Max Lucado Daily: Approaching God
Jesus invites us to approach God the way a child approaches his or her daddy! And how do children approach their daddies? I went to a school playground to find out. When a five-year-old spots his father in the parking lot, how does he react?
"Yippee!" screamed a redheaded boy wearing a Batman backpack.
"Pop!" Over here! Push me!" yelled a boy wearing a Boston Red Sox cap who scooted straight to the swings.
Here's what I didn't hear: "Father, it is most gracious of thee to drive thy car to my place of education. Please know of my deep gratitude for your benevolence. For thou art splendid in they attentive care and diligent in they dedication."
I heard kids who were happy to see their dads and eager to speak to them! God invites us to approach Him in the same manner. What a relief!
Before Amen
Judges 16
Samson went to Gaza and saw a prostitute. He went to her. The news got around: “Samson’s here.” They gathered around in hiding, waiting all night for him at the city gate, quiet as mice, thinking, “At sunrise we’ll kill him.”
3 Samson was in bed with the woman until midnight. Then he got up, seized the doors of the city gate and the two gateposts, bolts and all, hefted them on his shoulder, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
4-5 Some time later he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek (Grapes). Her name was Delilah. The Philistine tyrants approached her and said, “Seduce him. Discover what’s behind his great strength and how we can tie him up and humble him. Each man’s company will give you a hundred shekels of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me, dear, the secret of your great strength, and how you can be tied up and humbled.”
7 Samson told her, “If they were to tie me up with seven bowstrings—the kind made from fresh animal tendons, not dried out—then I would become weak, just like anyone else.”
8-9 The Philistine tyrants brought her seven bowstrings, not dried out, and she tied him up with them. The men were waiting in ambush in her room. Then she said, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” He snapped the cords as though they were mere threads. The secret of his strength was still a secret.
10 Delilah said, “Come now, Samson—you’re playing with me, making up stories. Be serious; tell me how you can be tied up.”
11 He told her, “If you were to tie me up tight with new ropes, ropes never used for work, then I would be helpless, just like anybody else.”
12 So Delilah got some new ropes and tied him up. She said, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” The men were hidden in the next room. He snapped the ropes from his arms like threads.
13-14 Delilah said to Samson, “You’re still playing games with me, teasing me with lies. Tell me how you can be tied up.”
He said to her, “If you wove the seven braids of my hair into the fabric on the loom and drew it tight, then I would be as helpless as any other mortal.”
When she had him fast asleep, Delilah took the seven braids of his hair and wove them into the fabric on the loom and drew it tight. Then she said, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” He woke from his sleep and ripped loose from both the loom and fabric!
15 She said, “How can you say ‘I love you’ when you won’t even trust me? Three times now you’ve toyed with me, like a cat with a mouse, refusing to tell me the secret of your great strength.”
16-17 She kept at it day after day, nagging and tormenting him. Finally, he was fed up—he couldn’t take another minute of it. He spilled it.
He told her, “A razor has never touched my head. I’ve been God’s Nazirite from conception. If I were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would be as helpless as any other mortal.”
18 When Delilah realized that he had told her his secret, she sent for the Philistine tyrants, telling them, “Come quickly—this time he’s told me the truth.” They came, bringing the bribe money.
19 When she got him to sleep, his head on her lap, she motioned to a man to cut off the seven braids of his hair. Immediately he began to grow weak. His strength drained from him.
20 Then she said, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” He woke up, thinking, “I’ll go out, like always, and shake free.” He didn’t realize that God had abandoned him.
21-22 The Philistines grabbed him, gouged out his eyes, and took him down to Gaza. They shackled him in irons and put him to the work of grinding in the prison. But his hair, though cut off, began to grow again.
23-24 The Philistine tyrants got together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They celebrated, saying,
Our god has given us
Samson our enemy!
And when the people saw him, they joined in, cheering their god,
Our god has given
Our enemy to us,
The one who ravaged our country,
Piling high the corpses among us.
