to neglect God’s Word but to obey it (3:1). A wise person is faithful (v. 3), trusts and depends on God (vv. 5-6), is not proud and avoids evil (v. 7), puts God first in everything (v. 9), and learns from God’s discipline (v. 11). Sim Kay Tee
God’s Direction
By David McCasland
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. —nkjv Proverbs 3:6
A century ago, 41-year-old Oswald Chambers arrived in Egypt to serve as a YMCA chaplain to British Commonwealth troops during World War I. He was assigned to a camp at Zeitoun, six miles north of Cairo. On his first night there, October 27, 1915, Chambers wrote in his diary, “This [area] is absolutely desert in the very heart of the troops and a glorious opportunity for men. It is all immensely unlike anything I have been used to, and I am watching with interest the new things God will do and engineer.”
Chambers believed and practiced the words of Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6 nkjv).
Wherever God puts us, our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him.
This is both a comfort and a challenge. There is security in knowing that the Lord will lead us each day, but we must not become so attached to our plans that we resist God’s redirection or His timing.
“We have no right to judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is fitting us for,” said Chambers. “God engineers everything. Wherever He puts us, our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him in that particular work.”
Lord, may I love and serve You with all my heart where You have placed me today.
Read more of Oswald Chambers’ work at utmost.org
As we trust in God, He directs our steps.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 15, 2015
The Key to the Missionary’s Message
He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. —1 John 2:2
The key to the missionary’s message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus— His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God. Look at any other aspect of Christ’s work, whether it is healing, saving, or sanctifying, and you will see that there is nothing limitless about those. But— “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”— that is limitless (John 1:29). The missionary’s message is the limitless importance of Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins, and a missionary is someone who is immersed in the truth of that revelation.
The real key to the missionary’s message is the “remissionary” aspect of Christ’s life, not His kindness, His goodness, or even His revealing of the fatherhood of God to us. “…repentance and remission of sins should be preached…to all nations…” (Luke 24:47). The greatest message of limitless importance is that “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins….” The missionary’s message is not nationalistic, favoring nations or individuals; it is “for the whole world.” When the Holy Spirit comes into me, He does not consider my partialities or preferences; He simply brings me into oneness with the Lord Jesus.
A missionary is someone who is bound by marriage to the stated mission and purpose of his Lord and Master. He is not to proclaim his own point of view, but is only to proclaim “the Lamb of God.” It is easier to belong to a faction that simply tells what Jesus Christ has done for me, and easier to become a devotee of divine healing, or of a special type of sanctification, or of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But Paul did not say, “Woe is me if I do not preach what Christ has done for me,” but, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). And this is the gospel— “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The place for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says nothing, but prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to get into contact with God, and the “greater works” will be done by prayer (see John 14:12–13). Baffled to Fight Better, 56 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, October 15, 2015
How Accidents Happen - #7504
We were in a radio studio getting ready to tape a live youth broadcast. One of the things that made this program exciting is that we had a live studio audience of young people. This particular night a youth group was coming to be that audience.
Well, we waited, and we waited, and they never came. Consequently we never got to do the program. No one had even called us! Either they were pretty irresponsible, or they found out what we pay – which is nothing – or something had happened. Actually, something had happened. The man driving had looked down for just a second and they plowed into the rear of a construction truck. Thankfully no one was seriously injured, and they even came back another time to do a program. I think someone else was driving.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Accidents Happen."
It really didn't take much to cause that crash – just one look away! Actually, that's been the cause of many accidents, many spiritual accidents. Our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Samuel 11:1. I find this one of the saddest chapters in the Bible. "In the Spring, at a time when Kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. But David remained in Jerusalem."
David's job was to be out there fighting God's battles right then. Instead he decided he would take a day off in more ways than one. Verse 2: "One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, 'She is Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah,'" who, by the way, was one of his trusted men. "She came to him and he slept with her." There was a moral crash that night that David could never have foreseen and all the damages that would follow.
Chapter 12, the prophet says to David, "You despised the Word of the Lord." In other words he got tempted and he stopped caring what God would think. Have you ever been there? Then the prophet says, "The sword will never depart from your house." Oh, David's sin is forgiven but the consequences will haunt him for the rest of his life. Then the prophet says, "The Lord has taken away your sin, but by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt"(Ch.12 vs.14).
God's reputation has been smeared because of what one of His children did. How many times have we seen that happen? What caused this very costly moral accident? The same thing that caused the crash of that van – one look away. I believe someone is listening right now, and God wants to say to you, "You're about to crash because you've looked away." He doesn't want you to crash. He doesn't want you to pay for the damages. So He's sending you this loving warning today.
You've looked away from His book. You've put your Bible on a shelf and seldom are you showing up for your time with the Lord anymore. You've looked away from His calling on your life and you're on a spiritual vacation. You've looked away from Jesus and you've let something or someone else take over your heart. You're headed for a terrible accident.
David took a spiritual day off and he paid for that day with the rest of his life. It could be you've been taking some spiritual days off and Satan is using your complacency, he's using your carelessness to make you drift off the road that God once had you on. Listen, it's time to look up, it's time to wake up, and it's time to quit flirting with that temptation. God said flee from it, not flirt with it!
It's time to drop that person or the people who are pulling you away from your Savior. No more compromise, no more drifting, it will cost you too much. Look up again at Jesus who suffered and died for the very sin you've been playing with. Come back to His love. Come back to His Lordship. It's so much better there.
If you look away much longer the crash is going to be inevitable and it's going to be costly.
We need to know that God is near. We are never alone. In our darkest hour, in our deepest questions, the Lord never leaves us!
When my daughters were small, they would occasionally cry out in the middle of the night. They would hear a noise on the street. They would shout, "Daddy!" I would do what all daddies do-tell their mother. (Just kidding). I would get up, walk down the hall, and step into their room. When I did the atmosphere changed. Strange noises didn't matter. Daddy was here.
You need to know this- your Father is here. Do you face a diagnosis, difficulty or defeat that keeps you from entering your Promised Land? Paul says in Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" All authority has been given to him. He is in charge of it all. He has the final word on everything!
From Glory Days
Proverbs 12
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but whoever hates correction is stupid.
2 Good people obtain favor from the Lord,
but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.
3 No one can be established through wickedness,
but the righteous cannot be uprooted.
4 A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,
but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.
5 The plans of the righteous are just,
but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.
6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,
but the speech of the upright rescues them.
7 The wicked are overthrown and are no more,
but the house of the righteous stands firm.
8 A person is praised according to their prudence,
and one with a warped mind is despised.
9 Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant
than pretend to be somebody and have no food.
10 The righteous care for the needs of their animals,
but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.
11 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
but those who chase fantasies have no sense.
12 The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,
but the root of the righteous endures.
13 Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk,
and so the innocent escape trouble.
14 From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things,
and the work of their hands brings them reward.
15 The way of fools seems right to them,
but the wise listen to advice.
16 Fools show their annoyance at once,
but the prudent overlook an insult.
17 An honest witness tells the truth,
but a false witness tells lies.
18 The words of the reckless pierce like swords,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
19 Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
20 Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
but those who promote peace have joy.
21 No harm overtakes the righteous,
but the wicked have their fill of trouble.
22 The Lord detests lying lips,
but he delights in people who are trustworthy.
23 The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves,
but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.
24 Diligent hands will rule,
but laziness ends in forced labor.
25 Anxiety weighs down the heart,
but a kind word cheers it up.
26 The righteous choose their friends carefully,
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
27 The lazy do not roast[d] any game,
but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.
28 In the way of righteousness there is life;
along that path is immortality.
Footnotes:
Proverbs 12:27 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Read: Proverbs 3:1–8
Trusting in the Lord
My child,[a] never forget the things I have taught you.
Store my commands in your heart.
2 If you do this, you will live many years,
and your life will be satisfying.
3 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!
Tie them around your neck as a reminder.
Write them deep within your heart.
4 Then you will find favor with both God and people,
and you will earn a good reputation.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8 Then you will have healing for your body
and strength for your bones.
Footnotes:
3:1 Hebrew My son; also in 3:11, 21.
INSIGHT:
The book of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings, advice, instructions, and warnings. It is structured as a life manual from a father to his son—an encouragement to live wisely and in a way that obeys and honors God. Solomon, who spoke about 3,000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32), is the main author (see Prov. 1:1-6; 10:1; 25:1). Other authors include unnamed Jewish wise men (22:17–24:34), Agur (ch. 30), and Lemuel (ch. 31). In today’s reading Solomon admonishes us not to neglect God’s Word but to obey it (3:1). A wise person is faithful (v. 3), trusts and depends on God (vv. 5-6), is not proud and avoids evil (v. 7), puts God first in everything (v. 9), and learns from God’s discipline (v. 11). Sim Kay Tee
God’s Direction
By David McCasland
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. —nkjv Proverbs 3:6
A century ago, 41-year-old Oswald Chambers arrived in Egypt to serve as a YMCA chaplain to British Commonwealth troops during World War I. He was assigned to a camp at Zeitoun, six miles north of Cairo. On his first night there, October 27, 1915, Chambers wrote in his diary, “This [area] is absolutely desert in the very heart of the troops and a glorious opportunity for men. It is all immensely unlike anything I have been used to, and I am watching with interest the new things God will do and engineer.”
| Kathleen, Biddy and Oswald, summer 1913. |
Wherever God puts us, our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him.
