Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Numbers 28, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: LIVING IN YOUR SWEET SPOT - June 12, 2018
Are you living in your sweet spot? Doing what you do well—what you’ve always loved to do? That last question trips up a lot of folks. God wouldn’t let me do what I like to do—would he? Yes, he would. “God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). Scripture says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).
Your Father is too gracious to assign you to a life of misery. See your desires as gifts to heed rather than longings to suppress. What have you always done well and loved to do? Read your life backward. Re-relish your moments of success and satisfaction. In the merger of the two, you will find your uniqueness!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Numbers 28
Offerings
God spoke to Moses: “Command the People of Israel. Tell them, You’re in charge of presenting my food, my Fire-Gifts of pleasing fragrance, at the set times. Tell them, This is the Fire-Gift that you are to present to God: two healthy yearling lambs each day as a regular Whole-Burnt-Offering. Sacrifice one lamb in the morning, the other in the evening, together with two quarts of fine flour mixed with a quart of olive oil for a Grain-Offering. This is the standard Whole-Burnt-Offering instituted at Mount Sinai as a pleasing fragrance, a Fire-Gift to God. The Drink-Offering that goes with it is a quart of strong beer with each lamb. Pour out the Drink-Offering before God in the Sanctuary. Sacrifice the second lamb in the evening with the Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering the same as in the morning—a Fire-Gift of pleasing fragrance for God.
9-10 “On the Sabbath, sacrifice two healthy yearling lambs, together with the Drink-Offering and the Grain-Offering of four quarts of fine flour mixed with oil. This is the regular Sabbath Whole-Burnt-Offering, in addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering and its Drink-Offering.
11 “On the first of the month offer a Whole-Burnt-Offering to God: two young bulls, one ram, and seven male yearling lambs—all healthy.
12-14 “A Grain-Offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil goes with each bull, four quarts of fine flour mixed with oil with the ram, and two quarts of fine flour mixed with oil with each lamb. This is for a Whole-Burnt-Offering, a pleasing fragrance, a Fire-Gift to God. Also, Drink-Offerings of two quarts of wine for each bull, one and a quarter quarts of wine for the ram, and a quart of wine for each lamb are to be poured out.
14-15 “This is the first of the month Whole-Burnt-Offering to be made throughout the year. In addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering with its accompanying Drink-Offering, a he-goat is to be offered to God as an Absolution-Offering.
16-17 “God’s Passover is to be held on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of this month hold a festival.
17-22 “For seven days, eat only unraised bread: Begin the first day in holy worship; don’t do any regular work that day. Bring a Fire-Gift to God, a Whole-Burnt-Offering: two young bulls, one ram, and seven male yearling lambs—all healthy. Prepare a Grain-Offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil for each bull, four quarts for the ram, and two quarts for each lamb, plus a goat as an Absolution-Offering to atone for you.
23-24 “Sacrifice these in addition to the regular morning Whole-Burnt-Offering. Prepare the food this way for the Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God, every day for seven days. Prepare it in addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering and Drink-Offering.
25 “Conclude the seventh day in holy worship; don’t do any regular work on that day.
26-30 “On the Day of Firstfruits when you bring an offering of new grain to God on your Feast-of-Weeks, gather in holy worship and don’t do any regular work. Bring a Whole-Burnt-Offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male yearling lambs as a pleasing fragrance to God. Prepare a Grain-Offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil for each bull, four quarts for the ram, and two quarts for each lamb, plus a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering to atone for you.
31 “These are all over and above the daily Whole-Burnt-Offering and its Grain-Offering and the Drink-Offering. Remember, the animals must be healthy.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Read: John 20:11–18
But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she knelt to look into the tomb and saw two angels sitting there, dressed in white, one at the head, the other at the foot of where Jesus’ body had been laid. They said to her, “Woman, why do you weep?”
13-14 “They took my Master,” she said, “and I don’t know where they put him.” After she said this, she turned away and saw Jesus standing there. But she didn’t recognize him.
15 Jesus spoke to her, “Woman, why do you weep? Who are you looking for?”
She, thinking that he was the gardener, said, “Mister, if you took him, tell me where you put him so I can care for him.”
16 Jesus said, “Mary.”
Turning to face him, she said in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” meaning “Teacher!”
17 Jesus said, “Don’t cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went, telling the news to the disciples: “I saw the Master!” And she told them everything he said to her.
INSIGHT
God knows us, and He loves us. That’s easy to say but harder to believe sometimes—especially when we feel crippled by grief, when we feel completely alone.
This beautiful passage (John 20:11–18) can remind us that we can be honest with God. We don’t need to pretend to be happy. We can bring our pain to Him, exactly as it is. Tell Him why we’re crying (vv. 13, 15); tell Him when He seems far away. He loves us and wants us to run to Him in our pain (1 Peter 5:7). When we do, we can experience the tender love of our Father knowing and holding us in even those most painful places (John 20:16). And we can share with others how He brought joy even out of our weeping (v. 18). - Monica Brands
Called by Name
By Amy Boucher Pye
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” John 20:16
Advertisers have concluded that the most attention-grabbing word that viewers react to is their own name. Thus a television channel in the UK has introduced personalized advertisements with their online streaming services.
We might enjoy hearing our name on television, but it doesn’t mean much without the intimacy that comes when someone who loves us says our name.
Mary Magdalene’s attention was arrested when, at the tomb where Jesus’s body had been laid after He was crucified on the cross, He spoke her name (John 20:16). With that single word, she turned in recognition to the Teacher whom she loved and followed, I imagine with a rush of disbelief and joy. The familiarity with which He spoke her name confirmed for her beyond a doubt that the One who’d known her perfectly was alive and not dead.
Although Mary shared a unique and special moment with Jesus, we too are personally loved by God. Jesus told Mary that He would ascend to His Father (v. 17), but He had also told His disciples that He would not leave them alone (John 14:15–18). God would send the Holy Spirit to live and dwell in His children (see Acts 2:1–13).
God’s story doesn’t change. Whether then or now, He knows those whom He loves (see John 10:14–15). He calls us by name.
Loving Father, living Jesus, comforting Holy Spirit, thank You that You know me completely, and that You love me unceasingly.
The God who created the cosmos also made you, and He calls you by name.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Getting There (2)
They said to Him, "Rabbi…where are You staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." —John 1:38-39
Where our self-interest sleeps and the real interest is awakened. “They…remained with Him that day….” That is about all some of us ever do. We stay with Him a short time, only to wake up to our own realities of life. Our self-interest rises up and our abiding with Him is past. Yet there is no circumstance of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.
“You are Simon….You shall be called Cephas” (John 1:42). God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don’t dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him— self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased.
Pride is the sin of making “self” our god. And some of us today do this, not like the Pharisee, but like the tax collector (see Luke 18:9-14). For you to say, “Oh, I’m no saint,” is acceptable by human standards of pride, but it is unconscious blasphemy against God. You defy God to make you a saint, as if to say, “I am too weak and hopeless and outside the reach of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.” Why aren’t you a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe that God can make you into one. You say it would be all right if God saved you and took you straight to heaven. That is exactly what He will do! And not only do we make our home with Him, but Jesus said of His Father and Himself, “…We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). Put no conditions on your life— let Jesus be everything to you, and He will take you home with Him not only for a day, but for eternity.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Too Late to Get to Heaven - #8197
It was a race against time. That last ferry boat to the island where we had a hotel reservation left at 8:30. We did everything the speed limit would allow. When we stopped for gas, we did one of my infamous Hutchcraft drills where you fill the car, empty yourself, and grab a meal in just minutes. All that's missing is the stopwatch. Yep! We roared into town and up to the dock at 8:40. We got there too late. We missed the boat...the last boat.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Late to Get to Heaven."
Missing the boat to a beautiful island; you'll get over it. Missing the boat to heaven when you die; you'll never get over it. Surveys show that most Americans think they'll go to heaven when they die. Maybe that means "hope" they'll go to heaven when they die. God removes all doubt and makes it very clear who will and who will not go to heaven. Here's what the Bible says, "God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:11-12).
If you have Jesus, you have heaven. If you don't have Jesus, you don't have heaven. I didn't say that. God did, and it's His heaven. We can't get into heaven with our sin, and we've all got it because we've had these years of choosing what we want instead of what our Creator wants. And our sin cannot be cancelled until its death penalty has been paid. And no amount of good living can pay a death penalty. Jesus did that on the cross for you because He really, really loves you. Our only hope, then, is going to Jesus and holding onto Him like a drowning person would grab a lifeguard. If there's never been a time when you've consciously given yourself to Him like that, you're not on the boat yet. You're in danger of missing the boat.
How does that happen? Days without Jesus become months without Jesus, which become years without Jesus until suddenly, often without warning, you're out of days. Along the way you may have been disinterested in Jesus, or you've been deceived about Jesus, or you've been put off by some of His followers lives instead of focusing on Him, or you've believed there's some way other than Jesus. Maybe you've just been distracted; you're too busy for Jesus right now. That's fatal busyness. Or could it be you do think you need Jesus, you've just continually delayed saying yes to Him. You've put Him off until later - until there's no more later.
Listen to our sobering word for today from the Word of God in Hebrews 4:7, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart." Listen, He's coming to you again today. You hear His voice. He's giving you another opportunity to finally open your life to Him. Every time you say "no" or "later" to Jesus, you harden your heart a little more; making it less likely that you will ever know Him. Eternity is too long, hell is too real, and life is too unpredictable to put Jesus off again.
The step you've never taken - the step you need to take - begins by telling Jesus something like this: "Lord, I realize that my sin is costing me a relationship with God. And nothing I can do can pay for the wrong things I've done. That's why I'm grabbing You, Jesus, because of what You did on that cross for me - because of what You did when You rose from the dead. I realize now You are my only hope. And beginning right here and right now, Lord Jesus, I am Yours. I am Yours."
Man, I would love to help you be sure you understand that and have taken that step and know it in your heart. That's why our website is there - ANewStory.com. Please, at your first opportunity today, go there will you?
We don't know when God's last boat will leave or whether maybe this is the last boat. It's too important to wait. It's too expensive to wait.
Monday, June 11, 2018
Luke 1:1-20, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE CHILD IS FATHER OF THE MAN - June 11, 2018
“The child is the father of the man,” wrote William Wordsworth. Want direction for the future? Then read your life backward.
Job placement experts asked over seventy thousand people this question: “What things have you done in life that you enjoyed doing and believe you did well?” In every case people reverted to the same pattern of functioning. Or to put it succinctly, our past presents our future.
The Bible says, “it is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others” (Ephesians 2:10). You are heaven’s custom design. What God said about Jeremiah, he said about you: “Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work!” (Jeremiah 1:5 NCV).
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Luke 1:1-20
So many others have tried their hand at putting together a story of the wonderful harvest of Scripture and history that took place among us, using reports handed down by the original eyewitnesses who served this Word with their very lives. Since I have investigated all the reports in close detail, starting from the story’s beginning, I decided to write it all out for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the reliability of what you were taught.
A Childless Couple Conceives
5-7 During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old.
8-12 It so happened that as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his one turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense. The congregation was gathered and praying outside the Temple at the hour of the incense offering. Unannounced, an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralyzed in fear.
13-15 But the angel reassured him, “Don’t fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You’re going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He’ll achieve great stature with God.
15-17 “He’ll drink neither wine nor beer. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother’s womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God’s arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he’ll get the people ready for God.”
18 Zachariah said to the angel, “Do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.”
19-20 But the angel said, “I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth. Every word I’ve spoken to you will come true on time—God’s time.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, June 11, 2018
Read: Proverbs 3:1–7
Don’t Assume You Know It All
1-2 Good friend, don’t forget all I’ve taught you;
take to heart my commands.
They’ll help you live a long, long time,
a long life lived full and well.
3-4 Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty.
Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.
Earn a reputation for living well
in God’s eyes and the eyes of the people.
5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects;
a father’s delight is behind all this.
INSIGHT
The first nine chapters of Proverbs don’t follow the same format (pithy sayings; poetry couplets) that the rest of the book follows. The beginning chapters are a father’s encouragement to his son. The father tells his son of the benefits of wisdom, of its ability to make life more pleasant and fulfilling. Wisdom and folly are personified and invite the young man to pursue them. But why is this important? It seems obvious that wisdom is better than folly, so why go to such lengths to convince a child of the need to pursue wisdom?
The answer is experiential. You see, folly is the easier of the two, the more natural. As we read chapters 10–31, we see what the better choice is. But folly is far simpler to choose—it seems hardwired into us. Whether it’s a harsh word, a selfish action, or self-indulgence, folly is always ready to embrace us. That’s why the father takes such time to encourage his son to pursue wisdom. Wisdom isn’t restricted to big decisions, however; we need it for every action we take and every word we speak.
How can we pursue wisdom today? - J.R. Hudberg
Advice from My Father
By Linda Washington
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
After being laid off from an editorial job, I prayed, asking for God to help me find a new one. But when weeks went by and nothing came of my attempts at networking and filling out applications, I began to pout. “Don’t You know how important it is that I have a job?” I asked God, my arms folded in protest at my seemingly unanswered prayer.
When I talked to my father, who had often reminded me about believing God’s promises, about my job situation, he said, “I want you to get to the point where you trust what God says.”
My father’s advice reminds me of Proverbs 3, which includes wise advice from a parent to a beloved child. This familiar passage was especially applicable to my situation: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5–6). To “make . . . paths straight” means God will guide us toward His goals for our growth. His ultimate goal is that I become more like Him.
This does not mean that the paths He chooses will be easy. But I can choose to trust that His direction and timing are ultimately for my good.
Are you waiting on God for an answer? Choose to draw near to Him and trust that He will guide you.
Lord, thank You for guiding and caring for us every step of the way. Help us to trust in You daily.
Your Father in heaven knows what’s best for you.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, June 11, 2018
Getting There (1)
Come to Me… —Matthew 11:28
Where sin and sorrow stops, and the song of the saint starts. Do I really want to get there? I can right now. The questions that truly matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words— “Come to Me.” Our Lord’s words are not, “Do this, or don’t do that,” but— “Come to me.” If I will simply come to Jesus, my real life will be brought into harmony with my real desires. I will actually cease from sin, and will find the song of the Lord beginning in my life.
Have you ever come to Jesus? Look at the stubbornness of your heart. You would rather do anything than this one simple childlike thing— “Come to Me.” If you really want to experience ceasing from sin, you must come to Jesus.
Jesus Christ makes Himself the test to determine your genuineness. Look how He used the word come. At the most unexpected moments in your life there is this whisper of the Lord— “Come to Me,” and you are immediately drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything. Be “foolish” enough to come and commit yourself to what He says. The attitude necessary for you to come to Him is one where your will has made the determination to let go of everything and deliberately commit it all to Him.
“…and I will give you rest”— that is, “I will sustain you, causing you to stand firm.” He is not saying, “I will put you to bed, hold your hand, and sing you to sleep.” But, in essence, He is saying, “I will get you out of bed— out of your listlessness and exhaustion, and out of your condition of being half dead while you are still alive. I will penetrate you with the spirit of life, and you will be sustained by the perfection of vital activity.” Yet we become so weak and pitiful and talk about “suffering” the will of the Lord! Where is the majestic vitality and the power of the Son of God in that?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.
Not Knowing Whither
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, June 11, 2018
The Big Game And The Big Letdown - #8196
In every sport, and in every season, there is always that one event that everyone calls "The Big Game". And it's not unusual for real champions to rise to the challenge and put in a powerful performance – so much so that they absolutely cream the other team! But there is also a strange phenomenon that often follows the Big Game – it's called the Big Letdown. It's amazing how a team that has just buried another great team can go into their next game all flat and sloppy. It's not uncommon for the winner of the Big Game to go into that next game – often against a much lesser opponent - and they look terrible - they lose miserably. They literally go right from powerful to pitiful.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Big Game And The Big Letdown."
