Max Lucado Daily: THE SIGN ON CHRIST’S CROSS
John 19:19 says, “Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.” Why is a sign placed over the head of Jesus? Could it be that this piece of wood is a picture of God’s devotion? A symbol of his passion to tell the world about his Son? Pilate intended the sign to threaten and mock the Jews. But God had another purpose.
Every passerby could read the sign for every passerby could read Hebrew, Latin or Greek. In the language of culture, Christ was declared King in them all! There is no language he will not speak. Which leads us to the delightful question: What language is he speaking to you? I’m referring to the day-to-day drama of your life. God does speak, you know. He speaks in any language we will understand.
Read more On Calvary’s Hill
Leviticus 2
1-3 “When you present a Grain-Offering to God, use fine flour. Pour oil on it, put incense on it, and bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. One of them will take a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all the incense, and burn it on the Altar for a memorial: a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God. The rest of the Grain-Offering is for Aaron and his sons—a most holy part of the Fire-Gifts to God.
4 “When you present a Grain-Offering of oven-baked loaves, use fine flour, mixed with oil but no yeast. Or present wafers made without yeast and spread with oil.
5-6 “If you bring a Grain-Offering cooked on a griddle, use fine flour mixed with oil but without yeast. Crumble it and pour oil on it—it’s a Grain-Offering.
7 “If you bring a Grain-Offering deep-fried in a pan, make it of fine flour with oil.
8-10 “Bring the Grain-Offering you make from these ingredients and present it to the priest. He will bring it to the Altar, break off a memorial piece from the Grain-Offering, and burn it on the Altar: a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God. The rest of the Grain-Offering is for Aaron and his sons—a most holy part of the gifts to God.
11-13 “All the Grain-Offerings that you present to God must be made without yeast; you must never burn any yeast or honey as a Fire-Gift to God. You may offer them to God as an offering of firstfruits but not on the Altar as a pleasing fragrance. Season every presentation of your Grain-Offering with salt. Don’t leave the salt of the covenant with your God out of your Grain-Offerings. Present all your offerings with salt.
14-16 “If you present a Grain-Offering of firstfruits to God, bring crushed heads of the new grain roasted. Put oil and incense on it—it’s a Grain-Offering. The priest will burn some of the mixed grain and oil with all the incense as a memorial—a Fire-Gift to God.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Read: Mark 4:26–29
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
INSIGHT
Commenting on the parable found in today’s text, Simon Kistemaker says: “From the moment he has sown the seed the farmer must leave the sprouting, the growing, the pollinating, and the maturing to God. . . . The farmer cannot explain this growth and development. He is only a worker who at the proper time sows and reaps. God holds the secret of life. God is in control” (The Parables: Understanding the Stories Jesus Told).
It isn’t that the farmer isn’t busy and simply relaxes during the growing of the wheat. He is busy weeding, mulching, and watering. But the growth is up to the Lord. We can work to encourage growth, do things that create an environment for growth and for plants to flourish, but ultimately the growth is something we see, not something we produce. The same is true in our spiritual life.
Take a moment to thank God for the growth you’ve seen in your life. How can you prepare the soil of your heart for continued growth in Christlikeness?
Glory to the Grower
By Xochitl Dixon
So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 1 Corinthians 3:7
One day, I noticed an unexpected splash of yellow to the right of our driveway. Six stalks of daffodils, sandwiched between two large stones, bloomed bright and tall. Because I hadn’t planted, fertilized, or intentionally watered the bulbs, I couldn’t figure out how or why the flowers had sprouted in our yard.
Jesus illustrated a mystery of spiritual growth in the parable of the growing seed. He compares the kingdom of God to a farmer scattering seed on the ground (Mark 4:26). The one who scattered the seed may have done what he could to care for the soil. But Jesus said the seed sprouted whether or not that man slept in, woke up, or even understood the growth process (vv. 27–28). The land owner benefited from the harvest (v. 29), though its development didn’t depend on what he did or his understanding of the workings beneath the surface of the soil.
God deserves the glory for the growth of His people and His kingdom.
The maturing of the seeds in Jesus’s parable, like the blooming of my daffodils, occurred in God’s time and because of God’s growing power. Whether we’re considering personal spiritual growth or God’s plan to expand the church until Jesus returns, the Lord’s mysterious ways aren’t dependent on our abilities or understanding of His works. Still, God invites us to know, serve, and praise the Grower, reaping the benefits of the spiritual maturity He cu
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Spiritual Vision Through Personal Character
Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place… —Revelation 4:1
A higher state of mind and spiritual vision can only be achieved through the higher practice of personal character. If you live up to the highest and best that you know in the outer level of your life, God will continually say to you, “Friend, come up even higher.” There is also a continuing rule in temptation which calls you to go higher; but when you do, you only encounter other temptations and character traits. Both God and Satan use the strategy of elevation, but Satan uses it in temptation, and the effect is quite different. When the devil elevates you to a certain place, he causes you to fasten your idea of what holiness is far beyond what flesh and blood could ever bear or achieve. Your life becomes a spiritual acrobatic performance high atop a steeple. You cling to it, trying to maintain your balance and daring not to move. But when God elevates you by His grace into heavenly places, you find a vast plateau where you can move about with ease.
Compare this week in your spiritual life with the same week last year to see how God has called you to a higher level. We have all been brought to see from a higher viewpoint. Never allow God to show you a truth which you do not instantly begin to live up to, applying it to your life. Always work through it, staying in its light.
Your growth in grace is not measured by the fact that you haven’t turned back, but that you have an insight and understanding into where you are spiritually. Have you heard God say, “Come up higher,” not audibly on the outer level, but to the innermost part of your character?
“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing…?” (Genesis 18:17). God has to hide from us what He does, until, due to the growth of our personal character, we get to the level where He is then able to reveal it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Always keep in contact with those books and those people that enlarge your horizon and make it possible for you to stretch yourself mentally. The Moral Foundations of Life, 721 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Escaping the "Me" Monster - #8142
Pam was a young woman who was active in a Campus Life Club I ran some years ago, and she was very lonely. She used to call different ones of us leaders two or three times a week. Pam felt like she was unattractive. She had never had a date, and she had problems at home. And she usually called to talk about her problems and how depressed she was. Until that week she called me and I said to her, "Pam, don't call me again until you've carried out an assignment I'd like to give you." Well, I encouraged her to go to the local senior citizens' facility and volunteer for one night. She was hesitant, but she did it. Pam was a young woman who was active in a Campus Life Club I ran some years ago, and she was very lonely. She used to call different ones of us leaders two or three times a week. Pam felt like she was unattractive. She had never had a date, and she had problems at home. And she usually called to talk about her problems and how depressed she was. Until that week she called me and I said to her, "Pam, don't call me again until you've carried out an assignment I'd like to give you." Well, I encouraged her to go to the local senior citizens' facility and volunteer for one night. She was hesitant, but she did it.
That night she read to those folks and she walked with them and listened to their stories. When she was leaving, some of them asked, "When will you be back?" Well, she hadn't planned to come back. But their encouragements caused her to tell them, "Next week." She did go back the following week--and virtually every week after that through the rest of high school. Last I knew, Pam had become a doctor. Once she started to live for some people who needed her, Pam didn't call much anymore. She didn't need to. She was too busy making a difference.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Escaping The "ME" Monster."
The "me" monster. That's the tendency to think about myself most of the time, and it's the main reason, I think, Pam was down so much of the time, and maybe why you are. There's nothing like hurt and pain and pressure to turn us into self-focused people. Too often, life is about my needs, my issues, my problems, my agenda, my feelings, my load. But a life of self-focus or self-pity or self-centeredness is just not how we were wired to live, especially if we belong to Jesus Christ.
Listen to our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 5:15. It says that Jesus "died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again." Notice "no longer for themselves." You know, that might be a word God knows you need to hear right now because, without even realizing it, the "me" monster has just been consuming too much of your time and attention and conversation.
My friend Pam learned something when she began to focus on the needs of others rather than on her own needs--that the most satisfying times in our lives are the times when we're living for others. Take Christmas, for example. Think about the joy you experience in giving, sometimes sacrificially, to someone you love. Or that time when you went out of your way to help someone you really didn't have time to help.
Or if you've ever been on a missions trip. Remember that deep sense of fulfillment you felt from sacrificing to serve some people who needed you? Life's golden moments aren't the ones that are about us. They're about others!
So, if you've been feeling down, you need to do what I challenged that young woman to do--find someone who needs you and do what you can to reach out to them. Maybe it's a hurting neighbor, co-worker, fellow student, someone in the hospital, someone who's recently lost a job or even someone they love, maybe your pastor or a Christian worker you know, or someone who is going through the same kind of valley you've been through. Your pain can become
God's powerful tool to help you understand and encourage someone who's experiencing that same kind of hurt. No one could help them like a wounded healer. That would be someone like you.
All the way to the cross, even on the cross, Jesus kept thinking of others. If He's your Lord, then that's supposed to be your focus, too. When you live your life asking, "Who needs me today?" you can finally escape the depressing clutches of the "me" monster.
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Monday, March 26, 2018
Leviticus 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: The cross
The cross. Can you turn any direction without seeing one? Engraved on a ring or suspended on a chain? The cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. An odd choice, don’t you think?
It’s strange that a tool of torture embodies a movement of hope. Its design couldn’t be simpler. One beam horizontal, the other vertical. One reaches out like God’s love. The other reaches up as does God’s holiness. One represents the width of his love; the other the height of his holiness. The cross is the intersection. The cross is where God forgave his children without lowering his standards.
God put our sin on his Son and punished it there. Your sins have been placed on Jesus. Jesus receives the blow. And since Christ is between you and God, you don’t. The sin is punished, but you are safe—safe in the shadow of the cross!
Read more On Calvary’s Hill
Leviticus 1
Whole-Burnt-Offering
1-2 God called Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting: “Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, When anyone presents an offering to God, present an animal from either the herd or the flock.
3-9 “If the offering is a Whole-Burnt-Offering from the herd, present a male without a defect at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting that it may be accepted by God. Lay your hand on the head of the Whole-Burnt-Offering so that it may be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you. Slaughter the bull in God’s presence. Aaron’s sons, the priests, will make an offering of the blood by splashing it against all sides of the Altar that stands at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Next, skin the Whole-Burnt-Offering and cut it up. Aaron’s sons, the priests, will prepare a fire on the Altar, carefully laying out the wood, and then arrange the body parts, including the head and the suet, on the wood prepared for the fire on the Altar. Scrub the entrails and legs clean. The priest will burn it all on the Altar: a Whole-Burnt-Offering, a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God.
10-13 “If the Whole-Burnt-Offering comes from the flock, whether sheep or goat, present a male without defect. Slaughter it on the north side of the Altar in God’s presence. The sons of Aaron, the priests, will throw the blood against all sides of the Altar. Cut it up and the priest will arrange the pieces, including the head and the suet, on the wood prepared for burning on the Altar. Scrub the entrails and legs clean. The priest will offer it all, burning it on the Altar: a Whole-Burnt-Offering, a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God.
14-17 “If a bird is presented to God for the Whole-Burnt-Offering it can be either a dove or a pigeon. The priest will bring it to the Altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the Altar. But he will first drain the blood on the side of the Altar, remove the gizzard and its contents, and throw them on the east side of the Altar where the ashes are piled. Then rip it open by its wings but leave it in one piece and burn it on the Altar on the wood prepared for the fire: a Whole-Burnt-Offering, a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, March 26, 2018
Read: Luke 12:22–34
Do Not Worry
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[a]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Footnotes:
Luke 12:25 Or single cubit to your height
INSIGHT
God already lovingly rules. Yet in a fallen world, believers also pray for His kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10), for evil to be gone forever. How do we live in that tension?
Instead of living in fear of loss, Jesus taught His followers to live as if God’s kingdom was already here in full. Worrying is powerless, but courageously seeking Him leads to priceless, eternal riches (Luke 12:31–34).
The Point of Being Alive
By Monica Brands
Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Luke 12:15
Lately, as I’ve been skimming financial advice books, I’ve noticed an interesting trend. While almost all such books have good advice, many imply that the primary reason to cut costs is to live like millionaires later. But one book offered a refreshingly different perspective, arguing that living simply is essential for a rich life. If you need more or fancier stuff to feel joy, the book suggested, “You’re missing the point of being alive.”
Those insightful words brought to mind Jesus’s response when a man asked Him to urge his brother to divide an inheritance with him. Instead of sympathizing, Jesus dismissed him abruptly before warning sternly about “all kinds of greed”—because “life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:14–15). He then described a wealthy person’s plans to store his crops and enjoy a luxurious lifestyle—the first-century version of retirement planning—with a blistering conclusion. His wealth did him no good, since he died that night (vv. 16–20).
Our hearts should be focused on pursuing God's kingdom.
Although we are responsible to use our resources wisely, Jesus’s words remind us to check our motivation. Our hearts should be focused on pursuing God’s kingdom—knowing Him and serving others—not on securing our own futures (vv. 29–31). As we live for Him and freely share with others, we can fully enjoy a rich life with Him now—in the kingdom that gives meaning to all of life (vv. 32–34).
Lord, thank You for all You’ve so generously provided. Teach us how to enjoy what You’ve given and to share it with others. Help us to rest in You.
We don’t need to wait to enjoy a rich life in God’s kingdom.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 26, 2018
Spiritual Vision Through Personal Purity
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. —Matthew 5:8
Purity is not innocence— it is much more than that. Purity is the result of continued spiritual harmony with God. We have to grow in purity. Our life with God may be right and our inner purity unblemished, yet occasionally our outer life may become spotted and stained. God intentionally does not protect us from this possibility, because this is the way we recognize the necessity of maintaining our spiritual vision through personal purity. If the outer level of our spiritual life with God is impaired to the slightest degree, we must put everything else aside until we make it right. Remember that spiritual vision depends on our character— it is “the pure in heart” who “see God.”
God makes us pure by an act of His sovereign grace, but we still have something that we must carefully watch. It is through our bodily life coming in contact with other people and other points of view that we tend to become tarnished. Not only must our “inner sanctuary” be kept right with God, but also the “outer courts” must be brought into perfect harmony with the purity God gives us through His grace. Our spiritual vision and understanding is immediately blurred when our “outer court” is stained. If we want to maintain personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, it will mean refusing to do or even think certain things. And some things that are acceptable for others will become unacceptable for us.