This is both a comfort and a challenge. There is security in knowing that the Lord will lead us each day, but we must not become so attached to our plans that we resist God’s redirection or His timing.
“We have no right to judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is fitting us for,” said Chambers. “God engineers everything. Wherever He puts us, our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him in that particular work.”
Lord, may I love and serve You with all my heart where You have placed me today.
Read more of Oswald Chambers’ work at utmost.org
As we trust in God, He directs our steps.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 15, 2015
The Key to the Missionary’s Message
He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. —1 John 2:2
The key to the missionary’s message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus— His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God. Look at any other aspect of Christ’s work, whether it is healing, saving, or sanctifying, and you will see that there is nothing limitless about those. But— “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”— that is limitless (John 1:29). The missionary’s message is the limitless importance of Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins, and a missionary is someone who is immersed in the truth of that revelation.
The real key to the missionary’s message is the “remissionary” aspect of Christ’s life, not His kindness, His goodness, or even His revealing of the fatherhood of God to us. “…repentance and remission of sins should be preached…to all nations…” (Luke 24:47). The greatest message of limitless importance is that “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins….” The missionary’s message is not nationalistic, favoring nations or individuals; it is “for the whole world.” When the Holy Spirit comes into me, He does not consider my partialities or preferences; He simply brings me into oneness with the Lord Jesus.
A missionary is someone who is bound by marriage to the stated mission and purpose of his Lord and Master. He is not to proclaim his own point of view, but is only to proclaim “the Lamb of God.” It is easier to belong to a faction that simply tells what Jesus Christ has done for me, and easier to become a devotee of divine healing, or of a special type of sanctification, or of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But Paul did not say, “Woe is me if I do not preach what Christ has done for me,” but, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). And this is the gospel— “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The place for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says nothing, but prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to get into contact with God, and the “greater works” will be done by prayer (see John 14:12–13). Baffled to Fight Better, 56 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, October 15, 2015
How Accidents Happen - #7504
We were in a radio studio getting ready to tape a live youth broadcast. One of the things that made this program exciting is that we had a live studio audience of young people. This particular night a youth group was coming to be that audience.
Well, we waited, and we waited, and they never came. Consequently we never got to do the program. No one had even called us! Either they were pretty irresponsible, or they found out what we pay – which is nothing – or something had happened. Actually, something had happened. The man driving had looked down for just a second and they plowed into the rear of a construction truck. Thankfully no one was seriously injured, and they even came back another time to do a program. I think someone else was driving.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Accidents Happen."
It really didn't take much to cause that crash – just one look away! Actually, that's been the cause of many accidents, many spiritual accidents. Our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Samuel 11:1. I find this one of the saddest chapters in the Bible. "In the Spring, at a time when Kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. But David remained in Jerusalem."
David's job was to be out there fighting God's battles right then. Instead he decided he would take a day off in more ways than one. Verse 2: "One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, 'She is Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah,'" who, by the way, was one of his trusted men. "She came to him and he slept with her." There was a moral crash that night that David could never have foreseen and all the damages that would follow.
Chapter 12, the prophet says to David, "You despised the Word of the Lord." In other words he got tempted and he stopped caring what God would think. Have you ever been there? Then the prophet says, "The sword will never depart from your house." Oh, David's sin is forgiven but the consequences will haunt him for the rest of his life. Then the prophet says, "The Lord has taken away your sin, but by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt"(Ch.12 vs.14).
God's reputation has been smeared because of what one of His children did. How many times have we seen that happen? What caused this very costly moral accident? The same thing that caused the crash of that van – one look away. I believe someone is listening right now, and God wants to say to you, "You're about to crash because you've looked away." He doesn't want you to crash. He doesn't want you to pay for the damages. So He's sending you this loving warning today.
You've looked away from His book. You've put your Bible on a shelf and seldom are you showing up for your time with the Lord anymore. You've looked away from His calling on your life and you're on a spiritual vacation. You've looked away from Jesus and you've let something or someone else take over your heart. You're headed for a terrible accident.
David took a spiritual day off and he paid for that day with the rest of his life. It could be you've been taking some spiritual days off and Satan is using your complacency, he's using your carelessness to make you drift off the road that God once had you on. Listen, it's time to look up, it's time to wake up, and it's time to quit flirting with that temptation. God said flee from it, not flirt with it!
It's time to drop that person or the people who are pulling you away from your Savior. No more compromise, no more drifting, it will cost you too much. Look up again at Jesus who suffered and died for the very sin you've been playing with. Come back to His love. Come back to His Lordship. It's so much better there.
If you look away much longer the crash is going to be inevitable and it's going to be costly.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Proverbs 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Know and Remember
Romans 6:11 says, "Consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God." When the devil draws near, stand against him. Don't take his lies. When he dredges up your past, tell him whose you are. He has no recourse to this truth. He knows who you are. He just hopes that you don't, or that you will forget.
So prove to him that you know and remember. Tell him what 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind." Romans 8:35- "I cannot be separated from the love of God." And Philippians 4:13- "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Promised Land people think like this. They live out of their inheritance. They show the devil the new name on their spiritual passport. Remember whose you are!
From Glory Days
Proverbs 11
The Lord detests dishonest scales,
but accurate weights find favor with him.
2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
4 Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight,
but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.
7 Hopes placed in mortals die with them;
all the promise of[c] their power comes to nothing.
8 The righteous person is rescued from trouble,
and it falls on the wicked instead.
9 With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors,
but through knowledge the righteous escape.
10 When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices;
when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
11 Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.
12 Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense,
but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.
13 A gossip betrays a confidence,
but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.
14 For lack of guidance a nation falls,
but victory is won through many advisers.
15 Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer,
but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.
16 A kindhearted woman gains honor,
but ruthless men gain only wealth.
17 Those who are kind benefit themselves,
but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.
18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
19 Truly the righteous attain life,
but whoever pursues evil finds death.
20 The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,
but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.
21 Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
but those who are righteous will go free.
22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.
24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
25 A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
26 People curse the one who hoards grain,
but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.
27 Whoever seeks good finds favor,
but evil comes to one who searches for it.
28 Those who trust in their riches will fall,
but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
29 Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind,
and the fool will be servant to the wise.
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and the one who is wise saves lives.
31 If the righteous receive their due on earth,
how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
Footnotes:
Proverbs 11:7 Two Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate, Syriac and Targum When the wicked die, their hope perishes; / all they expected from
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Read: Hebrews 11:8-16
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed[a] that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Footnotes:
11:11 Or It was by faith that he [Abraham] was able to have a child, even though Sarah was barren and he was too old. He believed.
INSIGHT:
We can take courage and hope from those who have preceded us in the life of faith. The author of Hebrews lists many examples of people who acted in faith despite their circumstances and despite the fact that they had not yet received what “had been promised” (11:39). This is why Hebrews 11 begins by saying that “faith is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” J.R. Hudberg
All Safe! All Well!
By Randy Kilgore
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1
In January 1915, the ship Endurance was trapped and crushed in the ice off the coast of Antarctica. The group of polar explorers, led by Ernest Shackleton, survived and managed to reach Elephant Island in three small lifeboats. Trapped on this uninhabited island, far from normal shipping lanes, they had one hope. On April 24, 1916, 22 men watched as Shackleton and five comrades set out in a tiny lifeboat for South Georgia, an island 800 miles away. The odds seemed impossible, and if they failed, they would all certainly die. What joy, then, when more than four months later a boat appeared on the horizon with Shackleton on its bow shouting, “Are you all well?” And the call came back, “All safe! All well!”
What held those men together and kept them alive over those months? Faith and hope placed in one man. They believed that Shackleton would find a way to save them.
This human example of faith and hope echoes the faith of the heroes listed in Hebrews 11. Their faith in the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” kept them going through great difficulties and trials (Heb. 11:1 nkjv).
As we look out upon the horizon of our own problems, may we not despair. May we have hope through the certainty of our faith in the One Man—Jesus, our God and Savior.
Thank You, Father, for the promise of forgiveness made possible by Jesus. May that promise lighten the darkest of our days.
The hope of Jesus shines brightly even on our darkest day.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
The Key to the Missionary’s Work
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…" —Matthew 28:18-19
The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. We are inclined to look on our Lord as one who assists us in our endeavors for God. Yet our Lord places Himself as the absolute sovereign and supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say that the lost will never be saved if we don’t go— He simply says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations….” He says, “Go on the basis of the revealed truth of My sovereignty, teaching and preaching out of your living experience of Me.”