That doesn't just happen in sports. No, it's happened to most of us who are trying to follow Jesus. Take the prophet Elijah, for example. For him, the Big Game was at a place called Mt. Carmel where he challenged 450 false prophets of Baal to the ultimate showdown – whose God would send the fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice on the altar?
Surprise! Baal never showed up - no matter how much his priests agonized. Our word for today from the Word of God begins in 1 Kings 18:36 as Elijah steps forward and prays. I'm going to emphasize every time he mentions something about God in some way. "...O Lord . . . let it be known today that You are God . . . and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that You, O Lord are God..."
So, God sends fire . . . the leadership of the false religion is done. A lopsided victory in the Big Game. Now, Act Two – the Big Letdown. The queen orders a hit on Elijah and he takes off to hide out. 1 Kings 19:4 says, he "prayed that he might die". What? What happened to the powerful warrior of the Battle of Mt. Carmel? He has gone from powerful to pitiful! How does Elijah go from powerful to pitiful in one roller coaster ride? The same way you and I do.
Listen to his prayer this time, and I'll emphasize every time he talks about himself. "...I have had enough, Lord . . . Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors . . . I have been very zealous for the Lord . . . They have rejected Your covenant . . . I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me." Did you get it?
When Elijah is at his most powerful, he is self-forgetting – he barely mentions himself but he refers to God eleven times! But when he's hurting and miserable, who is he focused on – himself! And that's the story of our spiritual roller coaster, isn't it? You're powerful when you're self-forgetful, when you're all about God. You're pitiful when you're God-forgetful and all about you. You lose all perspective. That's why God's answer to Elijah – and to us – is: "Go out and stand in the presence of the Lord". Stop lying around in your negativity, and your fear, and your discouragement, and your self-pity – and let your Lord happen to you again! He dwarfs all that other stuff!
Satan knows he probably can't touch you in the rush of the Big Game – so he waits for the Big Letdown that often follows. But you don't have to let down. It was because you focused yourself on your very big God that you won so big in the Big Game. So, now don't abandon the God of the Big Game because suddenly you're experiencing a letdown.
This battle is the Lord's battle, too. And through Him, you can win this one, too!
“The child is the father of the man,” wrote William Wordsworth. Want direction for the future? Then read your life backward.
Job placement experts asked over seventy thousand people this question: “What things have you done in life that you enjoyed doing and believe you did well?” In every case people reverted to the same pattern of functioning. Or to put it succinctly, our past presents our future.
The Bible says, “it is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others” (Ephesians 2:10). You are heaven’s custom design. What God said about Jeremiah, he said about you: “Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work!” (Jeremiah 1:5 NCV).
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Luke 1:1-20
So many others have tried their hand at putting together a story of the wonderful harvest of Scripture and history that took place among us, using reports handed down by the original eyewitnesses who served this Word with their very lives. Since I have investigated all the reports in close detail, starting from the story’s beginning, I decided to write it all out for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the reliability of what you were taught.
A Childless Couple Conceives
5-7 During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old.
8-12 It so happened that as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his one turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense. The congregation was gathered and praying outside the Temple at the hour of the incense offering. Unannounced, an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralyzed in fear.
13-15 But the angel reassured him, “Don’t fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You’re going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He’ll achieve great stature with God.
15-17 “He’ll drink neither wine nor beer. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother’s womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God’s arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he’ll get the people ready for God.”
18 Zachariah said to the angel, “Do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.”
19-20 But the angel said, “I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth. Every word I’ve spoken to you will come true on time—God’s time.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, June 11, 2018
Read: Proverbs 3:1–7
Don’t Assume You Know It All
1-2 Good friend, don’t forget all I’ve taught you;
take to heart my commands.
They’ll help you live a long, long time,
a long life lived full and well.
3-4 Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty.
Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.
Earn a reputation for living well
in God’s eyes and the eyes of the people.
5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects;
a father’s delight is behind all this.
INSIGHT
The first nine chapters of Proverbs don’t follow the same format (pithy sayings; poetry couplets) that the rest of the book follows. The beginning chapters are a father’s encouragement to his son. The father tells his son of the benefits of wisdom, of its ability to make life more pleasant and fulfilling. Wisdom and folly are personified and invite the young man to pursue them. But why is this important? It seems obvious that wisdom is better than folly, so why go to such lengths to convince a child of the need to pursue wisdom?
The answer is experiential. You see, folly is the easier of the two, the more natural. As we read chapters 10–31, we see what the better choice is. But folly is far simpler to choose—it seems hardwired into us. Whether it’s a harsh word, a selfish action, or self-indulgence, folly is always ready to embrace us. That’s why the father takes such time to encourage his son to pursue wisdom. Wisdom isn’t restricted to big decisions, however; we need it for every action we take and every word we speak.
How can we pursue wisdom today? - J.R. Hudberg
Advice from My Father
By Linda Washington
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
After being laid off from an editorial job, I prayed, asking for God to help me find a new one. But when weeks went by and nothing came of my attempts at networking and filling out applications, I began to pout. “Don’t You know how important it is that I have a job?” I asked God, my arms folded in protest at my seemingly unanswered prayer.
When I talked to my father, who had often reminded me about believing God’s promises, about my job situation, he said, “I want you to get to the point where you trust what God says.”
My father’s advice reminds me of Proverbs 3, which includes wise advice from a parent to a beloved child. This familiar passage was especially applicable to my situation: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5–6). To “make . . . paths straight” means God will guide us toward His goals for our growth. His ultimate goal is that I become more like Him.
This does not mean that the paths He chooses will be easy. But I can choose to trust that His direction and timing are ultimately for my good.
Are you waiting on God for an answer? Choose to draw near to Him and trust that He will guide you.
Lord, thank You for guiding and caring for us every step of the way. Help us to trust in You daily.
Your Father in heaven knows what’s best for you.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, June 11, 2018
Getting There (1)
Come to Me… —Matthew 11:28
Where sin and sorrow stops, and the song of the saint starts. Do I really want to get there? I can right now. The questions that truly matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words— “Come to Me.” Our Lord’s words are not, “Do this, or don’t do that,” but— “Come to me.” If I will simply come to Jesus, my real life will be brought into harmony with my real desires. I will actually cease from sin, and will find the song of the Lord beginning in my life.
Have you ever come to Jesus? Look at the stubbornness of your heart. You would rather do anything than this one simple childlike thing— “Come to Me.” If you really want to experience ceasing from sin, you must come to Jesus.
Jesus Christ makes Himself the test to determine your genuineness. Look how He used the word come. At the most unexpected moments in your life there is this whisper of the Lord— “Come to Me,” and you are immediately drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything. Be “foolish” enough to come and commit yourself to what He says. The attitude necessary for you to come to Him is one where your will has made the determination to let go of everything and deliberately commit it all to Him.
“…and I will give you rest”— that is, “I will sustain you, causing you to stand firm.” He is not saying, “I will put you to bed, hold your hand, and sing you to sleep.” But, in essence, He is saying, “I will get you out of bed— out of your listlessness and exhaustion, and out of your condition of being half dead while you are still alive. I will penetrate you with the spirit of life, and you will be sustained by the perfection of vital activity.” Yet we become so weak and pitiful and talk about “suffering” the will of the Lord! Where is the majestic vitality and the power of the Son of God in that?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.
Not Knowing Whither
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, June 11, 2018
The Big Game And The Big Letdown - #8196
In every sport, and in every season, there is always that one event that everyone calls "The Big Game". And it's not unusual for real champions to rise to the challenge and put in a powerful performance – so much so that they absolutely cream the other team! But there is also a strange phenomenon that often follows the Big Game – it's called the Big Letdown. It's amazing how a team that has just buried another great team can go into their next game all flat and sloppy. It's not uncommon for the winner of the Big Game to go into that next game – often against a much lesser opponent - and they look terrible - they lose miserably. They literally go right from powerful to pitiful.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Big Game And The Big Letdown."
That doesn't just happen in sports. No, it's happened to most of us who are trying to follow Jesus. Take the prophet Elijah, for example. For him, the Big Game was at a place called Mt. Carmel where he challenged 450 false prophets of Baal to the ultimate showdown – whose God would send the fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice on the altar?
Surprise! Baal never showed up - no matter how much his priests agonized. Our word for today from the Word of God begins in 1 Kings 18:36 as Elijah steps forward and prays. I'm going to emphasize every time he mentions something about God in some way. "...O Lord . . . let it be known today that You are God . . . and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that You, O Lord are God..."
So, God sends fire . . . the leadership of the false religion is done. A lopsided victory in the Big Game. Now, Act Two – the Big Letdown. The queen orders a hit on Elijah and he takes off to hide out. 1 Kings 19:4 says, he "prayed that he might die". What? What happened to the powerful warrior of the Battle of Mt. Carmel? He has gone from powerful to pitiful! How does Elijah go from powerful to pitiful in one roller coaster ride? The same way you and I do.
Listen to his prayer this time, and I'll emphasize every time he talks about himself. "...I have had enough, Lord . . . Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors . . . I have been very zealous for the Lord . . . They have rejected Your covenant . . . I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me." Did you get it?
When Elijah is at his most powerful, he is self-forgetting – he barely mentions himself but he refers to God eleven times! But when he's hurting and miserable, who is he focused on – himself! And that's the story of our spiritual roller coaster, isn't it? You're powerful when you're self-forgetful, when you're all about God. You're pitiful when you're God-forgetful and all about you. You lose all perspective. That's why God's answer to Elijah – and to us – is: "Go out and stand in the presence of the Lord". Stop lying around in your negativity, and your fear, and your discouragement, and your self-pity – and let your Lord happen to you again! He dwarfs all that other stuff!
Satan knows he probably can't touch you in the rush of the Big Game – so he waits for the Big Letdown that often follows. But you don't have to let down. It was because you focused yourself on your very big God that you won so big in the Big Game. So, now don't abandon the God of the Big Game because suddenly you're experiencing a letdown.
This battle is the Lord's battle, too. And through Him, you can win this one, too!
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Numbers 27, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Chosen Children
Adoptive parents understand God's passion to adopt us. They know what it means to feel an empty space inside. They know what it means to hunt, to set out on a mission, and to take responsibility for a child with a dubious future. If anybody understands God's ardor for his children, it's someone who has rescued an orphan from despair, for that is what God has done for us. Adopted children are chosen children.
When the doctor handed Max Lucado to Jack Lucado, my dad had no exit option. He couldn't give me back in exchange for a better-looking or smarter son. But if you are adopted, your parents chose you. Surprise pregnancies happen. But surprise adoptions? Never heard of one. Your parents could have picked a different gender, color, or ancestry. But they selected you. They wanted you in their family…Congratulations!
From Dad Time
Numbers 27
The Daughters of Zelophehad
The daughters of Zelophehad showed up. Their father was the son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Makir son of Manasseh, belonging to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
2-4 They came to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. They stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest and before the leaders and the congregation and said, “Our father died in the wilderness. He wasn’t part of Korah’s rebel anti-God gang. He died for his own sins. And he left no sons. But why should our father’s name die out from his clan just because he had no sons? So give us an inheritance among our father’s relatives.”
5 Moses brought their case to God.
6-7 God ruled: “Zelophehad’s daughters are right. Give them land as an inheritance among their father’s relatives. Give them their father’s inheritance.
8-11 “Then tell the People of Israel, If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. If he has no daughter, give it to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give it to his father’s brothers. If his father had no brothers, give it to the nearest relative so that the inheritance stays in the family. This is the standard procedure for the People of Israel, as commanded by God through Moses.”
Joshua
12-14 God said to Moses, “Climb up into the Abarim Mountains and look over at the land that I am giving to the People of Israel. When you’ve had a good look you’ll be joined to your ancestors in the grave—yes, you also along with Aaron your brother. This goes back to the day when the congregation quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin and you didn’t honor me in holy reverence before them in the matter of the waters, the Waters of Meribah (Quarreling) at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.”
15-17 Moses responded to God: “Let God, the God of the spirits of everyone living, set a man over this community to lead them, to show the way ahead and bring them back home so God’s community will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18-21 God said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun—the Spirit is in him!—and place your hand on him. Stand him before Eleazar the priest in front of the entire congregation and commission him with everyone watching. Pass your magisterial authority over to him so that the whole congregation of the People of Israel will listen obediently to him. He is to consult with Eleazar the priest who, using the oracle-Urim, will prayerfully advise him in the presence of God. He will command the People of Israel, the entire community, in all their comings and goings.”
22-23 Moses followed God’s orders. He took Joshua and stood him before Eleazar the priest in front of the entire community. He laid his hands on him and commissioned him, following the procedures God had given Moses.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Read: 1 Peter 4:7–11
Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!
INSIGHT
In 1 Peter 4, the apostle challenges the church to hospitality then reinforces that challenge with a call to service (vv. 10–11). In verse 10 he reminds believers that we’ve received gifts for that very purpose, and as we utilize those gifts in serving others we become expressions of God’s grace. It appears from these statements that Peter is giving his readers a glimpse into the realm of spiritual gifts about which Paul wrote in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12.
Spiritual gifts are the Holy Spirit’s provision for equipping followers of Jesus to help one another (1 Corinthians 12:7). While Paul offers a more extended list of these gifts, Peter compresses them into two basic categories: speaking gifts and serving gifts (1 Peter 4:11). Both provide support and resources for the kind of hospitality described in today’s devotional. As we encourage people with the Scriptures and help them by acts of service, the family of God is strengthened and the hurting are helped.
For more on spiritual service, check out the free download, The Church We Need. - Bill Crowder
A Warm Welcome
By Dave Branon
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4:9
“Who will hug everybody?”
That was one of the questions our friend Steve asked after he got the news that he had cancer and realized he would be away from our church for a while. Steve is the kind of man who makes everyone feel welcome—with a friendly greeting, a warm handshake, and even a “holy hug” for some—to adapt an application from Romans 16:16, which says, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.”
And now, as we pray for Steve that God will heal him, he is concerned that as he goes through surgery and treatment—and is away from our church for a time—we will miss out on those welcoming greetings.
Perhaps not all of us are cut out to greet one another as openly as Steve does, but his example of caring for people is a good reminder to us. Notice that Peter says to “offer hospitality to one another without grumbling,” or in a way that centers on love (1 Peter 4:9; see Philippians 2:14). While first-century hospitality included offering accommodations to travelers—even that always starts with a welcoming greeting.
As we interact with others in love, whether with a hug or just a friendly smile, we do so “that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11).
Lord, help us to represent You to others. Guide us to show hospitality in a way that will show others Your love.
When we practice hospitality, we share God’s goodness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, June 10, 2018
And After That What’s Next To Do?
…seek, and you will find… —Luke 11:9
Seek if you have not found. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss…” (James 4:3). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, “you ask amiss”; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. “…seek, and you will find….” Get to work— narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? “…seek, [focus,] and you will find….”
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…” (Isaiah 55:1). Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent— so satisfied with your own experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what you have found, but you can cause him to have a desire for it.
“…knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). “Draw near to God…” (James 4:8). Knock— the door is closed, and your heartbeat races as you knock. “Cleanse your hands…” (James 4:8). Knock a bit louder— you begin to find that you are dirty. “…purify your hearts…” (James 4:8). It is becoming even more personal— you are desperate and serious now— you will do anything. “Lament…” (James 4:9). Have you ever lamented, expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is no thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are. “Humble yourselves…” (James 4:10). It is a humbling experience to knock at God’s door— you have to knock with the crucified thief. “…to him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
If a man cannot prove his religion in the valley, it is not worth anything. Shade of His Hand, 1200 L
Adoptive parents understand God's passion to adopt us. They know what it means to feel an empty space inside. They know what it means to hunt, to set out on a mission, and to take responsibility for a child with a dubious future. If anybody understands God's ardor for his children, it's someone who has rescued an orphan from despair, for that is what God has done for us. Adopted children are chosen children.