A practical help in keeping your personal purity unblemished in your relations with other people is to begin to see them as God does. Say to yourself, “That man or that woman is perfect in Christ Jesus! That friend or that relative is perfect in Christ Jesus!”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him.… We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be. My Utmost for His Highest, January 6, 736 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 26, 2018
Hungry To Be Held - #8141
People who know me know that I'm a very focused person when I'm working on something. Except when it comes to the most distracting people I know-my grandchildren. I remember when my granddaughter was pretty little. She was just one-plus-year-old, there was just no way to resist her when she came my way. She'd pull herself up by my pant leg, she'd stretch her arms my direction, and then she'd make these cute little noises and irresistible faces-virtually begging me to pick her up. I'm not the only one who's gotten nothing done when she was around. No, she was that way with other family members; reaching out to be held. And I'll tell you this: our arms were always open.People who know me know that I'm a very focused person when I'm working on something. Except when it comes to the most distracting people I know-my grandchildren. I remember when my granddaughter was pretty little. She was just one-plus-year-old, there was just no way to resist her when she came my way. She'd pull herself up by my pant leg, she'd stretch her arms my direction, and then she'd make these cute little noises and irresistible faces-virtually begging me to pick her up. I'm not the only one who's gotten nothing done when she was around. No, she was that way with other family members; reaching out to be held. And I'll tell you this: our arms were always open.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hungry To Be Held."
Sadly, my granddaughter's quest for someone to hold her is a picture of someone who's listening today, except open arms have been hard to find. And when you do, it seems like sooner or later you lose even those who do give you some of the love and attention that you need. Sometimes, you pay a price that's too high to get someone to be there for you; making you vulnerable to being used and being hurt-a mistake that might be all too familiar to you.
I can't forget these children we met at a hospital in Haiti. They were hospitalized early in life because they have tuberculosis or AIDS. We played with them, we sang with them, and we read to them; knowing that they probably didn't understand a word of our English. But as we got ready to leave, the children surrounded us and called out, over and over again, two words they did know in English-words I've never forgotten, "Hold me. Hold me." We gave one last hug, but we couldn't hold them. We had to move on.
The cry of those precious Haitian children is a fundamental cry of every human heart, "Hold me!" But there aren't many hugs that last. Even for those of us who have had someone who really has loved us and made us feel secure, there is still this strange love deficit inside. There's never enough love.
We need someone who will always hold us, who will never let us go, who will never go away. We were made for that kind of love, but we've reached the wrong direction to find the one hug that will always be there. We've been reaching around us to other people. But to find the one we were made to be held by, we need to look up.
Listen to God's words, describing the kind of relationship He wants to have with you. "The Lord your God is with you...He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17). That's intimate love. That's infinite love. That's expensive love. God paid the price for that love.
In Isaiah 49:15-16, our word for today from the Word of God, He says: "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands."
For Jesus, that engraving is the nail prints in His hands from the day He died to pay for your sins so you could be forgiven; so you could belong to the one whose love you were made for. Because He walked out of His grave, He's alive. He's offering the greatest love in the universe. But one-way love doesn't make a relationship. He's waiting to hold you, but you have to reach for Him.
God says that means putting your total trust in Jesus to be your personal rescuer from the death penalty for your sins. The wall that's between you and God comes down when you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours." Ultimately, your hunger to be held all this time it's been a hunger for Him. He's reaching your direction. It's time to reach back. He'll hold you and never let you go.
If you want to experience that love for yourself today, there's a lot of information at our website that I've put there to help you know how to belong to Him and make sure you finally do. It's called ANewStory.com - our website. I hope you'll land there quickly sometimes today.
You are very, very close to experiencing the love that you have been looking for so very long.
The cross. Can you turn any direction without seeing one? Engraved on a ring or suspended on a chain? The cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. An odd choice, don’t you think?
It’s strange that a tool of torture embodies a movement of hope. Its design couldn’t be simpler. One beam horizontal, the other vertical. One reaches out like God’s love. The other reaches up as does God’s holiness. One represents the width of his love; the other the height of his holiness. The cross is the intersection. The cross is where God forgave his children without lowering his standards.
God put our sin on his Son and punished it there. Your sins have been placed on Jesus. Jesus receives the blow. And since Christ is between you and God, you don’t. The sin is punished, but you are safe—safe in the shadow of the cross!
Read more On Calvary’s Hill
Leviticus 1
Whole-Burnt-Offering
1-2 God called Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting: “Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, When anyone presents an offering to God, present an animal from either the herd or the flock.
3-9 “If the offering is a Whole-Burnt-Offering from the herd, present a male without a defect at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting that it may be accepted by God. Lay your hand on the head of the Whole-Burnt-Offering so that it may be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you. Slaughter the bull in God’s presence. Aaron’s sons, the priests, will make an offering of the blood by splashing it against all sides of the Altar that stands at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Next, skin the Whole-Burnt-Offering and cut it up. Aaron’s sons, the priests, will prepare a fire on the Altar, carefully laying out the wood, and then arrange the body parts, including the head and the suet, on the wood prepared for the fire on the Altar. Scrub the entrails and legs clean. The priest will burn it all on the Altar: a Whole-Burnt-Offering, a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God.
10-13 “If the Whole-Burnt-Offering comes from the flock, whether sheep or goat, present a male without defect. Slaughter it on the north side of the Altar in God’s presence. The sons of Aaron, the priests, will throw the blood against all sides of the Altar. Cut it up and the priest will arrange the pieces, including the head and the suet, on the wood prepared for burning on the Altar. Scrub the entrails and legs clean. The priest will offer it all, burning it on the Altar: a Whole-Burnt-Offering, a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God.
14-17 “If a bird is presented to God for the Whole-Burnt-Offering it can be either a dove or a pigeon. The priest will bring it to the Altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the Altar. But he will first drain the blood on the side of the Altar, remove the gizzard and its contents, and throw them on the east side of the Altar where the ashes are piled. Then rip it open by its wings but leave it in one piece and burn it on the Altar on the wood prepared for the fire: a Whole-Burnt-Offering, a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, March 26, 2018
Read: Luke 12:22–34
Do Not Worry
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[a]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Footnotes:
Luke 12:25 Or single cubit to your height
INSIGHT
God already lovingly rules. Yet in a fallen world, believers also pray for His kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10), for evil to be gone forever. How do we live in that tension?
Instead of living in fear of loss, Jesus taught His followers to live as if God’s kingdom was already here in full. Worrying is powerless, but courageously seeking Him leads to priceless, eternal riches (Luke 12:31–34).
The Point of Being Alive
By Monica Brands
Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Luke 12:15
Lately, as I’ve been skimming financial advice books, I’ve noticed an interesting trend. While almost all such books have good advice, many imply that the primary reason to cut costs is to live like millionaires later. But one book offered a refreshingly different perspective, arguing that living simply is essential for a rich life. If you need more or fancier stuff to feel joy, the book suggested, “You’re missing the point of being alive.”
Those insightful words brought to mind Jesus’s response when a man asked Him to urge his brother to divide an inheritance with him. Instead of sympathizing, Jesus dismissed him abruptly before warning sternly about “all kinds of greed”—because “life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:14–15). He then described a wealthy person’s plans to store his crops and enjoy a luxurious lifestyle—the first-century version of retirement planning—with a blistering conclusion. His wealth did him no good, since he died that night (vv. 16–20).
Our hearts should be focused on pursuing God's kingdom.
Although we are responsible to use our resources wisely, Jesus’s words remind us to check our motivation. Our hearts should be focused on pursuing God’s kingdom—knowing Him and serving others—not on securing our own futures (vv. 29–31). As we live for Him and freely share with others, we can fully enjoy a rich life with Him now—in the kingdom that gives meaning to all of life (vv. 32–34).
Lord, thank You for all You’ve so generously provided. Teach us how to enjoy what You’ve given and to share it with others. Help us to rest in You.
We don’t need to wait to enjoy a rich life in God’s kingdom.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 26, 2018
Spiritual Vision Through Personal Purity
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. —Matthew 5:8
Purity is not innocence— it is much more than that. Purity is the result of continued spiritual harmony with God. We have to grow in purity. Our life with God may be right and our inner purity unblemished, yet occasionally our outer life may become spotted and stained. God intentionally does not protect us from this possibility, because this is the way we recognize the necessity of maintaining our spiritual vision through personal purity. If the outer level of our spiritual life with God is impaired to the slightest degree, we must put everything else aside until we make it right. Remember that spiritual vision depends on our character— it is “the pure in heart” who “see God.”
God makes us pure by an act of His sovereign grace, but we still have something that we must carefully watch. It is through our bodily life coming in contact with other people and other points of view that we tend to become tarnished. Not only must our “inner sanctuary” be kept right with God, but also the “outer courts” must be brought into perfect harmony with the purity God gives us through His grace. Our spiritual vision and understanding is immediately blurred when our “outer court” is stained. If we want to maintain personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, it will mean refusing to do or even think certain things. And some things that are acceptable for others will become unacceptable for us.
A practical help in keeping your personal purity unblemished in your relations with other people is to begin to see them as God does. Say to yourself, “That man or that woman is perfect in Christ Jesus! That friend or that relative is perfect in Christ Jesus!”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him.… We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be. My Utmost for His Highest, January 6, 736 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 26, 2018
Hungry To Be Held - #8141
People who know me know that I'm a very focused person when I'm working on something. Except when it comes to the most distracting people I know-my grandchildren. I remember when my granddaughter was pretty little. She was just one-plus-year-old, there was just no way to resist her when she came my way. She'd pull herself up by my pant leg, she'd stretch her arms my direction, and then she'd make these cute little noises and irresistible faces-virtually begging me to pick her up. I'm not the only one who's gotten nothing done when she was around. No, she was that way with other family members; reaching out to be held. And I'll tell you this: our arms were always open.People who know me know that I'm a very focused person when I'm working on something. Except when it comes to the most distracting people I know-my grandchildren. I remember when my granddaughter was pretty little. She was just one-plus-year-old, there was just no way to resist her when she came my way. She'd pull herself up by my pant leg, she'd stretch her arms my direction, and then she'd make these cute little noises and irresistible faces-virtually begging me to pick her up. I'm not the only one who's gotten nothing done when she was around. No, she was that way with other family members; reaching out to be held. And I'll tell you this: our arms were always open.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hungry To Be Held."
Sadly, my granddaughter's quest for someone to hold her is a picture of someone who's listening today, except open arms have been hard to find. And when you do, it seems like sooner or later you lose even those who do give you some of the love and attention that you need. Sometimes, you pay a price that's too high to get someone to be there for you; making you vulnerable to being used and being hurt-a mistake that might be all too familiar to you.
I can't forget these children we met at a hospital in Haiti. They were hospitalized early in life because they have tuberculosis or AIDS. We played with them, we sang with them, and we read to them; knowing that they probably didn't understand a word of our English. But as we got ready to leave, the children surrounded us and called out, over and over again, two words they did know in English-words I've never forgotten, "Hold me. Hold me." We gave one last hug, but we couldn't hold them. We had to move on.
The cry of those precious Haitian children is a fundamental cry of every human heart, "Hold me!" But there aren't many hugs that last. Even for those of us who have had someone who really has loved us and made us feel secure, there is still this strange love deficit inside. There's never enough love.
We need someone who will always hold us, who will never let us go, who will never go away. We were made for that kind of love, but we've reached the wrong direction to find the one hug that will always be there. We've been reaching around us to other people. But to find the one we were made to be held by, we need to look up.
Listen to God's words, describing the kind of relationship He wants to have with you. "The Lord your God is with you...He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17). That's intimate love. That's infinite love. That's expensive love. God paid the price for that love.
In Isaiah 49:15-16, our word for today from the Word of God, He says: "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands."
For Jesus, that engraving is the nail prints in His hands from the day He died to pay for your sins so you could be forgiven; so you could belong to the one whose love you were made for. Because He walked out of His grave, He's alive. He's offering the greatest love in the universe. But one-way love doesn't make a relationship. He's waiting to hold you, but you have to reach for Him.
God says that means putting your total trust in Jesus to be your personal rescuer from the death penalty for your sins. The wall that's between you and God comes down when you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours." Ultimately, your hunger to be held all this time it's been a hunger for Him. He's reaching your direction. It's time to reach back. He'll hold you and never let you go.
If you want to experience that love for yourself today, there's a lot of information at our website that I've put there to help you know how to belong to Him and make sure you finally do. It's called ANewStory.com - our website. I hope you'll land there quickly sometimes today.
You are very, very close to experiencing the love that you have been looking for so very long.
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Psalm 91, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Grace Soaked
Most people keep a pot of anger on low boil! But you aren't most people. Look at your feet. They're wet, grace-soaked. Jesus has washed your feet…he has washed the grimiest parts of your life.
To accept grace is the vow to give it. You don't endorse the deeds of your offender when you forgive them. Jesus didn't endorse your sins by forgiving you. The grace-defined person still sends thieves to jail and expects the ex to pay child support. Grace sees the hurt full well. But it refuses to let hurts poison the heart. Where grace is lacking, bitterness abounds. Where grace abounds, forgiveness grows.
So, let the hands of God wipe away every dirty part of your life. Then look across the room and wash someone else's feet. Let grace begin and continue in you!
From GRACE
Psalm 91
1-13 You who sit down in the High God’s presence,
spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow,
Say this: “God, you’re my refuge.
I trust in you and I’m safe!”
That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps,
shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you—
under them you’re perfectly safe;
his arms fend off all harm.
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night,
not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around,
drop like flies right and left,
no harm will even graze you.
You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God’s your refuge,
the High God your very own home,
Evil can’t get close to you,
harm can’t get through the door.
He ordered his angels
to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they’ll catch you;
their job is to keep you from falling.
You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
and kick young lions and serpents from the path.
14-16 “If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God,
“I’ll get you out of any trouble.
I’ll give you the best of care
if you’ll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times;
I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I’ll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Read: Luke 19:28–40
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[a]
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Footnotes:
Luke 19:38 Psalm 118:26
INSIGHT
Do you sometimes struggle with finding the right words and right time to speak about Jesus? Your concern and hesitancy may be from God. There is a time to speak and a time to be quiet (Ecclesiastes 3:7). The Spirit knows the difference. Sometimes He is in the quiet moments and thoughtful actions that prepare the way for words later. Sometimes He enables us to fill a silence so ripe for words that if we don’t gently express our confidence in Jesus, it might feel as if even “the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40).
Who Is This?
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Luke 19:38
Imagine standing shoulder to shoulder with onlookers by a dirt road. The woman behind you is on her tiptoes, trying to see who is coming. In the distance, you glimpse a man riding a donkey. As He approaches, people toss their coats onto the road. Suddenly, you hear a tree crack behind you. A man is cutting down palm branches, and people are spreading them out ahead of the donkey.
Jesus’s followers zealously honored Him as He entered Jerusalem a few days before His crucifixion. The multitude rejoiced and praised God for “all the miracles they had seen” (Luke 19:37). Jesus’s devotees surrounded Him, calling out, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (v. 38). Their enthusiastic honor affected the people of Jerusalem. When Jesus finally arrived, “the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’?” (Matthew 21:10).
Lord, I want others to see You in me and to know You too.
Today, people are still curious about Jesus. Although we can’t pave His way with palm branches or shout praises to Him in person, we can still honor Him. We can discuss His remarkable works, assist people in need, patiently bear insults, and love each other deeply. Then we must be ready to answer the onlookers who ask, “Who is Jesus?”