“Then the eleven disciples went…to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them” (Matthew 28:16). If I want to know the universal sovereignty of Christ, I must know Him myself. I must take time to worship the One whose name I bear. Jesus says, “Come to Me…”— that is the place to meet Jesus— “all you who labor and are heavy laden…” (Matthew 11:28)— and how many missionaries are! We completely dismiss these wonderful words of the universal Sovereign of the world, but they are the words of Jesus to His disciples meant for here and now.
“Go therefore….” To “go” simply means to live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. Jesus did not say in this verse, “Go into Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria,” but, “…you shall be witnesses to Me in [all these places].” He takes upon Himself the work of sending us.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…” (John 15:7)— that is the way to keep going. Where we are placed is then a matter of indifference to us, because God sovereignly engineers our goings.
“None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus…” (Acts 20:24). That is how to keep going until we are gone from this life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord”;… The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 537 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Guarding My Morsel, Missing the Meal - #7503
Curtis and his Great Puppy Adventure. That was the lunch time talk around our office when one of our team members became the proud owner of eight new puppies – thanks to his trusty dog, Sister. Each day seemed to bring a new episode; especially as Curtis would compare the way of the puppy with the ways of people. He told us one day about trying to replenish their food. His intention was to load up their container with a lot of good things. But they really made it very difficult. See, the puppies were too busy fighting over two little pieces that were left in the corner.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I'd like to have A Word With You today about "Guarding My Morsel, Missing the Meal."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 133:1, "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity...it is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore."
Do you get what God's saying here? "I've got so many good things I want to give you." Notice when He gives it, when we "live together in unity." I wonder how often God feels a little like my friend Curtis did. He wanted to pour out good things for the puppies, "I want to, but they're all getting in the way. You're too busy fighting over a little piece for yourself."
It happens in marriages. God wants to do some wonderful things in a couple, for a couple, but they're just focused on each defending their territory, getting their way in their marriage. God wants to bless some parents and children, but they're too busy staking out their ground, trying to again get their way. When people are just fighting for what they think are their rights, their way, the Lord just can't give them all He wants them to have. He responds to people working together, not working separately. He blesses peace and unity. He likes people looking out for each other, not looking out for themselves.
This same preoccupation with "my stuff" limits God's blessing on ministries and on churches. Where Christian leaders are only concerned with their turf, their work, their needs, then the atmosphere there is stressful, self-centered, and even cold. If they only knew the power and the joy they could have with God's unhindered blessing on them.
But they're living way below what could be because there isn't that unselfishness and unity where God says He'll pour out His blessing.
Even whole communities are missing God's outpouring because churches, ministries and leaders are not working together. Again, each one is fighting for their program, their budget, their territory, and God just turns away and says, "If you only knew what could happen in your town if you could ever get together."
Those crazy puppies – they missed so much because they were so busy only caring about their own little piece. Just like us. Would you be willing to lay down your sense of entitlement, to release your rights, your interests, your little piece and let God pour out all those good things that He's been wanting to give you?
Romans 6:11 says, "Consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God." When the devil draws near, stand against him. Don't take his lies. When he dredges up your past, tell him whose you are. He has no recourse to this truth. He knows who you are. He just hopes that you don't, or that you will forget.
So prove to him that you know and remember. Tell him what 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind." Romans 8:35- "I cannot be separated from the love of God." And Philippians 4:13- "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Promised Land people think like this. They live out of their inheritance. They show the devil the new name on their spiritual passport. Remember whose you are!
From Glory Days
Proverbs 11
The Lord detests dishonest scales,
but accurate weights find favor with him.
2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
4 Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight,
but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.
7 Hopes placed in mortals die with them;
all the promise of[c] their power comes to nothing.
8 The righteous person is rescued from trouble,
and it falls on the wicked instead.
9 With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors,
but through knowledge the righteous escape.
10 When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices;
when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
11 Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.
12 Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense,
but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.
13 A gossip betrays a confidence,
but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.
14 For lack of guidance a nation falls,
but victory is won through many advisers.
15 Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer,
but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.
16 A kindhearted woman gains honor,
but ruthless men gain only wealth.
17 Those who are kind benefit themselves,
but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.
18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
19 Truly the righteous attain life,
but whoever pursues evil finds death.
20 The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,
but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.
21 Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
but those who are righteous will go free.
22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.
24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
25 A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
26 People curse the one who hoards grain,
but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.
27 Whoever seeks good finds favor,
but evil comes to one who searches for it.
28 Those who trust in their riches will fall,
but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
29 Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind,
and the fool will be servant to the wise.
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and the one who is wise saves lives.
31 If the righteous receive their due on earth,
how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
Footnotes:
Proverbs 11:7 Two Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate, Syriac and Targum When the wicked die, their hope perishes; / all they expected from
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Read: Hebrews 11:8-16
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed[a] that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Footnotes:
11:11 Or It was by faith that he [Abraham] was able to have a child, even though Sarah was barren and he was too old. He believed.
INSIGHT:
We can take courage and hope from those who have preceded us in the life of faith. The author of Hebrews lists many examples of people who acted in faith despite their circumstances and despite the fact that they had not yet received what “had been promised” (11:39). This is why Hebrews 11 begins by saying that “faith is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” J.R. Hudberg
All Safe! All Well!
By Randy Kilgore
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1
In January 1915, the ship Endurance was trapped and crushed in the ice off the coast of Antarctica. The group of polar explorers, led by Ernest Shackleton, survived and managed to reach Elephant Island in three small lifeboats. Trapped on this uninhabited island, far from normal shipping lanes, they had one hope. On April 24, 1916, 22 men watched as Shackleton and five comrades set out in a tiny lifeboat for South Georgia, an island 800 miles away. The odds seemed impossible, and if they failed, they would all certainly die. What joy, then, when more than four months later a boat appeared on the horizon with Shackleton on its bow shouting, “Are you all well?” And the call came back, “All safe! All well!”
| Ernest Shackleton, 752 days |
This human example of faith and hope echoes the faith of the heroes listed in Hebrews 11. Their faith in the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” kept them going through great difficulties and trials (Heb. 11:1 nkjv).
As we look out upon the horizon of our own problems, may we not despair. May we have hope through the certainty of our faith in the One Man—Jesus, our God and Savior.
Thank You, Father, for the promise of forgiveness made possible by Jesus. May that promise lighten the darkest of our days.
The hope of Jesus shines brightly even on our darkest day.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
The Key to the Missionary’s Work
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…" —Matthew 28:18-19
The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. We are inclined to look on our Lord as one who assists us in our endeavors for God. Yet our Lord places Himself as the absolute sovereign and supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say that the lost will never be saved if we don’t go— He simply says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations….” He says, “Go on the basis of the revealed truth of My sovereignty, teaching and preaching out of your living experience of Me.”
“Then the eleven disciples went…to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them” (Matthew 28:16). If I want to know the universal sovereignty of Christ, I must know Him myself. I must take time to worship the One whose name I bear. Jesus says, “Come to Me…”— that is the place to meet Jesus— “all you who labor and are heavy laden…” (Matthew 11:28)— and how many missionaries are! We completely dismiss these wonderful words of the universal Sovereign of the world, but they are the words of Jesus to His disciples meant for here and now.
“Go therefore….” To “go” simply means to live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. Jesus did not say in this verse, “Go into Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria,” but, “…you shall be witnesses to Me in [all these places].” He takes upon Himself the work of sending us.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…” (John 15:7)— that is the way to keep going. Where we are placed is then a matter of indifference to us, because God sovereignly engineers our goings.
“None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus…” (Acts 20:24). That is how to keep going until we are gone from this life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord”;… The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 537 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Guarding My Morsel, Missing the Meal - #7503
Curtis and his Great Puppy Adventure. That was the lunch time talk around our office when one of our team members became the proud owner of eight new puppies – thanks to his trusty dog, Sister. Each day seemed to bring a new episode; especially as Curtis would compare the way of the puppy with the ways of people. He told us one day about trying to replenish their food. His intention was to load up their container with a lot of good things. But they really made it very difficult. See, the puppies were too busy fighting over two little pieces that were left in the corner.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I'd like to have A Word With You today about "Guarding My Morsel, Missing the Meal."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 133:1, "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity...it is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore."
Do you get what God's saying here? "I've got so many good things I want to give you." Notice when He gives it, when we "live together in unity." I wonder how often God feels a little like my friend Curtis did. He wanted to pour out good things for the puppies, "I want to, but they're all getting in the way. You're too busy fighting over a little piece for yourself."
It happens in marriages. God wants to do some wonderful things in a couple, for a couple, but they're just focused on each defending their territory, getting their way in their marriage. God wants to bless some parents and children, but they're too busy staking out their ground, trying to again get their way. When people are just fighting for what they think are their rights, their way, the Lord just can't give them all He wants them to have. He responds to people working together, not working separately. He blesses peace and unity. He likes people looking out for each other, not looking out for themselves.