When the doctor handed Max Lucado to Jack Lucado, my dad had no exit option. He couldn't give me back in exchange for a better-looking or smarter son. But if you are adopted, your parents chose you. Surprise pregnancies happen. But surprise adoptions? Never heard of one. Your parents could have picked a different gender, color, or ancestry. But they selected you. They wanted you in their family…Congratulations!
From Dad Time
Numbers 27
The Daughters of Zelophehad
The daughters of Zelophehad showed up. Their father was the son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Makir son of Manasseh, belonging to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
2-4 They came to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. They stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest and before the leaders and the congregation and said, “Our father died in the wilderness. He wasn’t part of Korah’s rebel anti-God gang. He died for his own sins. And he left no sons. But why should our father’s name die out from his clan just because he had no sons? So give us an inheritance among our father’s relatives.”
5 Moses brought their case to God.
6-7 God ruled: “Zelophehad’s daughters are right. Give them land as an inheritance among their father’s relatives. Give them their father’s inheritance.
8-11 “Then tell the People of Israel, If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. If he has no daughter, give it to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give it to his father’s brothers. If his father had no brothers, give it to the nearest relative so that the inheritance stays in the family. This is the standard procedure for the People of Israel, as commanded by God through Moses.”
Joshua
12-14 God said to Moses, “Climb up into the Abarim Mountains and look over at the land that I am giving to the People of Israel. When you’ve had a good look you’ll be joined to your ancestors in the grave—yes, you also along with Aaron your brother. This goes back to the day when the congregation quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin and you didn’t honor me in holy reverence before them in the matter of the waters, the Waters of Meribah (Quarreling) at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.”
15-17 Moses responded to God: “Let God, the God of the spirits of everyone living, set a man over this community to lead them, to show the way ahead and bring them back home so God’s community will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18-21 God said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun—the Spirit is in him!—and place your hand on him. Stand him before Eleazar the priest in front of the entire congregation and commission him with everyone watching. Pass your magisterial authority over to him so that the whole congregation of the People of Israel will listen obediently to him. He is to consult with Eleazar the priest who, using the oracle-Urim, will prayerfully advise him in the presence of God. He will command the People of Israel, the entire community, in all their comings and goings.”
22-23 Moses followed God’s orders. He took Joshua and stood him before Eleazar the priest in front of the entire community. He laid his hands on him and commissioned him, following the procedures God had given Moses.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Read: 1 Peter 4:7–11
Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!
INSIGHT
In 1 Peter 4, the apostle challenges the church to hospitality then reinforces that challenge with a call to service (vv. 10–11). In verse 10 he reminds believers that we’ve received gifts for that very purpose, and as we utilize those gifts in serving others we become expressions of God’s grace. It appears from these statements that Peter is giving his readers a glimpse into the realm of spiritual gifts about which Paul wrote in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12.
Spiritual gifts are the Holy Spirit’s provision for equipping followers of Jesus to help one another (1 Corinthians 12:7). While Paul offers a more extended list of these gifts, Peter compresses them into two basic categories: speaking gifts and serving gifts (1 Peter 4:11). Both provide support and resources for the kind of hospitality described in today’s devotional. As we encourage people with the Scriptures and help them by acts of service, the family of God is strengthened and the hurting are helped.
For more on spiritual service, check out the free download, The Church We Need. - Bill Crowder
A Warm Welcome
By Dave Branon
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4:9
“Who will hug everybody?”
That was one of the questions our friend Steve asked after he got the news that he had cancer and realized he would be away from our church for a while. Steve is the kind of man who makes everyone feel welcome—with a friendly greeting, a warm handshake, and even a “holy hug” for some—to adapt an application from Romans 16:16, which says, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.”
And now, as we pray for Steve that God will heal him, he is concerned that as he goes through surgery and treatment—and is away from our church for a time—we will miss out on those welcoming greetings.
Perhaps not all of us are cut out to greet one another as openly as Steve does, but his example of caring for people is a good reminder to us. Notice that Peter says to “offer hospitality to one another without grumbling,” or in a way that centers on love (1 Peter 4:9; see Philippians 2:14). While first-century hospitality included offering accommodations to travelers—even that always starts with a welcoming greeting.
As we interact with others in love, whether with a hug or just a friendly smile, we do so “that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11).
Lord, help us to represent You to others. Guide us to show hospitality in a way that will show others Your love.
When we practice hospitality, we share God’s goodness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, June 10, 2018
And After That What’s Next To Do?
…seek, and you will find… —Luke 11:9
Seek if you have not found. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss…” (James 4:3). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, “you ask amiss”; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. “…seek, and you will find….” Get to work— narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? “…seek, [focus,] and you will find….”
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…” (Isaiah 55:1). Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent— so satisfied with your own experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what you have found, but you can cause him to have a desire for it.
“…knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). “Draw near to God…” (James 4:8). Knock— the door is closed, and your heartbeat races as you knock. “Cleanse your hands…” (James 4:8). Knock a bit louder— you begin to find that you are dirty. “…purify your hearts…” (James 4:8). It is becoming even more personal— you are desperate and serious now— you will do anything. “Lament…” (James 4:9). Have you ever lamented, expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is no thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are. “Humble yourselves…” (James 4:10). It is a humbling experience to knock at God’s door— you have to knock with the crucified thief. “…to him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
If a man cannot prove his religion in the valley, it is not worth anything. Shade of His Hand, 1200 L
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Numbers 26, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: No Price Too High
A father is the one person in your life who provides for and protects you. That is exactly what God has done! When our oldest daughter, Jenna, was two years old, I lost her in a department store. One minute she was at my side and the next she was gone. I panicked. All of a sudden only one thing mattered-I had to find my daughter. Shopping was forgotten. The list of things I came to get was unimportant. I yelled her name. What people thought did not matter. For a few minutes, every ounce of energy had one goal-to find my lost child. I did, by the way. She was hiding behind some jackets.
No price is too high for a parent to pay to redeem his child. No energy is too great. No effort is too demanding. A parent will go to any length to find his or her own. So will God!
From Dad Time
Numbers 26
Census on the Plains of Moab
1-2 After the plague God said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, “Number the entire community of Israel by families—count every person who is twenty years and older who is able to serve in the army of Israel.”
3-4 Obeying God’s command, Moses and Eleazar the priest addressed them on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho: “Count off from age twenty and older.”
4-7 The People of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt:
Reuben, Israel’s firstborn. The sons of Reuben were:
Hanoch and the Hanochite clan,
Pallu and the Palluite clan,
Hezron and the Hezronite clan,
Carmi and the Carmite clan.
These made up the Reubenite clans. They numbered 43,730.
8 The son of Pallu: Eliab.
9-11 The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. (These were the same Dathan and Abiram, community leaders from Korah’s gang, who rebelled against Moses and Aaron in the Korah Rebellion against God. The Earth opened its jaws and swallowed them along with Korah’s gang who died when the fire ate them up, all 250 of them. After all these years, they’re still a warning sign. But the line of Korah did not die out.)
12-14 The sons of Simeon by clans:
Nemuel and the Nemuelite clan,
Jamin and the Jaminite clan,
Jakin and the Jakinite clan,
Zerah and the Zerahite clan,
Shaul and the Shaulite clan.
These were the clans of Simeon. They numbered 22,200 men.
15-18 The sons of Gad by clans:
Zephon and the Zephonite clan,
Haggi and the Haggite clan,
Shuni and the Shunite clan,
Ozni and the Oznite clan,
Eri and the Erite clan,
Arodi and the Arodite clan,
Areli and the Arelite clan.
These were the clans of Gad. They numbered 40,500 men.
19-22 Er and Onan were sons of Judah who died early on in Canaan. The sons of Judah by clans:
Shelah and the Shelanite clan,
Perez and the Perezite clan,
Zerah and the Zerahite clan.
The sons of Perez:
Hezron and the Hezronite clan,
Hamul and the Hamulite clan.
These were the clans of Judah. They numbered 76,500.
23-25 The sons of Issachar by clans:
Tola and the Tolaite clan,
Puah and the Puite clan,
Jashub and the Jashubite clan,
Shimron and the Shimronite clan.
These were the clans of Issachar. They numbered 64,300.
26-27 The sons of Zebulun by clans:
Sered and the Seredite clan,
Elon and the Elonite clan,
Jahleel and the Jahleelite clan.
These were the clans of Zebulun. They numbered 60,500.
28-34 The sons of Joseph by clans through Manasseh and Ephraim. Through Manasseh:
Makir and the Makirite clan
(now Makir was the father of Gilead),
Gilead and the Gileadite clan.
The sons of Gilead:
Iezer and the Iezerite clan,
Helek and the Helekite clan,
Asriel and the Asrielite clan,
Shechem and the Shechemite clan,
Shemida and the Shemidaite clan,
Hepher and the Hepherite clan.
Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons, only daughters.
Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
These were the clans of Manasseh. They numbered 52,700.
35-37 The sons of Ephraim by clans:
Shuthelah and the Shuthelahite clan,
Beker and the Bekerite clan,
Tahan and the Tahanite clan.
The sons of Shuthelah:
Eran and the Eranite clan.
These were the clans of Ephraim. They numbered 32,500.
These are all the sons of Joseph by their clans.
38-41 The sons of Benjamin by clans:
Bela and the Belaite clan,
Ashbel and the Ashbelite clan,
Ahiram and the Ahiramite clan,
Shupham and the Shuphamite clan,
Hupham and the Huphamite clan.
The sons of Bela through Ard and Naaman:
Ard and the Ardite clan,
Naaman and the Naamite clan.
These were the clans of Benjamin. They numbered 45,600.
42-43 The sons of Dan by clan:
Shuham and the Shuhamite clan.
These are the clans of Dan, all Shuhamite clans. They numbered 64,400.
44-47 The sons of Asher by clan:
Imnah and the Imnite clan,
Ishvi and the Ishvite clan,
Beriah and the Beriite clan.
The sons of Beriah:
Heber and the Heberite clan,
Malkiel and the Malkielite clan.
Asher also had a daughter, Serah.
These were the clans of Asher. They numbered 53,400.
48-50 The sons of Naphtali by clans:
Jahzeel and the Jahzeelite clan,
Guni and the Gunite clan,
Jezer and the Jezerite clan,
Shillem and the Shillemite clan.
These were the clans of Naphtali. They numbered 45,400.
51 The total number of the People of Israel: 601,730.
52-54 God spoke to Moses: “Divide up the inheritance of the land based on population. A larger group gets a larger inheritance; a smaller group gets a smaller inheritance—each gets its inheritance based on the population count.
55-56 “Make sure that the land is assigned by lot.
“Each group’s inheritance is based on population, the number of names listed in its ancestral tribe, divided among the many and the few by lot.”
57-58 These are the numberings of the Levites by clan:
Gershon and the Gershonite clan,
Kohath and the Kohathite clan,
Merari and the Merarite clan.
The Levite clans also included:
the Libnite clan,
the Hebronite clan,
the Mahlite clan,
the Mushite clan,
the Korahite clan.
58-61 Kohath was the father of Amram. Amram’s wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, born into the Levite family during the Egyptian years. Jochebed bore Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam to Amram. Aaron was the father of Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar; however, Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized sacrifice in the presence of God.
62 The numbering of Levite males one month and older came to 23,000. They hadn’t been counted in with the rest of the People of Israel because they didn’t inherit any land.
63-65 These are the ones numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, the People of Israel counted in the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho. Not one of them had been among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest in the census of the People of Israel taken in the Wilderness of Sinai. For God had said of them, “They’ll die, die in the wilderness—not one of them will be left except for Caleb son of Jephunneh, and Joshua son of Nun.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, June 09, 2018
Read: Psalm 27
A David Psalm
Light, space, zest—
that’s God!
So, with him on my side I’m fearless,
afraid of no one and nothing.
2 When vandal hordes ride down
ready to eat me alive,
Those bullies and toughs
fall flat on their faces.
3 When besieged,
I’m calm as a baby.
When all hell breaks loose,
I’m collected and cool.
4 I’m asking God for one thing,
only one thing:
To live with him in his house
my whole life long.
I’ll contemplate his beauty;
I’ll study at his feet.
5 That’s the only quiet, secure place
in a noisy world,
The perfect getaway,
far from the buzz of traffic.
6 God holds me head and shoulders
above all who try to pull me down.
I’m headed for his place to offer anthems
that will raise the roof!
Already I’m singing God-songs;
I’m making music to God.
7-9 Listen, God, I’m calling at the top of my lungs:
“Be good to me! Answer me!”
When my heart whispered, “Seek God,”
my whole being replied,
“I’m seeking him!”
Don’t hide from me now!
9-10 You’ve always been right there for me;
don’t turn your back on me now.
Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me;
you’ve always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me,
but God took me in.
11-12 Point me down your highway, God;
direct me along a well-lighted street;
show my enemies whose side you’re on.
Don’t throw me to the dogs,
those liars who are out to get me,
filling the air with their threats.
13-14 I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness
in the exuberant earth.
Stay with God!
Take heart. Don’t quit.
I’ll say it again:
Stay with God.
The Perfect Father
By Xochitl Dixon
Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Psalm 27:10
Standing in the crowded store aisle, I struggled to find the perfect Father’s Day card. Although we had reconciled after years of a strained connection, I had never felt close to my dad.
The woman next to me groaned and shoved the card she’d been reading back into the display. “Why can’t they make cards for people who don’t have good relationships with their fathers, but are trying to do the right thing?”
She stormed off before I could respond, so I prayed for her. Thanking God for affirming only He could be a perfect Father, I asked Him to strengthen my relationship with my dad.
I long for deeper intimacy with my heavenly Father too. I want David’s confidence in God’s constant presence, power, and protection (Psalm 27:1–6).
When David cried out for help, he expected God’s answers (vv. 7–9). Though earthly parents could reject, abandon, or neglect their children, David declared God’s unconditional acceptance (v. 10). He lived with assurance in the Lord’s goodness (vv. 11–13). Like most of us, David sometimes struggled, but the Holy Spirit helped him persevere in trust and dependence on the Lord (v. 14).
We will encounter difficult relationships on this side of eternity. But even when people fall short, fail us, or hurt us, we’re still completely loved and protected by the only Perfect Father.
Lord, thank You for being a Father we can always count on.
God—the Perfect Father—will never let us down, leave us, or stop loving us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, June 09, 2018
Then What’s Next To Do?
Everyone who asks receives… —Luke 11:10
Ask if you have not received. There is nothing more difficult than asking. We will have yearnings and desires for certain things, and even suffer as a result of their going unfulfilled, but not until we are at the limit of desperation will we ask. It is the sense of not being spiritually real that causes us to ask. Have you ever asked out of the depths of your total insufficiency and poverty? “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God…” (James 1:5), but be sure that you do lack wisdom before you ask. You cannot bring yourself to the point of spiritual reality anytime you choose. The best thing to do, once you realize you are not spiritually real, is to ask God for the Holy Spirit, basing your request on the promise of Jesus Christ (see Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit is the one who makes everything that Jesus did for you real in your life.
“Everyone who asks receives….” This does not mean that you will not get if you do not ask, but it means that until you come to the point of asking, you will not receive from God (seeMatthew 5:45). To be able to receive means that you have to come into the relationship of a child of God, and then you comprehend and appreciate mentally, morally, and with spiritual understanding, that these things come from God.
“If any of you lacks wisdom….” If you realize that you are lacking, it is because you have come in contact with spiritual reality— do not put the blinders of reason on again. The word ask actually means “beg.” Some people are poor enough to be interested in their poverty, and some of us are poor enough spiritually to show our interest. Yet we will never receive if we ask with a certain result in mind, because we are asking out of our lust, not out of our poverty. A pauper does not ask out of any reason other than the completely hopeless and painful condition of his poverty. He is not ashamed to beg— blessed are the paupers in spirit (see Matthew 5:3).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest. Disciples Indeed, 395 L
A father is the one person in your life who provides for and protects you. That is exactly what God has done! When our oldest daughter, Jenna, was two years old, I lost her in a department store. One minute she was at my side and the next she was gone. I panicked. All of a sudden only one thing mattered-I had to find my daughter. Shopping was forgotten. The list of things I came to get was unimportant. I yelled her name. What people thought did not matter. For a few minutes, every ounce of energy had one goal-to find my lost child. I did, by the way. She was hiding behind some jackets.