Lord, may my life and my words express what I know about who You are. I want others to see You in me and to know You too.
We honor God’s name when we live like His children.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Maintaining the Proper Relationship
…the friend of the bridegroom… —John 3:29
Goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing others to Him, it is not the right kind of holiness; it is only an influence which awakens undue emotions and evil desires in people and diverts them from heading in the right direction. A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him, instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this thought— “What a fine person that man is!” That is not being a true “friend of the bridegroom”— I am increasing all the time; He is not.
To maintain this friendship and faithfulness to the Bridegroom, we have to be more careful to have the moral and vital relationship to Him above everything else, including obedience. Sometimes there is nothing to obey and our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it. Only occasionally is it a matter of obedience. At those times when a crisis arises, we have to find out what God’s will is. Yet most of our life is not spent in trying to be consciously obedient, but in maintaining this relationship— being the “friend of the bridegroom.” Christian work can actually be a means of diverting a person’s focus away from Jesus Christ. Instead of being friends “of the bridegroom,” we may become amateur providences of God to someone else, working against Him while we use His weapons.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Awe is the condition of a man’s spirit realizing Who God is and what He has done for him personally. Our Lord emphasizes the attitude of a child; no attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child. Not Knowing Whither, 882 L
Most people keep a pot of anger on low boil! But you aren't most people. Look at your feet. They're wet, grace-soaked. Jesus has washed your feet…he has washed the grimiest parts of your life.
To accept grace is the vow to give it. You don't endorse the deeds of your offender when you forgive them. Jesus didn't endorse your sins by forgiving you. The grace-defined person still sends thieves to jail and expects the ex to pay child support. Grace sees the hurt full well. But it refuses to let hurts poison the heart. Where grace is lacking, bitterness abounds. Where grace abounds, forgiveness grows.
So, let the hands of God wipe away every dirty part of your life. Then look across the room and wash someone else's feet. Let grace begin and continue in you!
From GRACE
Psalm 91
1-13 You who sit down in the High God’s presence,
spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow,
Say this: “God, you’re my refuge.
I trust in you and I’m safe!”
That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps,
shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you—
under them you’re perfectly safe;
his arms fend off all harm.
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night,
not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around,
drop like flies right and left,
no harm will even graze you.
You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God’s your refuge,
the High God your very own home,
Evil can’t get close to you,
harm can’t get through the door.
He ordered his angels
to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they’ll catch you;
their job is to keep you from falling.
You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
and kick young lions and serpents from the path.
14-16 “If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God,
“I’ll get you out of any trouble.
I’ll give you the best of care
if you’ll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times;
I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I’ll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Read: Luke 19:28–40
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[a]
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Footnotes:
Luke 19:38 Psalm 118:26
INSIGHT
Do you sometimes struggle with finding the right words and right time to speak about Jesus? Your concern and hesitancy may be from God. There is a time to speak and a time to be quiet (Ecclesiastes 3:7). The Spirit knows the difference. Sometimes He is in the quiet moments and thoughtful actions that prepare the way for words later. Sometimes He enables us to fill a silence so ripe for words that if we don’t gently express our confidence in Jesus, it might feel as if even “the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40).
Who Is This?
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Luke 19:38
Imagine standing shoulder to shoulder with onlookers by a dirt road. The woman behind you is on her tiptoes, trying to see who is coming. In the distance, you glimpse a man riding a donkey. As He approaches, people toss their coats onto the road. Suddenly, you hear a tree crack behind you. A man is cutting down palm branches, and people are spreading them out ahead of the donkey.
Jesus’s followers zealously honored Him as He entered Jerusalem a few days before His crucifixion. The multitude rejoiced and praised God for “all the miracles they had seen” (Luke 19:37). Jesus’s devotees surrounded Him, calling out, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (v. 38). Their enthusiastic honor affected the people of Jerusalem. When Jesus finally arrived, “the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’?” (Matthew 21:10).
Lord, I want others to see You in me and to know You too.
Today, people are still curious about Jesus. Although we can’t pave His way with palm branches or shout praises to Him in person, we can still honor Him. We can discuss His remarkable works, assist people in need, patiently bear insults, and love each other deeply. Then we must be ready to answer the onlookers who ask, “Who is Jesus?”
Lord, may my life and my words express what I know about who You are. I want others to see You in me and to know You too.
We honor God’s name when we live like His children.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Maintaining the Proper Relationship
…the friend of the bridegroom… —John 3:29
Goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing others to Him, it is not the right kind of holiness; it is only an influence which awakens undue emotions and evil desires in people and diverts them from heading in the right direction. A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him, instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this thought— “What a fine person that man is!” That is not being a true “friend of the bridegroom”— I am increasing all the time; He is not.
To maintain this friendship and faithfulness to the Bridegroom, we have to be more careful to have the moral and vital relationship to Him above everything else, including obedience. Sometimes there is nothing to obey and our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it. Only occasionally is it a matter of obedience. At those times when a crisis arises, we have to find out what God’s will is. Yet most of our life is not spent in trying to be consciously obedient, but in maintaining this relationship— being the “friend of the bridegroom.” Christian work can actually be a means of diverting a person’s focus away from Jesus Christ. Instead of being friends “of the bridegroom,” we may become amateur providences of God to someone else, working against Him while we use His weapons.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Awe is the condition of a man’s spirit realizing Who God is and what He has done for him personally. Our Lord emphasizes the attitude of a child; no attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child. Not Knowing Whither, 882 L
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Psalm 90, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily:Grace Chooses to See Forgiveness
Victoria Ruvolo doesn't remember the 18-year-old boy leaning out the window holding, of all things, a frozen turkey. He threw it at her windshield. Crashing through the glass, it shattered Victoria's face like a dinner plate on concrete.
John 13:14-15 says, "Since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. Do as I have done to you."
Victoria Ruvolo did that. Months later, she stood face to face with her offender in court. No longer cocky, he was trembling, tearful, and apologetic. Six months behind bars, five years' probation. Everyone in the courtroom objected. He sobbed, and she spoke, "I forgive you. I want your life to be the best it can be." The reduced sentence was her idea. "God gave me a second chance at life, and I passed it on," she said! Grace chooses to see God's forgiveness!
From GRACE
Psalm 90
A Prayer of Moses, Man of God
1-2 God, it seems you’ve been our home forever;
long before the mountains were born,
Long before you brought earth itself to birth,
from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come”—you are God.
3-11 So don’t return us to mud, saying,
“Back to where you came from!”
Patience! You’ve got all the time in the world—whether
a thousand years or a day, it’s all the same to you.
Are we no more to you than a wispy dream,
no more than a blade of grass
That springs up gloriously with the rising sun
and is cut down without a second thought?
Your anger is far and away too much for us;
we’re at the end of our rope.
You keep track of all our sins; every misdeed
since we were children is entered in your books.
All we can remember is that frown on your face.
Is that all we’re ever going to get?
We live for seventy years or so
(with luck we might make it to eighty),
And what do we have to show for it? Trouble.
Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard.
Who can make sense of such rage,
such anger against the very ones who fear you?
12-17 Oh! Teach us to live well!
Teach us to live wisely and well!
Come back, God—how long do we have to wait?—
and treat your servants with kindness for a change.
Surprise us with love at daybreak;
then we’ll skip and dance all the day long.
Make up for the bad times with some good times;
we’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime.
Let your servants see what you’re best at—
the ways you rule and bless your children.
And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,
confirming the work that we do.
Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Read: 2 Timothy 3:10–17
A Final Charge to Timothy
10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Footnotes:
2 Timothy 3:17 Or that you, a man of God,
INSIGHT
Through the life-giving Word of God people learn of the saving work of Christ and His ability to transform our sinful heart into a righteous one (2 Timothy 3:14–17). The Bible is “God-breathed” and the fountainhead of spiritual healing. Its life-giving properties make it “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (v. 16). The purpose of this divine revelation is to make us complete, equipping us to live godly and productive lives.
How can you teach and encourage others to build their lives on God’s Word?
For further study on 2 Timothy, see christianuniversity.org/courses/the-pastoral-epistles. - Dennis Fisher
The Power of Demonstration
By David C. McCasland
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16
My attempts at fixing things around the house usually lead to paying someone else to undo the damage I caused while trying to fix the original problem. But recently I successfully repaired a home appliance by watching a YouTube video where a person demonstrated step by step how to do it.
Paul was a powerful example to his young protégé Timothy who traveled with him and watched him in action. From prison in Rome, Paul wrote, “You . . . know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings” (2 Timothy 3:10–11). In addition, he urged Timothy to “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures” (vv. 14–15).
We are called to live out God's Word as we teach and encourage others.
Paul’s life demonstrated the necessity of building our lives on the bedrock of God’s Word. He reminded Timothy that the Bible is the powerful, God-given source that we need to teach and to demonstrate to others who want to be Christ-followers.
As we thank the Lord for the people who helped us grow in faith, we are challenged to follow their example of living out the truth as we teach and encourage others.
That’s the power of demonstration.
Lord, as others have demonstrated Your truth to us, may we in turn show it to others.
We are called to live out God’s Word as we teach and encourage others.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Decreasing for His Purpose
He must increase, but I must decrease. —John 3:30
If you become a necessity to someone else’s life, you are out of God’s will. As a servant, your primary responsibility is to be a “friend of the bridegroom” (John 3:29). When you see a person who is close to grasping the claims of Jesus Christ, you know that your influence has been used in the right direction. And when you begin to see that person in the middle of a difficult and painful struggle, don’t try to prevent it, but pray that his difficulty will grow even ten times stronger, until no power on earth or in hell could hold him away from Jesus Christ. Over and over again, we try to be amateur providences in someone’s life. We are indeed amateurs, coming in and actually preventing God’s will and saying, “This person should not have to experience this difficulty.” Instead of being friends of the Bridegroom, our sympathy gets in the way. One day that person will say to us, “You are a thief; you stole my desire to follow Jesus, and because of you I lost sight of Him.”
Beware of rejoicing with someone over the wrong thing, but always look to rejoice over the right thing. “…the friend of the bridegroom…rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:29-30). This was spoken with joy, not with sadness— at last they were to see the Bridegroom! And John said this was his joy. It represents a stepping aside, an absolute removal of the servant, never to be thought of again.
Listen intently with your entire being until you hear the Bridegroom’s voice in the life of another person. And never give any thought to what devastation, difficulties, or sickness it will bring. Just rejoice with godly excitement that His voice has been heard. You may often have to watch Jesus Christ wreck a life before He saves it (see Matthew 10:34).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God. Not Knowing Whither, 903 R
Victoria Ruvolo doesn't remember the 18-year-old boy leaning out the window holding, of all things, a frozen turkey. He threw it at her windshield. Crashing through the glass, it shattered Victoria's face like a dinner plate on concrete.
John 13:14-15 says, "Since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. Do as I have done to you."
 |
| Forgiveness |
From GRACE
Psalm 90
A Prayer of Moses, Man of God
1-2 God, it seems you’ve been our home forever;
long before the mountains were born,
Long before you brought earth itself to birth,
from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come”—you are God.
3-11 So don’t return us to mud, saying,
“Back to where you came from!”
Patience! You’ve got all the time in the world—whether
a thousand years or a day, it’s all the same to you.
Are we no more to you than a wispy dream,
no more than a blade of grass
That springs up gloriously with the rising sun
and is cut down without a second thought?
Your anger is far and away too much for us;
we’re at the end of our rope.
You keep track of all our sins; every misdeed
since we were children is entered in your books.
All we can remember is that frown on your face.
Is that all we’re ever going to get?
We live for seventy years or so
(with luck we might make it to eighty),
And what do we have to show for it? Trouble.
Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard.
Who can make sense of such rage,
such anger against the very ones who fear you?
12-17 Oh! Teach us to live well!
Teach us to live wisely and well!
Come back, God—how long do we have to wait?—
and treat your servants with kindness for a change.
Surprise us with love at daybreak;
then we’ll skip and dance all the day long.
Make up for the bad times with some good times;
we’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime.
Let your servants see what you’re best at—
the ways you rule and bless your children.
And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,
confirming the work that we do.
Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Read: 2 Timothy 3:10–17
A Final Charge to Timothy
10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Footnotes:
2 Timothy 3:17 Or that you, a man of God,
INSIGHT
Through the life-giving Word of God people learn of the saving work of Christ and His ability to transform our sinful heart into a righteous one (2 Timothy 3:14–17). The Bible is “God-breathed” and the fountainhead of spiritual healing. Its life-giving properties make it “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (v. 16). The purpose of this divine revelation is to make us complete, equipping us to live godly and productive lives.
How can you teach and encourage others to build their lives on God’s Word?
For further study on 2 Timothy, see christianuniversity.org/courses/the-pastoral-epistles. - Dennis Fisher
The Power of Demonstration
By David C. McCasland
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16
My attempts at fixing things around the house usually lead to paying someone else to undo the damage I caused while trying to fix the original problem. But recently I successfully repaired a home appliance by watching a YouTube video where a person demonstrated step by step how to do it.
Paul was a powerful example to his young protégé Timothy who traveled with him and watched him in action. From prison in Rome, Paul wrote, “You . . . know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings” (2 Timothy 3:10–11). In addition, he urged Timothy to “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures” (vv. 14–15).
We are called to live out God's Word as we teach and encourage others.
Paul’s life demonstrated the necessity of building our lives on the bedrock of God’s Word. He reminded Timothy that the Bible is the powerful, God-given source that we need to teach and to demonstrate to others who want to be Christ-followers.
As we thank the Lord for the people who helped us grow in faith, we are challenged to follow their example of living out the truth as we teach and encourage others.
That’s the power of demonstration.
Lord, as others have demonstrated Your truth to us, may we in turn show it to others.
We are called to live out God’s Word as we teach and encourage others.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Decreasing for His Purpose
He must increase, but I must decrease. —John 3:30
If you become a necessity to someone else’s life, you are out of God’s will. As a servant, your primary responsibility is to be a “friend of the bridegroom” (John 3:29). When you see a person who is close to grasping the claims of Jesus Christ, you know that your influence has been used in the right direction. And when you begin to see that person in the middle of a difficult and painful struggle, don’t try to prevent it, but pray that his difficulty will grow even ten times stronger, until no power on earth or in hell could hold him away from Jesus Christ. Over and over again, we try to be amateur providences in someone’s life. We are indeed amateurs, coming in and actually preventing God’s will and saying, “This person should not have to experience this difficulty.” Instead of being friends of the Bridegroom, our sympathy gets in the way. One day that person will say to us, “You are a thief; you stole my desire to follow Jesus, and because of you I lost sight of Him.”
Beware of rejoicing with someone over the wrong thing, but always look to rejoice over the right thing. “…the friend of the bridegroom…rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:29-30). This was spoken with joy, not with sadness— at last they were to see the Bridegroom! And John said this was his joy. It represents a stepping aside, an absolute removal of the servant, never to be thought of again.