25-27 Then this: Everyone was feeling high and someone said, “Get Samson! Let him show us his stuff!” They got Samson from the prison and he put on a show for them.
They had him standing between the pillars. Samson said to the young man who was acting as his guide, “Put me where I can touch the pillars that hold up the temple so I can rest against them.” The building was packed with men and women, including all the Philistine tyrants. And there were at least three thousand in the stands watching Samson’s performance.
28 And Samson cried out to God:
Master, God!
Oh, please, look on me again,
Oh, please, give strength yet once more.
God!
With one avenging blow let me be avenged
On the Philistines for my two eyes!
29-30 Then Samson reached out to the two central pillars that held up the building and pushed against them, one with his right arm, the other with his left. Saying, “Let me die with the Philistines,” Samson pushed hard with all his might. The building crashed on the tyrants and all the people in it. He killed more people in his death than he had killed in his life.
31 His brothers and all his relatives went down to get his body. They carried him back and buried him in the tomb of Manoah his father, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
He judged Israel for twenty years.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Read: 1 Timothy 1:12–17
Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners
12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.[a] Amen.
Footnotes:
1 Timothy 1:17 Greek to the ages of ages
INSIGHT
When Paul said he was shown mercy because he acted in ignorance and unbelief (1 Timothy 1:13), he was echoing a common theme of Scripture. Old Testament sacrifices were made for sins done in ignorance (see Leviticus 4:2, 13, 22; Hebrews 9:7). So was mercy only given to Eve who was deceived—and not to Adam? (1 Timothy 2:14). No. Even when we consciously do wrong, as Adam did, He still offers His mercy. Who doesn’t need to hear Jesus say, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). - [Mart DeHaan
My Real Face
By Xochitl Dixon
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 1 Timothy 1:12
For years, feelings of unworthiness and shame over my less-than-godly past had an adverse impact on every aspect of my life. What if others discovered the extent of my blemished reputation? Though God helped me muster up courage to invite a ministry leader to lunch, I strived to seem perfect. I scrubbed my house spotless, whipped up a three-course meal, and donned my best jeans and blouse.
I rushed to turn off the front-yard sprinklers. Twisting the leaking nozzle, I screamed when a gush of water drenched me. With towel-dried hair and smeared makeup, I changed into dry sweat pants and a T-shirt . . . just in time to hear the doorbell. Frustrated, I confessed my morning’s antics and motives. My new friend shared her own battles with fear and insecurity stemming from guilt over past failings. After we prayed, she welcomed me to her team of God’s imperfect servants.
The apostle Paul accepted his new life in Christ, refusing to deny his past or let it stop him from serving the Lord (1 Timothy 1:12–14). Because Paul knew Jesus’s work on the cross saved and changed him—the worst of sinners—he praised God and encouraged others to honor and obey Him (vv. 15–17).
When we accept God’s grace and forgiveness, we’re freed from our past. Flawed but fiercely loved, we have no reason to be ashamed of our real faces as we serve others with our God-given gifts.
Lord, thanks for eliminating our shame and insecurities as You use us to serve You, no matter what our life looked like before You saved us.
God accepts us as we are, and changes us as we serve Him in love.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Impulsiveness or Discipleship?
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith… —Jude 20
There was nothing of the nature of impulsive or thoughtless action about our Lord, but only a calm strength that never got into a panic. Most of us develop our Christianity along the lines of our own nature, not along the lines of God’s nature. Impulsiveness is a trait of the natural life, and our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple. Watch how the Spirit of God gives a sense of restraint to impulsiveness, suddenly bringing us a feeling of self-conscious foolishness, which makes us instantly want to vindicate ourselves. Impulsiveness is all right in a child, but is disastrous in a man or woman— an impulsive adult is always a spoiled person. Impulsiveness needs to be trained into intuition through discipline.
Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy to someone with impulsive boldness, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is something altogether different. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, but he “followed Him at a distance” on dry land (Mark 14:54). We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises— human nature and pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain magnificently. But it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God— but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people— and this is not learned in five minutes.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Saturday, October 20, 2018
Luke 15:1-10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Prayers Aren’t Graded
Jesus downplayed the importance of words in prayers. We tend to do the opposite. The more words the better! We emphasize the appropriate prayer language, the latest prayer trend, the holiest prayer terminology. Against all this emphasis on syllables and rituals, Jesus says in Matthew 6:7: “Don’t ramble like heathens who talk a lot.” There’s no panel of angelic judges with numbered cards.
“Wow, Lucado, that prayer was a ten. God will certainly hear you!”
“Oh, Lucado, you scored a two this morning. Go home and practice.”
Prayers aren’t graded according to style. If prayer depends on how I pray, I’m sunk. But if the power of prayer depends on the One who hears the prayer, then I have hope.
Before Amen
Luke 15:1-10
The Story of the Lost Sheep
15 1-3 By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, “He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.” Their grumbling triggered this story.
4-7 “Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.
The Story of the Lost Coin
8-10 “Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, October 20, 2018
Read: Luke 19:1–10
Jesus and Zacchaeus
19 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
INSIGHT
In Luke 19, Jesus gives His mission statement: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (v. 10). Those words convey even more importance when we consider their timing: Jesus is purposefully, methodically making His way to Jerusalem to be crucified. On the way, He draws people to Him, including this despised, wealthy tax collector. The crowd had already judged Zacchaeus—and Jesus. “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner,” they said of Him (v. 7). Jesus saw it differently. Zacchaeus’s declaration, “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor,” revealed the change in his heart (v. 8); and Jesus responded, “This man, too, is a son of Abraham” (v. 9).
Are we prone to snap judgments about other people’s sins? Or do we see ourselves as recipients of God’s grace, freely extended to anyone who recognizes their need of it? - Tim Gustafson
Always Accepted
By Leslie Koh
The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10
After several years of struggling to keep up in her studies, Angie was finally taken out of her elite primary school and transferred to a “normal” one. In Singapore’s intensely competitive education landscape, where being in a “good” school can improve one’s future prospects, many would see this as a failure.
Angie’s parents were disappointed, and Angie herself felt as if she had been demoted. But soon after joining her new school, the nine year old realized what it meant to be in a class of average students. “Mummy, I belong here,” she said. “I’m finally accepted!”
It reminded me of how excited Zacchaeus must have felt when Jesus invited Himself to the tax collector’s home (Luke 19:5). Christ was interested in dining with those who knew they were flawed and didn’t deserve God’s grace (v. 10). Having found us—and loved us—as we were, Jesus gives us the promise of perfection through His death and resurrection. We are made perfect through His grace alone.
I’ve often found my spiritual journey to be one of constant struggle, knowing that my life falls far short of God’s ideal. How comforting it is to know that we are always accepted, for the Holy Spirit is in the business of molding us to be like Jesus.
Father, thank You for loving me as I am, and for making me perfect through Your Son’s sacrifice. Teach me to submit to Your daily renewal.
We’re not perfect, but we’re loved.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, October 20, 2018
Is God’s Will My Will?
This is the will of God, your sanctification… —1 Thessalonians 4:3
Sanctification is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me— is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me everything that has been made possible through the atonement of the Cross of Christ? Am I willing to let Jesus become sanctification to me, and to let His life be exhibited in my human flesh? (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). Beware of saying, “Oh, I am longing to be sanctified.” No, you are not. Recognize your need, but stop longing and make it a matter of action. Receive Jesus Christ to become sanctification for you by absolute, unquestioning faith, and the great miracle of the atonement of Jesus will become real in you.