No price is too high for a parent to pay to redeem his child. No energy is too great. No effort is too demanding. A parent will go to any length to find his or her own. So will God!
From Dad Time
Numbers 26
Census on the Plains of Moab
1-2 After the plague God said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, “Number the entire community of Israel by families—count every person who is twenty years and older who is able to serve in the army of Israel.”
3-4 Obeying God’s command, Moses and Eleazar the priest addressed them on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho: “Count off from age twenty and older.”
4-7 The People of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt:
Reuben, Israel’s firstborn. The sons of Reuben were:
Hanoch and the Hanochite clan,
Pallu and the Palluite clan,
Hezron and the Hezronite clan,
Carmi and the Carmite clan.
These made up the Reubenite clans. They numbered 43,730.
8 The son of Pallu: Eliab.
9-11 The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. (These were the same Dathan and Abiram, community leaders from Korah’s gang, who rebelled against Moses and Aaron in the Korah Rebellion against God. The Earth opened its jaws and swallowed them along with Korah’s gang who died when the fire ate them up, all 250 of them. After all these years, they’re still a warning sign. But the line of Korah did not die out.)
12-14 The sons of Simeon by clans:
Nemuel and the Nemuelite clan,
Jamin and the Jaminite clan,
Jakin and the Jakinite clan,
Zerah and the Zerahite clan,
Shaul and the Shaulite clan.
These were the clans of Simeon. They numbered 22,200 men.
15-18 The sons of Gad by clans:
Zephon and the Zephonite clan,
Haggi and the Haggite clan,
Shuni and the Shunite clan,
Ozni and the Oznite clan,
Eri and the Erite clan,
Arodi and the Arodite clan,
Areli and the Arelite clan.
These were the clans of Gad. They numbered 40,500 men.
19-22 Er and Onan were sons of Judah who died early on in Canaan. The sons of Judah by clans:
Shelah and the Shelanite clan,
Perez and the Perezite clan,
Zerah and the Zerahite clan.
The sons of Perez:
Hezron and the Hezronite clan,
Hamul and the Hamulite clan.
These were the clans of Judah. They numbered 76,500.
23-25 The sons of Issachar by clans:
Tola and the Tolaite clan,
Puah and the Puite clan,
Jashub and the Jashubite clan,
Shimron and the Shimronite clan.
These were the clans of Issachar. They numbered 64,300.
26-27 The sons of Zebulun by clans:
Sered and the Seredite clan,
Elon and the Elonite clan,
Jahleel and the Jahleelite clan.
These were the clans of Zebulun. They numbered 60,500.
28-34 The sons of Joseph by clans through Manasseh and Ephraim. Through Manasseh:
Makir and the Makirite clan
(now Makir was the father of Gilead),
Gilead and the Gileadite clan.
The sons of Gilead:
Iezer and the Iezerite clan,
Helek and the Helekite clan,
Asriel and the Asrielite clan,
Shechem and the Shechemite clan,
Shemida and the Shemidaite clan,
Hepher and the Hepherite clan.
Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons, only daughters.
Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
These were the clans of Manasseh. They numbered 52,700.
35-37 The sons of Ephraim by clans:
Shuthelah and the Shuthelahite clan,
Beker and the Bekerite clan,
Tahan and the Tahanite clan.
The sons of Shuthelah:
Eran and the Eranite clan.
These were the clans of Ephraim. They numbered 32,500.
These are all the sons of Joseph by their clans.
38-41 The sons of Benjamin by clans:
Bela and the Belaite clan,
Ashbel and the Ashbelite clan,
Ahiram and the Ahiramite clan,
Shupham and the Shuphamite clan,
Hupham and the Huphamite clan.
The sons of Bela through Ard and Naaman:
Ard and the Ardite clan,
Naaman and the Naamite clan.
These were the clans of Benjamin. They numbered 45,600.
42-43 The sons of Dan by clan:
Shuham and the Shuhamite clan.
These are the clans of Dan, all Shuhamite clans. They numbered 64,400.
44-47 The sons of Asher by clan:
Imnah and the Imnite clan,
Ishvi and the Ishvite clan,
Beriah and the Beriite clan.
The sons of Beriah:
Heber and the Heberite clan,
Malkiel and the Malkielite clan.
Asher also had a daughter, Serah.
These were the clans of Asher. They numbered 53,400.
48-50 The sons of Naphtali by clans:
Jahzeel and the Jahzeelite clan,
Guni and the Gunite clan,
Jezer and the Jezerite clan,
Shillem and the Shillemite clan.
These were the clans of Naphtali. They numbered 45,400.
51 The total number of the People of Israel: 601,730.
52-54 God spoke to Moses: “Divide up the inheritance of the land based on population. A larger group gets a larger inheritance; a smaller group gets a smaller inheritance—each gets its inheritance based on the population count.
55-56 “Make sure that the land is assigned by lot.
“Each group’s inheritance is based on population, the number of names listed in its ancestral tribe, divided among the many and the few by lot.”
57-58 These are the numberings of the Levites by clan:
Gershon and the Gershonite clan,
Kohath and the Kohathite clan,
Merari and the Merarite clan.
The Levite clans also included:
the Libnite clan,
the Hebronite clan,
the Mahlite clan,
the Mushite clan,
the Korahite clan.
58-61 Kohath was the father of Amram. Amram’s wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, born into the Levite family during the Egyptian years. Jochebed bore Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam to Amram. Aaron was the father of Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar; however, Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized sacrifice in the presence of God.
62 The numbering of Levite males one month and older came to 23,000. They hadn’t been counted in with the rest of the People of Israel because they didn’t inherit any land.
63-65 These are the ones numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, the People of Israel counted in the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho. Not one of them had been among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest in the census of the People of Israel taken in the Wilderness of Sinai. For God had said of them, “They’ll die, die in the wilderness—not one of them will be left except for Caleb son of Jephunneh, and Joshua son of Nun.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, June 09, 2018
Read: Psalm 27
A David Psalm
Light, space, zest—
that’s God!
So, with him on my side I’m fearless,
afraid of no one and nothing.
2 When vandal hordes ride down
ready to eat me alive,
Those bullies and toughs
fall flat on their faces.
3 When besieged,
I’m calm as a baby.
When all hell breaks loose,
I’m collected and cool.
4 I’m asking God for one thing,
only one thing:
To live with him in his house
my whole life long.
I’ll contemplate his beauty;
I’ll study at his feet.
5 That’s the only quiet, secure place
in a noisy world,
The perfect getaway,
far from the buzz of traffic.
6 God holds me head and shoulders
above all who try to pull me down.
I’m headed for his place to offer anthems
that will raise the roof!
Already I’m singing God-songs;
I’m making music to God.
7-9 Listen, God, I’m calling at the top of my lungs:
“Be good to me! Answer me!”
When my heart whispered, “Seek God,”
my whole being replied,
“I’m seeking him!”
Don’t hide from me now!
9-10 You’ve always been right there for me;
don’t turn your back on me now.
Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me;
you’ve always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me,
but God took me in.
11-12 Point me down your highway, God;
direct me along a well-lighted street;
show my enemies whose side you’re on.
Don’t throw me to the dogs,
those liars who are out to get me,
filling the air with their threats.
13-14 I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness
in the exuberant earth.
Stay with God!
Take heart. Don’t quit.
I’ll say it again:
Stay with God.
The Perfect Father
By Xochitl Dixon
Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Psalm 27:10
Standing in the crowded store aisle, I struggled to find the perfect Father’s Day card. Although we had reconciled after years of a strained connection, I had never felt close to my dad.
The woman next to me groaned and shoved the card she’d been reading back into the display. “Why can’t they make cards for people who don’t have good relationships with their fathers, but are trying to do the right thing?”
She stormed off before I could respond, so I prayed for her. Thanking God for affirming only He could be a perfect Father, I asked Him to strengthen my relationship with my dad.
I long for deeper intimacy with my heavenly Father too. I want David’s confidence in God’s constant presence, power, and protection (Psalm 27:1–6).
When David cried out for help, he expected God’s answers (vv. 7–9). Though earthly parents could reject, abandon, or neglect their children, David declared God’s unconditional acceptance (v. 10). He lived with assurance in the Lord’s goodness (vv. 11–13). Like most of us, David sometimes struggled, but the Holy Spirit helped him persevere in trust and dependence on the Lord (v. 14).
We will encounter difficult relationships on this side of eternity. But even when people fall short, fail us, or hurt us, we’re still completely loved and protected by the only Perfect Father.
Lord, thank You for being a Father we can always count on.
God—the Perfect Father—will never let us down, leave us, or stop loving us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, June 09, 2018
Then What’s Next To Do?
Everyone who asks receives… —Luke 11:10
Ask if you have not received. There is nothing more difficult than asking. We will have yearnings and desires for certain things, and even suffer as a result of their going unfulfilled, but not until we are at the limit of desperation will we ask. It is the sense of not being spiritually real that causes us to ask. Have you ever asked out of the depths of your total insufficiency and poverty? “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God…” (James 1:5), but be sure that you do lack wisdom before you ask. You cannot bring yourself to the point of spiritual reality anytime you choose. The best thing to do, once you realize you are not spiritually real, is to ask God for the Holy Spirit, basing your request on the promise of Jesus Christ (see Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit is the one who makes everything that Jesus did for you real in your life.
“Everyone who asks receives….” This does not mean that you will not get if you do not ask, but it means that until you come to the point of asking, you will not receive from God (seeMatthew 5:45). To be able to receive means that you have to come into the relationship of a child of God, and then you comprehend and appreciate mentally, morally, and with spiritual understanding, that these things come from God.
“If any of you lacks wisdom….” If you realize that you are lacking, it is because you have come in contact with spiritual reality— do not put the blinders of reason on again. The word ask actually means “beg.” Some people are poor enough to be interested in their poverty, and some of us are poor enough spiritually to show our interest. Yet we will never receive if we ask with a certain result in mind, because we are asking out of our lust, not out of our poverty. A pauper does not ask out of any reason other than the completely hopeless and painful condition of his poverty. He is not ashamed to beg— blessed are the paupers in spirit (see Matthew 5:3).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest. Disciples Indeed, 395 L
Friday, June 8, 2018
Numbers 25, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: SCULPTED FROM NOTHING INTO SOMETHING - June 8, 2018
You are more than statistical chance, a marriage of heredity and society. Thanks to God, you have been “sculpted from nothing into something.” (Psalm 139:15). He made you you-nique. Secular thinking, as a whole, doesn’t buy this. Society simply says, “You can be anything you want to be.” But can you?
God never prefabs or mass-produces people. “I make all things new,” he declares! Revelation 21:5). So, you can do something no one else can do in a fashion no one else can do it. “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that” (Galatians 6:4). When you do the most what you do the best, you put a smile on God’s face. What could be better than that?
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Numbers 25
The Orgy at Shittim
1-3 While Israel was camped at Shittim (Acacia Grove), the men began to have sex with the Moabite women. It started when the women invited the men to their sex-and-religion worship. They ate together and then worshiped their gods. Israel ended up joining in the worship of the Baal of Peor. God was furious, his anger blazing out against Israel.
4 God said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of Israel and kill them by hanging, leaving them publicly exposed in order to turn God’s anger away from Israel.”
5 Moses issued orders to the judges of Israel: “Each of you must execute the men under your jurisdiction who joined in the worship of Baal Peor.”
6-9 Just then, while everyone was weeping in penitence at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, an Israelite man, flaunting his behavior in front of Moses and the whole assembly, paraded a Midianite woman into his family tent. Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw what he was doing, grabbed his spear, and followed them into the tent. With one thrust he drove the spear through the two of them, the man of Israel and the woman, right through their private parts. That stopped the plague from continuing among the People of Israel. But 24,000 had already died.
10-13 God spoke to Moses: “Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has stopped my anger against the People of Israel. Because he was as zealous for my honor as I myself am, I didn’t kill all the People of Israel in my zeal. So tell him that I am making a Covenant-of-Peace with him. He and his descendants are joined in a covenant of eternal priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the People of Israel.”
14-15 The name of the man of Israel who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the head of the Simeonite family. And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.
16-18 God spoke to Moses: “From here on make the Midianites your enemies. Fight them tooth and nail. They turned out to be your enemies when they seduced you in the business of Peor and that woman Cozbi, daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed at the time of the plague in the matter of Peor.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, June 08, 2018
Read: Galatians 5:22–26
But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
23-24 Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.
25-26 Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
INSIGHT
Policemen, firemen, doctors, and nurses put on clothes that distinctively identify them. What about the Christian? What distinguishes us as followers of Jesus? Paul tells us to “clothe [ourselves] with the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14). Earlier in Romans Paul says, God “predestined [us] to be conformed to the image of his Son” (8:29). It was God’s intention when He saved us that we would become like His Son. Our spiritual transformation is a process, however (2 Corinthians 3:18). The Holy Spirit works in us to increasingly make us more like Christ (1 John 3:2). To be like Jesus is “to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:24 nlt). Our transformation will only be fully completed at the second coming of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:49–53).
As you reflect on your spiritual transformation since coming to Jesus, in what areas have you seen growth? Can others say, “I can see Christ in you”? - K. T. Sim
Faces
By David H. Roper
We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory. 2 Corinthians 3:18
When our granddaughter Sarah was very young, she explained to me what happens when you die: “Only your face goes to heaven, not your body. You get a new body, but keep the same face.”
Sarah’s concept of our eternal state was a child’s understanding, of course, but she did grasp an essential truth. In a sense, our faces are a visible reflection of the invisible soul.
My mother used to say that an angry look might someday freeze on my face. She was wiser than she knew. A worried brow, an angry set to our mouths, a sly look in our eyes may reveal a miserable soul. On the other hand, kind eyes, a gentle look, a warm and welcoming smile—despite wrinkles, blemishes, and other disfigurements—become the marks of inner transformation.
We can’t do much about the faces we were born with, but we can do something about the kind of person we’re growing into. We can pray for humility, patience, kindness, tolerance, gratefulness, forgiveness, peace, and love (Galatians 5:22–26).
By God’s grace, and in His time, may you and I grow toward an inner resemblance to our Lord, a likeness reflected in a kind, old face. Thus, as English poet John Donne (1572–1631) said, age becomes “loveliest at the latest day.”
Lord Jesus, I want to be more like You each day. Help me to cooperate with the work You want to do in my heart.
There’s nothing like the beauty of a loving heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, June 08, 2018
What’s Next To Do?
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. —John 13:17
By Oswald Chambers
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. —John 13:17
Be determined to know more than others. If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and your eyes will be opened. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself— begin to have spiritual discernment.
When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more. Examine where you have become sluggish, where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do. You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it. But now you have no insight or discernment, and at a time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled. It is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more.
The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create your own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1-2. It is much better to fulfill the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than it is to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…” (1 Samuel 15:22). Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been. “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know…” (John 7:17).
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
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, June 08, 2018
When It's Hard to Put Your Life Together - #8195
"Daddy, will you play with me?" I can still hear those echoes from when our kids were little. And I can still remember how preoccupied I was a lot of times when they asked that. So I can relate to the man who was reading his Sunday newspaper - you know, one of the big ones that comes in volumes. His little guy kept tapping on the newspaper and asking his Daddy to play with him. Dad kept giving him little things to do to keep him occupied. Finally, he tried another way to be able to finish his paper. He actually tore out a page that had a map of the world on it and he ripped it into pieces. He said, "Scotty, why don't you put this puzzle together. As soon as you've got it finished, I promise I'll come and play." Two minutes later, Scotty was tapping on Dad's newspaper again. "I'm finished," he said. And there it was, the whole map of the world together on the floor. Dad said, "Son, how did you ever put that together so fast?" His little guy replied: "It was easy, Daddy. There was a picture of a man on the other side. If you put the man together right, the world goes together just fine!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When It's Hard to Put Your Life Together."