Listen intently with your entire being until you hear the Bridegroom’s voice in the life of another person. And never give any thought to what devastation, difficulties, or sickness it will bring. Just rejoice with godly excitement that His voice has been heard. You may often have to watch Jesus Christ wreck a life before He saves it (see Matthew 10:34).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God. Not Knowing Whither, 903 R
Friday, March 23, 2018
Mark 4:21-41, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: REMEMBER WHAT YOU’RE WORTH
Remember what you are worth! The Bible says, “You were bought, not with something that ruins like gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ. . .” (1 Peter 1:18).
Ever feel like you have nothing? Just look at the gifts he has given you. His Holy Spirit to dwell in you, his church to encourage you, and his Word to guide you. You have been chosen by Christ. He has claimed you as his beloved. You are spoken for; engaged; set apart; called out; a holy bride! Be obsessed with your wedding date. Be intolerant of memory lapses. Write yourself notes. Do whatever you need to do to aim at what is in heaven. . .to think about only the things in heaven (Colossians 3:1-20).
You are engaged to Royalty—and your prince is coming to take you home!
From When Christ Comes
Mark 4:21-41
Giving, Not Getting
21-22 Jesus went on: “Does anyone bring a lamp home and put it under a washtub or beneath the bed? Don’t you put it up on a table or on the mantel? We’re not keeping secrets, we’re telling them; we’re not hiding things, we’re bringing them out into the open.
23 “Are you listening to this? Really listening?
24-25 “Listen carefully to what I am saying—and be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead in the world on your own. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.”
Never Without a Story
26-29 Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps—harvest time!
30-32 “How can we picture God’s kingdom? What kind of story can we use? It’s like a pine nut. When it lands on the ground it is quite small as seeds go, yet once it is planted it grows into a huge pine tree with thick branches. Eagles nest in it.”
33-34 With many stories like these, he presented his message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when he spoke. When he was alone with his disciples, he went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots.
The Wind Ran Out of Breath
35-38 Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?”
39-40 Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?”
41 They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!”
The Message (MSG)
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 23, 2018
Isaiah 25:1-9
Praise to the Lord
25 Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall
5 and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8 he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.
9 In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
INSIGHT
Are the hopes we have for ourselves and others realistic? Isaiah and the people he loved were living under conditions of social violence, economic injustices, and a looming Assyrian invasion. Yet God gave him a confidence that enabled him to look beyond conditions of inequality, insecurity, and disgrace. For the weak, the troubled, and the dying, he wrote as if the plans and promises of God are something worth living, waiting, and even dying for (Isaiah 2:1–5; 66:20).
A Double Promise
By Leslie Koh
In perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1
Since she suffered with cancer several years ago, Ruth has been unable to eat, drink, or even swallow properly. She has also lost a lot of her physical strength, and numerous operations and treatments have left her a shadow of what she used to be.
Yet Ruth is still able to praise God; her faith remains strong, and her joy is infectious. She relies on God daily, and holds on to the hope that she will recover fully one day. She prays for healing and is confident that God will answer—sooner or later. What an awesome faith!
In perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1
Ruth explained that what keeps her faith strong is the secure knowledge that God will not only fulfill His promises in His time, but will also sustain her until that happens. This was the same hope that God’s people had as they waited for Him to complete His plans (Isaiah 25:1), deliver them from their enemies (v. 2), wipe away their tears, remove their disgrace, and “swallow up death forever” (v. 8).
In the meantime, God gave His people refuge and shelter (v. 4) as they waited. He comforted them in their ordeals, gave them strength to endure, and gave them assurance that He was there with them.
This is the double promise we have—the hope of deliverance one day, plus the provision of His comfort, strength, and shelter throughout our lives.
Thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful gift of hope. You have promised to save me and to walk with me every day of my life.
Trusting God’s faithfulness can dispel our fearfulness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 23, 2018
Am I Carnally Minded?
Where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal…? —1 Corinthians 3:3
The natural man, or unbeliever, knows nothing about carnality. The desires of the flesh warring against the Spirit, and the Spirit warring against the flesh, which began at rebirth, are what produce carnality and the awareness of it. But Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). In other words, carnality will disappear.
Are you quarrelsome and easily upset over small things? Do you think that no one who is a Christian is ever like that? Paul said they are, and he connected these attitudes with carnality. Is there a truth in the Bible that instantly awakens a spirit of malice or resentment in you? If so, that is proof that you are still carnal. If the process of sanctification is continuing in your life, there will be no trace of that kind of spirit remaining.
If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn’t ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of the darkness will say, “Oh, I can explain that.” When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness.
What is the proof that carnality has gone? Never deceive yourself; when carnality is gone you will know it— it is the most real thing you can imagine. And God will see to it that you have a number of opportunities to prove to yourself the miracle of His grace. The proof is in a very practical test. You will find yourself saying, “If this had happened before, I would have had the spirit of resentment!” And you will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
God engineers circumstances to see what we will do. Will we be the children of our Father in heaven, or will we go back again to the meaner, common-sense attitude? Will we stake all and stand true to Him? “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” The crown of life means I shall see that my Lord has got the victory after all, even in me. The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 530 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 23, 2018
Why Things Are Caving In - #8140
On the September 11th we'll never forget, she was the last person brought out alive from the rubble of the World Trade Center. Fleeing down the stairs from her office on the 64th floor of the north tower, Genelle Guzman got as far as the thirteenth floor when the building collapsed around her. Suddenly, she was in total darkness, she was buried alive and she was unable to move much of her body. Well, Genelle cried out to God for help. And that help came in the person of a rescuer breaking through the rubble and grabbing her hand. In her darkest moments, Genelle Guzman promised her life to Jesus Christ. Her emotional miracle was the total peace she has had every day since then; a peace that her psychiatrist, who's worked with many nightmare-plagued survivors, simply couldn't understand. In his book "Breakthrough Prayer," Jim Cymbala quotes Genelle's bottom line on what happened to her and as she told it to her amazed psychiatrist. She said, "The tragedy I suffered was something I needed to go through in order to know Him."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why Things Are Caving In."
You've never had a September 11th, but you know what it is to feel like everything is caving in around you. You've had your share of pain, discouragement, darkness. Someone you trusted has failed you, or maybe you've failed, or your health has let you down, maybe things are in turmoil at work, or even worse at home or your personal life. You're really under it, and you're wondering why.
Maybe, in a way, it's Genelle's story reenacted on the stage of your life: the tragedy you're suffering is what you've needed to go through in order to know your Creator. See, He loves you too much to lose you, and He will do whatever it takes to bring you to Him; to get your attention so you can finally find the relationship you were made for. So you can move from your religion to a personal relationship with Him. So you're ready for eternity, whenever it comes.
For one man, it took a death sentence for him to experience the love and forgiveness of God. He was a hardened criminal, nailed to the cross next to Jesus Christ. At first, he had no use for Jesus. The Bible says, "The robbers who were crucified with Him also heaped insults on Him." But then he heard Jesus say of the men who had nailed Him to that cross, "Father, forgive them." And this dying man suddenly realized that Jesus was his only hope.
In Luke 23:42, our word for today from the Word of God, this man says, "Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." Jesus said to him what I hope you'll hear from Him one day, "Today you will be with Me in paradise." Like the last survivor at Ground Zero, this man's suffering brought him to his Savior.
That might be why things are caving in around you. The pain you're going through now is God's way of saving you from the awful pain of an eternity without Him; a penalty for your sin that Jesus has already paid. The Bible says Jesus was "a man of sorrows ... pierced for our transgressions," "crushed for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:4-5). But some of us are so self-reliant, so proud, so stubborn, even so religious that we refuse to acknowledge our need of the Savior who is our only hope until everything's coming down and everything’s out of control.
Now, like the rescuer who reached into the rubble and grabbed a dying woman's hand, Jesus is reaching for you. Isn't it time you surrendered the steering wheel of your life and said, "Jesus, I now realize You are my only hope. I'm sorry for all the years when I've done it my way. From this moment on, though, I'm Yours."
If you want to experience that love, that peace for yourself today, I would encourage you to go to our website ANewStory.com. It's a place where many people get this settled once and for all.
You may never be this close to Jesus again. Please don't miss Him.
Remember what you are worth! The Bible says, “You were bought, not with something that ruins like gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ. . .” (1 Peter 1:18).
Ever feel like you have nothing? Just look at the gifts he has given you. His Holy Spirit to dwell in you, his church to encourage you, and his Word to guide you. You have been chosen by Christ. He has claimed you as his beloved. You are spoken for; engaged; set apart; called out; a holy bride! Be obsessed with your wedding date. Be intolerant of memory lapses. Write yourself notes. Do whatever you need to do to aim at what is in heaven. . .to think about only the things in heaven (Colossians 3:1-20).
You are engaged to Royalty—and your prince is coming to take you home!
From When Christ Comes
Mark 4:21-41
Giving, Not Getting
21-22 Jesus went on: “Does anyone bring a lamp home and put it under a washtub or beneath the bed? Don’t you put it up on a table or on the mantel? We’re not keeping secrets, we’re telling them; we’re not hiding things, we’re bringing them out into the open.
23 “Are you listening to this? Really listening?
24-25 “Listen carefully to what I am saying—and be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead in the world on your own. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.”
Never Without a Story
26-29 Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps—harvest time!
30-32 “How can we picture God’s kingdom? What kind of story can we use? It’s like a pine nut. When it lands on the ground it is quite small as seeds go, yet once it is planted it grows into a huge pine tree with thick branches. Eagles nest in it.”
33-34 With many stories like these, he presented his message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when he spoke. When he was alone with his disciples, he went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots.
The Wind Ran Out of Breath
35-38 Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?”
39-40 Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?”
41 They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!”
The Message (MSG)
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 23, 2018
Isaiah 25:1-9
Praise to the Lord
25 Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall
5 and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8 he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.
9 In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
INSIGHT
Are the hopes we have for ourselves and others realistic? Isaiah and the people he loved were living under conditions of social violence, economic injustices, and a looming Assyrian invasion. Yet God gave him a confidence that enabled him to look beyond conditions of inequality, insecurity, and disgrace. For the weak, the troubled, and the dying, he wrote as if the plans and promises of God are something worth living, waiting, and even dying for (Isaiah 2:1–5; 66:20).
A Double Promise
By Leslie Koh
In perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1
Since she suffered with cancer several years ago, Ruth has been unable to eat, drink, or even swallow properly. She has also lost a lot of her physical strength, and numerous operations and treatments have left her a shadow of what she used to be.
Yet Ruth is still able to praise God; her faith remains strong, and her joy is infectious. She relies on God daily, and holds on to the hope that she will recover fully one day. She prays for healing and is confident that God will answer—sooner or later. What an awesome faith!
In perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1
Ruth explained that what keeps her faith strong is the secure knowledge that God will not only fulfill His promises in His time, but will also sustain her until that happens. This was the same hope that God’s people had as they waited for Him to complete His plans (Isaiah 25:1), deliver them from their enemies (v. 2), wipe away their tears, remove their disgrace, and “swallow up death forever” (v. 8).
In the meantime, God gave His people refuge and shelter (v. 4) as they waited. He comforted them in their ordeals, gave them strength to endure, and gave them assurance that He was there with them.
This is the double promise we have—the hope of deliverance one day, plus the provision of His comfort, strength, and shelter throughout our lives.
Thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful gift of hope. You have promised to save me and to walk with me every day of my life.
Trusting God’s faithfulness can dispel our fearfulness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 23, 2018
Am I Carnally Minded?
Where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal…? —1 Corinthians 3:3
The natural man, or unbeliever, knows nothing about carnality. The desires of the flesh warring against the Spirit, and the Spirit warring against the flesh, which began at rebirth, are what produce carnality and the awareness of it. But Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). In other words, carnality will disappear.
Are you quarrelsome and easily upset over small things? Do you think that no one who is a Christian is ever like that? Paul said they are, and he connected these attitudes with carnality. Is there a truth in the Bible that instantly awakens a spirit of malice or resentment in you? If so, that is proof that you are still carnal. If the process of sanctification is continuing in your life, there will be no trace of that kind of spirit remaining.
If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn’t ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of the darkness will say, “Oh, I can explain that.” When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness.
What is the proof that carnality has gone? Never deceive yourself; when carnality is gone you will know it— it is the most real thing you can imagine. And God will see to it that you have a number of opportunities to prove to yourself the miracle of His grace. The proof is in a very practical test. You will find yourself saying, “If this had happened before, I would have had the spirit of resentment!” And you will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
God engineers circumstances to see what we will do. Will we be the children of our Father in heaven, or will we go back again to the meaner, common-sense attitude? Will we stake all and stand true to Him? “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” The crown of life means I shall see that my Lord has got the victory after all, even in me. The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 530 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 23, 2018
Why Things Are Caving In - #8140
On the September 11th we'll never forget, she was the last person brought out alive from the rubble of the World Trade Center. Fleeing down the stairs from her office on the 64th floor of the north tower, Genelle Guzman got as far as the thirteenth floor when the building collapsed around her. Suddenly, she was in total darkness, she was buried alive and she was unable to move much of her body. Well, Genelle cried out to God for help. And that help came in the person of a rescuer breaking through the rubble and grabbing her hand. In her darkest moments, Genelle Guzman promised her life to Jesus Christ. Her emotional miracle was the total peace she has had every day since then; a peace that her psychiatrist, who's worked with many nightmare-plagued survivors, simply couldn't understand. In his book "Breakthrough Prayer," Jim Cymbala quotes Genelle's bottom line on what happened to her and as she told it to her amazed psychiatrist. She said, "The tragedy I suffered was something I needed to go through in order to know Him."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why Things Are Caving In."
You've never had a September 11th, but you know what it is to feel like everything is caving in around you. You've had your share of pain, discouragement, darkness. Someone you trusted has failed you, or maybe you've failed, or your health has let you down, maybe things are in turmoil at work, or even worse at home or your personal life. You're really under it, and you're wondering why.
Maybe, in a way, it's Genelle's story reenacted on the stage of your life: the tragedy you're suffering is what you've needed to go through in order to know your Creator. See, He loves you too much to lose you, and He will do whatever it takes to bring you to Him; to get your attention so you can finally find the relationship you were made for. So you can move from your religion to a personal relationship with Him. So you're ready for eternity, whenever it comes.
For one man, it took a death sentence for him to experience the love and forgiveness of God. He was a hardened criminal, nailed to the cross next to Jesus Christ. At first, he had no use for Jesus. The Bible says, "The robbers who were crucified with Him also heaped insults on Him." But then he heard Jesus say of the men who had nailed Him to that cross, "Father, forgive them." And this dying man suddenly realized that Jesus was his only hope.
In Luke 23:42, our word for today from the Word of God, this man says, "Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." Jesus said to him what I hope you'll hear from Him one day, "Today you will be with Me in paradise." Like the last survivor at Ground Zero, this man's suffering brought him to his Savior.
