Max Lucado Daily: Saved to Serve
Some people feel so saved they never serve. Some serve at the hope of being saved. Does one of these sentences describe you? Do you feel so saved that you never serve? So content in what God has done that you do nothing? The fact is, we're here to glorify God in our service.
Or is your tendency the opposite? Perhaps you always serve for fear of not being saved. You're worried there is a secret card that exists with your score written on it; and your score is not enough. Is that you? If so, know this: The blood of Jesus is enough to save you. John 1:29 announces that Jesus is "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."
The blood of Christ doesn't cover your sins, conceal your sins, postpone or diminish your sins. It takes away your sins, once and for all! So…since you are saved, you can serve!
From He Chose the Nails
Psalm 102
A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.
Hear my prayer, Lord;
let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me
when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.
3 For my days vanish like smoke;
my bones burn like glowing embers.
4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
I forget to eat my food.
5 In my distress I groan aloud
and am reduced to skin and bones.
6 I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake; I have become
like a bird alone on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
9 For I eat ashes as my food
and mingle my drink with tears
10 because of your great wrath,
for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like the evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;
your renown endures through all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her;
the appointed time has come.
14 For her stones are dear to your servants;
her very dust moves them to pity.
15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion
and appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
he will not despise their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high,
from heaven he viewed the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned to death.”
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
assemble to worship the Lord.
23 In the course of my life[b] he broke my strength;
he cut short my days.
24 So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
your years go on through all generations.
25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
and they will be discarded.
27 But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants will live in your presence;
their descendants will be established before you.”
Footnotes:
Psalm 102:1 In Hebrew texts 102:1-28 is numbered 102:2-29.
Psalm 102:23 Or By his power
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Read: Philippians 1:27-30
Live as Citizens of Heaven
Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. 28 Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. 29 For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. 30 We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.
INSIGHT:
The apostle Paul was concerned that believers in the Roman colony of Philippi live exemplary and holy lives. He prayed for their spiritual growth and maturity (Phil. 1:9–11) and exhorted them to “conduct [themselves] in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (v. 27). This was a constant reminder and refrain in Paul’s letters (Eph. 4:1; Col. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:12). The life “worthy of the gospel of Christ” is characterized by steadfastness, unity, harmony, humility, and a willingness to suffer. Suffering for Christ is a gift and a privilege for the believer (Acts 5:41; Phil. 1:29; 1 Peter 2:21; 3:14; 4:16).
Ignore No More
By Dave Branon
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. Psalm 19:8
I don’t know how these people find me, but I keep getting more and more flyers in the mail from folks asking me to show up at their events so they can teach me about retirement benefits. It started several years ago when I began getting invitations to join an organization that works on behalf of retirees. These reminders all serve to say: “You’re getting older. Get ready!”
I have ignored them all along, but soon enough I’m going to have to break down and go to one of their meetings. I really should be taking action on their suggestions.
The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. (Psalm 19:8)
Sometimes I hear a similar reminder in the wisdom of Scripture. We know that what the passage says is true about us, but we are just not ready to respond. Maybe it’s a passage like Romans 14:13 that says, “Let us stop passing judgment on one another.” Or the reminder in 2 Corinthians 9:6, which tells us, “Whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” Or this reminder in Philippians 1: “Stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened” (vv. 27-28).
As we read God’s Word, we get vital reminders. Let’s take these seriously as from the heart of the Father who knows what honors Him and is best for us.
Thank You, Lord, for Your gentle reminders. We know that the things You tell us to do in Your Word are for our good and for Your glory. Help us to step up and do the things that bring honor to Your name.
Holiness is simply Christ in us fulfilling the will and commands of the Father.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Abraham’s Life of Faith
He went out, not knowing where he was going. —Hebrews 11:8
In the Old Testament, a person’s relationship with God was seen by the degree of separation in that person’s life. This separation is exhibited in the life of Abraham by his separation from his country and his family. When we think of separation today, we do not mean to be literally separated from those family members who do not have a personal relationship with God, but to be separated mentally and morally from their viewpoints. This is what Jesus Christ was referring to in Luke 14:26.
Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason— a life of knowing Him who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world.
The final stage in the life of faith is the attainment of character, and we encounter many changes in the process. We feel the presence of God around us when we pray, yet we are only momentarily changed. We tend to keep going back to our everyday ways and the glory vanishes. A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles’ wings, but is a life of day-in and day-out consistency; a life of walking without fainting (see Isaiah 40:31). It is not even a question of the holiness of sanctification, but of something which comes much farther down the road. It is a faith that has been tried and proved and has withstood the test. Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith— a faith, tested and true, built on the true God. “Abraham believed God…” (Romans 4:3).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus. Facing Reality, 34 R
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Friday, March 18, 2016
Psalm 100, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: No Secrets
God has kept no secrets about this life. He has told us that we will experience trouble. Disease will afflict bodies. Divorce will break hearts. Death will make widows and devastation will destroy countries. We shouldn't expect any less.
Yet just because the devil shows up and cackles, we needn't panic. Jesus says in John 16:33, "In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." He speaks of an accomplished deed. "I HAVE overcome the world." It's finished. The battle is over.
Be alert but don't be alarmed. Satan is loosed for a season, but the season is oh, so brief. The devil knows this and Revelation 12:12 reminds us, "he is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short." Just a few more turns in the road, and his end will come! And we will have a new beginning.
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[b];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Footnotes:
Psalm 100:3 Or and not we ourselves
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 18, 2016
Read: Genesis 39:1-12
Joseph in Potiphar’s House
When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. 4 This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. 5 From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. 6 So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!
Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, 7 and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.
8 But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. 9 No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”
10 She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. 11 One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work. 12 She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.
When to Walk Away
By Lawrence Darmani
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. 1 Corinthians 10:13
When my father became a Christian in his old age, he fascinated me with his plan for overcoming temptation. Sometimes he just walked away! For example, whenever a disagreement between him and a neighbor began to degenerate into a quarrel, my father just walked away for a time rather than be tempted to advance the quarrel.
One day he met with some friends who ordered pito (a locally brewed alcoholic beer). My father had formerly struggled with alcohol and had decided he was better off without it. So he simply stood up, said his goodbyes, and left the gathering of old friends for another day.
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.
In Genesis, we read how Potiphar’s wife tempted Joseph. He immediately recognized that giving in would cause him to “sin against God,” so he fled (Gen. 39:9-12).
Temptation knocks often at our door. Sometimes it comes from our own desires, other times through the situations and people we encounter. As Paul told the Corinthians, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.” But he also wrote, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13).
The “way out” may include removing the objects of temptation or fleeing from them. Our best course of action may be to simply walk away.
Lord, please give me the wisdom and strength to know when to walk away from situations and people that tempt me to do wrong.
Every temptation is an opportunity to flee to God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 18, 2016
Will I Bring Myself Up to This Level?
…perfecting holiness in the fear of God. —2 Corinthians 7:1
“Therefore, having these promises….” I claim God’s promises for my life and look to their fulfillment, and rightly so, but that shows only the human perspective on them. God’s perspective is that through His promises I will come to recognize His claim of ownership on me. For example, do I realize that my “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,” or am I condoning some habit in my body which clearly could not withstand the light of God on it? (1 Corinthians 6:19). God formed His Son in me through sanctification, setting me apart from sin and making me holy in His sight (see Galatians 4:19). But I must begin to transform my natural life into spiritual life by obedience to Him. God instructs us even in the smallest details of life. And when He brings you conviction of sin, do not “confer with flesh and blood,” but cleanse yourself from it at once (Galatians 1:16). Keep yourself cleansed in your daily walk.
I must cleanse myself from all filthiness in my flesh and my spirit until both are in harmony with the nature of God. Is the mind of my spirit in perfect agreement with the life of the Son of God in me, or am I mentally rebellious and defiant? Am I allowing the mind of Christ to be formed in me? (see Philippians 2:5). Christ never spoke of His right to Himself, but always maintained an inner vigilance to submit His spirit continually to His Father. I also have the responsibility to keep my spirit in agreement with His Spirit. And when I do, Jesus gradually lifts me up to the level where He lived— a level of perfect submission to His Father’s will— where I pay no attention to anything else. Am I perfecting this kind of holiness in the fear of God? Is God having His way with me, and are people beginning to see God in my life more and more?
Be serious in your commitment to God and gladly leave everything else alone. Literally put God first in your life.
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
Friday, March 18, 2016
Your Plans...HIS Plans - #7615
It had been a long ministry weekend in Chicago, and as I settled into my seat on the airplane. I was looking forward to being back home in New Jersey. The going home part of the trip is always the best part. I was quite surprised, needless to say, when the pilot addressed the passengers and said, "Some of you folks may have noticed we've been going north for a while." Now, you don't have to be a geography whiz to know New Jersey is not north of Chicago. We should have been flying east all the time! Great, we've got a rookie navigator.
The pilot went on to explain, "It looks like we're going to have to land in Detroit." Just what we had all been hoping for – a visit to Detroit on the way to New Jersey! And then came the explanation, "We seem to have developed a problem with our hydraulic system and we need to land at the nearest airport." Whoa! Detroit was starting to sound better all the time. Actually, we were greeted by a welcoming party of emergency vehicles as soon as we touched down in Detroit, and thankfully we were all right! That pilot sure changed what I'd planned for that day. I'm glad he did. It was for my good!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Plans...HIS Plans."
Our word for today from the Word of God, Mark 1:16-18, "As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and His brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed Him." They started their day as fishermen and they ended their day as disciples. What a day!
Mark 2:14, another incident that took place after that, "As (Jesus) walked along, He saw Levi...sitting at the tax collector's booth. 'Follow me,' Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him." He would become Matthew, of course. Here's a man with a successful business position, in his office, a Jewish man, collecting money for the Roman government – great position! He wakes up a tax collector; he goes to bed a disciple.
In both cases and many others like them, Jesus changes people's plans like my pilot that day. He had the right to change our direction, and even though it didn't seem like a good idea at first, it later proved to be the very best thing for us. Peter and Levi could never have dreamed how significant their lives were about to become because they trusted Jesus enough to obey when He came to change their plans.
Have you pretty well laid out your course: your plans for your education, your career, financial security, your family, and retirement? And what about your relationship plans, goals for your ministry, plans for where you want to live, and suddenly you're hearing the voice of Jesus saying, "Follow me. This way." and we're talking a change of direction. Don't be afraid of taking that seemingly risky obedience. There's actually no such thing as a risky obedience. There is only a risky disobedience.
The One who gave you your life, who gave His life for you, is leading you into a change that He's been quietly preparing you for over a long time. He's actually moving you more and more into what you were born to be. Perhaps God wants to talk to you through verses that helped thrust my wife and me in the very ministry we're in right now.
Isaiah 43:18-19 changed our future. "Forget the former things;" God says, "do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." The Pilot is changing direction. It's not what you had planned; it's better than what you had planned.
You have nothing to fear when Jesus calls you to change your plans. Nothing, that is, except disobedience.
God has kept no secrets about this life. He has told us that we will experience trouble. Disease will afflict bodies. Divorce will break hearts. Death will make widows and devastation will destroy countries. We shouldn't expect any less.
Yet just because the devil shows up and cackles, we needn't panic. Jesus says in John 16:33, "In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." He speaks of an accomplished deed. "I HAVE overcome the world." It's finished. The battle is over.
Be alert but don't be alarmed. Satan is loosed for a season, but the season is oh, so brief. The devil knows this and Revelation 12:12 reminds us, "he is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short." Just a few more turns in the road, and his end will come! And we will have a new beginning.
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[b];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Footnotes:
Psalm 100:3 Or and not we ourselves
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 18, 2016
Read: Genesis 39:1-12
Joseph in Potiphar’s House
When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. 4 This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. 5 From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. 6 So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!
Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, 7 and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.
8 But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. 9 No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”
10 She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. 11 One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work. 12 She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.
When to Walk Away
By Lawrence Darmani
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. 1 Corinthians 10:13
When my father became a Christian in his old age, he fascinated me with his plan for overcoming temptation. Sometimes he just walked away! For example, whenever a disagreement between him and a neighbor began to degenerate into a quarrel, my father just walked away for a time rather than be tempted to advance the quarrel.
One day he met with some friends who ordered pito (a locally brewed alcoholic beer). My father had formerly struggled with alcohol and had decided he was better off without it. So he simply stood up, said his goodbyes, and left the gathering of old friends for another day.
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.