All that Jesus made possible becomes mine through the free and loving gift of God on the basis of what Christ accomplished on the cross. And my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound, humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness). It is a holiness based on agonizing repentance, a sense of inexpressible shame and degradation, and also on the amazing realization that the love of God demonstrated itself to me while I cared nothing about Him (see Romans 5:8). He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification. No wonder Paul said that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).
Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God, and it is accomplished only through the magnificent atonement of Christ. Never confuse the effect with the cause. The effect in me is obedience, service, and prayer, and is the outcome of inexpressible thanks and adoration for the miraculous sanctification that has been brought about in me because of the atonement through the Cross of Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes. The Highest Good, 544 R
Jesus downplayed the importance of words in prayers. We tend to do the opposite. The more words the better! We emphasize the appropriate prayer language, the latest prayer trend, the holiest prayer terminology. Against all this emphasis on syllables and rituals, Jesus says in Matthew 6:7: “Don’t ramble like heathens who talk a lot.” There’s no panel of angelic judges with numbered cards.
“Wow, Lucado, that prayer was a ten. God will certainly hear you!”
“Oh, Lucado, you scored a two this morning. Go home and practice.”
Prayers aren’t graded according to style. If prayer depends on how I pray, I’m sunk. But if the power of prayer depends on the One who hears the prayer, then I have hope.
Before Amen
Luke 15:1-10
The Story of the Lost Sheep
15 1-3 By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, “He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.” Their grumbling triggered this story.
4-7 “Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.
The Story of the Lost Coin
8-10 “Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, October 20, 2018
Read: Luke 19:1–10
Jesus and Zacchaeus
19 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
INSIGHT
In Luke 19, Jesus gives His mission statement: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (v. 10). Those words convey even more importance when we consider their timing: Jesus is purposefully, methodically making His way to Jerusalem to be crucified. On the way, He draws people to Him, including this despised, wealthy tax collector. The crowd had already judged Zacchaeus—and Jesus. “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner,” they said of Him (v. 7). Jesus saw it differently. Zacchaeus’s declaration, “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor,” revealed the change in his heart (v. 8); and Jesus responded, “This man, too, is a son of Abraham” (v. 9).
Are we prone to snap judgments about other people’s sins? Or do we see ourselves as recipients of God’s grace, freely extended to anyone who recognizes their need of it? - Tim Gustafson
Always Accepted
By Leslie Koh
The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10
After several years of struggling to keep up in her studies, Angie was finally taken out of her elite primary school and transferred to a “normal” one. In Singapore’s intensely competitive education landscape, where being in a “good” school can improve one’s future prospects, many would see this as a failure.
Angie’s parents were disappointed, and Angie herself felt as if she had been demoted. But soon after joining her new school, the nine year old realized what it meant to be in a class of average students. “Mummy, I belong here,” she said. “I’m finally accepted!”
It reminded me of how excited Zacchaeus must have felt when Jesus invited Himself to the tax collector’s home (Luke 19:5). Christ was interested in dining with those who knew they were flawed and didn’t deserve God’s grace (v. 10). Having found us—and loved us—as we were, Jesus gives us the promise of perfection through His death and resurrection. We are made perfect through His grace alone.
I’ve often found my spiritual journey to be one of constant struggle, knowing that my life falls far short of God’s ideal. How comforting it is to know that we are always accepted, for the Holy Spirit is in the business of molding us to be like Jesus.
Father, thank You for loving me as I am, and for making me perfect through Your Son’s sacrifice. Teach me to submit to Your daily renewal.
We’re not perfect, but we’re loved.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, October 20, 2018
Is God’s Will My Will?
This is the will of God, your sanctification… —1 Thessalonians 4:3
Sanctification is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me— is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me everything that has been made possible through the atonement of the Cross of Christ? Am I willing to let Jesus become sanctification to me, and to let His life be exhibited in my human flesh? (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). Beware of saying, “Oh, I am longing to be sanctified.” No, you are not. Recognize your need, but stop longing and make it a matter of action. Receive Jesus Christ to become sanctification for you by absolute, unquestioning faith, and the great miracle of the atonement of Jesus will become real in you.