That might be why things are caving in around you. The pain you're going through now is God's way of saving you from the awful pain of an eternity without Him; a penalty for your sin that Jesus has already paid. The Bible says Jesus was "a man of sorrows ... pierced for our transgressions," "crushed for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:4-5). But some of us are so self-reliant, so proud, so stubborn, even so religious that we refuse to acknowledge our need of the Savior who is our only hope until everything's coming down and everything’s out of control.
Now, like the rescuer who reached into the rubble and grabbed a dying woman's hand, Jesus is reaching for you. Isn't it time you surrendered the steering wheel of your life and said, "Jesus, I now realize You are my only hope. I'm sorry for all the years when I've done it my way. From this moment on, though, I'm Yours."
If you want to experience that love, that peace for yourself today, I would encourage you to go to our website ANewStory.com. It's a place where many people get this settled once and for all.
You may never be this close to Jesus again. Please don't miss Him.
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Exodus 40, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE?
I once shared a class with a girl who got engaged. I don’t remember much about the class except the hour was early and the teacher was dull. I don’t even remember the girl’s name. I do remember that she didn’t stand out in the crowd. She was shy and not very confident. One day, however, her hair changed, her outfit changed, and even her voice changed. She spoke with confidence. What made the difference? Simple. A young man she loved looked her squarely in the eye and said, “Come and spend forever with me.” He proposed to her. His love for her convinced her she was worth loving.
God’s love can do the same. It can change us! The Bible says, “God has loved you with an everlasting love; He has drawn you with loving-kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3). Jesus can live without us—but He doesn’t want to!
From When Christ Comes
Exodus 40
“Moses Finished the Work”
1-3 God spoke to Moses: “On the first day of the first month, set up The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting. Place the Chest of The Testimony in it and screen the Chest with the curtain.
4 “Bring in the Table and set it, arranging its Lampstand and lamps.
5 “Place the Gold Altar of Incense before the Chest of The Testimony and hang the curtain at the door of The Dwelling.
6 “Place the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering at the door of The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting.
7 “Place the Washbasin between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar and fill it with water.
8 “Set up the Courtyard on all sides and hang the curtain at the entrance to the Courtyard.
9-11 “Then take the anointing oil and anoint The Dwelling and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings so that it becomes holy. Anoint the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering and all its utensils, consecrating the Altar so that it is completely holy. Anoint the Washbasin and its base: consecrate it.
12-15 “Finally, bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. Dress Aaron in the sacred vestments. Anoint him. Consecrate him to serve me as priest. Bring his sons and put tunics on them. Anoint them, just as you anointed their father, to serve me as priests. Their anointing will bring them into a perpetual priesthood, down through the generations.”
16 Moses did everything God commanded. He did it all.
17-19 On the first day of the first month of the second year, The Dwelling was set up. Moses set it up: He laid its bases, erected the frames, placed the crossbars, set the posts, spread the tent over The Dwelling, and put the covering over the tent, just as God had commanded Moses.
20-21 He placed The Testimony in the Chest, inserted the poles for carrying the Chest, and placed the lid, the Atonement-Cover, on it. He brought the Chest into The Dwelling and set up the curtain, screening off the Chest of The Testimony, just as God had commanded Moses.
22-23 He placed the Table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of The Dwelling, outside the curtain, and arranged the Bread there before God, just as God had commanded him.
24-25 He placed the Lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the Table on the south side of The Dwelling and set up the lamps before God, just as God had commanded him.
26-27 Moses placed the Gold Altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the curtain and burned fragrant incense on it, just as God had commanded him.
28 He placed the screen at the entrance to The Dwelling.
29 He set the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering at the door of The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting, and offered up the Whole-Burnt-Offerings and the Grain-Offerings, just as God had commanded Moses.
30-32 He placed the Washbasin between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar, and filled it with water for washing. Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and feet there. When they entered the Tent of Meeting and when they served at the Altar, they washed, just as God had commanded Moses.
33 Finally, he erected the Courtyard all around The Dwelling and the Altar, and put up the screen for the Courtyard entrance.
Moses finished the work.
34-35 The Cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Glory of God filled The Dwelling. Moses couldn’t enter the Tent of Meeting because the Cloud was upon it, and the Glory of God filled The Dwelling.
36-38 Whenever the Cloud lifted from The Dwelling, the People of Israel set out on their travels, but if the Cloud did not lift, they wouldn’t set out until it did lift. The Cloud of God was over The Dwelling during the day and the fire was in it at night, visible to all the Israelites in all their travels.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Read: Psalm 79:8–13
Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;
may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.
9 Help us, God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Before our eyes, make known among the nations
that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times
the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
INSIGHT
The prayer of Psalm 79 for God to restore His people was voiced in the context of great loss—perhaps when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 587 bc. Although the psalmist recognized that much of Israel’s suffering was caused by their sin, he pleaded for God to restore anyway—because of how it would look to unbelieving nations if Israel seemed abandoned by Him.
This idea—that God can be expected to be faithful even when His people are not—is pervasive throughout Scripture. Prayers often plead with God to consider that even if suffering seems deserved, human suffering and death does not bring Him glory the same way His gracious restoration does (see Psalm 30:9). And God confirmed this truth, pleading with His people to return to Him and assuring them that because He is “God, and not a man” (Hosea 11:9), He could be trusted to be merciful.
As dark as our sin can be, God’s grace is deeper still. Do you feel unworthy of God’s forgiveness? Turn to Him anyway, and experience the joy of new life (Romans 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Our sin does not prevent God from bringing hope, restoration, and an ongoing legacy of faith. -Monica Brands
Passing on the Legacy
By Elisa Morgan
Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise. Psalm 79:13
My phone beeped, indicating an incoming text. My daughter wanted my grandmother’s recipe for Peppermint Ice Cream Pie. As I thumbed through the yellowed cards in my aged recipe box, my eyes spotted the unique handwriting of my grandmother—and several jotted notes in the small cursive of my mother. It occurred to me that with my daughter’s request, Peppermint Ice Cream Pie would make its entrance into a fourth generation within my family.
I wondered, What other family heirlooms might be handed down generation to generation? What about choices regarding faith? Besides the pie, would the faith of my grandmother—and my own—play out in the lives of my daughter and her offspring?
Sharing and living out our faith is the best way to leave a legacy.
In Psalm 79, the psalmist bemoans a wayward Israel, which has lost its faith moorings. He begs God to rescue His people from the ungodly and to restore Jerusalem to safety. This done, he promises a restored—and ongoing—commitment to God’s ways. “Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise” (v. 13).
I eagerly shared the recipe, knowing my grandmother’s dessert legacy would enjoy a new layer in our family. And I prayed sincerely for the most lasting hand-me-down of all: the influence of our family’s faith on one generation to the next.
What is your family passing down to the next generation? Share with us on Facebook.com/ourdailybread.
Sharing and living out our faith is the best way to leave a legacy.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 22, 2018
The Burning Heart
Did not our heart burn within us…? —Luke 24:32
We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus appears to us, fires are set ablaze, and we are given wonderful visions; but then we must learn to maintain the secret of the burning heart— a heart that can go through anything. It is the simple, dreary day, with its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart— unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus.
Much of the distress we experience as Christians comes not as the result of sin, but because we are ignorant of the laws of our own nature. For instance, the only test we should use to determine whether or not to allow a particular emotion to run its course in our lives is to examine what the final outcome of that emotion will be. Think it through to its logical conclusion, and if the outcome is something that God would condemn, put a stop to it immediately. But if it is an emotion that has been kindled by the Spirit of God and you don’t allow it to have its way in your life, it will cause a reaction on a lower level than God intended. That is the way unrealistic and overly emotional people are made. And the higher the emotion, the deeper the level of corruption, if it is not exercised on its intended level. If the Spirit of God has stirred you, make as many of your decisions as possible irrevocable, and let the consequences be what they will. We cannot stay forever on the “mount of transfiguration,” basking in the light of our mountaintop experience (see Mark 9:1-9). But we must obey the light we received there; we must put it into action. When God gives us a vision, we must transact business with Him at that point, no matter what the cost.
We cannot kindle when we will
The fire which in the heart resides,
The spirit bloweth and is still,
In mystery our soul abides;
But tasks in hours of insight willed
Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.
Disciples Indeed
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Super-Sized Praying - #8139
Well, we've been wrong. Yeah, our science books tell us that there are 100 billion galaxies. We look at our Milky Way, and we see the one galaxy we're in. We're all excited because we've been able to get an unmanned spacecraft to the edge of our solar system! Hey, Hey!!! Our solar system is just one small part of our one galaxy, and they're still counting galaxies. They did say there were 100 billion. Now, with the Hubble telescope, they're saying there may be as many as two trillion galaxies. Don't even try to comprehend what God has put out there.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Super-Sized Praying."
You remember a few years ago when the fast food restaurants would ask if you wanted to "super-size" your fries or your drink - you know, go for something bigger. Probably that ended up super-sizing us. Don't you think it's time we "super-size" the way we pray - in light of the size of the One we're praying to? He's the God who invites us to "come boldly to the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16). That's the throne from which billions of galaxies are governed! Do you pray like that?
Paul understood the size of the One who we're with when we pray and the size of what we should pray for. In our word for today from the Word of God, from Ephesians 3 beginning in verse 14, Paul captures the wonder of it all when he says, "I kneel before the Father, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power . . . I pray that you . . . may have power . . . to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ . . . and to know this love that surpasses knowledge."
Man! Immeasurable love. Incomparable power. All poured out on those who belong to Him. Wow! Well, in this next verse, Ephesians 3:20, Paul says our God is the One "who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us." There are many times I think we should "3:20" our prayer, Ephesians 3:20 that is; enlarging our request in light of this promise that God can do "immeasurably more." I wonder if God's listening as we come to Him with our little man-sized requests and saying, "Would you like Me to super-size that?"
I think we forget Who we're with when we pray. I was reminded again of how big our God really is when I heard the slight correction of the number of galaxies from billions to trillions! Your Heavenly Father is the One who controls them all, and prayer brings you into His holy, omnipotent presence.
It’s no wonder we are encouraged to "come boldly". Not because we deserve to be there, but because Jesus has removed every obstacle to being there by shedding His blood for us. So why do we come so timidly? When is the last time you trusted God for something so big only God could do it? He's told us He wants to show us "great and mighty things you do not know" (Jeremiah 33:3).
God has so much more He wants to do for us than we're willing to believe Him for. We're under-living because we're under-praying and under-trusting. Before you begin to praise Him and petition Him in prayer, take just a moment to remember how big your God really is. You won't pray the same. You'll be humbled. You'll be amazed, and you'll be bold.
The universe is bigger than we thought it was, and the God who made all those galaxies in a moment is much bigger than we think He is. It's time we super-size our praying!
I once shared a class with a girl who got engaged. I don’t remember much about the class except the hour was early and the teacher was dull. I don’t even remember the girl’s name. I do remember that she didn’t stand out in the crowd. She was shy and not very confident. One day, however, her hair changed, her outfit changed, and even her voice changed. She spoke with confidence. What made the difference? Simple. A young man she loved looked her squarely in the eye and said, “Come and spend forever with me.” He proposed to her. His love for her convinced her she was worth loving.
God’s love can do the same. It can change us! The Bible says, “God has loved you with an everlasting love; He has drawn you with loving-kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3). Jesus can live without us—but He doesn’t want to!
From When Christ Comes
Exodus 40
“Moses Finished the Work”
1-3 God spoke to Moses: “On the first day of the first month, set up The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting. Place the Chest of The Testimony in it and screen the Chest with the curtain.
4 “Bring in the Table and set it, arranging its Lampstand and lamps.
5 “Place the Gold Altar of Incense before the Chest of The Testimony and hang the curtain at the door of The Dwelling.
6 “Place the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering at the door of The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting.
7 “Place the Washbasin between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar and fill it with water.
8 “Set up the Courtyard on all sides and hang the curtain at the entrance to the Courtyard.
9-11 “Then take the anointing oil and anoint The Dwelling and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings so that it becomes holy. Anoint the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering and all its utensils, consecrating the Altar so that it is completely holy. Anoint the Washbasin and its base: consecrate it.
12-15 “Finally, bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. Dress Aaron in the sacred vestments. Anoint him. Consecrate him to serve me as priest. Bring his sons and put tunics on them. Anoint them, just as you anointed their father, to serve me as priests. Their anointing will bring them into a perpetual priesthood, down through the generations.”
16 Moses did everything God commanded. He did it all.
17-19 On the first day of the first month of the second year, The Dwelling was set up. Moses set it up: He laid its bases, erected the frames, placed the crossbars, set the posts, spread the tent over The Dwelling, and put the covering over the tent, just as God had commanded Moses.
20-21 He placed The Testimony in the Chest, inserted the poles for carrying the Chest, and placed the lid, the Atonement-Cover, on it. He brought the Chest into The Dwelling and set up the curtain, screening off the Chest of The Testimony, just as God had commanded Moses.
22-23 He placed the Table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of The Dwelling, outside the curtain, and arranged the Bread there before God, just as God had commanded him.
24-25 He placed the Lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the Table on the south side of The Dwelling and set up the lamps before God, just as God had commanded him.
26-27 Moses placed the Gold Altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the curtain and burned fragrant incense on it, just as God had commanded him.
28 He placed the screen at the entrance to The Dwelling.
29 He set the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering at the door of The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting, and offered up the Whole-Burnt-Offerings and the Grain-Offerings, just as God had commanded Moses.
30-32 He placed the Washbasin between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar, and filled it with water for washing. Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and feet there. When they entered the Tent of Meeting and when they served at the Altar, they washed, just as God had commanded Moses.
33 Finally, he erected the Courtyard all around The Dwelling and the Altar, and put up the screen for the Courtyard entrance.
Moses finished the work.
34-35 The Cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Glory of God filled The Dwelling. Moses couldn’t enter the Tent of Meeting because the Cloud was upon it, and the Glory of God filled The Dwelling.
36-38 Whenever the Cloud lifted from The Dwelling, the People of Israel set out on their travels, but if the Cloud did not lift, they wouldn’t set out until it did lift. The Cloud of God was over The Dwelling during the day and the fire was in it at night, visible to all the Israelites in all their travels.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Read: Psalm 79:8–13
Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;
may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.
9 Help us, God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Before our eyes, make known among the nations
that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times
the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
INSIGHT
The prayer of Psalm 79 for God to restore His people was voiced in the context of great loss—perhaps when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 587 bc. Although the psalmist recognized that much of Israel’s suffering was caused by their sin, he pleaded for God to restore anyway—because of how it would look to unbelieving nations if Israel seemed abandoned by Him.
This idea—that God can be expected to be faithful even when His people are not—is pervasive throughout Scripture. Prayers often plead with God to consider that even if suffering seems deserved, human suffering and death does not bring Him glory the same way His gracious restoration does (see Psalm 30:9). And God confirmed this truth, pleading with His people to return to Him and assuring them that because He is “God, and not a man” (Hosea 11:9), He could be trusted to be merciful.