This same preoccupation with "my stuff" limits God's blessing on ministries and on churches. Where Christian leaders are only concerned with their turf, their work, their needs, then the atmosphere there is stressful, self-centered, and even cold. If they only knew the power and the joy they could have with God's unhindered blessing on them.
But they're living way below what could be because there isn't that unselfishness and unity where God says He'll pour out His blessing.
Even whole communities are missing God's outpouring because churches, ministries and leaders are not working together. Again, each one is fighting for their program, their budget, their territory, and God just turns away and says, "If you only knew what could happen in your town if you could ever get together."
Those crazy puppies – they missed so much because they were so busy only caring about their own little piece. Just like us. Would you be willing to lay down your sense of entitlement, to release your rights, your interests, your little piece and let God pour out all those good things that He's been wanting to give you?
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Proverbs 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Don't Forget a Single Blessing
Some years back as I was driving my daughter Andrea to middle school, she noticed I was anxious.
"Why are you so quiet, Dad?" I told her I was worried about a book deadline.
She asked me, "Haven't you written other books?" "Yes," I replied.
"How many?" At that point the answer was fifteen.
She responded, "have you ever missed a deadline before?" "No," I said.
"So God helped you fifteen times already?" "Yes," I winced. She was sounding like her mother.
She reasoned further, "if he has helped you fifteen different times, don't you think he will help you this time?"
Satan has no recourse to your testimony! Your best weapon against his attacks is a good memory. Don't forget a single blessing! 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, "You have been bought with a price. You belong to God." God's message for you? Remember whose you are. Live out your inheritance!
From Glory Days
Proverbs 10
The Proverbs of Solomon
A wise child[a] brings joy to a father;
a foolish child brings grief to a mother.
2 Tainted wealth has no lasting value,
but right living can save your life.
3 The Lord will not let the godly go hungry,
but he refuses to satisfy the craving of the wicked.
4 Lazy people are soon poor;
hard workers get rich.
5 A wise youth harvests in the summer,
but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.
6 The godly are showered with blessings;
the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.
7 We have happy memories of the godly,
but the name of a wicked person rots away.
8 The wise are glad to be instructed,
but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.
9 People with integrity walk safely,
but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed.
10 People who wink at wrong cause trouble,
but a bold reproof promotes peace.[b]
11 The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain;
the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.
12 Hatred stirs up quarrels,
but love makes up for all offenses.
13 Wise words come from the lips of people with understanding,
but those lacking sense will be beaten with a rod.
14 Wise people treasure knowledge,
but the babbling of a fool invites disaster.
15 The wealth of the rich is their fortress;
the poverty of the poor is their destruction.
16 The earnings of the godly enhance their lives,
but evil people squander their money on sin.
17 People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life,
but those who ignore correction will go astray.
18 Hiding hatred makes you a liar;
slandering others makes you a fool.
19 Too much talk leads to sin.
Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.
20 The words of the godly are like sterling silver;
the heart of a fool is worthless.
21 The words of the godly encourage many,
but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense.
22 The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich,
and he adds no sorrow with it.
23 Doing wrong is fun for a fool,
but living wisely brings pleasure to the sensible.
24 The fears of the wicked will be fulfilled;
the hopes of the godly will be granted.
25 When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away,
but the godly have a lasting foundation.
26 Lazy people irritate their employers,
like vinegar to the teeth or smoke in the eyes.
27 Fear of the Lord lengthens one’s life,
but the years of the wicked are cut short.
28 The hopes of the godly result in happiness,
but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing.
29 The way of the Lord is a stronghold to those with integrity,
but it destroys the wicked.
30 The godly will never be disturbed,
but the wicked will be removed from the land.
31 The mouth of the godly person gives wise advice,
but the tongue that deceives will be cut off.
32 The lips of the godly speak helpful words,
but the mouth of the wicked speaks perverse words.
Footnotes:
10:1 Hebrew son; also in 10:1b.
10:10 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Read: Exodus 3:1-6,10-14
Moses and the Burning Bush
One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro,[a] the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai,[b] the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. 3 “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”
4 When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
“Here I am!” Moses replied.
5 “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father[c]—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.
Footnotes:
3:1a Moses’ father-in-law went by two names, Jethro and Reuel.
3:1b Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai.
3:6 Greek version reads your fathers.
Exodus 3:10-14New Living Translation (NLT)
10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”
13 But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”
14 God replied to Moses, “I am who i am.[a] Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.”
Footnotes:
3:14 Or I will be what i will be.
INSIGHT:
Moses’ early life was marked by great opportunities for education, and his status as prince of Egypt allowed him to speak with great authority (Acts 7:22). How different from his life in the Midian desert, where he served his father-in-law as a shepherd, even as God prepared him to lead His people out of Egypt. Bill Crowder
Burning Questions
By David Egner
“I am who I am” Exodus 3:14
An old Native American story tells of a young boy who was sent into the woods alone on an autumn night to prove his courage. Soon the sky darkened and the sounds of night filled the air. Trees creaked and groaned, an owl screeched, and a coyote howled. Even though he was frightened, the boy remained in the woods all night, as the test of courage required. Finally morning came, and he saw a solitary figure nearby. It was his grandfather, who had been watching over him all night long.
When Moses went deep into the desert, he saw a burning bush that didn’t burn up. Then God began talking to him from the bush, commissioning him to go back to Egypt and lead the Israelites out of cruel slavery to freedom. A reluctant Moses began to ask questions: “Who am I that I should go?”
God has promised always to be present with those who believe in Jesus.
God simply answered, “I will be with you.”
“Suppose I . . . say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God replied, “I am who I am. . . . [Say to them,] I am has sent me to you’ ” (Ex. 3:11-14). The phrase “I am who I am” can be interpreted, “I will be who I will be” and reveals God’s eternal and all-sufficient character.
God has promised always to be present with those who believe in Jesus. No matter how dark the night, the unseen God is ready to respond appropriately to our need.
Dear Father, thank You for Your never-changing character.
God is always present and at work.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Individual Discouragement and Personal Growth
…when Moses was grown…he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. —Exodus 2:11
Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years. At the end of that time, God appeared to Moses and said to him, “ ‘…bring My people…out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go…?’ ” (Exodus 3:10-11). In the beginning Moses had realized that he was the one to deliver the people, but he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. He was right in his individual perspective, but he was not the person for the work until he had learned true fellowship and oneness with God.
We may have the vision of God and a very clear understanding of what God wants, and yet when we start to do it, there comes to us something equivalent to Moses’ forty years in the wilderness. It’s as if God had ignored the entire thing, and when we are thoroughly discouraged, God comes back and revives His call to us. And then we begin to tremble and say, “Who am I that I should go…?” We must learn that God’s great stride is summed up in these words— “I AM WHO I AM…has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). We must also learn that our individual effort for God shows nothing but disrespect for Him— our individuality is to be rendered radiant through a personal relationship with God, so that He may be “well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). We are focused on the right individual perspective of things; we have the vision and can say, “I know this is what God wants me to do.” But we have not yet learned to get into God’s stride. If you are going through a time of discouragement, there is a time of great personal growth ahead.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
An intellectual conception of God may be found in a bad vicious character. The knowledge and vision of God is dependent entirely on a pure heart. Character determines the revelation of God to the individual. The pure in heart see God. Biblical Ethics, 125 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Believing In Spring - #7502
I was about halfway through my hamburger at a cookout when a friend of our son asked me a provocative question. She worked with a group of junior high kids and she asked them what they thought the purpose of life was. They said, "To die." She continued to probe and then she started to talk to them about hope. But she said, "Ron, they have no concept of hope. They're like concrete people. Hope is too abstract. How can I explain hope to them?"
Well, by the last bite of that burger I was telling her about this big blizzard I had been in a few years before. We ended up with three feet of snow in our yard. By the time the snow plow had finished in our driveway we had these towering mountains of snow around us. My wife and I both said, "We will never see our yard again!" For many weeks it was inconceivable that those towering mountains would ever go away. That is if you based your judgment solely on what you could see at the time. But we knew that when we saw that yard again, there would be blooming flowers there. We had hope. It wasn't always going to be like this.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Believing In Spring."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:13. It talks about those who have already died and it says, "We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men," listen to this, "who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him." Verse 17, "And we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with those people in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."
Notice it says, "We do not grieve as others who have no hope." I'm glad it doesn't say, "We do not grieve" because we do. But the difference is there's something on the other side of the scale from the grief. It's called hope. Now, hope is hard to come by during the "winters" of your life – like the loss of someone you love.
Like Matt and Kelly, our friends whose little daughter died in a tragic accident. Or Tony, whose mother just died suddenly. It's cold right now. The grief is almost unbearable. Almost. But they both are talking about the hope factor because their life is anchored to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They know death can't ultimately win. Death is reduced to being a painful interruption. Very painful, but only an interruption.