And that might be a title for this particular season of your life: "Putting My Life Together." Right now, maybe there's just a lot of pieces: financially, spiritually, maritally, parentally. Maybe there are problems at work or in your relationships. Or some inner struggles with who you are, why you're here and where you're going. It's a time of confusion, frustration, maybe even some despair.
You've been pretty focused on your battles; you've been pretty focused on your problems. But you might be missing what the baseline issue really is. What the little boy said to his dad might be a key to getting things together, "If you put the man together right, the world goes together just fine." You know, that's what Jesus has been doing for people for 2,000 years. He puts the man or woman together. And if you will allow Him to put you together, it could be that your home, your relationships, your work, your future...well, maybe they would go together just fine.
There's a helpful picture of many of us in a story that Jesus told, recorded in Luke 15, beginning with verse 13. It's our word for today from the Word of God. It's the story of the Prodigal Son; a guy who couldn't figure out why things were such a mess. He had asked his dad for his inheritance early and the Bible says, "he set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living ... He spent everything." There's a picture of us. We've taken the life that God gave us and we've gone off and squandered it, living the way we want instead of the way He made us to live. We don't wake up until we've spent everything. This guy ended up feeding pigs and sharing their meals just to stay alive.
Then it says, "When he came to his senses" or one translation says, "when he came to himself, he said ... 'I will go back to my father and say to him: 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.'" Well, he did, and his father welcomed him like royalty. That young man probably thought of every possible reason for his predicament except the real one - himself. That's where your answer will begin. Let's get past what your spouse or your kids or your parents or other people have done. Could it be that you're the puzzle that needs to be put together? The real issue is a you that's lost, and we can't put ourselves together. Our only hope is to go to the Father in heaven who can.
The Father sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to make it possible for us to go home. It took His dying on the cross, though, to remove that awful death penalty for our sin and then His coming back from His grave. And because He has the power to fix the central issue that messes up our lives (it's called sin), He is your hope of finally putting the pieces together. But you have to admit, "Lord, I'm the problem, and You're the answer." He's been waiting for you to finally reach out to Him so He can do for your life what only He can do. You say, "Jesus, I'm not in charge anymore. I'm all yours."
Our website is there to really lay out for you the steps to beginning this relationship. I hope you'll go there today - ANewStory.com.
Jesus in your life will make all the difference. You have to put the man or the woman together before you can put your world together right, and Jesus has done that for so many people for so long. He's done it for me, and He's waiting to do it for you.
Thursday, June 7, 2018
Numbers 24, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE BIG IDEA - June 7, 2018
Scripture says “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good” (Ecclesiastes 2:24).
I just heard a groan. “But Max, my work is simply that—work! It pays my bills.” “Job satisfaction? I have no clue how to find my skill.” “Honor God? After the mess I’ve made of my life?”
Here’s the big idea: Use your uniqueness to make a big deal out of God every day of your life. At the convergence of all three– what you do; why you do it; and where you do it– is the cure for the common life. It’s your sweet spot! You have one, you know. Your life has a plot; your years have a theme. You can do something in a manner that no one else can. And when you find it and do it, another sweet spot is discovered!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Numbers 24
1-3 By now Balaam realized that God wanted to bless Israel. So he didn’t work in any sorcery as he had done earlier. He turned and looked out over the wilderness. As Balaam looked, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe. The Spirit of God came on him, and he spoke his oracle-message:
3-9 Decree of Balaam son of Beor,
yes, decree of a man with 20/20 vision;
Decree of a man who hears God speak,
who sees what The Strong God shows him,
Who falls on his face in worship,
who sees what’s really going on.
What beautiful tents, Jacob,
oh, your homes, Israel!
Like valleys stretching out in the distance,
like gardens planted by rivers,
Like sweet herbs planted by the gardener God,
like red cedars by pools and springs,
Their buckets will brim with water,
their seed will spread life everywhere.
Their king will tower over Agag and his ilk,
their kingdom surpassingly majestic.
God brought them out of Egypt,
rampaging like a wild ox,
Gulping enemies like morsels of meat,
crushing their bones, snapping their arrows.
Israel crouches like a lion and naps,
king-of-the-beasts—who dares disturb him?
Whoever blesses you is blessed,
whoever curses you is cursed.
10-11 Balak lost his temper with Balaam. He shook his fist. He said to Balaam: “I got you in here to curse my enemies and what have you done? Blessed them! Blessed them three times! Get out of here! Go home! I told you I would pay you well, but you’re getting nothing. You can blame God.”
12-15 Balaam said to Balak, “Didn’t I tell you up front when you sent your emissaries, ‘Even if Balak gave me his palace stuffed with silver and gold, I couldn’t do anything on my own, whether good or bad, that went against God’s command’? I’m leaving for home and my people, but I warn you of what this people will do to your people in the days to come.” Then he spoke his oracle-message:
15-19 Decree of Balaam son of Beor,
decree of the man with 20/20 vision,
Decree of the man who hears godly speech,
who knows what’s going on with the High God,
Who sees what The Strong God reveals,
who bows in worship and sees what’s real.
I see him, but not right now,
I perceive him, but not right here;
A star rises from Jacob
a scepter from Israel,
Crushing the heads of Moab,
the skulls of all the noisy windbags;
I see Edom sold off at auction,
enemy Seir marked down at the flea market,
while Israel walks off with the trophies.
A ruler is coming from Jacob
who’ll destroy what’s left in the city.
20 Then Balaam spotted Amalek and delivered an oracle-message. He said,
Amalek, you’re in first place among nations right now,
but you’re going to come in last, ruined.
21-22 He saw the Kenites and delivered his oracle-message to them:
Your home is in a nice secure place,
like a nest high on the face of a cliff.
Still, you Kenites will look stupid
when Asshur takes you prisoner.
23-24 Balaam spoke his final oracle-message:
Doom! Who stands a chance
when God starts in?
Sea-Peoples, raiders from across the sea,
will harass Asshur and Eber,
But they’ll also come to nothing,
just like all the rest.
25 Balaam got up and went home. Balak also went on his way.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, June 07, 2018
Read: Zephaniah 1:1–6; 2:1–3
No Longer Giving God a Thought or a Prayer
1 God’s Message to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. It came during the reign of Josiah son of Amon, who was king of Judah:
2 “I’m going to make a clean sweep of the earth,
a thorough housecleaning.” God’s Decree.
3 “Men and women and animals,
including birds and fish—
Anything and everything that causes sin—will go,
but especially people.
4-6 “I’ll start with Judah
and everybody who lives in Jerusalem.
I’ll sweep the place clean of every trace
of the sex-and-religion Baal shrines and their priests.
I’ll get rid of the people who sneak up to their rooftops at night
to worship the star gods and goddesses;
Also those who continue to worship God
but cover their bases by worshiping other king-gods as well;
Not to mention those who’ve dumped God altogether,
no longer giving him a thought or offering a prayer.
Zephaniah 2:1-3 The Message (MSG)
Seek God
2 1-2 So get yourselves together. Shape up!
You’re a nation without a clue about what it wants.
Do it before you’re blown away
like leaves in a windstorm,
Before God’s Judgment-anger
sweeps down on you,
Before God’s Judgment Day wrath
descends with full force.
3 Seek God, all you quietly disciplined people
who live by God’s justice.
Seek God’s right ways. Seek a quiet and disciplined life.
Perhaps you’ll be hidden on the Day of God’s anger.
INSIGHT
God’s judgment is the theme of Zephaniah and is predicted because the people “neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him” (1:6). Several groups are targeted: the priests, who thought they could worship God and false gods (v. 6); the royal family, “who fill the temple of their gods with violence and deceit” (v. 9); “merchants,” who exploit the poor (v. 11); and the “complacent” (v.12), who live comfortably while doing nothing to change their corrupt culture. When we mix God’s truth with error, as the idolatrous priests did, judgment is inevitable. - Tim Gustafson
And in Truth
By Tim Gustafson
In his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
Years ago, I attended a wedding where two people from different countries got married. Such a blending of cultures can be beautiful, but this ceremony included Christian traditions mixed with rituals from a faith that worshiped many gods.
Zephaniah the prophet pointedly condemned the mixing of other religions with faith in the one true God (sometimes called syncretism). Judah had become a people who bowed in worship to the true God but who also relied on the god Molek (Zephaniah 1:5). Zephaniah described their adoption of pagan culture (v. 8) and warned that as a result God would drive the people of Judah from their homeland.
Yet God never stopped loving His people. His judgment was to show them their need to turn to Him. So Zephaniah encouraged Judah to “Seek righteousness, seek humility” (2:3). Then the Lord gave them tender words promising future restoration: “At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home” (3:20).
It’s easy to condemn examples of obvious syncretism like the wedding I attended. But in reality, all of us easily blend God’s truth with the assumptions of our culture. We need the Holy Spirit’s guidance to test our beliefs against the truth of God’s Word and then to stand for that truth confidently and lovingly. Our Father warmly embraces anyone who worships Him in the Spirit and in truth (see John 4:23–24).
When I am in trouble, where do I turn? A crisis reveals where I put my trust. Is my faith completely in God? What do I need to give over to Him today?
God is always ready to forgive and restore.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, June 07, 2018
The Greatest Source of Power
Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do… —John 14:13
Am I fulfilling this ministry of intercession deep within the hidden recesses of my life? There is no trap nor any danger at all of being deceived or of showing pride in true intercession. It is a hidden ministry that brings forth fruit through which the Father is glorified. Am I allowing my spiritual life to waste away, or am I focused, bringing everything to one central point— the atonement of my Lord? Is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of my life? If the central point, or the most powerful influence, of my life is the atonement of the Lord, then every aspect of my life will bear fruit for Him.
However, I must take the time to realize what this central point of power is. Am I willing to give one minute out of every hour to concentrate on it? “If you abide in Me…”— that is, if you continue to act, and think, and work from that central point— “you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). Am I abiding? Am I taking the time to abide? What is the greatest source of power in my life? Is it my work, service, and sacrifice for others, or is it my striving to work for God? It should be none of these— what ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the atonement of the Lord. It is not on what we spend the greatest amount of time that molds us the most, but whatever exerts the most power over us. We must make a determination to limit and concentrate our desires and interests on the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
“Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do….” The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and what appears to be his free choices are actually God’s foreordained decrees. Is this mysterious? Does it appear to contradict sound logic or seem totally absurd? Yes, but what a glorious truth it is to a saint of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The sympathy which is reverent with what it cannot understand is worth its weight in gold. Baffled to Fight Better, 69 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, June 07, 2018
Playing Offense When the Pressure is On - #8194
I had the TV on while I was getting ready to go somewhere, and I caught a snatch of a TV talk show. The host was interviewing a former FBI agent - a man who had successfully infiltrated the Mafia and had been responsible for some major indictments. Now, in his underground life, he was, as you might expect, surrounded by cocaine. The talk show host asked the FBI man, "Did you ever have to use cocaine to maintain your cover?" Good question. Well, after all, his life depended on his fitting in. But he answered that question with a firm "No". The host said, "How did you avoid having to use cocaine?" I liked his answer. In fact, it might even help you where you're feeling the pressure to fit in.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Playing Offense When the Pressure is On."
So how did this Mafia infiltrator deal with the pressure to use cocaine? He said, "When the first guy offered it to me, I hit him." Okay, hold on! I am not recommending hitting people who are pressuring you to compromise, but I do like what the FBI man said next. "If you let them know from the start where you stand, they'll leave you alone." You know, that's a pretty solid principle for saying "No" to what you know is wrong.
That kind of "no compromise" character is exhibited in our word for today from the Word of God in Daniel 1 beginning in verse 5. Daniel is one of an elite group of Jewish young men who have been selected by the Babylonian king to be trained for royal service. Given the fact that the Jews were captives of the Babylonians, that's an incredible honor. Daniel was on a career path toward the top. Then came the test.
"The king assigned them," the Bible says, "a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service." The crisis here for Daniel was that his commitment to God included not eating some of these foods that were forbidden by Jewish law. Verse 8 says, "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine." Okay, this is a pretty gutsy stand, especially when the person who is asking you to compromise is the most powerful person on the planet.
Well, Daniel and his friends are allowed to eat only vegetables and water for ten days, after which their condition will be compared to that of the men who are cooperating with the king's diet. And "at the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead." Wow! So, Daniel chose conviction over compromise, and God blessed him and God promoted him.
Now Daniel could easily have waited to draw the line until he was facing a more major moral compromise. But, like that undercover agent, he let people know from the start where he stood - and they left him alone. You know, playing offense like that will ultimately work for you, too. Say "No" to the pressure right up front.
As long as people are trying to live like Jesus in a dirty world, there is going to be pressure to fit in. You probably feel it where you are - the pressure to compromise just a little bit on the truth, or on your purity, or on your allegiance to Jesus. Every time you compromise a little to fit in, you actually increase the pressure. They'll be back again, expecting you to give in again. But once you take a firm stand, pass a couple of tests, people generally will let you be what you said you'd be. My son summed it up when he was in high school. He said, "Life is so much simpler when you've decided to just be totally for Christ." Well, he's right.
Starting now, why don't you verbally, clearly, graciously let it be known where you stand. Pretty soon, I think they'll back off. They'll expect you to be what you said you would be. But when you're soft like Play-Doh, they're just going to keep squeezing. When you're solid like a rock, they'll realize that their squeezing is just never going to change what you are.
Scripture says “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good” (Ecclesiastes 2:24).
I just heard a groan. “But Max, my work is simply that—work! It pays my bills.” “Job satisfaction? I have no clue how to find my skill.” “Honor God? After the mess I’ve made of my life?”
Here’s the big idea: Use your uniqueness to make a big deal out of God every day of your life. At the convergence of all three– what you do; why you do it; and where you do it– is the cure for the common life. It’s your sweet spot! You have one, you know. Your life has a plot; your years have a theme. You can do something in a manner that no one else can. And when you find it and do it, another sweet spot is discovered!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Numbers 24
1-3 By now Balaam realized that God wanted to bless Israel. So he didn’t work in any sorcery as he had done earlier. He turned and looked out over the wilderness. As Balaam looked, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe. The Spirit of God came on him, and he spoke his oracle-message:
3-9 Decree of Balaam son of Beor,
yes, decree of a man with 20/20 vision;
Decree of a man who hears God speak,
who sees what The Strong God shows him,
Who falls on his face in worship,
who sees what’s really going on.
What beautiful tents, Jacob,
oh, your homes, Israel!
Like valleys stretching out in the distance,
like gardens planted by rivers,
Like sweet herbs planted by the gardener God,
like red cedars by pools and springs,
Their buckets will brim with water,
their seed will spread life everywhere.
Their king will tower over Agag and his ilk,
their kingdom surpassingly majestic.
God brought them out of Egypt,
rampaging like a wild ox,
Gulping enemies like morsels of meat,
crushing their bones, snapping their arrows.
Israel crouches like a lion and naps,
king-of-the-beasts—who dares disturb him?
Whoever blesses you is blessed,
whoever curses you is cursed.
10-11 Balak lost his temper with Balaam. He shook his fist. He said to Balaam: “I got you in here to curse my enemies and what have you done? Blessed them! Blessed them three times! Get out of here! Go home! I told you I would pay you well, but you’re getting nothing. You can blame God.”
12-15 Balaam said to Balak, “Didn’t I tell you up front when you sent your emissaries, ‘Even if Balak gave me his palace stuffed with silver and gold, I couldn’t do anything on my own, whether good or bad, that went against God’s command’? I’m leaving for home and my people, but I warn you of what this people will do to your people in the days to come.” Then he spoke his oracle-message:
15-19 Decree of Balaam son of Beor,
decree of the man with 20/20 vision,
Decree of the man who hears godly speech,
who knows what’s going on with the High God,
Who sees what The Strong God reveals,
who bows in worship and sees what’s real.