All that Jesus made possible becomes mine through the free and loving gift of God on the basis of what Christ accomplished on the cross. And my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound, humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness). It is a holiness based on agonizing repentance, a sense of inexpressible shame and degradation, and also on the amazing realization that the love of God demonstrated itself to me while I cared nothing about Him (see Romans 5:8). He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification. No wonder Paul said that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).
Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God, and it is accomplished only through the magnificent atonement of Christ. Never confuse the effect with the cause. The effect in me is obedience, service, and prayer, and is the outcome of inexpressible thanks and adoration for the miraculous sanctification that has been brought about in me because of the atonement through the Cross of Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes. The Highest Good, 544 R
Friday, October 19, 2018
Judges 15, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: EVERY GIFT IS NEEDED
Two of my teenage years were spent carrying a tuba in my high school marching band. Not necessarily what you’d describe as a call from God, but it wasn’t a wasted experience either. I learned some facts about harmony that I’ll pass on to you. Would you attend a concert of a hundred tubas? Probably not. But what band would be a band without a tuba? Or a flute? Or a trumpet? Or a steady drum? Get the idea? The operative word is need. They need each other. By themselves they make music. But together, they make magic.
What I saw decades ago in the marching band, I see today in the church. We need each other. Not all of us play the same instrument. Not all of us make the same sound. Some are soft, and others are loud. Some convert the lost. Others encourage the saved. And some keep the movement in step. But all are needed! “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).
Read more A Gentle Thunder
Judges 15
Later on—it was during the wheat harvest—Samson visited his bride, bringing a young goat. He said, “Let me see my wife—show me her bedroom.”
But her father wouldn’t let him in. He said, “I concluded that by now you hated her with a passion, so I gave her to your best man. But her little sister is even more beautiful. Why not take her instead?”
3 Samson said, “That does it. This time when I wreak havoc on the Philistines, I’m blameless.”
4-5 Samson then went out and caught three hundred jackals. He lashed the jackals’ tails together in pairs and tied a torch between each pair of tails. He then set fire to the torches and let them loose in the Philistine fields of ripe grain. Everything burned, both stacked and standing grain, vineyards and olive orchards—everything.
6 The Philistines said, “Who did this?”
They were told, “Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite who took his bride and gave her to his best man.”
The Philistines went up and burned both her and her father to death.
7 Samson then said, “If this is the way you’re going to act, I swear I’ll get even with you. And I’m not quitting till the job’s done!”
8 With that he tore into them, ripping them limb from limb—a huge slaughter. Then he went down and stayed in a cave at Etam Rock.
9-10 The Philistines set out and made camp in Judah, preparing to attack Lehi (Jawbone). When the men of Judah asked, “Why have you come up against us?” they said, “We’re out to get Samson. We’re going after Samson to do to him what he did to us.”
11 Three companies of men from Judah went down to the cave at Etam Rock and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines already bully and lord it over us? So what’s going on with you, making things even worse?”
He said, “It was tit for tat. I only did to them what they did to me.”
12 They said, “Well, we’ve come down here to tie you up and turn you over to the Philistines.”
Samson said, “Just promise not to hurt me.”
13 “We promise,” they said. “We will tie you up and surrender you to them but, believe us, we won’t kill you.” They proceeded to tie him with new ropes and led him up from the Rock.
14-16 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him, shouting in triumph. And then the Spirit of God came on him with great power. The ropes on his arms fell apart like flax on fire; the thongs slipped off his hands. He spotted a fresh donkey jawbone, reached down and grabbed it, and with it killed the whole company. And Samson said,
With a donkey’s jawbone
I made heaps of donkeys of them.
With a donkey’s jawbone
I killed an entire company.
17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone. He named that place Ramath Lehi (Jawbone Hill).