The winter will not last forever. The reunion in the spring is coming and it will last forever. Why? Because Jesus died to remove the great separator – sin; the sin that separates us from God, that separates us from each other. Because Jesus conquered death the moment He walked out of His grave He assures those who belong to Him that they will share His victory over death. He's a living Savior who gives Eternal Life to those who belong to Him.
So what is hope? It is the confident expectation that there is something better than this. It won't always be this way. It's what got me through an otherwise depressing winter. There will be a spring. What you see isn't what you get! Maybe it's winter for you right now. The pain, the struggle, the wounds are very real. If what you can see is all there is, the outlook is bleak, but it's not all there is if you belong to Jesus.
The Bible describes it this way, "Christ in you, the hope of Glory." Do those three words describe you? Christ in you. Your relationship begins the day you do what the Bible says. It says, "To all who received Jesus, to those who believed in His name He gave the right to become the children of God" So the Bible asks us so beautifully, "If God be for us who can be against us?"
Are you assured of hope? Hope has a name. His name is Jesus. The very hopelessness of your winter could be the very thing that drives you to His waiting arms; this man who loved you enough to die for your sin on the cross. He's driving you to the hope that only a living Savior can give and you'll have it forever.
If you've never begun a relationship with Him, tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours." We'd love to be there for you in the middle of all this. You can text us at 442-244-WORD.
With Jesus you can live in real and lasting hope. The confident expectation that there will be something better than this - guaranteed by the Son of God Himself. He brings the spring.
Some years back as I was driving my daughter Andrea to middle school, she noticed I was anxious.
"Why are you so quiet, Dad?" I told her I was worried about a book deadline.
She asked me, "Haven't you written other books?" "Yes," I replied.
"How many?" At that point the answer was fifteen.
She responded, "have you ever missed a deadline before?" "No," I said.
"So God helped you fifteen times already?" "Yes," I winced. She was sounding like her mother.
She reasoned further, "if he has helped you fifteen different times, don't you think he will help you this time?"
Satan has no recourse to your testimony! Your best weapon against his attacks is a good memory. Don't forget a single blessing! 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, "You have been bought with a price. You belong to God." God's message for you? Remember whose you are. Live out your inheritance!
From Glory Days
Proverbs 10
The Proverbs of Solomon
A wise child[a] brings joy to a father;
a foolish child brings grief to a mother.
2 Tainted wealth has no lasting value,
but right living can save your life.
3 The Lord will not let the godly go hungry,
but he refuses to satisfy the craving of the wicked.
4 Lazy people are soon poor;
hard workers get rich.
5 A wise youth harvests in the summer,
but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.
6 The godly are showered with blessings;
the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.
7 We have happy memories of the godly,
but the name of a wicked person rots away.
8 The wise are glad to be instructed,
but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.
9 People with integrity walk safely,
but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed.
10 People who wink at wrong cause trouble,
but a bold reproof promotes peace.[b]
11 The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain;
the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.
12 Hatred stirs up quarrels,
but love makes up for all offenses.
13 Wise words come from the lips of people with understanding,
but those lacking sense will be beaten with a rod.
14 Wise people treasure knowledge,
but the babbling of a fool invites disaster.
15 The wealth of the rich is their fortress;
the poverty of the poor is their destruction.
16 The earnings of the godly enhance their lives,
but evil people squander their money on sin.
17 People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life,
but those who ignore correction will go astray.
18 Hiding hatred makes you a liar;
slandering others makes you a fool.
19 Too much talk leads to sin.
Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.
20 The words of the godly are like sterling silver;
the heart of a fool is worthless.
21 The words of the godly encourage many,
but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense.
22 The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich,
and he adds no sorrow with it.
23 Doing wrong is fun for a fool,
but living wisely brings pleasure to the sensible.
24 The fears of the wicked will be fulfilled;
the hopes of the godly will be granted.
25 When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away,
but the godly have a lasting foundation.
26 Lazy people irritate their employers,
like vinegar to the teeth or smoke in the eyes.
27 Fear of the Lord lengthens one’s life,
but the years of the wicked are cut short.
28 The hopes of the godly result in happiness,
but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing.
29 The way of the Lord is a stronghold to those with integrity,
but it destroys the wicked.
30 The godly will never be disturbed,
but the wicked will be removed from the land.
31 The mouth of the godly person gives wise advice,
but the tongue that deceives will be cut off.
32 The lips of the godly speak helpful words,
but the mouth of the wicked speaks perverse words.
Footnotes:
10:1 Hebrew son; also in 10:1b.
10:10 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Read: Exodus 3:1-6,10-14
Moses and the Burning Bush
One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro,[a] the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai,[b] the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. 3 “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”
4 When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
“Here I am!” Moses replied.
5 “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father[c]—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.
Footnotes:
3:1a Moses’ father-in-law went by two names, Jethro and Reuel.
3:1b Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai.
3:6 Greek version reads your fathers.
Exodus 3:10-14New Living Translation (NLT)
10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”
13 But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”
14 God replied to Moses, “I am who i am.[a] Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.”
Footnotes:
3:14 Or I will be what i will be.
INSIGHT:
Moses’ early life was marked by great opportunities for education, and his status as prince of Egypt allowed him to speak with great authority (Acts 7:22). How different from his life in the Midian desert, where he served his father-in-law as a shepherd, even as God prepared him to lead His people out of Egypt. Bill Crowder
Burning Questions
By David Egner
“I am who I am” Exodus 3:14
An old Native American story tells of a young boy who was sent into the woods alone on an autumn night to prove his courage. Soon the sky darkened and the sounds of night filled the air. Trees creaked and groaned, an owl screeched, and a coyote howled. Even though he was frightened, the boy remained in the woods all night, as the test of courage required. Finally morning came, and he saw a solitary figure nearby. It was his grandfather, who had been watching over him all night long.
When Moses went deep into the desert, he saw a burning bush that didn’t burn up. Then God began talking to him from the bush, commissioning him to go back to Egypt and lead the Israelites out of cruel slavery to freedom. A reluctant Moses began to ask questions: “Who am I that I should go?”
God has promised always to be present with those who believe in Jesus.
God simply answered, “I will be with you.”
“Suppose I . . . say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God replied, “I am who I am. . . . [Say to them,] I am has sent me to you’ ” (Ex. 3:11-14). The phrase “I am who I am” can be interpreted, “I will be who I will be” and reveals God’s eternal and all-sufficient character.
God has promised always to be present with those who believe in Jesus. No matter how dark the night, the unseen God is ready to respond appropriately to our need.
Dear Father, thank You for Your never-changing character.
God is always present and at work.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Individual Discouragement and Personal Growth
…when Moses was grown…he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. —Exodus 2:11
Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years. At the end of that time, God appeared to Moses and said to him, “ ‘…bring My people…out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go…?’ ” (Exodus 3:10-11). In the beginning Moses had realized that he was the one to deliver the people, but he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. He was right in his individual perspective, but he was not the person for the work until he had learned true fellowship and oneness with God.
We may have the vision of God and a very clear understanding of what God wants, and yet when we start to do it, there comes to us something equivalent to Moses’ forty years in the wilderness. It’s as if God had ignored the entire thing, and when we are thoroughly discouraged, God comes back and revives His call to us. And then we begin to tremble and say, “Who am I that I should go…?” We must learn that God’s great stride is summed up in these words— “I AM WHO I AM…has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). We must also learn that our individual effort for God shows nothing but disrespect for Him— our individuality is to be rendered radiant through a personal relationship with God, so that He may be “well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). We are focused on the right individual perspective of things; we have the vision and can say, “I know this is what God wants me to do.” But we have not yet learned to get into God’s stride. If you are going through a time of discouragement, there is a time of great personal growth ahead.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
An intellectual conception of God may be found in a bad vicious character. The knowledge and vision of God is dependent entirely on a pure heart. Character determines the revelation of God to the individual. The pure in heart see God. Biblical Ethics, 125 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Believing In Spring - #7502
I was about halfway through my hamburger at a cookout when a friend of our son asked me a provocative question. She worked with a group of junior high kids and she asked them what they thought the purpose of life was. They said, "To die." She continued to probe and then she started to talk to them about hope. But she said, "Ron, they have no concept of hope. They're like concrete people. Hope is too abstract. How can I explain hope to them?"
Well, by the last bite of that burger I was telling her about this big blizzard I had been in a few years before. We ended up with three feet of snow in our yard. By the time the snow plow had finished in our driveway we had these towering mountains of snow around us. My wife and I both said, "We will never see our yard again!" For many weeks it was inconceivable that those towering mountains would ever go away. That is if you based your judgment solely on what you could see at the time. But we knew that when we saw that yard again, there would be blooming flowers there. We had hope. It wasn't always going to be like this.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Believing In Spring."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:13. It talks about those who have already died and it says, "We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men," listen to this, "who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him." Verse 17, "And we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with those people in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."