In Genesis, we read how Potiphar’s wife tempted Joseph. He immediately recognized that giving in would cause him to “sin against God,” so he fled (Gen. 39:9-12).
Temptation knocks often at our door. Sometimes it comes from our own desires, other times through the situations and people we encounter. As Paul told the Corinthians, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.” But he also wrote, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13).
The “way out” may include removing the objects of temptation or fleeing from them. Our best course of action may be to simply walk away.
Lord, please give me the wisdom and strength to know when to walk away from situations and people that tempt me to do wrong.
Every temptation is an opportunity to flee to God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 18, 2016
Will I Bring Myself Up to This Level?
…perfecting holiness in the fear of God. —2 Corinthians 7:1
“Therefore, having these promises….” I claim God’s promises for my life and look to their fulfillment, and rightly so, but that shows only the human perspective on them. God’s perspective is that through His promises I will come to recognize His claim of ownership on me. For example, do I realize that my “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,” or am I condoning some habit in my body which clearly could not withstand the light of God on it? (1 Corinthians 6:19). God formed His Son in me through sanctification, setting me apart from sin and making me holy in His sight (see Galatians 4:19). But I must begin to transform my natural life into spiritual life by obedience to Him. God instructs us even in the smallest details of life. And when He brings you conviction of sin, do not “confer with flesh and blood,” but cleanse yourself from it at once (Galatians 1:16). Keep yourself cleansed in your daily walk.
I must cleanse myself from all filthiness in my flesh and my spirit until both are in harmony with the nature of God. Is the mind of my spirit in perfect agreement with the life of the Son of God in me, or am I mentally rebellious and defiant? Am I allowing the mind of Christ to be formed in me? (see Philippians 2:5). Christ never spoke of His right to Himself, but always maintained an inner vigilance to submit His spirit continually to His Father. I also have the responsibility to keep my spirit in agreement with His Spirit. And when I do, Jesus gradually lifts me up to the level where He lived— a level of perfect submission to His Father’s will— where I pay no attention to anything else. Am I perfecting this kind of holiness in the fear of God? Is God having His way with me, and are people beginning to see God in my life more and more?
Be serious in your commitment to God and gladly leave everything else alone. Literally put God first in your life.
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
Friday, March 18, 2016
Your Plans...HIS Plans - #7615
It had been a long ministry weekend in Chicago, and as I settled into my seat on the airplane. I was looking forward to being back home in New Jersey. The going home part of the trip is always the best part. I was quite surprised, needless to say, when the pilot addressed the passengers and said, "Some of you folks may have noticed we've been going north for a while." Now, you don't have to be a geography whiz to know New Jersey is not north of Chicago. We should have been flying east all the time! Great, we've got a rookie navigator.
The pilot went on to explain, "It looks like we're going to have to land in Detroit." Just what we had all been hoping for – a visit to Detroit on the way to New Jersey! And then came the explanation, "We seem to have developed a problem with our hydraulic system and we need to land at the nearest airport." Whoa! Detroit was starting to sound better all the time. Actually, we were greeted by a welcoming party of emergency vehicles as soon as we touched down in Detroit, and thankfully we were all right! That pilot sure changed what I'd planned for that day. I'm glad he did. It was for my good!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Plans...HIS Plans."
Our word for today from the Word of God, Mark 1:16-18, "As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and His brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed Him." They started their day as fishermen and they ended their day as disciples. What a day!
Mark 2:14, another incident that took place after that, "As (Jesus) walked along, He saw Levi...sitting at the tax collector's booth. 'Follow me,' Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him." He would become Matthew, of course. Here's a man with a successful business position, in his office, a Jewish man, collecting money for the Roman government – great position! He wakes up a tax collector; he goes to bed a disciple.
In both cases and many others like them, Jesus changes people's plans like my pilot that day. He had the right to change our direction, and even though it didn't seem like a good idea at first, it later proved to be the very best thing for us. Peter and Levi could never have dreamed how significant their lives were about to become because they trusted Jesus enough to obey when He came to change their plans.
Have you pretty well laid out your course: your plans for your education, your career, financial security, your family, and retirement? And what about your relationship plans, goals for your ministry, plans for where you want to live, and suddenly you're hearing the voice of Jesus saying, "Follow me. This way." and we're talking a change of direction. Don't be afraid of taking that seemingly risky obedience. There's actually no such thing as a risky obedience. There is only a risky disobedience.
The One who gave you your life, who gave His life for you, is leading you into a change that He's been quietly preparing you for over a long time. He's actually moving you more and more into what you were born to be. Perhaps God wants to talk to you through verses that helped thrust my wife and me in the very ministry we're in right now.
Isaiah 43:18-19 changed our future. "Forget the former things;" God says, "do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." The Pilot is changing direction. It's not what you had planned; it's better than what you had planned.
You have nothing to fear when Jesus calls you to change your plans. Nothing, that is, except disobedience.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Psalm 99, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Jesus is Praying for You
While we wait for Christ's return, we can be encouraged because Jesus is praying for us! As recorded in Luke 22:31, Jesus says, "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to test all of you as a farmer sifts his wheat." Loose translation- Satan is gonna slap your faith like a farmer slaps wheat on the threshing floor!
You would expect Jesus' next words to be, So get out of town! But Jesus shows no panic. In verse 32, He says, "I have prayed that you will not lose your faith. Help your brothers be stronger when you come back to me."
Everything changes when Jesus prays for us. The devil may land a punch or two, but he never wins the fight. Jesus protected Peter, and Jesus is protecting you.
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 99
The Lord reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
2 Great is the Lord in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name—
he is holy.
4 The King is mighty, he loves justice—
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
5 Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
8 Lord our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds.[a]
9 Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy.
Footnotes:
Psalm 99:8 Or God, / an avenger of the wrongs done to them
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Read: Deuteronomy 30:11-20
The Choice of Life or Death
“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach. 12 It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’ 13 It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’ 14 No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.
15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.
17 “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, 18 then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This[a] is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Footnotes:
30:20 Or He.
INSIGHT:
Today’s passage begins with a beautiful statement of how intimately God wants us to know Him. He has not given us commandments that are “too difficult” or “beyond our reach” (Deut. 30:11). This passage ends with the reason His commands are “very near” (v. 14)—that we may love and obey God and enjoy life in Him (v. 20).
Positive Repetition
By Poh Fang Chia
I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him. Deuteronomy 30:16
A journalist had a quirky habit of not using blue pens. So when his colleague asked him if he needed anything from the store, he asked for some pens. “But not blue pens,” he said. “I don’t want blue pens. I don’t like blue. Blue is too heavy. So please purchase 12 ballpoint pens for me—anything but blue!” The next day his colleague passed him the pens—and they were all blue. When asked to explain, he said, “You kept saying ‘blue, blue.’ That’s the word that left the deepest impression!” The journalist’s use of repetition had an effect, but not the one he desired.
Moses, the lawgiver of Israel, also used repetition in his requests to his people. More than 30 times he urged his people to remain true to the law of their God. Yet the result was the opposite of what he asked for. He told them that obedience would lead them to life and prosperity, but disobedience would lead to destruction (Deut. 30:15-18).
When we love God, we want to walk in His ways not because we fear the consequences but because it is our joy to please the One we love. That’s a good word to remember.
Dear Lord, as we read Your inspired story, may Your Spirit be our teacher. Help us to walk the path of obedience as we hear the voice of Your heart.
Love for God will cause you to live for God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 17, 2016
The Servant’s Primary Goal
We make it our aim…to be well pleasing to Him. —2 Corinthians 5:9
“We make it our aim….” It requires a conscious decision and effort to keep our primary goal constantly in front of us. It means holding ourselves to the highest priority year in and year out; not making our first priority to win souls, or to establish churches, or to have revivals, but seeking only “to be well pleasing to Him.” It is not a lack of spiritual experience that leads to failure, but a lack of working to keep our eyes focused and on the right goal. At least once a week examine yourself before God to see if your life is measuring up to the standard He has for you. Paul was like a musician who gives no thought to audience approval, if he can only catch a look of approval from his Conductor.
Any goal we have that diverts us even to the slightest degree from the central goal of being “approved to God” (2 Timothy 2:15) may result in our rejection from further service for Him. When you discern where the goal leads, you will understand why it is so necessary to keep “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2). Paul spoke of the importance of controlling his own body so that it would not take him in the wrong direction. He said, “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest…I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).
I must learn to relate everything to the primary goal, maintaining it without interruption. My worth to God publicly is measured by what I really am in my private life. Is my primary goal in life to please Him and to be acceptable to Him, or is it something less, no matter how lofty it may sound?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end. Not Knowing Whither, 901 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 17, 2016
What Keeps Christians Together - and Apart - #7614
There are not too many TV shows you remember decades later. But I still remember a TV documentary that was filmed during the Vietnam War. It was called "Same Mud, Same Blood." The correspondent traveled with this infantry company that was made up mostly of white soldiers from the Deep South and a few others who were African American. But the unit was commanded by an African American sergeant.
We're talking about a time when America was convulsing with civil rights conflicts. But the documentary told the amazing story of how a company that started out with huge racial walls between them became molded into this group of guys who would die for each other. After all, they were "same mud, same blood". There was something about being in a war together that brought people close together who might otherwise have never had anything in common.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "What Keeps Christians Together – and Apart."
Mission glue – that's what held that racially mixed, potentially racially divided group of soldiers together. They had a life-or-death mission that brought them together and kept them together. So do we; those of us who belong to Jesus Christ. But take away our focus on that mission, and we're back to the little things that divide us.
We can see that portrayed in our word for today from the Word of God in Philippians 4:2-3. Paul is writing about a controversy that was ripping up the church in Philippi because two women named Euodia and Syntyche, women who had been with him in many battles for the Lord were now fighting with each other. He said, "I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellows, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the Gospel...whose names are in the Book of Life."
Here were two women who had once been close together, going out on spiritual combat missions with Sergeant Paul. Their differences didn't matter when they were all focused on the spiritually dying people whose lives they were fighting for in the cause of the Gospel. But somewhere along the way, they lost their focus on their eternal rescue mission. They started to focus on each other, and they fell apart. Do you know how many churches have fallen apart that way? How many ministries? How many Christian relationships?
It just seems like so many Christians have forgotten our mission – the people who don't yet know our Jesus, who have never had a day with a Savior, who have no hope for eternity without Him. Our focus is supposed to be outward on the lost, not inward on ourselves. When we've got our hearts and our lives full of rescuing dying people, our differences are suddenly nowhere near as important as the mission and we come together! We become an answer to our Savior's prayer for us on the eve of His crucifixion – "Lord, may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me" (John 17:23).
But when we stray from our life-or-death mission, we start turning on each other, focusing on trivial things, and getting aggravated with our differences. We fall apart because suddenly what's really big has ended up being small to us – and what's really small, ends up looking really big.
As Paul once pleaded with former warriors in the battle to come together, I believe Jesus is pleading with us to get our eyes off each other and on the people who are dying without Him all around us. It is no one other than Satan who distracts us from our rescue mission so he can keep his prisoners. It's our mission that forces us to come together, to fight our common enemy, to fight for our common Savior.
We're same blood, remember? The blood of the Son of God!
While we wait for Christ's return, we can be encouraged because Jesus is praying for us! As recorded in Luke 22:31, Jesus says, "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to test all of you as a farmer sifts his wheat." Loose translation- Satan is gonna slap your faith like a farmer slaps wheat on the threshing floor!
You would expect Jesus' next words to be, So get out of town! But Jesus shows no panic. In verse 32, He says, "I have prayed that you will not lose your faith. Help your brothers be stronger when you come back to me."
Everything changes when Jesus prays for us. The devil may land a punch or two, but he never wins the fight. Jesus protected Peter, and Jesus is protecting you.
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 99
The Lord reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
2 Great is the Lord in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name—
he is holy.
4 The King is mighty, he loves justice—
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
5 Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
8 Lord our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds.[a]
9 Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy.
Footnotes:
Psalm 99:8 Or God, / an avenger of the wrongs done to them
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Read: Deuteronomy 30:11-20
The Choice of Life or Death
“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach. 12 It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’ 13 It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’ 14 No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.
15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.
17 “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, 18 then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This[a] is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Footnotes:
30:20 Or He.
INSIGHT:
Today’s passage begins with a beautiful statement of how intimately God wants us to know Him. He has not given us commandments that are “too difficult” or “beyond our reach” (Deut. 30:11). This passage ends with the reason His commands are “very near” (v. 14)—that we may love and obey God and enjoy life in Him (v. 20).