18-19 Now he was suddenly very thirsty. He called out to God, “You have given your servant this great victory. Are you going to abandon me to die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” So God split open the rock basin in Lehi; water gushed out and Samson drank. His spirit revived—he was alive again! That’s why it’s called En Hakkore (Caller’s Spring). It’s still there at Lehi today.
20 Samson judged Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, October 19, 2018
Read: Proverbs 3:21–31
My son, do not lose sight of these—
keep sound wisdom and discretion,
22 and they will be life for your soul
and adornment for your neck.
23 Then you will walk on your way securely,
and your foot will not stumble.
24 If you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
25 Do not be afraid of sudden terror
or of the ruin[a] of the wicked, when it comes,
26 for the Lord will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being caught.
27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,[b]
when it is in your power to do it.
28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,
tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.
29 Do not plan evil against your neighbor,
who dwells trustingly beside you.
30 Do not contend with a man for no reason,
when he has done you no harm.
31 Do not envy a man of violence
and do not choose any of his ways,
Footnotes:
Proverbs 3:25 Hebrew storm
Proverbs 3:27 Hebrew Do not withhold good from its owners
INSIGHT
Helping others by doing good when it’s in our power to act (Proverbs 3:27–28) is also the focus of Paul’s instructions to believers. Encouraging us to live meaningful and purposeful lives before a watching, non-believing world, Paul tells us to “be very careful, then, how [we] live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:15–16). Careful living means we are to live godly lives as “children of light” pleasing to the Lord (vv. 8, 10). Paul expects “those who have trusted in God [to] devote themselves to doing what is good” (Titus 3:8). We are to adopt a never-give-up attitude when it comes to serving others: “Let us not become weary in doing good . . . . As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:9–10).
What can you do this week to serve someone?-K. T. Sim
Bring Your Boats
By Kirsten Holmberg
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Proverbs 3:27
Hurricane Harvey brought catastrophic flooding to eastern Texas in 2017. The onslaught of rain stranded thousands of people in their homes, unable to escape the floodwaters. In what was dubbed the “Texas Navy,” many private citizens brought boats from other parts of the state and nation to help evacuate stranded people.
The actions of these valiant, generous men and women call to mind the encouragement of Proverbs 3:27, which instructs us to help others whenever we are able. They had the power to act on behalf of those in need by bringing their boats. And so they did. Their actions demonstrate a willingness to use whatever resources they had at their disposal for the benefit of others.
We may not always feel adequate for the task at hand; often we become paralyzed by thinking we don’t have the skills, experience, resources, or time to help others. In such instances, we’re quick to sideline ourselves, discounting what we do have that might be of assistance to someone else. The Texas Navy couldn’t stop the floodwaters from rising, nor could they legislate government aid. But they used what they had within their power—their boats—to come alongside the deep needs of their fellow man. May we all bring our “boats”—whatever they may be—to take the people in our paths to higher ground.
Lord, all that I have is from You. Help me to always use what You’ve given me to help others.
God provides for His people through His people.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 19, 2018
The Unheeded Secret
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world." —John 18:36
The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the systems of the world. This work insists upon endless energy and activities, but no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation….For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). It is a hidden, obscure thing. An active Christian worker too often lives to be seen by others, while it is the innermost, personal area that reveals the power of a person’s life.
We must get rid of the plague of the spirit of this religious age in which we live. In our Lord’s life there was none of the pressure and the rushing of tremendous activity that we regard so highly today, and a disciple is to be like His Master. The central point of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship with Him, not public usefulness to others.