Notice it says, "We do not grieve as others who have no hope." I'm glad it doesn't say, "We do not grieve" because we do. But the difference is there's something on the other side of the scale from the grief. It's called hope. Now, hope is hard to come by during the "winters" of your life – like the loss of someone you love.
Like Matt and Kelly, our friends whose little daughter died in a tragic accident. Or Tony, whose mother just died suddenly. It's cold right now. The grief is almost unbearable. Almost. But they both are talking about the hope factor because their life is anchored to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They know death can't ultimately win. Death is reduced to being a painful interruption. Very painful, but only an interruption.
The winter will not last forever. The reunion in the spring is coming and it will last forever. Why? Because Jesus died to remove the great separator – sin; the sin that separates us from God, that separates us from each other. Because Jesus conquered death the moment He walked out of His grave He assures those who belong to Him that they will share His victory over death. He's a living Savior who gives Eternal Life to those who belong to Him.
So what is hope? It is the confident expectation that there is something better than this. It won't always be this way. It's what got me through an otherwise depressing winter. There will be a spring. What you see isn't what you get! Maybe it's winter for you right now. The pain, the struggle, the wounds are very real. If what you can see is all there is, the outlook is bleak, but it's not all there is if you belong to Jesus.
The Bible describes it this way, "Christ in you, the hope of Glory." Do those three words describe you? Christ in you. Your relationship begins the day you do what the Bible says. It says, "To all who received Jesus, to those who believed in His name He gave the right to become the children of God" So the Bible asks us so beautifully, "If God be for us who can be against us?"
Are you assured of hope? Hope has a name. His name is Jesus. The very hopelessness of your winter could be the very thing that drives you to His waiting arms; this man who loved you enough to die for your sin on the cross. He's driving you to the hope that only a living Savior can give and you'll have it forever.
If you've never begun a relationship with Him, tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours." We'd love to be there for you in the middle of all this. You can text us at 442-244-WORD.
With Jesus you can live in real and lasting hope. The confident expectation that there will be something better than this - guaranteed by the Son of God Himself. He brings the spring.
Monday, October 12, 2015
John 21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: God Has a Place for You
Jericho's shady lady found God-or better worded, God found Rahab the harlot. He spotted a tender heart in the hard city of Jericho and reached out to save her. He would have saved the entire city, but no one else made the request. Then again, Rahab the harlot had an advantage. She had nothing to lose. She was at the bottom of the rung. She had already lost her reputation. She was at the bottom of the pit.
Perhaps that's where you are as well. You may or may not sell your body, but you've sold your allegiance, affection, attention, and talents. You've sold out. Glory days? Perhaps for him or for her. But not for me. I'm too soiled, dirty. I've sinned too much. No Glory Days for me!
God's one-word reply for such doubt? Rahab! God has a place for the Rahabs of the world! He has a place for you!
From Glory Days
John 21
Epilogue: Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee.[a] This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),[b] Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows,[c] have you caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied.
6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards[d] from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.
15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?[e]”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.
18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others[f] will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
20 Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who will betray you?” 21 Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?”
22 Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” 23 So the rumor spread among the community of believers[g] that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that isn’t what Jesus said at all. He only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
24 This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate.
25 Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.
Footnotes:
21:1 Greek Sea of Tiberias, another name for the Sea of Galilee.
21:2 Greek Thomas, who was called Didymus.
21:5 Greek Children.
21:8 Greek 200 cubits [90 meters].
21:15 Or more than these others do?
21:18 Some manuscripts read and another one.
21:23 Greek the brothers.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, October 12, 2015
Read: Isaiah 40:25-31
“To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28 Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
INSIGHT:
The title “the Holy One” or “the Holy One of Israel” is the common designation for God in Isaiah, occurring about 26 times. This title is often accompanied by other names, such as “the Lord Almighty” (5:24; 47:4), “the Light of Israel” (10:17), “the Mighty God” (10:21), “Maker” (17:7; 45:11; 54:5), “the Sovereign Lord” (30:15), “Savior” (43:3), “Israel’s Creator, your King” (43:15), and “the God of all the earth” (54:5). In calling God “the Holy One of Israel,” Isaiah extols His complete holiness. Yet within the same breath Isaiah speaks of God as the “Redeemer,” celebrating His tender mercy and compassion (41:14; 54:5; 59:20; 60:16). Sim Kay Tee
Not My Worry
By Poh Fang Chia
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you. Psalm 55:22
A man worried constantly about everything. Then one day his friends heard him whistling happily and looking noticeably relaxed. “What happened?” they asked him in astonishment.
He said, “I’m paying a man to do my worrying for me.”
“How much do you pay him?” they asked.
“Two thousand dollars a week,” he replied.
“Wow! How can you afford that?”
“I can’t,” he said, “but that’s his worry.”
While this humorous way to handle stress doesn’t work in real life, as God’s children we can turn our worries over to Someone who has everything perfectly under control even—especially—when we feel it is not.
The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God brings out the stars and calls them all by name (40:25-26). Because of “his great power and mighty strength” not one of them is missing (v. 26). And just as God knows the stars by name, He knows us individually and personally. We are each under His watchful care (v. 27).
If we are inclined to worry, we can turn that worry over to the Lord. He is never too weary or too tired to pay attention to us. He has all wisdom and all power, and He loves to use it on our behalf. The Holy One who directs the stars has His loving arms around us.
Lord, You know there are times when I get really scared. And I forget that You have promised that You will never leave me to face difficulty or loss alone. Help me to trust.
Worry ends where faith begins.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, October 12, 2015
Getting into God’s Stride
Enoch walked with God… —Genesis 5:24
The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (see John 1:35-37 and John 3:30). It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him— it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God, there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but once we have done so, the only characteristic that exhibits itself is the very life of God Himself. The individual person is merged into a personal oneness with God, and God’s stride and His power alone are exhibited.
It is difficult to get into stride with God, because as soon as we start walking with Him we find that His pace has surpassed us before we have even taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined in His ways. It was said of Jesus— “He will not fail nor be discouraged…” (Isaiah 42:4) because He never worked from His own individual standpoint, but always worked from the standpoint of His Father. And we must learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning. It is God’s Spirit that changes the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and then things begin to be possible which before were impossible. Getting into God’s stride means nothing less than oneness with Him. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don’t give up because the pain is intense right now— get on with it, and before long you will find that you have a new vision and a new purpose.
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, October 12, 2015
Whose Hero - #7501
My story! Yeah, that's what made kids want to play with me when I was little. Wait a minute! Is this how "A Word With You" got started? No, I love to make up stories. I don't make them all up, you know, I do tell you true stories too. But I was giving my friends parts in a story that I would make up and they would act out. But I always left it at an exciting part that was this cliff-hanger so they'd want to come back tomorrow and see how it turned out. I also had some time, then, to figure out how to get out of the predicament I had just created.
Now, I've got to confess to you, I usually reserved the hero part for me. I loved to put a tablecloth around my neck and play Superman. Or I'd put swimming trunks on and be Tarzan. Or I'd put on a black mask and play the Lone Ranger. Today that would be Iron Man or Captain America. Look, I couldn't do all the moves of the super heroes, but I always wanted to be a hero. A lot of kids do. I don't think that ever changes.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Whose Hero?"
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 17:6. This is a verse that will make every parent think. It's pretty quick. Listen. "Parents are the pride of their children." Wait a minute! Don't we usually think of that in reverse? "Oh, yeah. This is my pride and joy. Look at these pictures. These are my kids." But God says kids are supposed to feel that way about their mom and dad. They hold up their picture and they say, "Here's my Mom and Dad. They're my pride and joy."
I've been ministering to young people and their families for a long time. I've got to tell you, a lot of kids don't feel like that. One reason is this: their mom and dad have come up with the wrong answer to a very important life question, "Whose hero do you want to be?" See, we all need to be a hero to somebody; to some group of people. Some men and women work day and night to be a hero to their company, their friends, their boss, their community. "I want to be a hero at church, a hero in my organization." But sadly they're strangers to their own children; maybe to their own mate. And they're anything but a hero where it really counts – at home.
But if you're not a hero at home, are you really a hero at all? See, those are the people who know the real you; who've been trusted to your care by God. They were meant to be your primary zone of achievement. I don't mean creating super kids necessarily; just giving your children the best of your love, and the best of your listening, and the best of your energy, and the best of your time. Too often they get our leftovers.
Family is hard work. Because of that, it's tempting to run to other arenas where maybe it's easier to be a hero. And if we feel like we're not being a hero at home, sometimes we just give up and we run somewhere else for our fulfillment. But no other people can be your family or do for your soul what only a family can do. Could it be time to reevaluate your priorities? If you've not been what your family needs, if they've not been top priority, would you ask for their forgiveness?