Positive Repetition
By Poh Fang Chia
I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him. Deuteronomy 30:16
A journalist had a quirky habit of not using blue pens. So when his colleague asked him if he needed anything from the store, he asked for some pens. “But not blue pens,” he said. “I don’t want blue pens. I don’t like blue. Blue is too heavy. So please purchase 12 ballpoint pens for me—anything but blue!” The next day his colleague passed him the pens—and they were all blue. When asked to explain, he said, “You kept saying ‘blue, blue.’ That’s the word that left the deepest impression!” The journalist’s use of repetition had an effect, but not the one he desired.
Moses, the lawgiver of Israel, also used repetition in his requests to his people. More than 30 times he urged his people to remain true to the law of their God. Yet the result was the opposite of what he asked for. He told them that obedience would lead them to life and prosperity, but disobedience would lead to destruction (Deut. 30:15-18).
When we love God, we want to walk in His ways not because we fear the consequences but because it is our joy to please the One we love. That’s a good word to remember.
Dear Lord, as we read Your inspired story, may Your Spirit be our teacher. Help us to walk the path of obedience as we hear the voice of Your heart.
Love for God will cause you to live for God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 17, 2016
The Servant’s Primary Goal
We make it our aim…to be well pleasing to Him. —2 Corinthians 5:9
“We make it our aim….” It requires a conscious decision and effort to keep our primary goal constantly in front of us. It means holding ourselves to the highest priority year in and year out; not making our first priority to win souls, or to establish churches, or to have revivals, but seeking only “to be well pleasing to Him.” It is not a lack of spiritual experience that leads to failure, but a lack of working to keep our eyes focused and on the right goal. At least once a week examine yourself before God to see if your life is measuring up to the standard He has for you. Paul was like a musician who gives no thought to audience approval, if he can only catch a look of approval from his Conductor.
Any goal we have that diverts us even to the slightest degree from the central goal of being “approved to God” (2 Timothy 2:15) may result in our rejection from further service for Him. When you discern where the goal leads, you will understand why it is so necessary to keep “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2). Paul spoke of the importance of controlling his own body so that it would not take him in the wrong direction. He said, “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest…I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).
I must learn to relate everything to the primary goal, maintaining it without interruption. My worth to God publicly is measured by what I really am in my private life. Is my primary goal in life to please Him and to be acceptable to Him, or is it something less, no matter how lofty it may sound?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end. Not Knowing Whither, 901 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 17, 2016
What Keeps Christians Together - and Apart - #7614
There are not too many TV shows you remember decades later. But I still remember a TV documentary that was filmed during the Vietnam War. It was called "Same Mud, Same Blood." The correspondent traveled with this infantry company that was made up mostly of white soldiers from the Deep South and a few others who were African American. But the unit was commanded by an African American sergeant.
We're talking about a time when America was convulsing with civil rights conflicts. But the documentary told the amazing story of how a company that started out with huge racial walls between them became molded into this group of guys who would die for each other. After all, they were "same mud, same blood". There was something about being in a war together that brought people close together who might otherwise have never had anything in common.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "What Keeps Christians Together – and Apart."
Mission glue – that's what held that racially mixed, potentially racially divided group of soldiers together. They had a life-or-death mission that brought them together and kept them together. So do we; those of us who belong to Jesus Christ. But take away our focus on that mission, and we're back to the little things that divide us.
We can see that portrayed in our word for today from the Word of God in Philippians 4:2-3. Paul is writing about a controversy that was ripping up the church in Philippi because two women named Euodia and Syntyche, women who had been with him in many battles for the Lord were now fighting with each other. He said, "I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellows, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the Gospel...whose names are in the Book of Life."
Here were two women who had once been close together, going out on spiritual combat missions with Sergeant Paul. Their differences didn't matter when they were all focused on the spiritually dying people whose lives they were fighting for in the cause of the Gospel. But somewhere along the way, they lost their focus on their eternal rescue mission. They started to focus on each other, and they fell apart. Do you know how many churches have fallen apart that way? How many ministries? How many Christian relationships?
It just seems like so many Christians have forgotten our mission – the people who don't yet know our Jesus, who have never had a day with a Savior, who have no hope for eternity without Him. Our focus is supposed to be outward on the lost, not inward on ourselves. When we've got our hearts and our lives full of rescuing dying people, our differences are suddenly nowhere near as important as the mission and we come together! We become an answer to our Savior's prayer for us on the eve of His crucifixion – "Lord, may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me" (John 17:23).
But when we stray from our life-or-death mission, we start turning on each other, focusing on trivial things, and getting aggravated with our differences. We fall apart because suddenly what's really big has ended up being small to us – and what's really small, ends up looking really big.
As Paul once pleaded with former warriors in the battle to come together, I believe Jesus is pleading with us to get our eyes off each other and on the people who are dying without Him all around us. It is no one other than Satan who distracts us from our rescue mission so he can keep his prisoners. It's our mission that forces us to come together, to fight our common enemy, to fight for our common Savior.
We're same blood, remember? The blood of the Son of God!
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Psalm 98 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Heaven Will Be Sin Free
What prevents us from being rightly related to God? It is sin! And since heaven promises a right relationship with God, what's missing in heaven? You got it-Sin. Heaven will be sin-free. Both death and sin will be things of the past.
Can you imagine a world minus sin? Have you done anything recently because of sin? At the very least, you've complained. You've worried. You've grumbled. Hoarded when you should have shared. Second-guessed and covered up. But you won't do that in heaven. Sin has sired a thousand heartaches and broken a million promises. Your addiction can be traced back to sin. Your mistrust can be traced back to sin. Bigotry, robbery, adultery-all because of sin.
But in heaven, all of this will end. So. . .can you imagine a world without sin? If so, you can imagine heaven!
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 98
A psalm.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
3 He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
5 make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
9 let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Read: Matthew 6:25-34
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Footnotes:
6:33 Some manuscripts do not include of God.
INSIGHT:
The Sermon on the Mount is all about the life of those who are part of God’s kingdom. One of the characteristics of our heavenly Father is that He is our great provider—a fact that Jesus emphasizes in today’s text. He describes the extent to which the Father goes to provide for His children. But what is most important is that this provision is not in response to our obedience or because we deserve it—it is because of our value to God (Matt. 6:26).
Deeply Loved
By Randy Kilgore
Your heavenly Father feeds [the birds of the air]. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26
Years ago I had an office in Boston that looked out on the Granary Burying Ground where many prominent American heroes are buried. There one can find the gravestones for John Hancock and Samuel Adams, two signers of the Declaration of Independence, and just a few feet beyond that is Paul Revere’s marker.
But no one really knows where in this burial ground each body is buried because the stones have been moved many times—sometimes to make the grounds more picturesque and other times so lawn mowers could fit between them. And while the Granary features approximately 2,300 markers, closer to 5,000 people are buried there! Even in death, it seems, some people are not fully known.
There may be times when we feel as if we are like those unmarked residents of the Granary, unknown and unseen. Loneliness can make us feel unseen by others—and maybe even by God. But we must remind ourselves that even though we may feel forgotten by our Creator God, we are not. God not only made us in His image (Gen. 1:26-27), but He also values each of us individually and sent His Son to save us (John 3:16).
Even in our darkest hours, we can rest in the knowledge we are never alone, for our loving God is with us.
Thank You, Lord, that You never leave me alone and that You know all about me. Make me aware of Your presence so I may share that comfort with others who are feeling alone too.
We are important because God loves us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
The Master Will Judge
We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ… —2 Corinthians 5:10
Paul says that we must all, preachers and other people alike, “appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” But if you will learn here and now to live under the scrutiny of Christ’s pure light, your final judgment will bring you only delight in seeing the work God has done in you. Live constantly reminding yourself of the judgment seat of Christ, and walk in the knowledge of the holiness He has given you. Tolerating a wrong attitude toward another person causes you to follow the spirit of the devil, no matter how saintly you are. One carnal judgment of another person only serves the purposes of hell in you. Bring it immediately into the light and confess, “Oh, Lord, I have been guilty there.” If you don’t, your heart will become hardened through and through. One of the penalties of sin is our acceptance of it. It is not only God who punishes for sin, but sin establishes itself in the sinner and takes its toll. No struggling or praying will enable you to stop doing certain things, and the penalty of sin is that you gradually get used to it, until you finally come to the place where you no longer even realize that it is sin. No power, except the power that comes from being filled with the Holy Spirit, can change or prevent the inherent consequences of sin.
“If we walk in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7). For many of us, walking in the light means walking according to the standard we have set up for another person. The deadliest attitude of the Pharisees that we exhibit today is not hypocrisy but that which comes from unconsciously living a lie.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To live a life alone with God does not mean that we live it apart from everyone else. The connection between godly men and women and those associated with them is continually revealed in the Bible, e.g., 1 Timothy 4:10. Not Knowing Whither, 867 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
No Pit Stops - #7613
For several years, we had a Latin American outreach base in Mexico where our Latin American version of a youth broadcast was recorded. My limited Spanish didn't get me very far in Mexico. I mean, how much meaningful communication can you have when all you know are words like grande and mucho? "You look grande today." Well, the Director of our Latin American Ministry at the time was a wonderful translator and he was my best hope of communicating while I was there. Needless to say, I always lit up when someone was fluent in English there. I could converse unassisted!
In the course of talking with one bilingual, Mexican gentleman, I learned he was involved with automobile racing in that country, sort of the Mexican NASCAR. When I asked him if they have anything like America's Indianapolis 500, he told me they didn't do long distance races like that. They can't. Then I asked him about the pressure of repairing a race car during one of those pit stops, and he informed me that they don't have pit stops. They don't stop. See, they can't go as far as cars that do.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Pit Stops."
Cars cannot run indefinitely without stopping to be serviced. Hello! Neither can people. So God builds in pit stops. Our word for today from the Word of God, the familiar words of Psalm 23:1, "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." Notice what kind of things our Shepherd leads us to. "He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul."
God leads us along paths where we will lie down. You have to stop, of course, to lie down. And the reason for stopping is to restore your soul. Sounds remarkably like cars in long, demanding races. They occasionally leave the race for some servicing – for a pit stop. It's interesting that in Mexico, where they apparently don't stop, they can't finish a long-distance race. Well, neither can you. That's how God created you.
Maybe you're really caught up in your race right now, and God's Sabbath principle is out the window. He has built pit stops into our creation. But you've been running so hard and so fast lately, that you keep saying, "I can't stop now. I'll pull over later. I've got to keep driving." And the longer you go without rest, the crankier you become, more impatient, more prone to errors in judgment, less creative, more mechanical, and you're less caring. You weren't made to run like this. Eventually, you'll burn up or burn out if you keep driving without stopping.
If you're consistently running without stopping, you are running right past your Shepherd, whose will for you includes regular rest and regular restoring. There's nothing noble about running yourself to death. In fact, there's something very wrong with it. If you don't choose to lie down, the Shepherd may literally "make" you lie down. If you don't get your Sabbaths, maybe one day they will come and get you. And you'll be able to run a much longer race if you take time for pit stops. Without those stops, you may be able to run real hard, but not nearly as long as those who stop.
Maybe you're addicted to your own adrenaline right now, to your own momentum. You need to stop for God's love; for God's servicing. You need regular refills of time with Him, of His perspective on what you're doing, of His refocusing you on the people you love, and of His wonderful restoring. But He won't chase you around the track with an oil can. No, He'll service you when you stop.
It's time to, as God commanded us, "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). In your day, in your week, in your month, take time for a pit stop. It's stopping that ultimately keeps you running.
What prevents us from being rightly related to God? It is sin! And since heaven promises a right relationship with God, what's missing in heaven? You got it-Sin. Heaven will be sin-free. Both death and sin will be things of the past.
Can you imagine a world minus sin? Have you done anything recently because of sin? At the very least, you've complained. You've worried. You've grumbled. Hoarded when you should have shared. Second-guessed and covered up. But you won't do that in heaven. Sin has sired a thousand heartaches and broken a million promises. Your addiction can be traced back to sin. Your mistrust can be traced back to sin. Bigotry, robbery, adultery-all because of sin.
But in heaven, all of this will end. So. . .can you imagine a world without sin? If so, you can imagine heaven!
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 98
A psalm.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
3 He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
5 make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
9 let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Read: Matthew 6:25-34
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Footnotes:
6:33 Some manuscripts do not include of God.