As dark as our sin can be, God’s grace is deeper still. Do you feel unworthy of God’s forgiveness? Turn to Him anyway, and experience the joy of new life (Romans 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Our sin does not prevent God from bringing hope, restoration, and an ongoing legacy of faith. -Monica Brands
Passing on the Legacy
By Elisa Morgan
Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise. Psalm 79:13
My phone beeped, indicating an incoming text. My daughter wanted my grandmother’s recipe for Peppermint Ice Cream Pie. As I thumbed through the yellowed cards in my aged recipe box, my eyes spotted the unique handwriting of my grandmother—and several jotted notes in the small cursive of my mother. It occurred to me that with my daughter’s request, Peppermint Ice Cream Pie would make its entrance into a fourth generation within my family.
I wondered, What other family heirlooms might be handed down generation to generation? What about choices regarding faith? Besides the pie, would the faith of my grandmother—and my own—play out in the lives of my daughter and her offspring?
Sharing and living out our faith is the best way to leave a legacy.
In Psalm 79, the psalmist bemoans a wayward Israel, which has lost its faith moorings. He begs God to rescue His people from the ungodly and to restore Jerusalem to safety. This done, he promises a restored—and ongoing—commitment to God’s ways. “Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise” (v. 13).
I eagerly shared the recipe, knowing my grandmother’s dessert legacy would enjoy a new layer in our family. And I prayed sincerely for the most lasting hand-me-down of all: the influence of our family’s faith on one generation to the next.
What is your family passing down to the next generation? Share with us on Facebook.com/ourdailybread.
Sharing and living out our faith is the best way to leave a legacy.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 22, 2018
The Burning Heart
Did not our heart burn within us…? —Luke 24:32
We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus appears to us, fires are set ablaze, and we are given wonderful visions; but then we must learn to maintain the secret of the burning heart— a heart that can go through anything. It is the simple, dreary day, with its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart— unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus.
Much of the distress we experience as Christians comes not as the result of sin, but because we are ignorant of the laws of our own nature. For instance, the only test we should use to determine whether or not to allow a particular emotion to run its course in our lives is to examine what the final outcome of that emotion will be. Think it through to its logical conclusion, and if the outcome is something that God would condemn, put a stop to it immediately. But if it is an emotion that has been kindled by the Spirit of God and you don’t allow it to have its way in your life, it will cause a reaction on a lower level than God intended. That is the way unrealistic and overly emotional people are made. And the higher the emotion, the deeper the level of corruption, if it is not exercised on its intended level. If the Spirit of God has stirred you, make as many of your decisions as possible irrevocable, and let the consequences be what they will. We cannot stay forever on the “mount of transfiguration,” basking in the light of our mountaintop experience (see Mark 9:1-9). But we must obey the light we received there; we must put it into action. When God gives us a vision, we must transact business with Him at that point, no matter what the cost.
We cannot kindle when we will
The fire which in the heart resides,
The spirit bloweth and is still,
In mystery our soul abides;
But tasks in hours of insight willed
Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.
Disciples Indeed
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Super-Sized Praying - #8139
Well, we've been wrong. Yeah, our science books tell us that there are 100 billion galaxies. We look at our Milky Way, and we see the one galaxy we're in. We're all excited because we've been able to get an unmanned spacecraft to the edge of our solar system! Hey, Hey!!! Our solar system is just one small part of our one galaxy, and they're still counting galaxies. They did say there were 100 billion. Now, with the Hubble telescope, they're saying there may be as many as two trillion galaxies. Don't even try to comprehend what God has put out there.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Super-Sized Praying."
You remember a few years ago when the fast food restaurants would ask if you wanted to "super-size" your fries or your drink - you know, go for something bigger. Probably that ended up super-sizing us. Don't you think it's time we "super-size" the way we pray - in light of the size of the One we're praying to? He's the God who invites us to "come boldly to the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16). That's the throne from which billions of galaxies are governed! Do you pray like that?
Paul understood the size of the One who we're with when we pray and the size of what we should pray for. In our word for today from the Word of God, from Ephesians 3 beginning in verse 14, Paul captures the wonder of it all when he says, "I kneel before the Father, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power . . . I pray that you . . . may have power . . . to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ . . . and to know this love that surpasses knowledge."
Man! Immeasurable love. Incomparable power. All poured out on those who belong to Him. Wow! Well, in this next verse, Ephesians 3:20, Paul says our God is the One "who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us." There are many times I think we should "3:20" our prayer, Ephesians 3:20 that is; enlarging our request in light of this promise that God can do "immeasurably more." I wonder if God's listening as we come to Him with our little man-sized requests and saying, "Would you like Me to super-size that?"
I think we forget Who we're with when we pray. I was reminded again of how big our God really is when I heard the slight correction of the number of galaxies from billions to trillions! Your Heavenly Father is the One who controls them all, and prayer brings you into His holy, omnipotent presence.
It’s no wonder we are encouraged to "come boldly". Not because we deserve to be there, but because Jesus has removed every obstacle to being there by shedding His blood for us. So why do we come so timidly? When is the last time you trusted God for something so big only God could do it? He's told us He wants to show us "great and mighty things you do not know" (Jeremiah 33:3).
God has so much more He wants to do for us than we're willing to believe Him for. We're under-living because we're under-praying and under-trusting. Before you begin to praise Him and petition Him in prayer, take just a moment to remember how big your God really is. You won't pray the same. You'll be humbled. You'll be amazed, and you'll be bold.
The universe is bigger than we thought it was, and the God who made all those galaxies in a moment is much bigger than we think He is. It's time we super-size our praying!
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Exodus 39, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A TABULATED LIST OF GRACE
A couple who resorted to do-it-yourself marriage counseling resolved to list each others’ faults and then read them aloud. The wife gave her list and he read: You snore; you eat in bed; the list continued. When the husband gave her his list, she smiled. He’d written his grievances, but next to each he’d written– I forgive this. The result was a tabulated list of grace.
Imagine you are before the judgment seat of Christ. The book is opened and the reading begins—each sin, each deceit, and each occasion of greed. But as soon as the infraction is read, grace is proclaimed. Jesus says, I forgive this. Registered forgiveness! No humiliation! No shame! Because in heaven you will be in your sinless state—happy to let God do in heaven what he did on earth. He will be honored in your weakness!
From When Christ Comes
Exodus 39
Vestments. Using the blue, purple, and scarlet fabrics, they made the woven vestments for ministering in the Sanctuary. Also they made the sacred vestments for Aaron, as God had commanded Moses.
2-5 Ephod. They made the Ephod using gold and blue, purple, and scarlet fabrics and finely twisted linen. They hammered out gold leaf and sliced it into threads that were then worked into designs in the blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and fine linen. They made shoulder pieces fastened at the two ends. The decorated band was made of the same material—gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material, and of fine twisted linen—and of one piece with it, just as God had commanded Moses.
6-7 They mounted the onyx stones in a setting of filigreed gold and engraved the names of the sons of Israel on them, then fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the Ephod as memorial stones for the Israelites, just as God had commanded Moses.
8-10 Breastpiece. They made a Breastpiece designed like the Ephod from gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen. Doubled, the Breastpiece was nine inches square. They mounted four rows of precious gemstones on it.
First row: carnelian, topaz, emerald.
11 Second row: ruby, sapphire, crystal.
12 Third row: jacinth, agate, amethyst.
13-14 Fourth row: beryl, onyx, jasper.
The stones were mounted in a gold filigree. The twelve stones corresponded to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve names engraved as on a seal, one for each of the twelve tribes.
15-21 They made braided chains of pure gold for the Breastpiece, like cords. They made two settings of gold filigree and two rings of gold, put the two rings at the two ends of the Breastpiece, and fastened the two ends of the cords to the two rings at the end of the Breastpiece. Then they fastened the cords to the settings of filigree, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the Ephod in front. Then they made two rings of gold and fastened them to the two ends of the Breastpiece on its inside edge facing the Ephod. They made two more rings of gold and fastened them in the front of the Ephod to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces, near the seam above the decorated band of the Ephod. The Breastpiece was fastened by running a cord of blue through its rings to the rings of the Ephod so that it rested secure on the decorated band of the Ephod and wouldn’t come loose, just as God had commanded Moses.
22-26 Robe. They made the robe for the Ephod entirely of blue. The opening of the robe at the center was like a collar, the edge hemmed so that it wouldn’t tear. On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. They also made bells of pure gold and alternated the bells and pomegranates—a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate—all around the hem of the robe that was worn for ministering, just as God had commanded Moses.
27-29 They also made the tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and his sons, the turban of fine linen, the linen hats, the linen underwear made of fine twisted linen, and sashes of fine twisted linen, blue, purple, and scarlet material and embroidered, just as God had commanded Moses.
30-31 They made the plate, the sacred crown, of pure gold and engraved on it as on a seal: “Holy to God.” They attached a blue cord to it and fastened it to the turban, just as God had commanded Moses.
32 That completed the work of The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting. The People of Israel did what God had commanded Moses. They did it all.
33-41 They presented The Dwelling to Moses, the Tent and all its furnishings:
fastening hooks, frames, crossbars, posts, bases, tenting of tanned ram skins, tenting of dolphin skins
veil of the screen.
Chest of The Testimony with its poles and Atonement-Cover
Table with its utensils and the Bread of the Presence
Lampstand of pure gold and its lamps all fitted out
and all its utensils
and the oil for the light
Gold Altar
anointing oil
fragrant incense
screen for the entrance to the Tent
Bronze Altar
with its bronze grate
its poles and all its utensils
Washbasin
and its base
hangings for the Courtyard
its posts and bases
screen for the gate of the Courtyard
its cords and its pegs
utensils for ministry in The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting
woven vestments for ministering in the Sanctuary
sacred vestments for Aaron the priest,
and his sons when serving as priests
42-43 The Israelites completed all the work, just as God had commanded. Moses saw that they had done all the work and done it exactly as God had commanded. Moses blessed them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Read: Matthew 14:25–33
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
INSIGHT
The fact that Jesus Christ walked on water carries with it a powerful message about His deity. In John’s gospel Christ refers to Himself as the great “I am” (John 6:35, 48; 8:12, 58; 9:5; 10:9, 11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1). Biblical theologians see these “I am” statements as clear references to the divine name revealed to Moses at the burning bush. When Moses asked God by what name He should be called, He answered: “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you’ ” (Exodus 3:14).
When we feel like we are in the storm of an impossible situation, we can take courage that Christ—the Creator of the world—is present with us and in control.
For further study on the deity of Christ, see Is Jesus God? at discoveryseries.org/q0205. - Dennis Fisher
Walking on Water
By Lisa Samra
Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Matthew 14:27
During an especially cold winter, I ventured out to Lake Michigan, the fifth largest lake in the world, to see it frozen over. Bundled up on the beach where I usually enjoy soaking up the sun, the view was breathtaking. The water was actually frozen in waves creating an icy masterpiece.
Because the water was frozen solid next to the shore, I had the opportunity to “walk on water.” Even with the knowledge that the ice was thick enough to support me, I took the first few steps tentatively. I was fearful the ice wouldn’t continue to hold me. As I cautiously explored this unfamiliar terrain, I couldn’t help but think of Jesus calling Peter out of the boat onto the Sea of Galilee.
Dear Lord, thank You for the assurance that You are always with us.
When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, their response was also fear. But Jesus responded, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Matthew 14:26–27). Peter was able to overcome his fear and step out onto the water because he knew Jesus was present. When his courageous steps faltered because of the wind and waves, Peter cried out to Jesus. Jesus was still there, near enough to simply reach out His hand to rescue him.
If you are facing a situation today where Jesus is calling you to do something that may seem as impossible as walking on water, take courage. The one who calls you will be present with you.
Dear Lord, thank You for the assurance that You are always with us.
When we call out to God, He hears.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Identified or Simply Interested?
I have been crucified with Christ… —Galatians 2:20
The inescapable spiritual need each of us has is the need to sign the death certificate of our sin nature. I must take my emotional opinions and intellectual beliefs and be willing to turn them into a moral verdict against the nature of sin; that is, against any claim I have to my right to myself. Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ….” He did not say, “I have made a determination to imitate Jesus Christ,” or, “I will really make an effort to follow Him” —but— “I have been identified with Him in His death.” Once I reach this moral decision and act on it, all that Christ accomplished for me on the Cross is accomplished in me. My unrestrained commitment of myself to God gives the Holy Spirit the opportunity to grant to me the holiness of Jesus Christ.
“…it is no longer I who live….” My individuality remains, but my primary motivation for living and the nature that rules me are radically changed. I have the same human body, but the old satanic right to myself has been destroyed.
“…and the life which I now live in the flesh,” not the life which I long to live or even pray that I live, but the life I now live in my mortal flesh— the life which others can see, “I live by faith in the Son of God….” This faith was not Paul’s own faith in Jesus Christ, but the faith the Son God had given to him (see Ephesians 2:8). It is no longer a faith in faith, but a faith that transcends all imaginable limits— a faith that comes only from the Son of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is an easy thing to argue from precedent because it makes everything simple, but it is a risky thing to do. Give God “elbow room”; let Him come into His universe as He pleases. If we confine God in His working to religious people or to certain ways, we place ourselves on an equality with God. Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Behind the Painting - #8138
Just when you think little kids are pretty much all about their toys, TV, and what’s to eat, they amaze you again. Our daughter had one of those times when our grandson was puttering around the house in his jammies one early morning, and he wandered over to an East window. He stared out at the brightening early morning sky for a few moments and then he suddenly launched a question Mommy’s way, "Mommy, who painted the sky?" Before his mother could answer, our grandson answered his own question, "Jesus did."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Behind the Painting."
That little guy saw something in the beauty of creation that morning that many grownup people tragically miss: that there’s someone behind the beauty, and He is the point of it all! I mean, a two-year-old seemed to understand, in his own way, what many of us miss if we just admire the painting. The point is to know the Painter! If you consider yourself a spiritual seeker, it’s important to realize that God has, throughout your life and even now, been putting life experiences and life scenery in front of you for one reason. To get your attention, so you would give yourself to the One who does such awesome things. But so far, maybe you’ve missed Him.
In our word for today from the Word of God in Romans 1, beginning with verse 19, God says of us: "What may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities-His eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." God says here, "After all the ways I’ve displayed My greatness and My power to you, you have no excuse for not having a personal relationship with Me." He then spells out the tragic mistake that so many of us have made without ever realizing it: "They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator." We’ve gotten hung up on what He made for us and missed Him.
You’ve had a number of God-sightings in your life, even if you don’t realize it or acknowledge it. You got a glimpse of His power and love in the birth of a baby, in a time your life was spared, in encountering the amazing engineering of the human body, in the majesty of the ocean that you felt, the mountains, the skies, or some scenic rush you felt. You brushed close to your Creator when you were thinking about death and that it's inevitable; when you looked at the way a follower of Jesus lived or died, or in the question or insight of a little child.