I see him, but not right now,
I perceive him, but not right here;
A star rises from Jacob
a scepter from Israel,
Crushing the heads of Moab,
the skulls of all the noisy windbags;
I see Edom sold off at auction,
enemy Seir marked down at the flea market,
while Israel walks off with the trophies.
A ruler is coming from Jacob
who’ll destroy what’s left in the city.
20 Then Balaam spotted Amalek and delivered an oracle-message. He said,
Amalek, you’re in first place among nations right now,
but you’re going to come in last, ruined.
21-22 He saw the Kenites and delivered his oracle-message to them:
Your home is in a nice secure place,
like a nest high on the face of a cliff.
Still, you Kenites will look stupid
when Asshur takes you prisoner.
23-24 Balaam spoke his final oracle-message:
Doom! Who stands a chance
when God starts in?
Sea-Peoples, raiders from across the sea,
will harass Asshur and Eber,
But they’ll also come to nothing,
just like all the rest.
25 Balaam got up and went home. Balak also went on his way.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, June 07, 2018
Read: Zephaniah 1:1–6; 2:1–3
No Longer Giving God a Thought or a Prayer
1 God’s Message to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. It came during the reign of Josiah son of Amon, who was king of Judah:
2 “I’m going to make a clean sweep of the earth,
a thorough housecleaning.” God’s Decree.
3 “Men and women and animals,
including birds and fish—
Anything and everything that causes sin—will go,
but especially people.
4-6 “I’ll start with Judah
and everybody who lives in Jerusalem.
I’ll sweep the place clean of every trace
of the sex-and-religion Baal shrines and their priests.
I’ll get rid of the people who sneak up to their rooftops at night
to worship the star gods and goddesses;
Also those who continue to worship God
but cover their bases by worshiping other king-gods as well;
Not to mention those who’ve dumped God altogether,
no longer giving him a thought or offering a prayer.
Zephaniah 2:1-3 The Message (MSG)
Seek God
2 1-2 So get yourselves together. Shape up!
You’re a nation without a clue about what it wants.
Do it before you’re blown away
like leaves in a windstorm,
Before God’s Judgment-anger
sweeps down on you,
Before God’s Judgment Day wrath
descends with full force.
3 Seek God, all you quietly disciplined people
who live by God’s justice.
Seek God’s right ways. Seek a quiet and disciplined life.
Perhaps you’ll be hidden on the Day of God’s anger.
INSIGHT
God’s judgment is the theme of Zephaniah and is predicted because the people “neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him” (1:6). Several groups are targeted: the priests, who thought they could worship God and false gods (v. 6); the royal family, “who fill the temple of their gods with violence and deceit” (v. 9); “merchants,” who exploit the poor (v. 11); and the “complacent” (v.12), who live comfortably while doing nothing to change their corrupt culture. When we mix God’s truth with error, as the idolatrous priests did, judgment is inevitable. - Tim Gustafson
And in Truth
By Tim Gustafson
In his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
Years ago, I attended a wedding where two people from different countries got married. Such a blending of cultures can be beautiful, but this ceremony included Christian traditions mixed with rituals from a faith that worshiped many gods.
Zephaniah the prophet pointedly condemned the mixing of other religions with faith in the one true God (sometimes called syncretism). Judah had become a people who bowed in worship to the true God but who also relied on the god Molek (Zephaniah 1:5). Zephaniah described their adoption of pagan culture (v. 8) and warned that as a result God would drive the people of Judah from their homeland.
Yet God never stopped loving His people. His judgment was to show them their need to turn to Him. So Zephaniah encouraged Judah to “Seek righteousness, seek humility” (2:3). Then the Lord gave them tender words promising future restoration: “At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home” (3:20).
It’s easy to condemn examples of obvious syncretism like the wedding I attended. But in reality, all of us easily blend God’s truth with the assumptions of our culture. We need the Holy Spirit’s guidance to test our beliefs against the truth of God’s Word and then to stand for that truth confidently and lovingly. Our Father warmly embraces anyone who worships Him in the Spirit and in truth (see John 4:23–24).
When I am in trouble, where do I turn? A crisis reveals where I put my trust. Is my faith completely in God? What do I need to give over to Him today?
God is always ready to forgive and restore.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, June 07, 2018
The Greatest Source of Power
Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do… —John 14:13
Am I fulfilling this ministry of intercession deep within the hidden recesses of my life? There is no trap nor any danger at all of being deceived or of showing pride in true intercession. It is a hidden ministry that brings forth fruit through which the Father is glorified. Am I allowing my spiritual life to waste away, or am I focused, bringing everything to one central point— the atonement of my Lord? Is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of my life? If the central point, or the most powerful influence, of my life is the atonement of the Lord, then every aspect of my life will bear fruit for Him.
However, I must take the time to realize what this central point of power is. Am I willing to give one minute out of every hour to concentrate on it? “If you abide in Me…”— that is, if you continue to act, and think, and work from that central point— “you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). Am I abiding? Am I taking the time to abide? What is the greatest source of power in my life? Is it my work, service, and sacrifice for others, or is it my striving to work for God? It should be none of these— what ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the atonement of the Lord. It is not on what we spend the greatest amount of time that molds us the most, but whatever exerts the most power over us. We must make a determination to limit and concentrate our desires and interests on the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
“Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do….” The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and what appears to be his free choices are actually God’s foreordained decrees. Is this mysterious? Does it appear to contradict sound logic or seem totally absurd? Yes, but what a glorious truth it is to a saint of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The sympathy which is reverent with what it cannot understand is worth its weight in gold. Baffled to Fight Better, 69 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, June 07, 2018
Playing Offense When the Pressure is On - #8194
I had the TV on while I was getting ready to go somewhere, and I caught a snatch of a TV talk show. The host was interviewing a former FBI agent - a man who had successfully infiltrated the Mafia and had been responsible for some major indictments. Now, in his underground life, he was, as you might expect, surrounded by cocaine. The talk show host asked the FBI man, "Did you ever have to use cocaine to maintain your cover?" Good question. Well, after all, his life depended on his fitting in. But he answered that question with a firm "No". The host said, "How did you avoid having to use cocaine?" I liked his answer. In fact, it might even help you where you're feeling the pressure to fit in.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Playing Offense When the Pressure is On."
So how did this Mafia infiltrator deal with the pressure to use cocaine? He said, "When the first guy offered it to me, I hit him." Okay, hold on! I am not recommending hitting people who are pressuring you to compromise, but I do like what the FBI man said next. "If you let them know from the start where you stand, they'll leave you alone." You know, that's a pretty solid principle for saying "No" to what you know is wrong.
That kind of "no compromise" character is exhibited in our word for today from the Word of God in Daniel 1 beginning in verse 5. Daniel is one of an elite group of Jewish young men who have been selected by the Babylonian king to be trained for royal service. Given the fact that the Jews were captives of the Babylonians, that's an incredible honor. Daniel was on a career path toward the top. Then came the test.
"The king assigned them," the Bible says, "a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service." The crisis here for Daniel was that his commitment to God included not eating some of these foods that were forbidden by Jewish law. Verse 8 says, "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine." Okay, this is a pretty gutsy stand, especially when the person who is asking you to compromise is the most powerful person on the planet.
Well, Daniel and his friends are allowed to eat only vegetables and water for ten days, after which their condition will be compared to that of the men who are cooperating with the king's diet. And "at the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead." Wow! So, Daniel chose conviction over compromise, and God blessed him and God promoted him.
Now Daniel could easily have waited to draw the line until he was facing a more major moral compromise. But, like that undercover agent, he let people know from the start where he stood - and they left him alone. You know, playing offense like that will ultimately work for you, too. Say "No" to the pressure right up front.
As long as people are trying to live like Jesus in a dirty world, there is going to be pressure to fit in. You probably feel it where you are - the pressure to compromise just a little bit on the truth, or on your purity, or on your allegiance to Jesus. Every time you compromise a little to fit in, you actually increase the pressure. They'll be back again, expecting you to give in again. But once you take a firm stand, pass a couple of tests, people generally will let you be what you said you'd be. My son summed it up when he was in high school. He said, "Life is so much simpler when you've decided to just be totally for Christ." Well, he's right.
Starting now, why don't you verbally, clearly, graciously let it be known where you stand. Pretty soon, I think they'll back off. They'll expect you to be what you said you would be. But when you're soft like Play-Doh, they're just going to keep squeezing. When you're solid like a rock, they'll realize that their squeezing is just never going to change what you are.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Numbers 23, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: YOUR WORK MATTERS TO GOD - June 6, 2018
God views your work worthy of its own engraved command. “You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest” (Exodus 34:21).
Whether you work at home or in the marketplace, your work matters to God. And your work matters to society. Cities need plumbers. Bones break. We need people to repair the first and set the last. Someone has to raise kids, raise cane, and manage the kids who raise cane. Whether you log on or lace up for the day, you imitate God. Jesus said, “My Father never stops working, and so I keep working, too” (John 5:17).
Your career consumes half of your lifetime. Shouldn’t it broadcast God? Don’t those forty to sixty hours a week belong to him as well?
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Numbers 23
Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and then prepare seven bulls and seven rams.”
2 Balak did it. Then Balaam and Balak sacrificed a bull and a ram on each of the altars.
3 Balaam instructed Balak: “Stand watch here beside your Whole-Burnt-Offering while I go off by myself. Maybe God will come and meet with me. Whatever he shows or tells me, I’ll report to you.” Then he went off by himself.
4 God did meet with Balaam. Balaam said, “I’ve set up seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.”
5 Then God gave Balaam a message: “Return to Balak and give him this message.”
6-10 He went back and found him stationed beside his Whole-Burnt-Offering and with him all the nobles of Moab. Then Balaam spoke his message-oracle:
Balak led me here from Aram,
the king of Moab all the way from the eastern mountains.
“Go, curse Jacob for me;
go, damn Israel.”
How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
How can I damn whom God has not damned?
From rock pinnacles I see them,
from hilltops I survey them:
Look! a people camping off by themselves,
thinking themselves outsiders among nations.
But who could ever count the dust of Jacob
or take a census of cloud-of-dust Israel?
I want to die like these right-living people!
I want an end just like theirs!
11 Balak said to Balaam, “What’s this? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and all you’ve done is bless them.”
12 Balaam answered, “Don’t I have to be careful to say what God gives me to say?”
13 Balak said to him, “Go with me to another place from which you can only see the outskirts of their camp—you won’t be able to see the whole camp. From there, curse them for my sake.”
14 So he took him to Watchmen’s Meadow at the top of Pisgah. He built seven altars there and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15 Balaam said to Balak, “Take up your station here beside your Whole-Burnt-Offering while I meet with him over there.”
16 God met with Balaam and gave him a message. He said, “Return to Balak and give him the message.”
17-24 Balaam returned and found him stationed beside his Whole-Burnt-Offering and the nobles of Moab with him. Balak said to him, “What did God say?” Then Balaam spoke his message-oracle:
On your feet, Balak. Listen,
listen carefully son of Zippor:
God is not man, one given to lies,
and not a son of man changing his mind.
Does he speak and not do what he says?
Does he promise and not come through?
I was brought here to bless;
and now he’s blessed—how can I change that?
He has no bone to pick with Jacob,
he sees nothing wrong with Israel.
God is with them,
and they’re with him, shouting praises to their King.
God brought them out of Egypt,
rampaging like a wild ox.
No magic spells can bind Jacob,
no incantations can hold back Israel.
People will look at Jacob and Israel and say,
“What a great thing has God done!”
Look, a people rising to its feet, stretching like a lion,
a king-of-the-beasts, aroused,
Unsleeping, unresting until its hunt is over
and it’s eaten and drunk its fill.
25 Balak said to Balaam, “Well, if you can’t curse them, at least don’t bless them.”
26 Balaam replied to Balak, “Didn’t I tell you earlier: ‘All God speaks, and only what he speaks, I speak’?”
27-28 Balak said to Balaam, “Please, let me take you to another place; maybe we can find the right place in God’s eyes where you’ll be able to curse them for me.” So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, with a vista over the Jeshimon (Wasteland).
29 Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for sacrifice.”
30 Balak did it and presented an offering of a bull and a ram on each of the altars.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, June 06, 2018
Read: Nehemiah 3:1–12
1-2 The high priest Eliashib and his fellow priests were up and at it: They went to work on the Sheep Gate; they repaired it and hung its doors, continuing on as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel. The men of Jericho worked alongside them; and next to them, Zaccur son of Imri.
3-5 The Fish Gate was built by the Hassenaah brothers; they repaired it, hung its doors, and installed its bolts and bars. Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, worked; next to him Meshullam son of Berekiah, the son of Meshezabel; next to him Zadok son of Baana; and next to him the Tekoites (except for their nobles, who wouldn’t work with their master and refused to get their hands dirty with such work).
6-8 The Jeshanah Gate was rebuilt by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah; they repaired it, hung its doors, and installed its bolts and bars. Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, which was under the rule of the governor from across the Euphrates, worked alongside them. Uzziel son of Harhaiah of the goldsmiths’ guild worked next to him, and next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers. They rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.
9-10 The next section was worked on by Rephaiah son of Hur, mayor of a half-district of Jerusalem. Next to him Jedaiah son of Harumaph rebuilt the front of his house; Hattush son of Hashabneiah worked next to him.
11-12 Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab rebuilt another section that included the Tower of Furnaces. Working next to him was Shallum son of Hallohesh, mayor of the other half-district of Jerusalem, along with his daughters.
INSIGHT
For help in understanding the Old Testament and what lessons can be applied to your life, check out this free course at basics.christianuniversity.org/courses/OT128.
Side by Side
By Keila Ochoa
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. Ecclesiastes 4:9
In ancient times, a city with broken walls revealed a defeated people, exposed to danger and shame. That is why the Jews rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. How? By working side by side, an expression that can well describe Nehemiah 3.
At first glance, chapter 3 might appear to be a boring account of who did what in the reconstruction. However, a closer look highlights how people worked together. Priests were working alongside rulers. Perfume-makers were helping as well as goldsmiths. There were some who lived in nearby towns and came to give a hand. Others made repairs opposite their houses. Shallum’s daughters, for example, worked alongside the men (3:12), and some people repaired two sections, like the men of Tekoa (vv. 5, 27).
Two things stand out from this chapter. First, they all worked together for a common goal. Second, all of them are commended for being part of the work, not for how much or little they did as compared to others.
Today we see damaged families and a broken society. But Jesus came to build the kingdom of God through the transformation of lives. We can help to rebuild our neighborhoods by showing others they can find hope and new life in Jesus. All of us have something to do. So let us work side by side and do our part—whether big or small—to create a community of love where people can find Jesus.
Dear Lord, help me to work with others, side by side, by showing love and pointing others to Jesus.
Let’s work together to build the kingdom of God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, June 06, 2018
“Work Out” What God “Works in” You
…work out your own salvation…for it is God who works in you… —Philippians 2:12-13
Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a nature that renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord initially comes in contact with our conscience, the first thing our conscience does is awaken our will, and our will always agrees with God. Yet you say, “But I don’t know if my will is in agreement with God.” Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time. What causes you to say “I will not obey” is something less deep and penetrating than your will. It is perversity or stubbornness, and they are never in agreement with God. The most profound thing in a person is his will, not sin.
The will is the essential element in God’s creation of human beings— sin is a perverse nature which entered into people. In someone who has been born again, the source of the will is Almighty God. “…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” With focused attention and great care, you have to “work out” what God “works in” you— not work to accomplish or earn “your own salvation,” but work it out so you will exhibit the evidence of a life based with determined, unshakable faith on the complete and perfect redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposing will up against God’s will— God’s will is your will. Your natural choices will be in accordance with God’s will, and living this life will be as natural as breathing. Stubbornness is an unintelligent barrier, refusing enlightenment and blocking its flow. The only thing to do with this barrier of stubbornness is to blow it up with “dynamite,” and the “dynamite” is obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Do I believe that Almighty God is the Source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them. Shade of His Hand, 1216 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, June 06, 2018
The Language They Speak - #8193
My life was profoundly affected by the example of five American missionaries who died trying to get the Gospel to a Stone Age tribe in Ecuador who had never heard the name of Jesus. They were actually murdered by the tribe that was then known as the Aucas. We now know them as the Waoranis. Amazingly, the wife of one of those missionaries and the sister of another actually went to the tribe that had killed their loved ones to tell them about Jesus. Today, some of the murderers of the missionaries are pastors of the Waorani church. It's an amazing story.