INSIGHT:
The Sermon on the Mount is all about the life of those who are part of God’s kingdom. One of the characteristics of our heavenly Father is that He is our great provider—a fact that Jesus emphasizes in today’s text. He describes the extent to which the Father goes to provide for His children. But what is most important is that this provision is not in response to our obedience or because we deserve it—it is because of our value to God (Matt. 6:26).
Deeply Loved
By Randy Kilgore
Your heavenly Father feeds [the birds of the air]. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26
Years ago I had an office in Boston that looked out on the Granary Burying Ground where many prominent American heroes are buried. There one can find the gravestones for John Hancock and Samuel Adams, two signers of the Declaration of Independence, and just a few feet beyond that is Paul Revere’s marker.
But no one really knows where in this burial ground each body is buried because the stones have been moved many times—sometimes to make the grounds more picturesque and other times so lawn mowers could fit between them. And while the Granary features approximately 2,300 markers, closer to 5,000 people are buried there! Even in death, it seems, some people are not fully known.
There may be times when we feel as if we are like those unmarked residents of the Granary, unknown and unseen. Loneliness can make us feel unseen by others—and maybe even by God. But we must remind ourselves that even though we may feel forgotten by our Creator God, we are not. God not only made us in His image (Gen. 1:26-27), but He also values each of us individually and sent His Son to save us (John 3:16).
Even in our darkest hours, we can rest in the knowledge we are never alone, for our loving God is with us.
Thank You, Lord, that You never leave me alone and that You know all about me. Make me aware of Your presence so I may share that comfort with others who are feeling alone too.
We are important because God loves us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
The Master Will Judge
We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ… —2 Corinthians 5:10
Paul says that we must all, preachers and other people alike, “appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” But if you will learn here and now to live under the scrutiny of Christ’s pure light, your final judgment will bring you only delight in seeing the work God has done in you. Live constantly reminding yourself of the judgment seat of Christ, and walk in the knowledge of the holiness He has given you. Tolerating a wrong attitude toward another person causes you to follow the spirit of the devil, no matter how saintly you are. One carnal judgment of another person only serves the purposes of hell in you. Bring it immediately into the light and confess, “Oh, Lord, I have been guilty there.” If you don’t, your heart will become hardened through and through. One of the penalties of sin is our acceptance of it. It is not only God who punishes for sin, but sin establishes itself in the sinner and takes its toll. No struggling or praying will enable you to stop doing certain things, and the penalty of sin is that you gradually get used to it, until you finally come to the place where you no longer even realize that it is sin. No power, except the power that comes from being filled with the Holy Spirit, can change or prevent the inherent consequences of sin.
“If we walk in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7). For many of us, walking in the light means walking according to the standard we have set up for another person. The deadliest attitude of the Pharisees that we exhibit today is not hypocrisy but that which comes from unconsciously living a lie.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To live a life alone with God does not mean that we live it apart from everyone else. The connection between godly men and women and those associated with them is continually revealed in the Bible, e.g., 1 Timothy 4:10. Not Knowing Whither, 867 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
No Pit Stops - #7613
For several years, we had a Latin American outreach base in Mexico where our Latin American version of a youth broadcast was recorded. My limited Spanish didn't get me very far in Mexico. I mean, how much meaningful communication can you have when all you know are words like grande and mucho? "You look grande today." Well, the Director of our Latin American Ministry at the time was a wonderful translator and he was my best hope of communicating while I was there. Needless to say, I always lit up when someone was fluent in English there. I could converse unassisted!
In the course of talking with one bilingual, Mexican gentleman, I learned he was involved with automobile racing in that country, sort of the Mexican NASCAR. When I asked him if they have anything like America's Indianapolis 500, he told me they didn't do long distance races like that. They can't. Then I asked him about the pressure of repairing a race car during one of those pit stops, and he informed me that they don't have pit stops. They don't stop. See, they can't go as far as cars that do.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Pit Stops."
Cars cannot run indefinitely without stopping to be serviced. Hello! Neither can people. So God builds in pit stops. Our word for today from the Word of God, the familiar words of Psalm 23:1, "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." Notice what kind of things our Shepherd leads us to. "He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul."
God leads us along paths where we will lie down. You have to stop, of course, to lie down. And the reason for stopping is to restore your soul. Sounds remarkably like cars in long, demanding races. They occasionally leave the race for some servicing – for a pit stop. It's interesting that in Mexico, where they apparently don't stop, they can't finish a long-distance race. Well, neither can you. That's how God created you.
Maybe you're really caught up in your race right now, and God's Sabbath principle is out the window. He has built pit stops into our creation. But you've been running so hard and so fast lately, that you keep saying, "I can't stop now. I'll pull over later. I've got to keep driving." And the longer you go without rest, the crankier you become, more impatient, more prone to errors in judgment, less creative, more mechanical, and you're less caring. You weren't made to run like this. Eventually, you'll burn up or burn out if you keep driving without stopping.
If you're consistently running without stopping, you are running right past your Shepherd, whose will for you includes regular rest and regular restoring. There's nothing noble about running yourself to death. In fact, there's something very wrong with it. If you don't choose to lie down, the Shepherd may literally "make" you lie down. If you don't get your Sabbaths, maybe one day they will come and get you. And you'll be able to run a much longer race if you take time for pit stops. Without those stops, you may be able to run real hard, but not nearly as long as those who stop.
Maybe you're addicted to your own adrenaline right now, to your own momentum. You need to stop for God's love; for God's servicing. You need regular refills of time with Him, of His perspective on what you're doing, of His refocusing you on the people you love, and of His wonderful restoring. But He won't chase you around the track with an oil can. No, He'll service you when you stop.
It's time to, as God commanded us, "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). In your day, in your week, in your month, take time for a pit stop. It's stopping that ultimately keeps you running.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Psalm 97, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: The Crown of Righteousness
We are frail creatures. We are not made of steel, we're made from dust. And this life is not crowned with life, it is crowned with death. The next life, however, is different!
In Revelation 2:10, Jesus urged the Christians in Smyrna to "be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life." You will also receive the crown of righteousness.
Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith. And now there is waiting for me, the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord. . .will give me on that Day and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for him to appear."
Set your heart on that day. Crowned with life. Crowned with righteousness. Forever!
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 97
The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all peoples see his glory.
7 All who worship images are put to shame,
those who boast in idols—
worship him, all you gods!
8 Zion hears and rejoices
and the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments, Lord.
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil,
for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light shines[b] on the righteous
and joy on the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,
and praise his holy name.
Footnotes:
Psalm 97:11 One Hebrew manuscript and ancient versions (see also 112:4); most Hebrew manuscripts Light is sown
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Read: Psalm 146:1-10
Psalm 146
Praise the Lord!
Let all that I am praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.
3 Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
4 When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
5 But joyful are those who have the God of Israel[a] as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He keeps every promise forever.
7 He gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
The Lord loves the godly.
9 The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.
10 The Lord will reign forever.
He will be your God, O Jerusalem,[b] throughout the generations.
Praise the Lord!
Footnotes:
146:5 Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 44:4.
146:10 Hebrew Zion.
INSIGHT:
In today’s psalm, the psalmist responds in grateful worship as he reflects on the greatness and grace of God. He invites us to trust the Lord, to look to Him for help, and to place our hope in Him. He is the omnipotent, eternal God, the Creator who is forever faithful (vv. 5–6), just, benevolent, gracious, compassionate, and loving (vv. 7–9). The psalmist’s message is a simple one: Trust in God, not in man, for only those who trust God can be truly blessed.
Looking Up
By David McCasland
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. Psalm 146:8
An article in the Surgical Technology International journal says that looking down at a smart phone with your head bent forward is the equivalent of having a 60-pound weight on your neck. When we consider that millions of people around the world spend an average of 2-4 hours daily reading and texting, the resulting damage to neck and spine becomes a growing health concern.
It is also easy to become spiritually bowed down by the burdens of life. How often we find ourselves discouraged by the problems we face and the needs of those we love. The psalmist understood this weight of concern yet saw hope as he wrote about “the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—[who] remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous” (Ps. 146:6-8).
We can walk through each day knowing that "the LORD reigns forever!"
When we consider God’s care, His great power, and His loving heart, we can begin to look up and praise Him. We can walk through each day knowing that “the Lord reigns forever . . . for all generations” (v. 10).
He lifts us up when we are bowed down. Praise the Lord!
O Lord, lift our eyes to see Your power and love today so we can raise our heads and our hearts in grateful praise to You.
Faith in God’s goodness puts a song in your heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
The Discipline of Dismay
As they followed they were afraid. —Mark 10:32
At the beginning of our life with Jesus Christ, we were sure we knew all there was to know about following Him. It was a delight to forsake everything else and to throw ourselves before Him in a fearless statement of love. But now we are not quite so sure. Jesus is far ahead of us and is beginning to seem different and unfamiliar— “Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed” (Mark 10:32).
There is an aspect of Jesus that chills even a disciple’s heart to its depth and makes his entire spiritual life gasp for air. This unusual Person with His face set “like a flint” (Isaiah 50:7) is walking with great determination ahead of me, and He strikes terror right through me. He no longer seems to be my Counselor and Friend and has a point of view about which I know nothing. All I can do is stand and stare at Him in amazement. At first I was confident that I understood Him, but now I am not so sure. I begin to realize that there is a distance between Jesus and me and I can no longer be intimate with Him. I have no idea where He is going, and the goal has become strangely distant.
Jesus Christ had to understand fully every sin and sorrow that human beings could experience, and that is what makes Him seem unfamiliar. When we see this aspect of Him, we realize we really don’t know Him. We don’t recognize even one characteristic of His life, and we don’t know how to begin to follow Him. He is far ahead of us, a Leader who seems totally unfamiliar, and we have no friendship with Him.
The discipline of dismay is an essential lesson which a disciple must learn. The danger is that we tend to look back on our times of obedience and on our past sacrifices to God in an effort to keep our enthusiasm for Him strong (see Isaiah 50:10-11). But when the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come the ability to follow Jesus truly, which brings inexpressibly wonderful joy.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes. The Highest Good, 544 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Choices Without Regrets - #7612
I don't know how long Presidential candidates have had campaign songs, but I'll bet George Washington even had one! Now, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's was pretty famous, as it represented the Great Depression "Happy Days Are Here Again." Bill Clinton had a song for his 1992 campaign. In fact, he reached back to 1977 for his song "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow." They used it so much people wanted to sing, "Please Stop Singing About Tomorrow." Now I don't know how you felt about the candidate, and I don't even know if you liked the song...but it's not a bad theme for your campaign!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Choices Without Regrets."
Our word for today from the Word of God takes a look at somebody who did, with painful results. Esau was the oldest son of Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob was his younger brother. Jacob wanted the birthright. But it was Esau's to receive because he was born first, and that meant he received double inheritance. He'd run the family when his father died. What a privilege! And he gets to do that just because he was born first. But it wasn't going to happen that way.
Genesis 25:29 - "When Jacob was cooking some stew one day Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, "'Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!' Jacob replied, 'First sell me your birthright.' 'Look, I'm about to die,' Esau said. 'What good is the birthright to me?' But Jacob said, 'Swear to me first.' So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread, and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised (or didn't think much about) his birthright."
Esau made a choice, a terrible choice here based solely on what would meet his need right now. Man, I want to scream at the Bible, "Esau, don't do it! This is a terrible deal." Guess what? His need was met, but he had that need again the next morning, and he sacrificed his tomorrows for it.
In fact, in Hebrews 12:16-17 we find out what happened later in life. "See that no one is...like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward...when he wanted to inherit this blessing he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind though he sought the blessing with tears." A lifetime of regret because of what he did to meet one need one day.
See, God wants you to make "no regrets" choices. That means you don't make Esau's mistake: meet a need; lose a treasure. The need will return as soon as the pot of stew wears off, but the treasure you paid for it could be gone forever. You could be on the edge of that kind of short term decision right now. You really want to be married and not alone anymore, and you're about to marry the wrong person to meet the need. And that will lead you to the loneliest lonely of all.
Maybe the pot of stew solution is in your finances, a way that will take care of the immediate need, but cost you so much later on. Maybe it's tempting right now to just compromise your integrity a little, or your reputation to get something you want, or to keep something you don't want to lose. But is it worth the scars that will be there long after this moment is gone? It could be that your needs are drawing you toward a sexual sin before marriage or outside of your marriage. The bill will last a whole lot longer than the thrill.