Over and over, your Creator has been trying to get your attention, trying to direct you to the one way you can have a love relationship with Him that you were made for. The Bible says, "Christ died for sins...to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18).
The ultimate reach of God for you was the sending of His one and only Son to love you enough to die for the sin that has been the wall between you and Him. You may say, "Well, I believe in God." The Bible says, "Even the demons believe (in God) and shudder" (James 2:19). No, the issue isn’t believing in God-it’s belonging to God. He’s the belonging you’ve been looking for your whole life.
Here’s how it begins according to the Bible: "To all who received (Jesus)...He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). Imagine, born into God’s family, loved and protected by Him forever. That’s the possibility God’s putting in front of you today.
Your personal love relationship with Almighty God begins when you tell Jesus that you're putting your total trust in Him to remove the wall between you and your Creator. Why? Because He’s the only one who died to pay for your sin. He’s the only one with the power to walk out of His grave under His own power and deliver eternal life to your soul.
Would you tell Him today, "Jesus, I've been seeing in my life without even realizing it, you've been all over the place trying to get my attention. Today you have it. Today, Jesus, you have me, because nobody ever loved me like you do." Our website's called ANewStory.com, because a new story for your life could begin then. I hope you'll go there today.
This painter of all that’s beautiful and awe-inspiring can make a masterpiece out of the rest of your life.
A couple who resorted to do-it-yourself marriage counseling resolved to list each others’ faults and then read them aloud. The wife gave her list and he read: You snore; you eat in bed; the list continued. When the husband gave her his list, she smiled. He’d written his grievances, but next to each he’d written– I forgive this. The result was a tabulated list of grace.
Imagine you are before the judgment seat of Christ. The book is opened and the reading begins—each sin, each deceit, and each occasion of greed. But as soon as the infraction is read, grace is proclaimed. Jesus says, I forgive this. Registered forgiveness! No humiliation! No shame! Because in heaven you will be in your sinless state—happy to let God do in heaven what he did on earth. He will be honored in your weakness!
From When Christ Comes
Exodus 39
Vestments. Using the blue, purple, and scarlet fabrics, they made the woven vestments for ministering in the Sanctuary. Also they made the sacred vestments for Aaron, as God had commanded Moses.
2-5 Ephod. They made the Ephod using gold and blue, purple, and scarlet fabrics and finely twisted linen. They hammered out gold leaf and sliced it into threads that were then worked into designs in the blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and fine linen. They made shoulder pieces fastened at the two ends. The decorated band was made of the same material—gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material, and of fine twisted linen—and of one piece with it, just as God had commanded Moses.
6-7 They mounted the onyx stones in a setting of filigreed gold and engraved the names of the sons of Israel on them, then fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the Ephod as memorial stones for the Israelites, just as God had commanded Moses.
8-10 Breastpiece. They made a Breastpiece designed like the Ephod from gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen. Doubled, the Breastpiece was nine inches square. They mounted four rows of precious gemstones on it.
First row: carnelian, topaz, emerald.
11 Second row: ruby, sapphire, crystal.
12 Third row: jacinth, agate, amethyst.
13-14 Fourth row: beryl, onyx, jasper.
The stones were mounted in a gold filigree. The twelve stones corresponded to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve names engraved as on a seal, one for each of the twelve tribes.
15-21 They made braided chains of pure gold for the Breastpiece, like cords. They made two settings of gold filigree and two rings of gold, put the two rings at the two ends of the Breastpiece, and fastened the two ends of the cords to the two rings at the end of the Breastpiece. Then they fastened the cords to the settings of filigree, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the Ephod in front. Then they made two rings of gold and fastened them to the two ends of the Breastpiece on its inside edge facing the Ephod. They made two more rings of gold and fastened them in the front of the Ephod to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces, near the seam above the decorated band of the Ephod. The Breastpiece was fastened by running a cord of blue through its rings to the rings of the Ephod so that it rested secure on the decorated band of the Ephod and wouldn’t come loose, just as God had commanded Moses.
22-26 Robe. They made the robe for the Ephod entirely of blue. The opening of the robe at the center was like a collar, the edge hemmed so that it wouldn’t tear. On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. They also made bells of pure gold and alternated the bells and pomegranates—a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate—all around the hem of the robe that was worn for ministering, just as God had commanded Moses.
27-29 They also made the tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and his sons, the turban of fine linen, the linen hats, the linen underwear made of fine twisted linen, and sashes of fine twisted linen, blue, purple, and scarlet material and embroidered, just as God had commanded Moses.
30-31 They made the plate, the sacred crown, of pure gold and engraved on it as on a seal: “Holy to God.” They attached a blue cord to it and fastened it to the turban, just as God had commanded Moses.
32 That completed the work of The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting. The People of Israel did what God had commanded Moses. They did it all.
33-41 They presented The Dwelling to Moses, the Tent and all its furnishings:
fastening hooks, frames, crossbars, posts, bases, tenting of tanned ram skins, tenting of dolphin skins
veil of the screen.
Chest of The Testimony with its poles and Atonement-Cover
Table with its utensils and the Bread of the Presence
Lampstand of pure gold and its lamps all fitted out
and all its utensils
and the oil for the light
Gold Altar
anointing oil
fragrant incense
screen for the entrance to the Tent
Bronze Altar
with its bronze grate
its poles and all its utensils
Washbasin
and its base
hangings for the Courtyard
its posts and bases
screen for the gate of the Courtyard
its cords and its pegs
utensils for ministry in The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting
woven vestments for ministering in the Sanctuary
sacred vestments for Aaron the priest,
and his sons when serving as priests
42-43 The Israelites completed all the work, just as God had commanded. Moses saw that they had done all the work and done it exactly as God had commanded. Moses blessed them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Read: Matthew 14:25–33
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
INSIGHT
The fact that Jesus Christ walked on water carries with it a powerful message about His deity. In John’s gospel Christ refers to Himself as the great “I am” (John 6:35, 48; 8:12, 58; 9:5; 10:9, 11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1). Biblical theologians see these “I am” statements as clear references to the divine name revealed to Moses at the burning bush. When Moses asked God by what name He should be called, He answered: “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you’ ” (Exodus 3:14).
When we feel like we are in the storm of an impossible situation, we can take courage that Christ—the Creator of the world—is present with us and in control.
For further study on the deity of Christ, see Is Jesus God? at discoveryseries.org/q0205. - Dennis Fisher
Walking on Water
By Lisa Samra
Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Matthew 14:27
During an especially cold winter, I ventured out to Lake Michigan, the fifth largest lake in the world, to see it frozen over. Bundled up on the beach where I usually enjoy soaking up the sun, the view was breathtaking. The water was actually frozen in waves creating an icy masterpiece.
Because the water was frozen solid next to the shore, I had the opportunity to “walk on water.” Even with the knowledge that the ice was thick enough to support me, I took the first few steps tentatively. I was fearful the ice wouldn’t continue to hold me. As I cautiously explored this unfamiliar terrain, I couldn’t help but think of Jesus calling Peter out of the boat onto the Sea of Galilee.
Dear Lord, thank You for the assurance that You are always with us.
When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, their response was also fear. But Jesus responded, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Matthew 14:26–27). Peter was able to overcome his fear and step out onto the water because he knew Jesus was present. When his courageous steps faltered because of the wind and waves, Peter cried out to Jesus. Jesus was still there, near enough to simply reach out His hand to rescue him.
If you are facing a situation today where Jesus is calling you to do something that may seem as impossible as walking on water, take courage. The one who calls you will be present with you.
Dear Lord, thank You for the assurance that You are always with us.
When we call out to God, He hears.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Identified or Simply Interested?
I have been crucified with Christ… —Galatians 2:20
The inescapable spiritual need each of us has is the need to sign the death certificate of our sin nature. I must take my emotional opinions and intellectual beliefs and be willing to turn them into a moral verdict against the nature of sin; that is, against any claim I have to my right to myself. Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ….” He did not say, “I have made a determination to imitate Jesus Christ,” or, “I will really make an effort to follow Him” —but— “I have been identified with Him in His death.” Once I reach this moral decision and act on it, all that Christ accomplished for me on the Cross is accomplished in me. My unrestrained commitment of myself to God gives the Holy Spirit the opportunity to grant to me the holiness of Jesus Christ.
“…it is no longer I who live….” My individuality remains, but my primary motivation for living and the nature that rules me are radically changed. I have the same human body, but the old satanic right to myself has been destroyed.
“…and the life which I now live in the flesh,” not the life which I long to live or even pray that I live, but the life I now live in my mortal flesh— the life which others can see, “I live by faith in the Son of God….” This faith was not Paul’s own faith in Jesus Christ, but the faith the Son God had given to him (see Ephesians 2:8). It is no longer a faith in faith, but a faith that transcends all imaginable limits— a faith that comes only from the Son of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is an easy thing to argue from precedent because it makes everything simple, but it is a risky thing to do. Give God “elbow room”; let Him come into His universe as He pleases. If we confine God in His working to religious people or to certain ways, we place ourselves on an equality with God. Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Behind the Painting - #8138
Just when you think little kids are pretty much all about their toys, TV, and what’s to eat, they amaze you again. Our daughter had one of those times when our grandson was puttering around the house in his jammies one early morning, and he wandered over to an East window. He stared out at the brightening early morning sky for a few moments and then he suddenly launched a question Mommy’s way, "Mommy, who painted the sky?" Before his mother could answer, our grandson answered his own question, "Jesus did."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Behind the Painting."
That little guy saw something in the beauty of creation that morning that many grownup people tragically miss: that there’s someone behind the beauty, and He is the point of it all! I mean, a two-year-old seemed to understand, in his own way, what many of us miss if we just admire the painting. The point is to know the Painter! If you consider yourself a spiritual seeker, it’s important to realize that God has, throughout your life and even now, been putting life experiences and life scenery in front of you for one reason. To get your attention, so you would give yourself to the One who does such awesome things. But so far, maybe you’ve missed Him.
In our word for today from the Word of God in Romans 1, beginning with verse 19, God says of us: "What may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities-His eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." God says here, "After all the ways I’ve displayed My greatness and My power to you, you have no excuse for not having a personal relationship with Me." He then spells out the tragic mistake that so many of us have made without ever realizing it: "They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator." We’ve gotten hung up on what He made for us and missed Him.
You’ve had a number of God-sightings in your life, even if you don’t realize it or acknowledge it. You got a glimpse of His power and love in the birth of a baby, in a time your life was spared, in encountering the amazing engineering of the human body, in the majesty of the ocean that you felt, the mountains, the skies, or some scenic rush you felt. You brushed close to your Creator when you were thinking about death and that it's inevitable; when you looked at the way a follower of Jesus lived or died, or in the question or insight of a little child.
Over and over, your Creator has been trying to get your attention, trying to direct you to the one way you can have a love relationship with Him that you were made for. The Bible says, "Christ died for sins...to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18).
The ultimate reach of God for you was the sending of His one and only Son to love you enough to die for the sin that has been the wall between you and Him. You may say, "Well, I believe in God." The Bible says, "Even the demons believe (in God) and shudder" (James 2:19). No, the issue isn’t believing in God-it’s belonging to God. He’s the belonging you’ve been looking for your whole life.
Here’s how it begins according to the Bible: "To all who received (Jesus)...He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). Imagine, born into God’s family, loved and protected by Him forever. That’s the possibility God’s putting in front of you today.
Your personal love relationship with Almighty God begins when you tell Jesus that you're putting your total trust in Him to remove the wall between you and your Creator. Why? Because He’s the only one who died to pay for your sin. He’s the only one with the power to walk out of His grave under His own power and deliver eternal life to your soul.
Would you tell Him today, "Jesus, I've been seeing in my life without even realizing it, you've been all over the place trying to get my attention. Today you have it. Today, Jesus, you have me, because nobody ever loved me like you do." Our website's called ANewStory.com, because a new story for your life could begin then. I hope you'll go there today.
This painter of all that’s beautiful and awe-inspiring can make a masterpiece out of the rest of your life.
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Exodus 38, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: NO SECRETS ABOUT THIS LIFE
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 in Revelation 12:12 we are told, “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
Exodus 38
The Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering
1-7 He made the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering from acacia wood. He made it seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet high. He made horns at each of the four corners. The horns were made of one piece with the Altar and covered with a veneer of bronze. He made from bronze all the utensils for the Altar: the buckets for removing the ashes, shovels, basins, forks, and fire pans. He made a grate of bronze mesh under the ledge halfway up the Altar. He cast four rings at each of the four corners of the bronze grating to hold the poles. He made the poles of acacia wood and covered them with a veneer of bronze. He inserted the poles through the rings on the two sides of the Altar for carrying it. The Altar was made out of boards; it was hollow.
The Washbasin
8 He made the Bronze Washbasin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women’s work group who were assigned to serve at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
The Courtyard
9-11 And he made the Courtyard. On the south side the hangings for the Courtyard, woven from fine twisted linen, were 150 feet long, with their twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and fastening hooks and bands of silver. The north side was exactly the same.
12-20 The west end of the Courtyard had seventy-five feet of hangings with ten posts and bases, and fastening hooks and bands of silver. Across the seventy-five feet at the front, or east end, were twenty-two and a half feet of hangings, with their three posts and bases on one side and the same for the other side. All the hangings around the Courtyard were of fine twisted linen. The bases for the posts were bronze and the fastening hooks and bands on the posts were of silver. The posts of the Courtyard were both capped and banded with silver. The screen at the door of the Courtyard was embroidered in blue, purple, and scarlet fabric with fine twisted linen. It was thirty feet long and seven and a half feet high, matching the hangings of the Courtyard. There were four posts with bases of bronze and fastening hooks of silver; they were capped and banded in silver. All the pegs for The Dwelling and the Courtyard were made of bronze.
21-23 This is an inventory of The Dwelling that housed The Testimony drawn up by order of Moses for the work of the Levites under Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. Bezalel, the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that God had commanded Moses. Working with Bezalel was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an artisan, designer, and embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet fabrics and fine linen.
24 Gold. The total amount of gold used in construction of the Sanctuary, all of it contributed freely, weighed out at 1,900 pounds according to the Sanctuary standard.
25-28 Silver. The silver from those in the community who were registered in the census came to 6,437 pounds according to the Sanctuary standard—that amounted to a beka, or half-shekel, for every registered person aged twenty and over, a total of 603,550 men. They used the three and one-quarter tons of silver to cast the bases for the Sanctuary and for the hangings, one hundred bases at sixty-four pounds each. They used the remaining thirty-seven pounds to make the connecting hooks on the posts, and the caps and bands for the posts.