I had the unforgettable privilege a few years ago of going to the Ecuadorian jungle to tape a radio program about what happened there. And I met Mincaye, one of the killers, one of the pastors. I learned that those missionary women had difficulty translating the Bible into the native language because this tribe literally had no word for or even concept for "forgive." But the message somehow had gotten through to Mincaye. Here's what he said: "What we did to those missionaries was a terrible thing. But one day soon I will see them in heaven because Jesus has washed our hearts."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Language They Speak."
A spiritual rescuer had come to people to whom the word "forgive" meant nothing. But God's messenger to them did what effective missionaries have always done. She found a way to say it in words the people could understand. You know, we can do no less for the spiritually dying people around us.
Obviously, the need to translate Christ's message is hard to miss in a foreign setting where there is a clearly different linguistic language. But the need to translate the Jesus-story is easy to miss when our neighbors and friends speak that same linguistic language we do, but they speak a different cultural language. The words of our Christian "tribe" simply have no meaning, or the wrong meaning, to the lost "tribe" next to us. Many lost people assigned to us by God have no better understanding of "born again," or "saved," or "accepting Christ," or "sin" than Mincaye did of "forgive."
In our word for today from the Word of God, we discover one big reason thousands of people from all over the world came to Jesus in the first outreach ever held by the Christian Church. It was Jerusalem, it was Pentecost, and according to Acts 2:6, "Each one heard them (that is the apostles) speaking in his own language."
Now that was a special miracle from God, but it underscores that people must hear Christ's message in a language they can understand, which our church language - which I call Christianeze - is not. Maybe you've been transmitting the Good News about Jesus and getting little or no response. Could it be they're stumbling over your vocabulary? You can't just transmit the Good News; you have to translate it into everyday, non-religious words.
In Jesus' parable of the four soils, three of which produced little or no good harvest, we see the major difference between those three soils and the soil that produced great fruit. In each case, Jesus explains that "this is the man who hears the word." But where there was a great harvest, Jesus said, "This is the man who hears the word" - and here's the one difference - "and understands it" (Matthew 13:23).
We've got life-or-death information we have to deliver. We cannot afford to have our lost family and friends miss it because we said it in words they don't understand. It's time to move beyond the comfort of our Christianeze to communicate the message people cannot afford to miss. The words we use could be decisive for each of us in our personal rescue mission for Jesus.
You're God's missionary where you are. If you make the effort to translate the Good News into the language of the person who needs it, you could be part of a life-giving miracle!
God views your work worthy of its own engraved command. “You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest” (Exodus 34:21).
Whether you work at home or in the marketplace, your work matters to God. And your work matters to society. Cities need plumbers. Bones break. We need people to repair the first and set the last. Someone has to raise kids, raise cane, and manage the kids who raise cane. Whether you log on or lace up for the day, you imitate God. Jesus said, “My Father never stops working, and so I keep working, too” (John 5:17).
Your career consumes half of your lifetime. Shouldn’t it broadcast God? Don’t those forty to sixty hours a week belong to him as well?
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Numbers 23
Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and then prepare seven bulls and seven rams.”
2 Balak did it. Then Balaam and Balak sacrificed a bull and a ram on each of the altars.
3 Balaam instructed Balak: “Stand watch here beside your Whole-Burnt-Offering while I go off by myself. Maybe God will come and meet with me. Whatever he shows or tells me, I’ll report to you.” Then he went off by himself.
4 God did meet with Balaam. Balaam said, “I’ve set up seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.”
5 Then God gave Balaam a message: “Return to Balak and give him this message.”
6-10 He went back and found him stationed beside his Whole-Burnt-Offering and with him all the nobles of Moab. Then Balaam spoke his message-oracle:
Balak led me here from Aram,
the king of Moab all the way from the eastern mountains.
“Go, curse Jacob for me;
go, damn Israel.”
How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
How can I damn whom God has not damned?
From rock pinnacles I see them,
from hilltops I survey them:
Look! a people camping off by themselves,
thinking themselves outsiders among nations.
But who could ever count the dust of Jacob
or take a census of cloud-of-dust Israel?
I want to die like these right-living people!
I want an end just like theirs!
11 Balak said to Balaam, “What’s this? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and all you’ve done is bless them.”
12 Balaam answered, “Don’t I have to be careful to say what God gives me to say?”
13 Balak said to him, “Go with me to another place from which you can only see the outskirts of their camp—you won’t be able to see the whole camp. From there, curse them for my sake.”
14 So he took him to Watchmen’s Meadow at the top of Pisgah. He built seven altars there and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15 Balaam said to Balak, “Take up your station here beside your Whole-Burnt-Offering while I meet with him over there.”
16 God met with Balaam and gave him a message. He said, “Return to Balak and give him the message.”
17-24 Balaam returned and found him stationed beside his Whole-Burnt-Offering and the nobles of Moab with him. Balak said to him, “What did God say?” Then Balaam spoke his message-oracle:
On your feet, Balak. Listen,
listen carefully son of Zippor:
God is not man, one given to lies,
and not a son of man changing his mind.
Does he speak and not do what he says?
Does he promise and not come through?
I was brought here to bless;
and now he’s blessed—how can I change that?
He has no bone to pick with Jacob,
he sees nothing wrong with Israel.
God is with them,
and they’re with him, shouting praises to their King.
God brought them out of Egypt,
rampaging like a wild ox.
No magic spells can bind Jacob,
no incantations can hold back Israel.
People will look at Jacob and Israel and say,
“What a great thing has God done!”
Look, a people rising to its feet, stretching like a lion,
a king-of-the-beasts, aroused,
Unsleeping, unresting until its hunt is over
and it’s eaten and drunk its fill.
25 Balak said to Balaam, “Well, if you can’t curse them, at least don’t bless them.”
26 Balaam replied to Balak, “Didn’t I tell you earlier: ‘All God speaks, and only what he speaks, I speak’?”
27-28 Balak said to Balaam, “Please, let me take you to another place; maybe we can find the right place in God’s eyes where you’ll be able to curse them for me.” So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, with a vista over the Jeshimon (Wasteland).
29 Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for sacrifice.”
30 Balak did it and presented an offering of a bull and a ram on each of the altars.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, June 06, 2018
Read: Nehemiah 3:1–12
1-2 The high priest Eliashib and his fellow priests were up and at it: They went to work on the Sheep Gate; they repaired it and hung its doors, continuing on as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel. The men of Jericho worked alongside them; and next to them, Zaccur son of Imri.
3-5 The Fish Gate was built by the Hassenaah brothers; they repaired it, hung its doors, and installed its bolts and bars. Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, worked; next to him Meshullam son of Berekiah, the son of Meshezabel; next to him Zadok son of Baana; and next to him the Tekoites (except for their nobles, who wouldn’t work with their master and refused to get their hands dirty with such work).
6-8 The Jeshanah Gate was rebuilt by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah; they repaired it, hung its doors, and installed its bolts and bars. Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, which was under the rule of the governor from across the Euphrates, worked alongside them. Uzziel son of Harhaiah of the goldsmiths’ guild worked next to him, and next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers. They rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.
9-10 The next section was worked on by Rephaiah son of Hur, mayor of a half-district of Jerusalem. Next to him Jedaiah son of Harumaph rebuilt the front of his house; Hattush son of Hashabneiah worked next to him.
11-12 Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab rebuilt another section that included the Tower of Furnaces. Working next to him was Shallum son of Hallohesh, mayor of the other half-district of Jerusalem, along with his daughters.
INSIGHT
For help in understanding the Old Testament and what lessons can be applied to your life, check out this free course at basics.christianuniversity.org/courses/OT128.
Side by Side
By Keila Ochoa
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. Ecclesiastes 4:9
In ancient times, a city with broken walls revealed a defeated people, exposed to danger and shame. That is why the Jews rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. How? By working side by side, an expression that can well describe Nehemiah 3.
At first glance, chapter 3 might appear to be a boring account of who did what in the reconstruction. However, a closer look highlights how people worked together. Priests were working alongside rulers. Perfume-makers were helping as well as goldsmiths. There were some who lived in nearby towns and came to give a hand. Others made repairs opposite their houses. Shallum’s daughters, for example, worked alongside the men (3:12), and some people repaired two sections, like the men of Tekoa (vv. 5, 27).
Two things stand out from this chapter. First, they all worked together for a common goal. Second, all of them are commended for being part of the work, not for how much or little they did as compared to others.
Today we see damaged families and a broken society. But Jesus came to build the kingdom of God through the transformation of lives. We can help to rebuild our neighborhoods by showing others they can find hope and new life in Jesus. All of us have something to do. So let us work side by side and do our part—whether big or small—to create a community of love where people can find Jesus.
Dear Lord, help me to work with others, side by side, by showing love and pointing others to Jesus.
Let’s work together to build the kingdom of God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, June 06, 2018
“Work Out” What God “Works in” You
…work out your own salvation…for it is God who works in you… —Philippians 2:12-13
Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a nature that renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord initially comes in contact with our conscience, the first thing our conscience does is awaken our will, and our will always agrees with God. Yet you say, “But I don’t know if my will is in agreement with God.” Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time. What causes you to say “I will not obey” is something less deep and penetrating than your will. It is perversity or stubbornness, and they are never in agreement with God. The most profound thing in a person is his will, not sin.
The will is the essential element in God’s creation of human beings— sin is a perverse nature which entered into people. In someone who has been born again, the source of the will is Almighty God. “…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” With focused attention and great care, you have to “work out” what God “works in” you— not work to accomplish or earn “your own salvation,” but work it out so you will exhibit the evidence of a life based with determined, unshakable faith on the complete and perfect redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposing will up against God’s will— God’s will is your will. Your natural choices will be in accordance with God’s will, and living this life will be as natural as breathing. Stubbornness is an unintelligent barrier, refusing enlightenment and blocking its flow. The only thing to do with this barrier of stubbornness is to blow it up with “dynamite,” and the “dynamite” is obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Do I believe that Almighty God is the Source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them. Shade of His Hand, 1216 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, June 06, 2018
The Language They Speak - #8193
My life was profoundly affected by the example of five American missionaries who died trying to get the Gospel to a Stone Age tribe in Ecuador who had never heard the name of Jesus. They were actually murdered by the tribe that was then known as the Aucas. We now know them as the Waoranis. Amazingly, the wife of one of those missionaries and the sister of another actually went to the tribe that had killed their loved ones to tell them about Jesus. Today, some of the murderers of the missionaries are pastors of the Waorani church. It's an amazing story.
I had the unforgettable privilege a few years ago of going to the Ecuadorian jungle to tape a radio program about what happened there. And I met Mincaye, one of the killers, one of the pastors. I learned that those missionary women had difficulty translating the Bible into the native language because this tribe literally had no word for or even concept for "forgive." But the message somehow had gotten through to Mincaye. Here's what he said: "What we did to those missionaries was a terrible thing. But one day soon I will see them in heaven because Jesus has washed our hearts."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Language They Speak."
A spiritual rescuer had come to people to whom the word "forgive" meant nothing. But God's messenger to them did what effective missionaries have always done. She found a way to say it in words the people could understand. You know, we can do no less for the spiritually dying people around us.
Obviously, the need to translate Christ's message is hard to miss in a foreign setting where there is a clearly different linguistic language. But the need to translate the Jesus-story is easy to miss when our neighbors and friends speak that same linguistic language we do, but they speak a different cultural language. The words of our Christian "tribe" simply have no meaning, or the wrong meaning, to the lost "tribe" next to us. Many lost people assigned to us by God have no better understanding of "born again," or "saved," or "accepting Christ," or "sin" than Mincaye did of "forgive."
In our word for today from the Word of God, we discover one big reason thousands of people from all over the world came to Jesus in the first outreach ever held by the Christian Church. It was Jerusalem, it was Pentecost, and according to Acts 2:6, "Each one heard them (that is the apostles) speaking in his own language."
Now that was a special miracle from God, but it underscores that people must hear Christ's message in a language they can understand, which our church language - which I call Christianeze - is not. Maybe you've been transmitting the Good News about Jesus and getting little or no response. Could it be they're stumbling over your vocabulary? You can't just transmit the Good News; you have to translate it into everyday, non-religious words.
In Jesus' parable of the four soils, three of which produced little or no good harvest, we see the major difference between those three soils and the soil that produced great fruit. In each case, Jesus explains that "this is the man who hears the word." But where there was a great harvest, Jesus said, "This is the man who hears the word" - and here's the one difference - "and understands it" (Matthew 13:23).
We've got life-or-death information we have to deliver. We cannot afford to have our lost family and friends miss it because we said it in words they don't understand. It's time to move beyond the comfort of our Christianeze to communicate the message people cannot afford to miss. The words we use could be decisive for each of us in our personal rescue mission for Jesus.
You're God's missionary where you are. If you make the effort to translate the Good News into the language of the person who needs it, you could be part of a life-giving miracle!
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Mark 16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: MAKING A BIG “TO DO” OF GOD - June 5, 2018
God endows us with gifts so we can make him known. Period! God endues the Olympian with speed, the salesman with savvy, the surgeon with skill. Why? The big answer is to make a big to-do out of God. To brandish him…to herald him.
God has given gifts to each of us from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well, then God will be given glory. Make it your life’s encore to the end of time that “he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything! (I Peter 4:10-11). When you magnify your Maker with your strengths, your days will grow suddenly sweet. And to really sweeten your world, use your uniqueness to make a big deal about God—every day of your life!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Mark 16
The Resurrection
1-3 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him. Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. They worried out loud to each other, “Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?”
4-5 Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back—it was a huge stone—and walked right in. They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished.
6-7 He said, “Don’t be afraid. I know you’re looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He’s been raised up; he’s here no longer. You can see for yourselves that the place is empty. Now—on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You’ll see him there, exactly as he said.”
8 They got out as fast as they could, beside themselves, their heads swimming. Stunned, they said nothing to anyone.
9-11 [After rising from the dead, Jesus appeared early on Sunday morning to Mary Magdalene, whom he had delivered from seven demons. She went to his former companions, now weeping and carrying on, and told them. When they heard her report that she had seen him alive and well, they didn’t believe her.
12-13 Later he appeared, but in a different form, to two of them out walking in the countryside. They went back and told the rest, but they weren’t believed either.
14-16 Still later, as the Eleven were eating supper, he appeared and took them to task most severely for their stubborn unbelief, refusing to believe those who had seen him raised up. Then he said, “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all. Whoever believes and is baptized is saved; whoever refuses to believe is damned.
17-18 “These are some of the signs that will accompany believers: They will throw out demons in my name, they will speak in new tongues, they will take snakes in their hands, they will drink poison and not be hurt, they will lay hands on the sick and make them well.”
19-20 Then the Master Jesus, after briefing them, was taken up to heaven, and he sat down beside God in the place of honor. And the disciples went everywhere preaching, the Master working right with them, validating the Message with indisputable evidence.]
Note: Mark 16:9-20 [the portion in brackets] is contained only in later manuscripts.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, June 05, 2018
Read: Luke 18:35–43
35-37 He came to the outskirts of Jericho. A blind man was sitting beside the road asking for handouts. When he heard the rustle of the crowd, he asked what was going on. They told him, “Jesus the Nazarene is going by.”
38 He yelled, “Jesus! Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!”
39 Those ahead of Jesus told the man to shut up, but he only yelled all the louder, “Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and ordered him to be brought over. When he had come near, Jesus asked, “What do you want from me?”