God knows how good that pot of stew is looking to you right now and how you're minimizing what you're going to lose. And guess what? He brought us together today to intervene before you lose a birthright; something with lifetime value. This is a loving voice from Jesus saying, "Please don't do this; it will cost you too much." There is no need so important that it is worth losing a lifetime treasure to meet it. Please, don't stop thinking about tomorrow.
We are frail creatures. We are not made of steel, we're made from dust. And this life is not crowned with life, it is crowned with death. The next life, however, is different!
In Revelation 2:10, Jesus urged the Christians in Smyrna to "be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life." You will also receive the crown of righteousness.
Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith. And now there is waiting for me, the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord. . .will give me on that Day and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for him to appear."
Set your heart on that day. Crowned with life. Crowned with righteousness. Forever!
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 97
The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all peoples see his glory.
7 All who worship images are put to shame,
those who boast in idols—
worship him, all you gods!
8 Zion hears and rejoices
and the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments, Lord.
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil,
for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light shines[b] on the righteous
and joy on the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,
and praise his holy name.
Footnotes:
Psalm 97:11 One Hebrew manuscript and ancient versions (see also 112:4); most Hebrew manuscripts Light is sown
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Read: Psalm 146:1-10
Psalm 146
Praise the Lord!
Let all that I am praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.
3 Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
4 When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
5 But joyful are those who have the God of Israel[a] as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He keeps every promise forever.
7 He gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
The Lord loves the godly.
9 The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.
10 The Lord will reign forever.
He will be your God, O Jerusalem,[b] throughout the generations.
Praise the Lord!
Footnotes:
146:5 Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 44:4.
146:10 Hebrew Zion.
INSIGHT:
In today’s psalm, the psalmist responds in grateful worship as he reflects on the greatness and grace of God. He invites us to trust the Lord, to look to Him for help, and to place our hope in Him. He is the omnipotent, eternal God, the Creator who is forever faithful (vv. 5–6), just, benevolent, gracious, compassionate, and loving (vv. 7–9). The psalmist’s message is a simple one: Trust in God, not in man, for only those who trust God can be truly blessed.
Looking Up
By David McCasland
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. Psalm 146:8
An article in the Surgical Technology International journal says that looking down at a smart phone with your head bent forward is the equivalent of having a 60-pound weight on your neck. When we consider that millions of people around the world spend an average of 2-4 hours daily reading and texting, the resulting damage to neck and spine becomes a growing health concern.
It is also easy to become spiritually bowed down by the burdens of life. How often we find ourselves discouraged by the problems we face and the needs of those we love. The psalmist understood this weight of concern yet saw hope as he wrote about “the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—[who] remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous” (Ps. 146:6-8).
We can walk through each day knowing that "the LORD reigns forever!"
When we consider God’s care, His great power, and His loving heart, we can begin to look up and praise Him. We can walk through each day knowing that “the Lord reigns forever . . . for all generations” (v. 10).
He lifts us up when we are bowed down. Praise the Lord!
O Lord, lift our eyes to see Your power and love today so we can raise our heads and our hearts in grateful praise to You.
Faith in God’s goodness puts a song in your heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
The Discipline of Dismay
As they followed they were afraid. —Mark 10:32
At the beginning of our life with Jesus Christ, we were sure we knew all there was to know about following Him. It was a delight to forsake everything else and to throw ourselves before Him in a fearless statement of love. But now we are not quite so sure. Jesus is far ahead of us and is beginning to seem different and unfamiliar— “Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed” (Mark 10:32).
There is an aspect of Jesus that chills even a disciple’s heart to its depth and makes his entire spiritual life gasp for air. This unusual Person with His face set “like a flint” (Isaiah 50:7) is walking with great determination ahead of me, and He strikes terror right through me. He no longer seems to be my Counselor and Friend and has a point of view about which I know nothing. All I can do is stand and stare at Him in amazement. At first I was confident that I understood Him, but now I am not so sure. I begin to realize that there is a distance between Jesus and me and I can no longer be intimate with Him. I have no idea where He is going, and the goal has become strangely distant.
Jesus Christ had to understand fully every sin and sorrow that human beings could experience, and that is what makes Him seem unfamiliar. When we see this aspect of Him, we realize we really don’t know Him. We don’t recognize even one characteristic of His life, and we don’t know how to begin to follow Him. He is far ahead of us, a Leader who seems totally unfamiliar, and we have no friendship with Him.
The discipline of dismay is an essential lesson which a disciple must learn. The danger is that we tend to look back on our times of obedience and on our past sacrifices to God in an effort to keep our enthusiasm for Him strong (see Isaiah 50:10-11). But when the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come the ability to follow Jesus truly, which brings inexpressibly wonderful joy.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes. The Highest Good, 544 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Choices Without Regrets - #7612
I don't know how long Presidential candidates have had campaign songs, but I'll bet George Washington even had one! Now, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's was pretty famous, as it represented the Great Depression "Happy Days Are Here Again." Bill Clinton had a song for his 1992 campaign. In fact, he reached back to 1977 for his song "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow." They used it so much people wanted to sing, "Please Stop Singing About Tomorrow." Now I don't know how you felt about the candidate, and I don't even know if you liked the song...but it's not a bad theme for your campaign!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Choices Without Regrets."
Our word for today from the Word of God takes a look at somebody who did, with painful results. Esau was the oldest son of Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob was his younger brother. Jacob wanted the birthright. But it was Esau's to receive because he was born first, and that meant he received double inheritance. He'd run the family when his father died. What a privilege! And he gets to do that just because he was born first. But it wasn't going to happen that way.
Genesis 25:29 - "When Jacob was cooking some stew one day Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, "'Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!' Jacob replied, 'First sell me your birthright.' 'Look, I'm about to die,' Esau said. 'What good is the birthright to me?' But Jacob said, 'Swear to me first.' So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread, and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised (or didn't think much about) his birthright."
Esau made a choice, a terrible choice here based solely on what would meet his need right now. Man, I want to scream at the Bible, "Esau, don't do it! This is a terrible deal." Guess what? His need was met, but he had that need again the next morning, and he sacrificed his tomorrows for it.
In fact, in Hebrews 12:16-17 we find out what happened later in life. "See that no one is...like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward...when he wanted to inherit this blessing he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind though he sought the blessing with tears." A lifetime of regret because of what he did to meet one need one day.
See, God wants you to make "no regrets" choices. That means you don't make Esau's mistake: meet a need; lose a treasure. The need will return as soon as the pot of stew wears off, but the treasure you paid for it could be gone forever. You could be on the edge of that kind of short term decision right now. You really want to be married and not alone anymore, and you're about to marry the wrong person to meet the need. And that will lead you to the loneliest lonely of all.
Maybe the pot of stew solution is in your finances, a way that will take care of the immediate need, but cost you so much later on. Maybe it's tempting right now to just compromise your integrity a little, or your reputation to get something you want, or to keep something you don't want to lose. But is it worth the scars that will be there long after this moment is gone? It could be that your needs are drawing you toward a sexual sin before marriage or outside of your marriage. The bill will last a whole lot longer than the thrill.
God knows how good that pot of stew is looking to you right now and how you're minimizing what you're going to lose. And guess what? He brought us together today to intervene before you lose a birthright; something with lifetime value. This is a loving voice from Jesus saying, "Please don't do this; it will cost you too much." There is no need so important that it is worth losing a lifetime treasure to meet it. Please, don't stop thinking about tomorrow.
Monday, March 14, 2016
Psalm 96, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: The Winner's Circle
A crown awaits you in heaven. We understand that in the economy of earth, there are a limited number of crowns. The economy of heaven, however, is refreshingly different.
The apostle Paul tells us heavenly rewards aren't limited to a chosen few; but he writes in 2 Timothy 4:8, "all those who have waited with love for him to come again will receive a crown." The three-letter word ALL is a gem! The winner's circle isn't reserved for a handful of the elite, but for a heaven full of God's children. James 1:12 describes them as children "who will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him!"
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 96
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.
11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Footnotes:
Psalm 96:9 Or Lord with the splendor of
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, March 14, 2016
Read: Luke 8:40-48
Jesus Heals in Response to Faith
On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him. 42 His only daughter,[a] who was about twelve years old, was dying.
As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. 43 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding,[b] and she could find no cure. 44 Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.
45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” 47 When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. 48 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
Footnotes:
8:42 Or His only child, a daughter.
8:43 Some manuscripts add having spent everything she had on doctors.
INSIGHT:
Luke recounts several miracles in quick succession. First, Jesus calms a storm while out in a boat on the sea (Luke 8:22–25). Then when the boat reaches the other side of the sea, Jesus heals a man possessed by demons (vv. 26–39). Finally, Luke records that while going to heal the daughter of Jairus, a synagogue leader, Jesus heals a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for years (vv. 40–48). In the end, Jesus brings Jairus’s daughter back to life (vv. 48–56). This series of miracles shows that nothing—nature, spirits, health, even life and death—is outside of Jesus’s power and authority.
My Personal Space
By C. P. Hia
We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses. Hebrews 4:15
An industrial design graduate from a Singapore university was challenged in a workshop to come up with a novel solution to a common problem using only ordinary objects. She created a vest to protect one’s personal space from being invaded while traveling in the crush of crowded public trains and buses. The vest was covered with long, flexible plastic spikes normally used to keep birds and cats away from plants.
Jesus knew what it was like to lose His personal space in the commotion of crowds desperate to see and touch Him. A woman who had suffered from constant bleeding for 12 years and could find no cure touched the fringe of His robe. Immediately, her bleeding stopped (Luke 8:43-44).
Jesus’ question, “Who touched me?” (v. 45) isn’t as strange as it sounds. He felt power come out of Him (v. 46). That touch was different from those who merely happened to accidentally touch Him.
While we must admit that we do sometimes wish to keep our personal space and privacy, the only way we help a world of hurting people is to let them get close enough to be touched by the encouragement, comfort, and grace of Christ in us.
Lord Jesus, I want to be near You and know You so that when I’m in contact with others they can see You through me.
A Christian’s life is the window through which others can see Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 14, 2016
Yielding
…you are that one’s slaves whom you obey… —Romans 6:16
The first thing I must be willing to admit when I begin to examine what controls and dominates me is that I am the one responsible for having yielded myself to whatever it may be. If I am a slave to myself, I am to blame because somewhere in the past I yielded to myself. Likewise, if I obey God I do so because at some point in my life I yielded myself to Him.
If a child gives in to selfishness, he will find it to be the most enslaving tyranny on earth. There is no power within the human soul itself that is capable of breaking the bondage of the nature created by yielding. For example, yield for one second to anything in the nature of lust, and although you may hate yourself for having yielded, you become enslaved to that thing. (Remember what lust is— “I must have it now,” whether it is the lust of the flesh or the lust of the mind.) No release or escape from it will ever come from any human power, but only through the power of redemption. You must yield yourself in utter humiliation to the only One who can break the dominating power in your life, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. “…He has anointed Me…to proclaim liberty to the captives…” (Luke 4:18 and Isaiah 61:1).
When you yield to something, you will soon realize the tremendous control it has over you. Even though you say, “Oh, I can give up that habit whenever I like,” you will know you can’t. You will find that the habit absolutely dominates you because you willingly yielded to it. It is easy to sing, “He will break every fetter,” while at the same time living a life of obvious slavery to yourself. But yielding to Jesus will break every kind of slavery in any person’s life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz. into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 664 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 14, 2016
nowing The Facts, Missing The Relationship - #7611
Over the years our son-in-law's made no secret of his basketball loyalties. Even when he was living in the heart of New York Knicks country, he was boldly and passionately a Chicago Bulls fan, thus giving him considerably more to cheer for over the years, at least those years, than us Knicks fans.
Like many Bulls fans, my son-in-law was wrapped up in Michael Jordan when he was at the top of his career in the 1990's. He read his biography, he taped his championship games, and of course he had to go see him play, and he bought the sports memorabilia associated with a superstar player. At Christmas, we would all fall into his trap and we'd feed his Jordan thing with Jordan presents. He was a walking encyclopedia of facts about Michael Jordan. But if he were to give him a call, I'm afraid Mr. Jordan would just say, "Who is this?" Even though our son-in-law knew almost everything about him, he didn't know him. That's the big difference isn't it?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about Knowing The Facts, Missing The Relationship.