29-31 Bronze. The bronze that was brought in weighed 4,522 pounds. It was used to make the door of the Tent of Meeting, the Bronze Altar with its bronze grating, all the utensils of the Altar, the bases around the Courtyard, the bases for the gate of the Courtyard, and all the pegs for The Dwelling and the Courtyard.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Read: Ecclesiastes 3:1–11
A Time for Everything
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Footnotes:
Ecclesiastes 3:11 Or also placed ignorance in the human heart, so that
INSIGHT
Many believe King Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes because the author refers to himself as the “son of David, king in Jerusalem” (1:1) and “king over Israel in Jerusalem” (v. 12) who had more wisdom and possessions “than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before [him]” (v. 16; 2:7). The book’s purpose seems clear: “It defends the life of faith in a generous God by pointing to the grimness of the alternative” (Michael Easton, Ecclesiastes). Ecclesiastes underscores the necessity and desirability of following God in a fallen and frustrating world today (12:1)—no matter our season in life. “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments” (v. 13).
What has helped you to understand the wisdom of following God in various seasons of your life?
A Good Season
By Dave Branon
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1
Today is the first day of spring in the northern half of the world. If you live in Australia, it’s the first day of autumn—the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere and the autumnal equinox in the southern hemisphere. Today, the sun shines directly on the equator, and the hours of daylight and nighttime are nearly equal around the world.
New seasons are important for many people. Some count down the day because of what they hope the new season will bring. Perhaps you’ve been marking off a calendar for spring in Wisconsin to signal the end of another winter. Or maybe you live in Melbourne, and you can’t wait for autumn to bring relief from the Australian sun.
Give thanks to God for His greatness, His help, and His companionship.
We also go through seasons of life that don’t have to do with the weather. The author of Ecclesiastes told us there is a season for every activity under the sun—a time appointed by God during which we live our lives (3:1–11).
Moses spoke of a new season in his life after he led the people of Israel through the wilderness (Deuteronomy 31:2), and he had to give up his leadership role to Joshua. And Paul faced a lonely season while he was under house arrest in Rome—asking for visitors but realizing that God was “at my side” (2 Timothy 4:17).
Regardless of the season of life, let’s give thanks to God for His greatness, His help, and His companionship.
Thank You, Father, for the promise of Your care during this season of my life. You have allowed this circumstance for a good reason. Help me to use this time appointed by You in a way that deepens my trust in You.
Every season brings a reason to rejoice.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Friendship with God
Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing…? —Genesis 18:17
The Delights of His Friendship. Genesis 18 brings out the delight of true friendship with God, as compared with simply feeling His presence occasionally in prayer. This friendship means being so intimately in touch with God that you never even need to ask Him to show you His will. It is evidence of a level of intimacy which confirms that you are nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you have a right-standing relationship with God, you have a life of freedom, liberty, and delight; you are God’s will. And all of your commonsense decisions are actually His will for you, unless you sense a feeling of restraint brought on by a check in your spirit. You are free to make decisions in the light of a perfect and delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will lovingly produce that sense of restraint. Once he does, you must stop immediately.
The Difficulties of His Friendship. Why did Abraham stop praying when he did? He stopped because he still was lacking the level of intimacy in his relationship with God, which would enable him boldly to continue on with the Lord in prayer until his desire was granted. Whenever we stop short of our true desire in prayer and say, “Well, I don’t know, maybe this is not God’s will,” then we still have another level to go. It shows that we are not as intimately acquainted with God as Jesus was, and as Jesus would have us to be— “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22). Think of the last thing you prayed about— were you devoted to your desire or to God? Was your determination to get some gift of the Spirit for yourself or to get to God? “For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). The reason for asking is so you may get to know God better. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). We should keep praying to get a perfect understanding of God Himself.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
I have no right to say I believe in God unless I order my life as under His all-seeing Eye. Disciples Indeed, 385 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
A Little More Time To Harvest - #8137
There's a stretch of nights in the fall when the moon is absolutely incredible! It's usually in October - harvest time for farmers. And when it's full moon time, you can see this huge, brilliant, yellowish moon rising in the eastern sky. It just makes you stop and almost catch your breath. I think it was in the days before electricity that farmers started calling it a "harvest moon." With so much depending on the harvest and so little time to bring it in, every hour had to count. And the days never seemed quite long enough to get it all in. So a bright full moon was more than just a beautiful view...it meant something much more important. With that extra light, God was giving them a little more time to harvest!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Little More Time To Harvest."
Maybe you and I are living right now in the light of a spiritual harvest moon-to bring to Jesus some of the lives around us that He died to rescue. Maybe that's why He's giving you a little more time.
There's a powerful illustration of this in our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 13:6. "Then (Jesus) told this parable: 'A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'"
I wonder how many of our lives this parable might be describing? Jesus comes looking for some fruit on a believer's life, especially in the form of some people that you've introduced to Him and He finds none. Why should He leave us here any longer, just soaking up the nutrients in our spiritual soil? But the answer comes, "Give him/give her a little more time to make a difference." By virtue of the fact that you and I are still here, Jesus has decided to let us have at least a little more time to take some people to heaven with us.
I'll tell you, you feel it deeply when the time for you to bring someone home runs out-when harvest time is over. I still remember my high school friend Cathy. It's not somebody I dated; we were just good friends.
One morning, during my freshman year of college, I remember waking up to a news story that mentioned her name. I woke up fast! The night before, a gunman had walked into the Student Union at the university Cathy attended, pulled out a gun, and shot her in cold blood. Suddenly, I was out of chances to tell Cathy about how she could go to heaven. We had talked about everything except Jesus! I had slept through the harvest, and time had run out.
That's why the Bible says that when it comes to talking about Jesus, "Make the most of every opportunity" (Colossians 4:4). This spiritual harvest business; this is urgent stuff. Harvest always is. You know the opportunity isn't going to last long. You drop everything to bring it in, and if you wait, you miss it. God wants us to feel that kind of urgency about telling the people we know about the man who loved them enough to die for them. We never know when their time or our time will run out.
So, like the farmer toiling feverishly in the extended light of a harvest moon, God has given you a little more time to bring in someone that His Son died for. Please don't keep putting it off. Don't let your life be so full of un-eternal stuff that you miss the mission that matters the most.
Someone you know desperately needs your Jesus, and Jesus has given you a little more time to bring them home.
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 in Revelation 12:12 we are told, “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
Exodus 38
The Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering
1-7 He made the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering from acacia wood. He made it seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet high. He made horns at each of the four corners. The horns were made of one piece with the Altar and covered with a veneer of bronze. He made from bronze all the utensils for the Altar: the buckets for removing the ashes, shovels, basins, forks, and fire pans. He made a grate of bronze mesh under the ledge halfway up the Altar. He cast four rings at each of the four corners of the bronze grating to hold the poles. He made the poles of acacia wood and covered them with a veneer of bronze. He inserted the poles through the rings on the two sides of the Altar for carrying it. The Altar was made out of boards; it was hollow.
The Washbasin
8 He made the Bronze Washbasin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women’s work group who were assigned to serve at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
The Courtyard
9-11 And he made the Courtyard. On the south side the hangings for the Courtyard, woven from fine twisted linen, were 150 feet long, with their twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and fastening hooks and bands of silver. The north side was exactly the same.
12-20 The west end of the Courtyard had seventy-five feet of hangings with ten posts and bases, and fastening hooks and bands of silver. Across the seventy-five feet at the front, or east end, were twenty-two and a half feet of hangings, with their three posts and bases on one side and the same for the other side. All the hangings around the Courtyard were of fine twisted linen. The bases for the posts were bronze and the fastening hooks and bands on the posts were of silver. The posts of the Courtyard were both capped and banded with silver. The screen at the door of the Courtyard was embroidered in blue, purple, and scarlet fabric with fine twisted linen. It was thirty feet long and seven and a half feet high, matching the hangings of the Courtyard. There were four posts with bases of bronze and fastening hooks of silver; they were capped and banded in silver. All the pegs for The Dwelling and the Courtyard were made of bronze.
21-23 This is an inventory of The Dwelling that housed The Testimony drawn up by order of Moses for the work of the Levites under Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. Bezalel, the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that God had commanded Moses. Working with Bezalel was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an artisan, designer, and embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet fabrics and fine linen.
24 Gold. The total amount of gold used in construction of the Sanctuary, all of it contributed freely, weighed out at 1,900 pounds according to the Sanctuary standard.
25-28 Silver. The silver from those in the community who were registered in the census came to 6,437 pounds according to the Sanctuary standard—that amounted to a beka, or half-shekel, for every registered person aged twenty and over, a total of 603,550 men. They used the three and one-quarter tons of silver to cast the bases for the Sanctuary and for the hangings, one hundred bases at sixty-four pounds each. They used the remaining thirty-seven pounds to make the connecting hooks on the posts, and the caps and bands for the posts.
29-31 Bronze. The bronze that was brought in weighed 4,522 pounds. It was used to make the door of the Tent of Meeting, the Bronze Altar with its bronze grating, all the utensils of the Altar, the bases around the Courtyard, the bases for the gate of the Courtyard, and all the pegs for The Dwelling and the Courtyard.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Read: Ecclesiastes 3:1–11
A Time for Everything
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Footnotes:
Ecclesiastes 3:11 Or also placed ignorance in the human heart, so that
INSIGHT
Many believe King Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes because the author refers to himself as the “son of David, king in Jerusalem” (1:1) and “king over Israel in Jerusalem” (v. 12) who had more wisdom and possessions “than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before [him]” (v. 16; 2:7). The book’s purpose seems clear: “It defends the life of faith in a generous God by pointing to the grimness of the alternative” (Michael Easton, Ecclesiastes). Ecclesiastes underscores the necessity and desirability of following God in a fallen and frustrating world today (12:1)—no matter our season in life. “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments” (v. 13).
What has helped you to understand the wisdom of following God in various seasons of your life?
A Good Season
By Dave Branon
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1
Today is the first day of spring in the northern half of the world. If you live in Australia, it’s the first day of autumn—the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere and the autumnal equinox in the southern hemisphere. Today, the sun shines directly on the equator, and the hours of daylight and nighttime are nearly equal around the world.
New seasons are important for many people. Some count down the day because of what they hope the new season will bring. Perhaps you’ve been marking off a calendar for spring in Wisconsin to signal the end of another winter. Or maybe you live in Melbourne, and you can’t wait for autumn to bring relief from the Australian sun.
Give thanks to God for His greatness, His help, and His companionship.
We also go through seasons of life that don’t have to do with the weather. The author of Ecclesiastes told us there is a season for every activity under the sun—a time appointed by God during which we live our lives (3:1–11).
Moses spoke of a new season in his life after he led the people of Israel through the wilderness (Deuteronomy 31:2), and he had to give up his leadership role to Joshua. And Paul faced a lonely season while he was under house arrest in Rome—asking for visitors but realizing that God was “at my side” (2 Timothy 4:17).
Regardless of the season of life, let’s give thanks to God for His greatness, His help, and His companionship.
Thank You, Father, for the promise of Your care during this season of my life. You have allowed this circumstance for a good reason. Help me to use this time appointed by You in a way that deepens my trust in You.
Every season brings a reason to rejoice.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Friendship with God
Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing…? —Genesis 18:17
The Delights of His Friendship. Genesis 18 brings out the delight of true friendship with God, as compared with simply feeling His presence occasionally in prayer. This friendship means being so intimately in touch with God that you never even need to ask Him to show you His will. It is evidence of a level of intimacy which confirms that you are nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you have a right-standing relationship with God, you have a life of freedom, liberty, and delight; you are God’s will. And all of your commonsense decisions are actually His will for you, unless you sense a feeling of restraint brought on by a check in your spirit. You are free to make decisions in the light of a perfect and delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will lovingly produce that sense of restraint. Once he does, you must stop immediately.
The Difficulties of His Friendship. Why did Abraham stop praying when he did? He stopped because he still was lacking the level of intimacy in his relationship with God, which would enable him boldly to continue on with the Lord in prayer until his desire was granted. Whenever we stop short of our true desire in prayer and say, “Well, I don’t know, maybe this is not God’s will,” then we still have another level to go. It shows that we are not as intimately acquainted with God as Jesus was, and as Jesus would have us to be— “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22). Think of the last thing you prayed about— were you devoted to your desire or to God? Was your determination to get some gift of the Spirit for yourself or to get to God? “For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). The reason for asking is so you may get to know God better. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). We should keep praying to get a perfect understanding of God Himself.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
I have no right to say I believe in God unless I order my life as under His all-seeing Eye. Disciples Indeed, 385 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
A Little More Time To Harvest - #8137
There's a stretch of nights in the fall when the moon is absolutely incredible! It's usually in October - harvest time for farmers. And when it's full moon time, you can see this huge, brilliant, yellowish moon rising in the eastern sky. It just makes you stop and almost catch your breath. I think it was in the days before electricity that farmers started calling it a "harvest moon." With so much depending on the harvest and so little time to bring it in, every hour had to count. And the days never seemed quite long enough to get it all in. So a bright full moon was more than just a beautiful view...it meant something much more important. With that extra light, God was giving them a little more time to harvest!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Little More Time To Harvest."
Maybe you and I are living right now in the light of a spiritual harvest moon-to bring to Jesus some of the lives around us that He died to rescue. Maybe that's why He's giving you a little more time.
There's a powerful illustration of this in our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 13:6. "Then (Jesus) told this parable: 'A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'"
I wonder how many of our lives this parable might be describing? Jesus comes looking for some fruit on a believer's life, especially in the form of some people that you've introduced to Him and He finds none. Why should He leave us here any longer, just soaking up the nutrients in our spiritual soil? But the answer comes, "Give him/give her a little more time to make a difference." By virtue of the fact that you and I are still here, Jesus has decided to let us have at least a little more time to take some people to heaven with us.
I'll tell you, you feel it deeply when the time for you to bring someone home runs out-when harvest time is over. I still remember my high school friend Cathy. It's not somebody I dated; we were just good friends.
One morning, during my freshman year of college, I remember waking up to a news story that mentioned her name. I woke up fast! The night before, a gunman had walked into the Student Union at the university Cathy attended, pulled out a gun, and shot her in cold blood. Suddenly, I was out of chances to tell Cathy about how she could go to heaven. We had talked about everything except Jesus! I had slept through the harvest, and time had run out.
That's why the Bible says that when it comes to talking about Jesus, "Make the most of every opportunity" (Colossians 4:4). This spiritual harvest business; this is urgent stuff. Harvest always is. You know the opportunity isn't going to last long. You drop everything to bring it in, and if you wait, you miss it. God wants us to feel that kind of urgency about telling the people we know about the man who loved them enough to die for them. We never know when their time or our time will run out.
So, like the farmer toiling feverishly in the extended light of a harvest moon, God has given you a little more time to bring in someone that His Son died for. Please don't keep putting it off. Don't let your life be so full of un-eternal stuff that you miss the mission that matters the most.
Someone you know desperately needs your Jesus, and Jesus has given you a little more time to bring them home.
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