You would not believe the walls that come down when a parent is willing to be vulnerable, to be wrong, to ask for forgiveness, to apologize, to ask for a chance at a new beginning. It's never too late to start putting your family first; even adult children still carry the need for the love, the affirmation and the blessing of the people from whom they came.
So, listen to this verse again. "Parents are the pride of their children." Whatever your priorities have been, why don't you make it your goal to make the rest of your years with your kids the best of your years. After all, you were meant to be a hero - at home.
Jericho's shady lady found God-or better worded, God found Rahab the harlot. He spotted a tender heart in the hard city of Jericho and reached out to save her. He would have saved the entire city, but no one else made the request. Then again, Rahab the harlot had an advantage. She had nothing to lose. She was at the bottom of the rung. She had already lost her reputation. She was at the bottom of the pit.
Perhaps that's where you are as well. You may or may not sell your body, but you've sold your allegiance, affection, attention, and talents. You've sold out. Glory days? Perhaps for him or for her. But not for me. I'm too soiled, dirty. I've sinned too much. No Glory Days for me!
God's one-word reply for such doubt? Rahab! God has a place for the Rahabs of the world! He has a place for you!
From Glory Days
John 21
Epilogue: Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee.[a] This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),[b] Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows,[c] have you caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied.
6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards[d] from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.
15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?[e]”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.
18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others[f] will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
20 Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who will betray you?” 21 Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?”
22 Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” 23 So the rumor spread among the community of believers[g] that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that isn’t what Jesus said at all. He only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
24 This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate.
25 Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.
Footnotes:
21:1 Greek Sea of Tiberias, another name for the Sea of Galilee.
21:2 Greek Thomas, who was called Didymus.
21:5 Greek Children.
21:8 Greek 200 cubits [90 meters].
21:15 Or more than these others do?
21:18 Some manuscripts read and another one.
21:23 Greek the brothers.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, October 12, 2015
Read: Isaiah 40:25-31
“To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28 Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
INSIGHT:
The title “the Holy One” or “the Holy One of Israel” is the common designation for God in Isaiah, occurring about 26 times. This title is often accompanied by other names, such as “the Lord Almighty” (5:24; 47:4), “the Light of Israel” (10:17), “the Mighty God” (10:21), “Maker” (17:7; 45:11; 54:5), “the Sovereign Lord” (30:15), “Savior” (43:3), “Israel’s Creator, your King” (43:15), and “the God of all the earth” (54:5). In calling God “the Holy One of Israel,” Isaiah extols His complete holiness. Yet within the same breath Isaiah speaks of God as the “Redeemer,” celebrating His tender mercy and compassion (41:14; 54:5; 59:20; 60:16). Sim Kay Tee
Not My Worry
By Poh Fang Chia
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you. Psalm 55:22
A man worried constantly about everything. Then one day his friends heard him whistling happily and looking noticeably relaxed. “What happened?” they asked him in astonishment.
He said, “I’m paying a man to do my worrying for me.”
“How much do you pay him?” they asked.
“Two thousand dollars a week,” he replied.
“Wow! How can you afford that?”
“I can’t,” he said, “but that’s his worry.”
While this humorous way to handle stress doesn’t work in real life, as God’s children we can turn our worries over to Someone who has everything perfectly under control even—especially—when we feel it is not.
The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God brings out the stars and calls them all by name (40:25-26). Because of “his great power and mighty strength” not one of them is missing (v. 26). And just as God knows the stars by name, He knows us individually and personally. We are each under His watchful care (v. 27).
If we are inclined to worry, we can turn that worry over to the Lord. He is never too weary or too tired to pay attention to us. He has all wisdom and all power, and He loves to use it on our behalf. The Holy One who directs the stars has His loving arms around us.
Lord, You know there are times when I get really scared. And I forget that You have promised that You will never leave me to face difficulty or loss alone. Help me to trust.
Worry ends where faith begins.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, October 12, 2015
Getting into God’s Stride
Enoch walked with God… —Genesis 5:24
The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (see John 1:35-37 and John 3:30). It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him— it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God, there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but once we have done so, the only characteristic that exhibits itself is the very life of God Himself. The individual person is merged into a personal oneness with God, and God’s stride and His power alone are exhibited.
It is difficult to get into stride with God, because as soon as we start walking with Him we find that His pace has surpassed us before we have even taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined in His ways. It was said of Jesus— “He will not fail nor be discouraged…” (Isaiah 42:4) because He never worked from His own individual standpoint, but always worked from the standpoint of His Father. And we must learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning. It is God’s Spirit that changes the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and then things begin to be possible which before were impossible. Getting into God’s stride means nothing less than oneness with Him. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don’t give up because the pain is intense right now— get on with it, and before long you will find that you have a new vision and a new purpose.
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, October 12, 2015
Whose Hero - #7501
My story! Yeah, that's what made kids want to play with me when I was little. Wait a minute! Is this how "A Word With You" got started? No, I love to make up stories. I don't make them all up, you know, I do tell you true stories too. But I was giving my friends parts in a story that I would make up and they would act out. But I always left it at an exciting part that was this cliff-hanger so they'd want to come back tomorrow and see how it turned out. I also had some time, then, to figure out how to get out of the predicament I had just created.
Now, I've got to confess to you, I usually reserved the hero part for me. I loved to put a tablecloth around my neck and play Superman. Or I'd put swimming trunks on and be Tarzan. Or I'd put on a black mask and play the Lone Ranger. Today that would be Iron Man or Captain America. Look, I couldn't do all the moves of the super heroes, but I always wanted to be a hero. A lot of kids do. I don't think that ever changes.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Whose Hero?"
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 17:6. This is a verse that will make every parent think. It's pretty quick. Listen. "Parents are the pride of their children." Wait a minute! Don't we usually think of that in reverse? "Oh, yeah. This is my pride and joy. Look at these pictures. These are my kids." But God says kids are supposed to feel that way about their mom and dad. They hold up their picture and they say, "Here's my Mom and Dad. They're my pride and joy."
I've been ministering to young people and their families for a long time. I've got to tell you, a lot of kids don't feel like that. One reason is this: their mom and dad have come up with the wrong answer to a very important life question, "Whose hero do you want to be?" See, we all need to be a hero to somebody; to some group of people. Some men and women work day and night to be a hero to their company, their friends, their boss, their community. "I want to be a hero at church, a hero in my organization." But sadly they're strangers to their own children; maybe to their own mate. And they're anything but a hero where it really counts – at home.
But if you're not a hero at home, are you really a hero at all? See, those are the people who know the real you; who've been trusted to your care by God. They were meant to be your primary zone of achievement. I don't mean creating super kids necessarily; just giving your children the best of your love, and the best of your listening, and the best of your energy, and the best of your time. Too often they get our leftovers.
Family is hard work. Because of that, it's tempting to run to other arenas where maybe it's easier to be a hero. And if we feel like we're not being a hero at home, sometimes we just give up and we run somewhere else for our fulfillment. But no other people can be your family or do for your soul what only a family can do. Could it be time to reevaluate your priorities? If you've not been what your family needs, if they've not been top priority, would you ask for their forgiveness?
You would not believe the walls that come down when a parent is willing to be vulnerable, to be wrong, to ask for forgiveness, to apologize, to ask for a chance at a new beginning. It's never too late to start putting your family first; even adult children still carry the need for the love, the affirmation and the blessing of the people from whom they came.
So, listen to this verse again. "Parents are the pride of their children." Whatever your priorities have been, why don't you make it your goal to make the rest of your years with your kids the best of your years. After all, you were meant to be a hero - at home.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Proverbs 9 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Defiant Joy
My friend Rob cried freely telling his story about his young son's challenging life.
Daniel was born with a double cleft palate, dramatically disfiguring his face. He had surgery, but the evidence remains, so people constantly notice and occasionally make remarks.
Daniel, however, is unfazed! He just tells people God made him this way so, what's the big deal? He was named student of the week, so was asked to bring something to show his classmates for show and tell. Daniel told his mom he wanted to take the pictures that showed his face prior to the surgery. His mom was concerned. "Won't that make you feel a bit funny?" she asked. But Daniel insisted, "Oh, no, I want everyone to see what God did for me!"
Try Daniel's defiant joy and see what happens. God has handed you a cup of blessings. Sweeten it with a heaping spoonful of gratitude!
From You'll Get Through This
Proverbs 9
Wisdom has built her house;
she has carved its seven columns.
2 She has prepared a great banquet,
mixed the wines, and set the table.
3 She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come.
She calls out from the heights overlooking the city.
4 “Come in with me,” she urges the simple.
To those who lack good judgment, she says,
5 “Come, eat my food,
and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live;
learn to use good judgment.”
7 Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return.
Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt.
8 So don’t bother correcting mockers;
they will only hate you.
But correct the wise,
and they will love you.