The gap between knowing about someone and knowing someone is huge, especially when it comes to whether or not you know the God who made you. When you read our word for today from the Word of God, it appears that a lot of people are living with a false sense of spiritual security thinking they're okay because they know a lot about Jesus.
Matthew 7:21-23 are some of the most disturbing verses in the Bible, especially for those of us who have been around this Christian thing a lot. Listen to Jesus: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from Me.'"
What awful words to hear Jesus say on Judgment Day "I never knew you." And He'll say it to people who knew all the right words, who had all the right beliefs, and they did all the right things, they were at all the right meetings. Apparently, it's possible to have a lot of Christianity and miss Christ; to know a lot about Jesus but not to know Him.
Jesus said the one He knows and who knows Him is "he who does the will of My Father." Well, what is that will? John 6:40 says "My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life." So the difference between eternal life and eternal judgment is "looking to the Son" and "believing in Him." That believe word means to totally trust, to commit yourself to. And it's possible to know all the verses, to have been around Jesus your whole life, to be in a religion that's all about Jesus, and miss the step of actually making Him your own Savior from your own sin. To miss that moment of telling Jesus, "I'm putting all my trust in you, Jesus, and what you did on the cross when you died for the sins I've done."
For some people, the distance between heaven and hell is 18 inches - the distance from their head to their heart. Could it be you've got Jesus in your head, but you've never invited Him into your heart? That you agree with everything about Him, but you've never actually committed yourself to Him? If you have done that, it's settled. But if you don't know you have, you probably haven't.
But that could change in these next few moments if you'd just finally admit that for all you know about Jesus, you don't know Him. And tell Him right where you are that you're moving Him from your head to your heart; that you're trusting Him as your own Savior from your own sin.
Do you know you've done that? Are you sure? Get it done today. Our website is there as an anchor place for you to find the information that will help you be sure you finally belong to Him. It's ANewStory.com.
"I never knew you." Those are words I don't ever want you to hear from Jesus. They're words He doesn't want you to hear. Get to His cross today, where you can finally know the One that you know so much about.
A crown awaits you in heaven. We understand that in the economy of earth, there are a limited number of crowns. The economy of heaven, however, is refreshingly different.
The apostle Paul tells us heavenly rewards aren't limited to a chosen few; but he writes in 2 Timothy 4:8, "all those who have waited with love for him to come again will receive a crown." The three-letter word ALL is a gem! The winner's circle isn't reserved for a handful of the elite, but for a heaven full of God's children. James 1:12 describes them as children "who will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him!"
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 96
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.
11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Footnotes:
Psalm 96:9 Or Lord with the splendor of
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, March 14, 2016
Read: Luke 8:40-48
Jesus Heals in Response to Faith
On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him. 42 His only daughter,[a] who was about twelve years old, was dying.
As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. 43 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding,[b] and she could find no cure. 44 Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.
45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” 47 When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. 48 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
Footnotes:
8:42 Or His only child, a daughter.
8:43 Some manuscripts add having spent everything she had on doctors.
INSIGHT:
Luke recounts several miracles in quick succession. First, Jesus calms a storm while out in a boat on the sea (Luke 8:22–25). Then when the boat reaches the other side of the sea, Jesus heals a man possessed by demons (vv. 26–39). Finally, Luke records that while going to heal the daughter of Jairus, a synagogue leader, Jesus heals a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for years (vv. 40–48). In the end, Jesus brings Jairus’s daughter back to life (vv. 48–56). This series of miracles shows that nothing—nature, spirits, health, even life and death—is outside of Jesus’s power and authority.
My Personal Space
By C. P. Hia
We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses. Hebrews 4:15
An industrial design graduate from a Singapore university was challenged in a workshop to come up with a novel solution to a common problem using only ordinary objects. She created a vest to protect one’s personal space from being invaded while traveling in the crush of crowded public trains and buses. The vest was covered with long, flexible plastic spikes normally used to keep birds and cats away from plants.
Jesus knew what it was like to lose His personal space in the commotion of crowds desperate to see and touch Him. A woman who had suffered from constant bleeding for 12 years and could find no cure touched the fringe of His robe. Immediately, her bleeding stopped (Luke 8:43-44).
Jesus’ question, “Who touched me?” (v. 45) isn’t as strange as it sounds. He felt power come out of Him (v. 46). That touch was different from those who merely happened to accidentally touch Him.
While we must admit that we do sometimes wish to keep our personal space and privacy, the only way we help a world of hurting people is to let them get close enough to be touched by the encouragement, comfort, and grace of Christ in us.
Lord Jesus, I want to be near You and know You so that when I’m in contact with others they can see You through me.
A Christian’s life is the window through which others can see Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 14, 2016
Yielding
…you are that one’s slaves whom you obey… —Romans 6:16
The first thing I must be willing to admit when I begin to examine what controls and dominates me is that I am the one responsible for having yielded myself to whatever it may be. If I am a slave to myself, I am to blame because somewhere in the past I yielded to myself. Likewise, if I obey God I do so because at some point in my life I yielded myself to Him.
If a child gives in to selfishness, he will find it to be the most enslaving tyranny on earth. There is no power within the human soul itself that is capable of breaking the bondage of the nature created by yielding. For example, yield for one second to anything in the nature of lust, and although you may hate yourself for having yielded, you become enslaved to that thing. (Remember what lust is— “I must have it now,” whether it is the lust of the flesh or the lust of the mind.) No release or escape from it will ever come from any human power, but only through the power of redemption. You must yield yourself in utter humiliation to the only One who can break the dominating power in your life, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. “…He has anointed Me…to proclaim liberty to the captives…” (Luke 4:18 and Isaiah 61:1).
When you yield to something, you will soon realize the tremendous control it has over you. Even though you say, “Oh, I can give up that habit whenever I like,” you will know you can’t. You will find that the habit absolutely dominates you because you willingly yielded to it. It is easy to sing, “He will break every fetter,” while at the same time living a life of obvious slavery to yourself. But yielding to Jesus will break every kind of slavery in any person’s life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz. into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 664 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 14, 2016
nowing The Facts, Missing The Relationship - #7611
Over the years our son-in-law's made no secret of his basketball loyalties. Even when he was living in the heart of New York Knicks country, he was boldly and passionately a Chicago Bulls fan, thus giving him considerably more to cheer for over the years, at least those years, than us Knicks fans.
Like many Bulls fans, my son-in-law was wrapped up in Michael Jordan when he was at the top of his career in the 1990's. He read his biography, he taped his championship games, and of course he had to go see him play, and he bought the sports memorabilia associated with a superstar player. At Christmas, we would all fall into his trap and we'd feed his Jordan thing with Jordan presents. He was a walking encyclopedia of facts about Michael Jordan. But if he were to give him a call, I'm afraid Mr. Jordan would just say, "Who is this?" Even though our son-in-law knew almost everything about him, he didn't know him. That's the big difference isn't it?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about Knowing The Facts, Missing The Relationship.
The gap between knowing about someone and knowing someone is huge, especially when it comes to whether or not you know the God who made you. When you read our word for today from the Word of God, it appears that a lot of people are living with a false sense of spiritual security thinking they're okay because they know a lot about Jesus.
Matthew 7:21-23 are some of the most disturbing verses in the Bible, especially for those of us who have been around this Christian thing a lot. Listen to Jesus: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from Me.'"
What awful words to hear Jesus say on Judgment Day "I never knew you." And He'll say it to people who knew all the right words, who had all the right beliefs, and they did all the right things, they were at all the right meetings. Apparently, it's possible to have a lot of Christianity and miss Christ; to know a lot about Jesus but not to know Him.
Jesus said the one He knows and who knows Him is "he who does the will of My Father." Well, what is that will? John 6:40 says "My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life." So the difference between eternal life and eternal judgment is "looking to the Son" and "believing in Him." That believe word means to totally trust, to commit yourself to. And it's possible to know all the verses, to have been around Jesus your whole life, to be in a religion that's all about Jesus, and miss the step of actually making Him your own Savior from your own sin. To miss that moment of telling Jesus, "I'm putting all my trust in you, Jesus, and what you did on the cross when you died for the sins I've done."
For some people, the distance between heaven and hell is 18 inches - the distance from their head to their heart. Could it be you've got Jesus in your head, but you've never invited Him into your heart? That you agree with everything about Him, but you've never actually committed yourself to Him? If you have done that, it's settled. But if you don't know you have, you probably haven't.
But that could change in these next few moments if you'd just finally admit that for all you know about Jesus, you don't know Him. And tell Him right where you are that you're moving Him from your head to your heart; that you're trusting Him as your own Savior from your own sin.
Do you know you've done that? Are you sure? Get it done today. Our website is there as an anchor place for you to find the information that will help you be sure you finally belong to Him. It's ANewStory.com.
"I never knew you." Those are words I don't ever want you to hear from Jesus. They're words He doesn't want you to hear. Get to His cross today, where you can finally know the One that you know so much about.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Acts 17:1-15, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: He Wore Our Sin
Scripture often describes our behavior as the clothes we wear. 1 Peter 5:5 urges us to be "clothed with humility." In Psalm 109:18, David speaks of evil people who clothe themselves "with cursing." Garments can symbolize character; and like his garment, Jesus' character was uninterrupted perfection.
But when Christ was nailed to the cross, he took off his robe of seamless perfection and assumed a different wardrobe… the wardrobe of indignity. Stripped before his own mother. Shamed before his family. The indignity of failure. For a few pain-filled hours, the religious leaders were victors, and Christ appeared the loser. Worst of all, he wore the indignity of sin. Scripture says, "He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree." The cloth of Christ on the cross? Sin-yours and mine. The sins of all humanity.
From On Calvary's Hill
Acts 17:1-15
In Thessalonica
When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.
5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.[a] 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.
In Berea
10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
Footnotes:
Acts 17:5 Or the assembly of the people
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Read: Exodus 18:14-24
When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”
15 Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God. 16 When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions.”
17 “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. 18 “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. 19 Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. 20 Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives. 21 But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. 22 They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you. 23 If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.”
24 Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions.
INSIGHT:
It is hard to imagine the complexity and variety of tasks Moses faced as he led the Hebrew slaves to freedom. The Israelites had been gone from Egypt less than three months (see Ex. 19:1) when the load was already too great for one person to bear. This prompted Jethro’s wise counsel that Moses share the load with others.
Self-Care
By Cindy Hess Kasper
Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. Mark 6:31
After my husband underwent heart surgery, I spent an anxious night by his hospital bed. Mid-morning, I remembered a scheduled haircut. “I’ll have to cancel,” I said, raking my fingers distractedly through my straggly hair.
“Mom, just wash your face and go to your appointment,” my daughter said.
Sometimes self-care means allowing others to help carry our burdens.
“No, no,” I insisted. “It doesn’t matter. I need to be here.”
“I’ll stay,” Rosie said. “Self-care, Mom. . . . Self-care. You’re of more use to Dad if you take care of yourself.”
Moses was wearing himself out serving alone as judge over the Israelites. Jethro cautioned his son-in-law Moses: “You will only wear [yourself] out. The work is too heavy . . . you cannot handle it alone” (Ex. 18:18). He then explained ways that Moses could delegate his work and share his heavy load with others.
Though it may seem paradoxical for the Christian, self-care is essential for a healthy life (Matt. 22:37-39; Eph. 5:29-30). Yes, we must love God first and love others as well, but we also need to get adequate rest to renew our body and spirit. Sometimes self-care means stepping away and graciously allowing others to help us with our burdens.
Jesus often slipped away to rest and pray (Mark 6:30-32). When we follow His example, we will be more effective in our relationships and better able to give care to others.
Dear Lord, refresh my spirit today. Help me to bring balance to my life as I juggle my responsibilities. Thank You for Your love and care.
Don’t try to do everything—take time to refresh your body and spirit.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, March 13, 2016
God’s Total Surrender to Us
For God so loved the world that He gave… —John 3:16
Salvation does not mean merely deliverance from sin or the experience of personal holiness. The salvation which comes from God means being completely delivered from myself, and being placed into perfect union with Him. When I think of my salvation experience, I think of being delivered from sin and gaining personal holiness. But salvation is so much more! It means that the Spirit of God has brought me into intimate contact with the true Person of God Himself. And as I am caught up into total surrender to God, I become thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself.
To say that we are called to preach holiness or sanctification is to miss the main point. We are called to proclaim Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). The fact that He saves from sin and makes us holy is actually part of the effect of His wonderful and total surrender to us.