41 He said, “Master, I want to see again.”
42-43 Jesus said, “Go ahead—see again! Your faith has saved and healed you!” The healing was instant: He looked up, seeing—and then followed Jesus, glorifying God. Everyone in the street joined in, shouting praise to God.
INSIGHT
From the gospel of Mark we learn the blind man’s name is Bartimaeus (10:46). Bible scholar Kenneth Bailey, in Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, tells us that Bartimaeus’s story is best understood in the context of what happens next—Jesus’s encounter with Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector of Jericho (Luke 19). With these two men, Jesus is reaching out to the extremes of the social context of first-century Israel—a blind beggar and a wealthy publican. Christ shows profound grace to both by giving Bartimaeus his sight and bringing salvation to the house of Zacchaeus (19:9–10).
A key element that connects these stories is the word son. Bartimaeus calls Jesus “Son of David,” a title identifying Jesus as the Messiah that Israel had longed for. Jesus calls Zacchaeus a “son of Abraham” (v. 9). This was not an ethnic description but an affirmation that Zacchaeus had come to faith (Galatians 3:7). The stories close with Jesus’s self-identification as “the Son of Man”—another title with Messianic implications (Luke 19:10).
On the cross Christ would complete His work of seeking and saving those who are lost—like Bartimaeus, Zacchaeus, and us. - Bill Crowder
A Blind Man’s Plea
By Arthur Jackson
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Luke 18:38
Some years ago a traveling companion noticed I was straining to see objects at a distance. What he did next was simple but life changing. He took off his glasses and said, “Try these.” When I put his glasses on, surprisingly my blurred vision cleared up. Eventually I went to an optometrist who prescribed glasses to correct my vision problem.
Today’s reading in Luke 18 features a man with no vision at all, and living in total darkness had forced him to beg for a living. News about Jesus, the popular teacher and miracle worker, had reached the blind beggar’s ears. So when Jesus’s travel route took Him by where the blind man was sitting, hope was ignited in his heart. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 38) he called. Though without sight physically, the man possessed spiritual insight into Jesus’s true identity and faith in Him to meet his need. Compelled by this faith, “He shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (v. 39). The result? His blindness was banished, and he went from begging for his living to blessing God because he could see (v. 43).
In moments or seasons of darkness, where do you turn? Upon what or to whom do you call? Eyeglass prescriptions help improve vision, but it’s the merciful touch of Jesus, God’s Son, that brings people from spiritual darkness to light.
Father, open the eyes of my heart to clearly see who Jesus is and what He can do.
The Father’s delight is to give sight to those who ask Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, June 05, 2018
God’s Assurance
He Himself has said….So we may boldly say… —Hebrews 13:5-6
My assurance is to be built upon God’s assurance to me. God says, “I will never leave you,” so that then I “may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6). In other words, I will not be obsessed with apprehension. This does not mean that I will not be tempted to fear, but I will remember God’s words of assurance. I will be full of courage, like a child who strives to reach the standard his father has set for him. The faith of many people begins to falter when apprehensions enter their thinking, and they forget the meaning of God’s assurance— they forget to take a deep spiritual breath. The only way to remove the fear from our lives is to listen to God’s assurance to us.
What are you fearing? Whatever it may be, you are not a coward about it— you are determined to face it, yet you still have a feeling of fear. When it seems that there is nothing and no one to help you, say to yourself, “But ‘The Lord is my helper’ this very moment, even in my present circumstance.” Are you learning to listen to God before you speak, or are you saying things and then trying to make God’s Word fit what you have said? Take hold of the Father’s assurance, and then say with strong courage, “I will not fear.” It does not matter what evil or wrong may be in our way, because “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you….’ ”
Human frailty is another thing that gets between God’s words of assurance and our own words and thoughts. When we realize how feeble we are in facing difficulties, the difficulties become like giants, we become like grasshoppers, and God seems to be nonexistent. But remember God’s assurance to us— “I will never…forsake you.” Have we learned to sing after hearing God’s keynote? Are we continually filled with enough courage to say, “The Lord is my helper,” or are we yielding to fear?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We never enter into the Kingdom of God by having our head questions answered, but only by commitment. The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, June 05, 2018
Virus Scan - #8192
Well, I used to be concerned just about me or someone I love picking up a virus. Now I've got to be worried about my computer picking up a virus! And more and more of them are infecting various computer systems. We hear about it on the news a lot. Now, if one of those viruses contaminates your computer, of course it could cause you to lose valuable data. It can even cause your computer to crash. But, thankfully, I have this special software feature that's called a virus scan. You probably do too. When I turn on my computer, basically the virus scan checks to see if any of those destructive little critters have gotten in, and it warns me if they have. And that's a good thing, because you want to get that virus before it infects everything. Right?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Virus Scan."
Did you know your soul can pick up viruses, too? And if you don't catch them right away, they can spread throughout your system and infect everything. That's why you need to install God's virus scan. David talks about it in our word for today from the Word of God from Psalm 139:23-24. He says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." David knew the subtle, infectious way that sin can creep into the human heart. And he knew all too well the damage it can do. So He prays that God will see if some spiritual virus has found a place in his heart and then to reveal it to him as my virus scan reveals to me what is threatening my computer.
This has to be a prayer that we pray at least once a day. A spiritual system that may have been virus-free yesterday may have picked up something damaging in the meantime. So, each new day--every time you turn your mental computer on--you need to ask God to reveal any trash that has invaded your system. Preachers call it the "conviction of the Holy Spirit"--God, who lives inside you, revealing what's out-of-line in you and moving you to do something about it.
As you open yourself up to the Holy Spirit's searching of your heart, you might see a bad attitude that is just starting to take root, a little resentment, a little jealousy, a little complaining, a little negativity. Oh, it's little now. It won't stay that way. That's why you need to recognize it and repent of it right away while it's still small and it's not doing a lot of damage. For example, God warns us to "see to it that...no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many" (Hebrews 12:15). In other words, catch the bad attitude while it's still small before it deepens into something very expensive and very damaging.
God's scanning of the viruses in you might expose some 'trash talking' you've been doing--words that have hurt people. Critical words, backstabbing words, angry words, gossiping words. Or God may show you that some lustful fantasies have been allowed to infect your heart and mind. You may have watched something you never should have watched, listened to something you never should have listened to, lingered on something you should have turned away from, or maybe you've flirted with something you should have fled from.
Or it could be that you've told some lies lately or at least spoken less than--or more than--the truth. God wants to confront those now so you don't get into a damaging pattern of deceit. In fact, that's the reason we need to see and attack any sin right away. Because sin unconfessed becomes sin repeated and repeated until it starts poisoning a lot that we care about.
So invite God often to scan for viruses that you may have allowed into your heart. Computer viruses not dealt with can make a computer crash. Spiritual viruses not dealt with? Yeah, they can make you crash.
God endows us with gifts so we can make him known. Period! God endues the Olympian with speed, the salesman with savvy, the surgeon with skill. Why? The big answer is to make a big to-do out of God. To brandish him…to herald him.
God has given gifts to each of us from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well, then God will be given glory. Make it your life’s encore to the end of time that “he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything! (I Peter 4:10-11). When you magnify your Maker with your strengths, your days will grow suddenly sweet. And to really sweeten your world, use your uniqueness to make a big deal about God—every day of your life!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Mark 16
The Resurrection
1-3 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him. Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. They worried out loud to each other, “Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?”
4-5 Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back—it was a huge stone—and walked right in. They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished.
6-7 He said, “Don’t be afraid. I know you’re looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He’s been raised up; he’s here no longer. You can see for yourselves that the place is empty. Now—on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You’ll see him there, exactly as he said.”
8 They got out as fast as they could, beside themselves, their heads swimming. Stunned, they said nothing to anyone.
9-11 [After rising from the dead, Jesus appeared early on Sunday morning to Mary Magdalene, whom he had delivered from seven demons. She went to his former companions, now weeping and carrying on, and told them. When they heard her report that she had seen him alive and well, they didn’t believe her.
12-13 Later he appeared, but in a different form, to two of them out walking in the countryside. They went back and told the rest, but they weren’t believed either.
14-16 Still later, as the Eleven were eating supper, he appeared and took them to task most severely for their stubborn unbelief, refusing to believe those who had seen him raised up. Then he said, “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all. Whoever believes and is baptized is saved; whoever refuses to believe is damned.
17-18 “These are some of the signs that will accompany believers: They will throw out demons in my name, they will speak in new tongues, they will take snakes in their hands, they will drink poison and not be hurt, they will lay hands on the sick and make them well.”
19-20 Then the Master Jesus, after briefing them, was taken up to heaven, and he sat down beside God in the place of honor. And the disciples went everywhere preaching, the Master working right with them, validating the Message with indisputable evidence.]
Note: Mark 16:9-20 [the portion in brackets] is contained only in later manuscripts.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, June 05, 2018
Read: Luke 18:35–43
35-37 He came to the outskirts of Jericho. A blind man was sitting beside the road asking for handouts. When he heard the rustle of the crowd, he asked what was going on. They told him, “Jesus the Nazarene is going by.”
38 He yelled, “Jesus! Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!”
39 Those ahead of Jesus told the man to shut up, but he only yelled all the louder, “Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and ordered him to be brought over. When he had come near, Jesus asked, “What do you want from me?”
41 He said, “Master, I want to see again.”
42-43 Jesus said, “Go ahead—see again! Your faith has saved and healed you!” The healing was instant: He looked up, seeing—and then followed Jesus, glorifying God. Everyone in the street joined in, shouting praise to God.
INSIGHT
From the gospel of Mark we learn the blind man’s name is Bartimaeus (10:46). Bible scholar Kenneth Bailey, in Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, tells us that Bartimaeus’s story is best understood in the context of what happens next—Jesus’s encounter with Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector of Jericho (Luke 19). With these two men, Jesus is reaching out to the extremes of the social context of first-century Israel—a blind beggar and a wealthy publican. Christ shows profound grace to both by giving Bartimaeus his sight and bringing salvation to the house of Zacchaeus (19:9–10).
A key element that connects these stories is the word son. Bartimaeus calls Jesus “Son of David,” a title identifying Jesus as the Messiah that Israel had longed for. Jesus calls Zacchaeus a “son of Abraham” (v. 9). This was not an ethnic description but an affirmation that Zacchaeus had come to faith (Galatians 3:7). The stories close with Jesus’s self-identification as “the Son of Man”—another title with Messianic implications (Luke 19:10).
On the cross Christ would complete His work of seeking and saving those who are lost—like Bartimaeus, Zacchaeus, and us. - Bill Crowder
A Blind Man’s Plea
By Arthur Jackson
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Luke 18:38
Some years ago a traveling companion noticed I was straining to see objects at a distance. What he did next was simple but life changing. He took off his glasses and said, “Try these.” When I put his glasses on, surprisingly my blurred vision cleared up. Eventually I went to an optometrist who prescribed glasses to correct my vision problem.
Today’s reading in Luke 18 features a man with no vision at all, and living in total darkness had forced him to beg for a living. News about Jesus, the popular teacher and miracle worker, had reached the blind beggar’s ears. So when Jesus’s travel route took Him by where the blind man was sitting, hope was ignited in his heart. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 38) he called. Though without sight physically, the man possessed spiritual insight into Jesus’s true identity and faith in Him to meet his need. Compelled by this faith, “He shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (v. 39). The result? His blindness was banished, and he went from begging for his living to blessing God because he could see (v. 43).
In moments or seasons of darkness, where do you turn? Upon what or to whom do you call? Eyeglass prescriptions help improve vision, but it’s the merciful touch of Jesus, God’s Son, that brings people from spiritual darkness to light.
Father, open the eyes of my heart to clearly see who Jesus is and what He can do.
The Father’s delight is to give sight to those who ask Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, June 05, 2018
God’s Assurance
He Himself has said….So we may boldly say… —Hebrews 13:5-6
My assurance is to be built upon God’s assurance to me. God says, “I will never leave you,” so that then I “may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6). In other words, I will not be obsessed with apprehension. This does not mean that I will not be tempted to fear, but I will remember God’s words of assurance. I will be full of courage, like a child who strives to reach the standard his father has set for him. The faith of many people begins to falter when apprehensions enter their thinking, and they forget the meaning of God’s assurance— they forget to take a deep spiritual breath. The only way to remove the fear from our lives is to listen to God’s assurance to us.
What are you fearing? Whatever it may be, you are not a coward about it— you are determined to face it, yet you still have a feeling of fear. When it seems that there is nothing and no one to help you, say to yourself, “But ‘The Lord is my helper’ this very moment, even in my present circumstance.” Are you learning to listen to God before you speak, or are you saying things and then trying to make God’s Word fit what you have said? Take hold of the Father’s assurance, and then say with strong courage, “I will not fear.” It does not matter what evil or wrong may be in our way, because “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you….’ ”
Human frailty is another thing that gets between God’s words of assurance and our own words and thoughts. When we realize how feeble we are in facing difficulties, the difficulties become like giants, we become like grasshoppers, and God seems to be nonexistent. But remember God’s assurance to us— “I will never…forsake you.” Have we learned to sing after hearing God’s keynote? Are we continually filled with enough courage to say, “The Lord is my helper,” or are we yielding to fear?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We never enter into the Kingdom of God by having our head questions answered, but only by commitment. The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, June 05, 2018
Virus Scan - #8192
Well, I used to be concerned just about me or someone I love picking up a virus. Now I've got to be worried about my computer picking up a virus! And more and more of them are infecting various computer systems. We hear about it on the news a lot. Now, if one of those viruses contaminates your computer, of course it could cause you to lose valuable data. It can even cause your computer to crash. But, thankfully, I have this special software feature that's called a virus scan. You probably do too. When I turn on my computer, basically the virus scan checks to see if any of those destructive little critters have gotten in, and it warns me if they have. And that's a good thing, because you want to get that virus before it infects everything. Right?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Virus Scan."
Did you know your soul can pick up viruses, too? And if you don't catch them right away, they can spread throughout your system and infect everything. That's why you need to install God's virus scan. David talks about it in our word for today from the Word of God from Psalm 139:23-24. He says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." David knew the subtle, infectious way that sin can creep into the human heart. And he knew all too well the damage it can do. So He prays that God will see if some spiritual virus has found a place in his heart and then to reveal it to him as my virus scan reveals to me what is threatening my computer.
This has to be a prayer that we pray at least once a day. A spiritual system that may have been virus-free yesterday may have picked up something damaging in the meantime. So, each new day--every time you turn your mental computer on--you need to ask God to reveal any trash that has invaded your system. Preachers call it the "conviction of the Holy Spirit"--God, who lives inside you, revealing what's out-of-line in you and moving you to do something about it.
As you open yourself up to the Holy Spirit's searching of your heart, you might see a bad attitude that is just starting to take root, a little resentment, a little jealousy, a little complaining, a little negativity. Oh, it's little now. It won't stay that way. That's why you need to recognize it and repent of it right away while it's still small and it's not doing a lot of damage. For example, God warns us to "see to it that...no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many" (Hebrews 12:15). In other words, catch the bad attitude while it's still small before it deepens into something very expensive and very damaging.
God's scanning of the viruses in you might expose some 'trash talking' you've been doing--words that have hurt people. Critical words, backstabbing words, angry words, gossiping words. Or God may show you that some lustful fantasies have been allowed to infect your heart and mind. You may have watched something you never should have watched, listened to something you never should have listened to, lingered on something you should have turned away from, or maybe you've flirted with something you should have fled from.
Or it could be that you've told some lies lately or at least spoken less than--or more than--the truth. God wants to confront those now so you don't get into a damaging pattern of deceit. In fact, that's the reason we need to see and attack any sin right away. Because sin unconfessed becomes sin repeated and repeated until it starts poisoning a lot that we care about.
So invite God often to scan for viruses that you may have allowed into your heart. Computer viruses not dealt with can make a computer crash. Spiritual viruses not dealt with? Yeah, they can make you crash.
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