9 Instruct the wise,
and they will be even wiser.
Teach the righteous,
and they will learn even more.
10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
11 Wisdom will multiply your days
and add years to your life.
12 If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit.
If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.
Folly Calls for a Hearing
13 The woman named Folly is brash.
She is ignorant and doesn’t know it.
14 She sits in her doorway
on the heights overlooking the city.
15 She calls out to men going by
who are minding their own business.
16 “Come in with me,” she urges the simple.
To those who lack good judgment, she says,
17 “Stolen water is refreshing;
food eaten in secret tastes the best!”
18 But little do they know that the dead are there.
Her guests are in the depths of the grave.[c]
Footnotes:
9:18 Hebrew in Sheol
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Read: Colossians 3:1-14
Living the New Life
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your[a] life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.[b] 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,[c] circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,[d] slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
Footnotes:
3:4 Some manuscripts read our.
3:6 Some manuscripts read is coming on all who disobey him.
3:11a Greek a Greek.
3:11b Greek Barbarian, Scythian.
INSIGHT:
We may find it difficult at times to motivate ourselves in Christian living and service to God and others. However, Paul reminds the church in Colossae that the reason we are to focus on God and serve Him well is that we have been “raised with Christ” (3:1). Because of what Jesus accomplished for us, we are to serve Him faithfully. J.R. Hudberg
Spiritual Checkup
By Julie Ackerman Link
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30
To detect health problems before they become serious, doctors recommend a routine physical exam. We can do the same for our spiritual health by asking a few questions rooted in the great commandment (Mark 12:30) Jesus referred to.
Do I love God with all my heart because He first loved me? Which is stronger, my desire for earthly gain or the treasures that are mine in Christ? (Col. 3:1). He desires that His peace rule our hearts.
I choose today to exchange my #strength for Yours, God.
Do I love God with all my soul? Do I listen to God telling me who I am? Am I moving away from self-centered desires? (v. 5). Am I becoming more compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient? (v. 12).
Do I love God with all my mind? Do I focus on my relationship with His Son or do I let my mind wander wherever it wants to go? (v. 2). Do my thoughts lead to problems or solutions? To unity or division? Forgiveness or revenge? (v. 13).
Do I love God with all my strength? Am I willing to be seen as weak so that God can show His strength on my behalf? (v. 17). Am I relying on His grace to be strong in His Spirit?
As we let “the message of Christ dwell among [us] richly . . . with all wisdom” (v. 16), He will equip us to build each other up as we become spiritually fit and useful to Him.
Heavenly Father, when I rely on anything other than love in my efforts to initiate change in people, I am neglecting to love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I choose today to exchange my strength for Yours.
To be spiritually fit, feed on God’s Word and exercise your faith.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 11, 2015
God’s Silence— Then What?
When He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. —John 11:6
Has God trusted you with His silence— a silence that has great meaning? God’s silences are actually His answers. Just think of those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany! Is there anything comparable to those days in your life? Can God trust you like that, or are you still asking Him for a visible answer? God will give you the very blessings you ask if you refuse to go any further without them, but His silence is the sign that He is bringing you into an even more wonderful understanding of Himself. Are you mourning before God because you have not had an audible response? When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible— with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, then praise Him— He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes. The actual evidence of the answer in time is simply a matter of God’s sovereignty. Time is nothing to God. For a while you may have said, “I asked God to give me bread, but He gave me a stone instead” (see Matthew 7:9). He did not give you a stone, and today you find that He gave you the “bread of life” (John 6:35).
A wonderful thing about God’s silence is that His stillness is contagious— it gets into you, causing you to become perfectly confident so that you can honestly say, “I know that God has heard me.” His silence is the very proof that He has. As long as you have the idea that God will always bless you in answer to prayer, He will do it, but He will never give you the grace of His silence. If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, then He will give you the first sign of His intimacy— silence.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves. The Place of Help, 1051 L
My friend Rob cried freely telling his story about his young son's challenging life.
Daniel was born with a double cleft palate, dramatically disfiguring his face. He had surgery, but the evidence remains, so people constantly notice and occasionally make remarks.
Daniel, however, is unfazed! He just tells people God made him this way so, what's the big deal? He was named student of the week, so was asked to bring something to show his classmates for show and tell. Daniel told his mom he wanted to take the pictures that showed his face prior to the surgery. His mom was concerned. "Won't that make you feel a bit funny?" she asked. But Daniel insisted, "Oh, no, I want everyone to see what God did for me!"
Try Daniel's defiant joy and see what happens. God has handed you a cup of blessings. Sweeten it with a heaping spoonful of gratitude!
From You'll Get Through This
Proverbs 9
Wisdom has built her house;
she has carved its seven columns.
2 She has prepared a great banquet,
mixed the wines, and set the table.
3 She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come.
She calls out from the heights overlooking the city.
4 “Come in with me,” she urges the simple.
To those who lack good judgment, she says,
5 “Come, eat my food,
and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live;
learn to use good judgment.”
7 Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return.
Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt.
8 So don’t bother correcting mockers;
they will only hate you.
But correct the wise,
and they will love you.
9 Instruct the wise,
and they will be even wiser.
Teach the righteous,
and they will learn even more.
10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
11 Wisdom will multiply your days
and add years to your life.
12 If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit.
If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.
Folly Calls for a Hearing
13 The woman named Folly is brash.
She is ignorant and doesn’t know it.
14 She sits in her doorway
on the heights overlooking the city.
15 She calls out to men going by
who are minding their own business.
16 “Come in with me,” she urges the simple.
To those who lack good judgment, she says,
17 “Stolen water is refreshing;
food eaten in secret tastes the best!”
18 But little do they know that the dead are there.
Her guests are in the depths of the grave.[c]
Footnotes:
9:18 Hebrew in Sheol
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Read: Colossians 3:1-14
Living the New Life
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your[a] life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.[b] 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,[c] circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,[d] slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
Footnotes:
3:4 Some manuscripts read our.
3:6 Some manuscripts read is coming on all who disobey him.
3:11a Greek a Greek.
3:11b Greek Barbarian, Scythian.
INSIGHT:
We may find it difficult at times to motivate ourselves in Christian living and service to God and others. However, Paul reminds the church in Colossae that the reason we are to focus on God and serve Him well is that we have been “raised with Christ” (3:1). Because of what Jesus accomplished for us, we are to serve Him faithfully. J.R. Hudberg
Spiritual Checkup
By Julie Ackerman Link
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30
To detect health problems before they become serious, doctors recommend a routine physical exam. We can do the same for our spiritual health by asking a few questions rooted in the great commandment (Mark 12:30) Jesus referred to.
Do I love God with all my heart because He first loved me? Which is stronger, my desire for earthly gain or the treasures that are mine in Christ? (Col. 3:1). He desires that His peace rule our hearts.
I choose today to exchange my #strength for Yours, God.
Do I love God with all my soul? Do I listen to God telling me who I am? Am I moving away from self-centered desires? (v. 5). Am I becoming more compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient? (v. 12).
Do I love God with all my mind? Do I focus on my relationship with His Son or do I let my mind wander wherever it wants to go? (v. 2). Do my thoughts lead to problems or solutions? To unity or division? Forgiveness or revenge? (v. 13).
Do I love God with all my strength? Am I willing to be seen as weak so that God can show His strength on my behalf? (v. 17). Am I relying on His grace to be strong in His Spirit?
As we let “the message of Christ dwell among [us] richly . . . with all wisdom” (v. 16), He will equip us to build each other up as we become spiritually fit and useful to Him.
Heavenly Father, when I rely on anything other than love in my efforts to initiate change in people, I am neglecting to love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I choose today to exchange my strength for Yours.
To be spiritually fit, feed on God’s Word and exercise your faith.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 11, 2015
God’s Silence— Then What?
When He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. —John 11:6
Has God trusted you with His silence— a silence that has great meaning? God’s silences are actually His answers. Just think of those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany! Is there anything comparable to those days in your life? Can God trust you like that, or are you still asking Him for a visible answer? God will give you the very blessings you ask if you refuse to go any further without them, but His silence is the sign that He is bringing you into an even more wonderful understanding of Himself. Are you mourning before God because you have not had an audible response? When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible— with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, then praise Him— He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes. The actual evidence of the answer in time is simply a matter of God’s sovereignty. Time is nothing to God. For a while you may have said, “I asked God to give me bread, but He gave me a stone instead” (see Matthew 7:9). He did not give you a stone, and today you find that He gave you the “bread of life” (John 6:35).
A wonderful thing about God’s silence is that His stillness is contagious— it gets into you, causing you to become perfectly confident so that you can honestly say, “I know that God has heard me.” His silence is the very proof that He has. As long as you have the idea that God will always bless you in answer to prayer, He will do it, but He will never give you the grace of His silence. If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, then He will give you the first sign of His intimacy— silence.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves. The Place of Help, 1051 L
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