If we are truly surrendered, we will never be aware of our own efforts to remain surrendered. Our entire life will be consumed with the One to whom we surrender. Beware of talking about surrender if you know nothing about it. In fact, you will never know anything about it until you understand that John 3:16 means that God completely and absolutely gave Himself to us. In our surrender, we must give ourselves to God in the same way He gave Himself for us— totally, unconditionally, and without reservation. The consequences and circumstances resulting from our surrender will never even enter our mind, because our life will be totally consumed with Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
Scripture often describes our behavior as the clothes we wear. 1 Peter 5:5 urges us to be "clothed with humility." In Psalm 109:18, David speaks of evil people who clothe themselves "with cursing." Garments can symbolize character; and like his garment, Jesus' character was uninterrupted perfection.
But when Christ was nailed to the cross, he took off his robe of seamless perfection and assumed a different wardrobe… the wardrobe of indignity. Stripped before his own mother. Shamed before his family. The indignity of failure. For a few pain-filled hours, the religious leaders were victors, and Christ appeared the loser. Worst of all, he wore the indignity of sin. Scripture says, "He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree." The cloth of Christ on the cross? Sin-yours and mine. The sins of all humanity.
From On Calvary's Hill
Acts 17:1-15
In Thessalonica
When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.
5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.[a] 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.
In Berea
10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
Footnotes:
Acts 17:5 Or the assembly of the people
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Read: Exodus 18:14-24
When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”
15 Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God. 16 When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions.”
17 “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. 18 “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. 19 Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. 20 Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives. 21 But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. 22 They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you. 23 If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.”
24 Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions.
INSIGHT:
It is hard to imagine the complexity and variety of tasks Moses faced as he led the Hebrew slaves to freedom. The Israelites had been gone from Egypt less than three months (see Ex. 19:1) when the load was already too great for one person to bear. This prompted Jethro’s wise counsel that Moses share the load with others.
Self-Care
By Cindy Hess Kasper
Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. Mark 6:31
After my husband underwent heart surgery, I spent an anxious night by his hospital bed. Mid-morning, I remembered a scheduled haircut. “I’ll have to cancel,” I said, raking my fingers distractedly through my straggly hair.
“Mom, just wash your face and go to your appointment,” my daughter said.
Sometimes self-care means allowing others to help carry our burdens.
“No, no,” I insisted. “It doesn’t matter. I need to be here.”
“I’ll stay,” Rosie said. “Self-care, Mom. . . . Self-care. You’re of more use to Dad if you take care of yourself.”
Moses was wearing himself out serving alone as judge over the Israelites. Jethro cautioned his son-in-law Moses: “You will only wear [yourself] out. The work is too heavy . . . you cannot handle it alone” (Ex. 18:18). He then explained ways that Moses could delegate his work and share his heavy load with others.
Though it may seem paradoxical for the Christian, self-care is essential for a healthy life (Matt. 22:37-39; Eph. 5:29-30). Yes, we must love God first and love others as well, but we also need to get adequate rest to renew our body and spirit. Sometimes self-care means stepping away and graciously allowing others to help us with our burdens.
Jesus often slipped away to rest and pray (Mark 6:30-32). When we follow His example, we will be more effective in our relationships and better able to give care to others.
Dear Lord, refresh my spirit today. Help me to bring balance to my life as I juggle my responsibilities. Thank You for Your love and care.
Don’t try to do everything—take time to refresh your body and spirit.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, March 13, 2016
God’s Total Surrender to Us
For God so loved the world that He gave… —John 3:16
Salvation does not mean merely deliverance from sin or the experience of personal holiness. The salvation which comes from God means being completely delivered from myself, and being placed into perfect union with Him. When I think of my salvation experience, I think of being delivered from sin and gaining personal holiness. But salvation is so much more! It means that the Spirit of God has brought me into intimate contact with the true Person of God Himself. And as I am caught up into total surrender to God, I become thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself.
To say that we are called to preach holiness or sanctification is to miss the main point. We are called to proclaim Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). The fact that He saves from sin and makes us holy is actually part of the effect of His wonderful and total surrender to us.
If we are truly surrendered, we will never be aware of our own efforts to remain surrendered. Our entire life will be consumed with the One to whom we surrender. Beware of talking about surrender if you know nothing about it. In fact, you will never know anything about it until you understand that John 3:16 means that God completely and absolutely gave Himself to us. In our surrender, we must give ourselves to God in the same way He gave Himself for us— totally, unconditionally, and without reservation. The consequences and circumstances resulting from our surrender will never even enter our mind, because our life will be totally consumed with Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Philippians 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Many Gifts of the Cross
Much has been said about Jesus’ “gift of the Cross.” But what of the other gifts? What of the nails, the crown of thorns? The garments taken by the soldiers? Have you taken time to open these gifts? He didn’t have to give us these gifts, you know. The only required act for our salvation was the shedding of blood, yet He did much more. So much more.
Search the scene of the Cross—and what do you find? A wine-soaked sponge. A sign. Two crosses beside Christ. Divine gifts intended to stir that moment, that split second when your face will brighten, your eyes will widen, and God will hear you whisper, “You did this for me?” Dare we think such thoughts? Let’s unwrap these gifts of grace– as if for the first time. Pause and listen. Perchance you will hear Him whisper, “I did it just for you!”
From He Chose the Nails
Philippians 4
Closing Appeal for Steadfastness and Unity
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Final Exhortations
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Thanks for Their Gifts
10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. 17 Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
21 Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. 22 All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.
23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.[a]
Footnotes:
Philippians 4:23 Some manuscripts do not have Amen.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Read: 1 Samuel 25:14-33
Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s servants went to Abigail and told her, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed insults at them. 15 These men have been very good to us, and we never suffered any harm from them. Nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us. 16 In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep. 17 You need to know this and figure out what to do, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family. He’s so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!”
18 Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel[a] of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys 19 and said to her servants, “Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal what she was doing.
20 As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her. 21 David had just been saying, “A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good. 22 May God strike me and kill me[b] if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning!”
Abigail Intercedes for Nabal
23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say. 25 I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests.[c] But I never even saw the young men you sent.
26 “Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies and those who try to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is. 27 And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men. 28 Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way. The Lord will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the Lord’s battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life.
29 “Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! 30 When the Lord has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, 31 don’t let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won’t have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the Lord has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!”
32 David replied to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! 33 Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands.
Footnotes:
25:18 Hebrew 5 seahs [36.5 liters].
25:22 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads May God strike and kill the enemies of David.
25:25 The name Nabal means “fool.”
Abigail’s Reminder
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them. Proverbs 16:7
David and 400 of his warriors thundered through the countryside in search of Nabal, a prosperous brute who had harshly refused to lend them help. David would have murdered him if he hadn’t first encountered Abigail, Nabal’s wife. She had packed up enough food to feed an army and traveled out to meet the troops, hoping to head off disaster. She respectfully reminded David that guilt would haunt him if he followed through with his vengeful plan (1 Sam. 25:31). David realized she was right and blessed her for her good judgment.
David’s anger was legitimate—he had protected Nabal’s shepherds in the wilderness (vv.14-17) and had been repaid evil for good. However, his anger was leading him into sin. David’s first instinct was to sink his sword into Nabal, even though he knew God did not approve of murder and revenge (Ex. 20:13; Lev. 19:18).
When we’ve been offended, it’s good to compare our instincts with God’s intent for human behavior. We may be inclined to strike at people verbally, isolate ourselves, or escape through any number of ways. However, choosing a gracious response will help us avoid regret, and most important it will please God. When our desire is to honor God in our relationships, He is able to make even our enemies to be at peace with us (see Prov. 16:7).
Lord, thank You for holding back Your anger and having mercy on me. Help me to walk in step with Your Spirit so that my actions please You in every situation.
We can endure life’s wrongs because we know that God will make things right.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Total Surrender
Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." —Mark 10:28
Our Lord replies to this statement of Peter by saying that this surrender is “for My sake and the gospel’s” (10:29). It was not for the purpose of what the disciples themselves would get out of it. Beware of surrender that is motivated by personal benefits that may result. For example, “I’m going to give myself to God because I want to be delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy.” Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying, “No, Lord, I don’t want you; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, ‘This is what God has done for me.’ ” Gaining heaven, being delivered from sin, and being made useful to God are things that should never even be a consideration in real surrender. Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.
Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships? Most of us will desert Him with this excuse— “Yes, Lord, I heard you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can’t go any further” (see Luke 9:57-62). “Then,” Jesus says, “you ‘cannot be My disciple’ ” (see Luke 14:26-33).
True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R
Much has been said about Jesus’ “gift of the Cross.” But what of the other gifts? What of the nails, the crown of thorns? The garments taken by the soldiers? Have you taken time to open these gifts? He didn’t have to give us these gifts, you know. The only required act for our salvation was the shedding of blood, yet He did much more. So much more.
Search the scene of the Cross—and what do you find? A wine-soaked sponge. A sign. Two crosses beside Christ. Divine gifts intended to stir that moment, that split second when your face will brighten, your eyes will widen, and God will hear you whisper, “You did this for me?” Dare we think such thoughts? Let’s unwrap these gifts of grace– as if for the first time. Pause and listen. Perchance you will hear Him whisper, “I did it just for you!”
From He Chose the Nails
Philippians 4
Closing Appeal for Steadfastness and Unity
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Final Exhortations
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Thanks for Their Gifts
10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. 17 Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
21 Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. 22 All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.
23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.[a]
Footnotes:
Philippians 4:23 Some manuscripts do not have Amen.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Read: 1 Samuel 25:14-33
Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s servants went to Abigail and told her, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed insults at them. 15 These men have been very good to us, and we never suffered any harm from them. Nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us. 16 In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep. 17 You need to know this and figure out what to do, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family. He’s so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!”
18 Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel[a] of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys 19 and said to her servants, “Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal what she was doing.
20 As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her. 21 David had just been saying, “A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good. 22 May God strike me and kill me[b] if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning!”
Abigail Intercedes for Nabal
23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say. 25 I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests.[c] But I never even saw the young men you sent.
26 “Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies and those who try to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is. 27 And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men. 28 Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way. The Lord will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the Lord’s battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life.
29 “Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! 30 When the Lord has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, 31 don’t let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won’t have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the Lord has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!”
32 David replied to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! 33 Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands.
Footnotes:
25:18 Hebrew 5 seahs [36.5 liters].
25:22 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads May God strike and kill the enemies of David.
25:25 The name Nabal means “fool.”
Abigail’s Reminder
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them. Proverbs 16:7
David and 400 of his warriors thundered through the countryside in search of Nabal, a prosperous brute who had harshly refused to lend them help. David would have murdered him if he hadn’t first encountered Abigail, Nabal’s wife. She had packed up enough food to feed an army and traveled out to meet the troops, hoping to head off disaster. She respectfully reminded David that guilt would haunt him if he followed through with his vengeful plan (1 Sam. 25:31). David realized she was right and blessed her for her good judgment.
David’s anger was legitimate—he had protected Nabal’s shepherds in the wilderness (vv.14-17) and had been repaid evil for good. However, his anger was leading him into sin. David’s first instinct was to sink his sword into Nabal, even though he knew God did not approve of murder and revenge (Ex. 20:13; Lev. 19:18).
When we’ve been offended, it’s good to compare our instincts with God’s intent for human behavior. We may be inclined to strike at people verbally, isolate ourselves, or escape through any number of ways. However, choosing a gracious response will help us avoid regret, and most important it will please God. When our desire is to honor God in our relationships, He is able to make even our enemies to be at peace with us (see Prov. 16:7).
Lord, thank You for holding back Your anger and having mercy on me. Help me to walk in step with Your Spirit so that my actions please You in every situation.
We can endure life’s wrongs because we know that God will make things right.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Total Surrender
Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." —Mark 10:28
Our Lord replies to this statement of Peter by saying that this surrender is “for My sake and the gospel’s” (10:29). It was not for the purpose of what the disciples themselves would get out of it. Beware of surrender that is motivated by personal benefits that may result. For example, “I’m going to give myself to God because I want to be delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy.” Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying, “No, Lord, I don’t want you; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, ‘This is what God has done for me.’ ” Gaining heaven, being delivered from sin, and being made useful to God are things that should never even be a consideration in real surrender. Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.
Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships? Most of us will desert Him with this excuse— “Yes, Lord, I heard you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can’t go any further” (see Luke 9:57-62). “Then,” Jesus says, “you ‘cannot be My disciple’ ” (see Luke 14:26-33).
True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R
Friday, March 11, 2016
Psalm 95 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Respect Your Body
God has a high regard for your body. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul calls our body the "temple" of God. Be careful how you feed it, use it, and maintain it. You wouldn't want anyone trashing your home; God doesn't want anyone trashing his. After all, it is his, isn't it? A little jogging and dieting to the glory of God wouldn't hurt most of us.
Your body, in some form, will last forever. God will glorify your body. He will remove all weakness and disease. Isn't that great news? Your pain will not last forever. Is your heart weak? It will be strong in heaven. Has cancer corrupted your system? There is no cancer in heaven. For a season, your soul will be in heaven while your body is in the grave. But the seed buried in the earth will blossom in heaven. And you will be like Jesus!
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 95
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,[a]
as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
Footnotes:
Psalm 95:8 Meribah means quarreling.
Psalm 95:8 Massah means testing.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 11, 2016
Read: Hebrews 12:1-11
God’s Discipline Proves His Love
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.[a] Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;[c] then you won’t become weary and give up. 4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.
5 And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children?[d] He said,
“My child,[e] don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t give up when he corrects you.
6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”[f]
7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?[g]
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
Footnotes:
12:2a Or Jesus, the originator and perfecter of our faith.
12:2b Or Instead of the joy.
12:3 Some manuscripts read Think of how people hurt themselves by opposing him.
12:5a Greek sons; also in 12:7, 8.
12:5b Greek son; also in 12:6, 7.
12:5-6 Prov 3:11-12 (Greek version).
12:9 Or and really live?
NSIGHT:
Using the metaphor of a marathon and a stadium of cheering supporters, the writer of Hebrews encouraged persecuted Christians to persevere and to remain faithful. The constant call of Scripture is: Don’t give up! Keep your eye on the finish line! Finish the race! (1 Cor. 9:24–27; Phil. 3:13–14; 2 Tim. 4:7; Heb. 12:1–2).
Don’t Quit!
By Dennis Fisher
Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2
In 1952 Florence Chadwick attempted to swim 26 miles from the coast of California to Catalina Island. After 15 hours, a heavy fog began to block her view, she became disoriented, and she gave up. To her chagrin, Chadwick learned that she had quit just 1 mile short of her destination.
Two months later Chadwick tried a second time to swim to Catalina Island from the coast. Again a thick fog settled in, but this time she reached her destination, becoming the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. Chadwick said she kept an image of the shoreline in her mind even when she couldn’t see it.
Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
When the problems of life cloud our vision, we have an opportunity to learn to see our goal with the eyes of faith. The New Testament letter to the Hebrews urges us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (12:1-2). When we feel like quitting, this is our signal to remember not only what Jesus suffered for us but what He now helps us to endure—until the day we see Him face to face.
Dear Father, sometimes the challenges of life seem insurmountable. Help me to fix my eyes on You and trust You. I’m thankful You are bringing about Your good purposes in me.
We can finish strong when we focus on Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 11, 2016
Obedience to the “Heavenly Vision”
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. —Acts 26:19
If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.
“Though it tarries, wait for it…” (Habakkuk 2:3). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that “tarries” is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.
Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will “bear much fruit” (John 15:8).
It is essential that we live and “walk in the light” of God’s vision for us (1 John 1:7).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The emphasis to-day is placed on the furtherance of an organization; the note is, “We must keep this thing going.” If we are in God’s order the thing will go; if we are not in His order, it won’t. Conformed to His Image, 357 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 11, 2016
Personal Power Failures - #7610
You think you've had a bad day? Oh, I'll tell you about a bad day. It was the summer of 1997; you're a cosmonaut on Russia's space station Mir. So far, you've battled a fire on board. Then a supply ship runs into you in a docking procedure. You lose 40% of your power. You think you've already had your fill of bad days for one mission. But then, the central computer on the space station suddenly shuts down. You are tumbling through space in what reporters called "chaotic flight." Hard to believe! It happened!
The day the computer failed, those cosmonauts were thrown into a particularly dangerous situation. That space station was solar-powered and all of a sudden, as one reporter put it, it lost its orientation to the sun, which means you don't have the power to meet the demands of your flight, and worst case your life is in jeopardy. Why? All because Mir turned its back on the sun.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Personal Power Failures."
The crisis that faced that space station? Not enough power to meet the demands. That's a feeling a lot of us have had in our lives. Trying to meet the demands of our family, our relationships, our work responsibilities, and frankly, our resources just aren't enough. Do you ever feel like you're running without the personal peace you need, the love, the power? Maybe the description of that space station's situation describes your own life - "Chaotic flight."
It could be that the confusion and the power failure is for a similar reason, too, that space station is designed to draw its life from the sun. Listen to these words from the Bible about how God designed us. Speaking of Jesus, it says we were "created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). That Him is the Son of God - S - O - N. Our lives? Well, they're essentially tumbling aimlessly when we lose our proper orientation to the Son. And according to God's Book, we all have.
Here we go from our Word for today from the Word of God in Isaiah 53:6, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way." Three words explain why we feel so spiritually disoriented, "his own way." The One who gave us our life was supposed to run our life and we simply took our life and we've run it "our own way."
If you wanted to draw that in picture form, you'd probably put you on the left side of the page, God on the right, and you'd be walking away from Him, with your back to Him; with your back to the source of the love and the peace and the power and the meaning you need. If you die with your back still to Him, erase God from your picture forever. And that's hell. Unless you can find a way to get rid of your sin and get back to Him, like the space station without the sun, the result is ultimately death.
I'm so glad that "gone astray" verse doesn't stop there. It also tells us the way to find the God we've lost. It says, "And the Lord has laid on Him the wrongdoing of us all." The Him is Jesus and all the sin that cuts us off from God was laid on Jesus, God's sinless Son, when He died on that cross. You can literally walk up to that cross and say, "For me. He's doing that for me."
The day you tell Jesus you're putting your total trust in Him to rescue you from your sin is the day you find your Creator, the Son you were created for. For you, it could be today. That's why God brought us together, so this could be your day.
If you want to know how to begin with Him and how to know you belong to Him, that's what our website's all about. I urge you as soon as you can today to go to ANewStory.com. Let your new story begin there.
Hasn't your "chaotic flight" lasted long enough? It's the Son - the Son of God - you need right now. He has all the power you'll ever need to meet every demand of your life.
God has a high regard for your body. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul calls our body the "temple" of God. Be careful how you feed it, use it, and maintain it. You wouldn't want anyone trashing your home; God doesn't want anyone trashing his. After all, it is his, isn't it? A little jogging and dieting to the glory of God wouldn't hurt most of us.
Your body, in some form, will last forever. God will glorify your body. He will remove all weakness and disease. Isn't that great news? Your pain will not last forever. Is your heart weak? It will be strong in heaven. Has cancer corrupted your system? There is no cancer in heaven. For a season, your soul will be in heaven while your body is in the grave. But the seed buried in the earth will blossom in heaven. And you will be like Jesus!
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 95
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,[a]
as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
Footnotes:
Psalm 95:8 Meribah means quarreling.
Psalm 95:8 Massah means testing.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 11, 2016
Read: Hebrews 12:1-11
God’s Discipline Proves His Love
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.[a] Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;[c] then you won’t become weary and give up. 4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.
5 And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children?[d] He said,
“My child,[e] don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t give up when he corrects you.
6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”[f]
7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?[g]
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
Footnotes:
12:2a Or Jesus, the originator and perfecter of our faith.
12:2b Or Instead of the joy.
12:3 Some manuscripts read Think of how people hurt themselves by opposing him.
12:5a Greek sons; also in 12:7, 8.
12:5b Greek son; also in 12:6, 7.
12:5-6 Prov 3:11-12 (Greek version).
12:9 Or and really live?
NSIGHT:
Using the metaphor of a marathon and a stadium of cheering supporters, the writer of Hebrews encouraged persecuted Christians to persevere and to remain faithful. The constant call of Scripture is: Don’t give up! Keep your eye on the finish line! Finish the race! (1 Cor. 9:24–27; Phil. 3:13–14; 2 Tim. 4:7; Heb. 12:1–2).
Don’t Quit!
By Dennis Fisher
Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2
In 1952 Florence Chadwick attempted to swim 26 miles from the coast of California to Catalina Island. After 15 hours, a heavy fog began to block her view, she became disoriented, and she gave up. To her chagrin, Chadwick learned that she had quit just 1 mile short of her destination.
Two months later Chadwick tried a second time to swim to Catalina Island from the coast. Again a thick fog settled in, but this time she reached her destination, becoming the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. Chadwick said she kept an image of the shoreline in her mind even when she couldn’t see it.
Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
When the problems of life cloud our vision, we have an opportunity to learn to see our goal with the eyes of faith. The New Testament letter to the Hebrews urges us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (12:1-2). When we feel like quitting, this is our signal to remember not only what Jesus suffered for us but what He now helps us to endure—until the day we see Him face to face.
Dear Father, sometimes the challenges of life seem insurmountable. Help me to fix my eyes on You and trust You. I’m thankful You are bringing about Your good purposes in me.
We can finish strong when we focus on Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 11, 2016
Obedience to the “Heavenly Vision”
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. —Acts 26:19
If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.
“Though it tarries, wait for it…” (Habakkuk 2:3). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that “tarries” is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.
Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will “bear much fruit” (John 15:8).
It is essential that we live and “walk in the light” of God’s vision for us (1 John 1:7).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The emphasis to-day is placed on the furtherance of an organization; the note is, “We must keep this thing going.” If we are in God’s order the thing will go; if we are not in His order, it won’t. Conformed to His Image, 357 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 11, 2016
Personal Power Failures - #7610
You think you've had a bad day? Oh, I'll tell you about a bad day. It was the summer of 1997; you're a cosmonaut on Russia's space station Mir. So far, you've battled a fire on board. Then a supply ship runs into you in a docking procedure. You lose 40% of your power. You think you've already had your fill of bad days for one mission. But then, the central computer on the space station suddenly shuts down. You are tumbling through space in what reporters called "chaotic flight." Hard to believe! It happened!
The day the computer failed, those cosmonauts were thrown into a particularly dangerous situation. That space station was solar-powered and all of a sudden, as one reporter put it, it lost its orientation to the sun, which means you don't have the power to meet the demands of your flight, and worst case your life is in jeopardy. Why? All because Mir turned its back on the sun.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Personal Power Failures."
The crisis that faced that space station? Not enough power to meet the demands. That's a feeling a lot of us have had in our lives. Trying to meet the demands of our family, our relationships, our work responsibilities, and frankly, our resources just aren't enough. Do you ever feel like you're running without the personal peace you need, the love, the power? Maybe the description of that space station's situation describes your own life - "Chaotic flight."
It could be that the confusion and the power failure is for a similar reason, too, that space station is designed to draw its life from the sun. Listen to these words from the Bible about how God designed us. Speaking of Jesus, it says we were "created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). That Him is the Son of God - S - O - N. Our lives? Well, they're essentially tumbling aimlessly when we lose our proper orientation to the Son. And according to God's Book, we all have.
Here we go from our Word for today from the Word of God in Isaiah 53:6, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way." Three words explain why we feel so spiritually disoriented, "his own way." The One who gave us our life was supposed to run our life and we simply took our life and we've run it "our own way."
If you wanted to draw that in picture form, you'd probably put you on the left side of the page, God on the right, and you'd be walking away from Him, with your back to Him; with your back to the source of the love and the peace and the power and the meaning you need. If you die with your back still to Him, erase God from your picture forever. And that's hell. Unless you can find a way to get rid of your sin and get back to Him, like the space station without the sun, the result is ultimately death.
I'm so glad that "gone astray" verse doesn't stop there. It also tells us the way to find the God we've lost. It says, "And the Lord has laid on Him the wrongdoing of us all." The Him is Jesus and all the sin that cuts us off from God was laid on Jesus, God's sinless Son, when He died on that cross. You can literally walk up to that cross and say, "For me. He's doing that for me."
The day you tell Jesus you're putting your total trust in Him to rescue you from your sin is the day you find your Creator, the Son you were created for. For you, it could be today. That's why God brought us together, so this could be your day.
If you want to know how to begin with Him and how to know you belong to Him, that's what our website's all about. I urge you as soon as you can today to go to ANewStory.com. Let your new story begin there.
Hasn't your "chaotic flight" lasted long enough? It's the Son - the Son of God - you need right now. He has all the power you'll ever need to meet every demand of your life.
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