It is not the practical activities that are the strength of this Bible Training College— its entire strength lies in the fact that here you are immersed in the truths of God to soak in them before Him. You have no idea of where or how God is going to engineer your future circumstances, and no knowledge of what stress and strain is going to be placed on you either at home or abroad. And if you waste your time in overactivity, instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God’s redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be impractical, then you will remain true to Him whatever happens.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance. Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, October 19, 2018
Always Found Out - #8290
So I heard this comedy routine that suggested some humorous ways to finish this sentence: "You're having a bad day when..." Well, I heard on the news about a man who might be a finalist for the "baddest day of the year" award, and there's nothing humorous about what happened to him. There was years ago an Avianca Airlines plane that crashed on Long Island. It was a flight from Colombia to New York. This particular Colombian man was seriously injured in the crash. Well, that's a bad day; I mean that's a really bad day. They rushed him to the hospital where it was determined that they'd have to do abdominal surgery. And when the surgeons opened him up, they found little plastic bags in his stomach full of cocaine. He was a drug courier, and he had ingested those little bags of cocaine to smuggle them into the country. So after he crashed and then was operated on, he was arrested. Now who would have ever thought he would be found out? He was.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Always Found Out."
Actually, everyone is-no matter what they've done-no matter how well they have concealed it. In fact, here's God's personal guarantee of that-you can count on it. It's our word for today from the Word of God in Numbers 32:23, "You may be sure that your sin will find you out." Now you might say, "Well, only if I'm caught." If God knows, you're already caught. And God does know, and it's only a matter of time before He makes sure that you're found out.
If God let us get away with our sin, we would destroy our lives and we'd sin our way right to hell. For our own sake-because He loves us-God insures that we have to deal with our sin. Someone who is listening today, maybe you're living in the illusion that you'll get away with your sin, with that lie, that adultery, the stuff going on behind people's backs, the cheating. Or maybe you think you could get away with that pornography, that habit, that deception, the bitterness, the sinful relationship. You won't get away with it. God won't let you.
Someone says, "Well, I am getting away with it." Well, remember, exposure delayed is not exposure canceled. Judgment postponed is not judgment canceled. God talks about this time lag in judgment in 1 Timothy 5:24, "The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them." Some people may not have the money to cover up their sin or the connections or the protection. But the verse goes on to say, "The sins of others trail behind them." In other words, you can postpone judgment, but it's going to catch up with you; you can't escape it.
And the history of so many who have covered their sin shows that the later the punishment for that sin, the greater that punishment for that sin. While you think you're getting away with it, you're actually accumulating bigger and bigger consequences. Satan has let many a person go on for years with some sin that started a long time ago. And he waits until the exposure of that sin will do maximum damage-to that person, to those they love, to the name of Christ-and then he suddenly yanks on that long chain that he's held them with all those years.
If you feel safe with your sinful secret, remember that man on that plane who must have thought, "There's no way they could ever find out." Never underestimate the infinite ways of God.
That may, in fact, be God's solemn warning to you: "You can be sure that your sin will find you out." Isn't it time to deal with this? Every day the bill for that sin multiplies. This is the easiest it will ever be to face it. Whatever consequences you fear from coming clean, be sure that the consequences of waiting longer will only be greater.
These moments are Savior-moments. Don't run from dealing with this sin one day more. No, run to the cross where that sin was paid for by God's Son, where you can be forgiven, and clean, and free. If you want to have every sin erased from God's book this very day by the One who died for that sin, tell Him that. And tell Him, "Jesus, you're my only hope. I am yours beginning today."
I would encourage you to check out our website today, because it is all about being sure you've been forgiven, you're going to heaven, you belong to Jesus. It's ANewStory.com. It could be your new story.
This can be the day that the secret is brought into the light of Jesus Christ and you are forgiven and you are free.
Two of my teenage years were spent carrying a tuba in my high school marching band. Not necessarily what you’d describe as a call from God, but it wasn’t a wasted experience either. I learned some facts about harmony that I’ll pass on to you. Would you attend a concert of a hundred tubas? Probably not. But what band would be a band without a tuba? Or a flute? Or a trumpet? Or a steady drum? Get the idea? The operative word is need. They need each other. By themselves they make music. But together, they make magic.
What I saw decades ago in the marching band, I see today in the church. We need each other. Not all of us play the same instrument. Not all of us make the same sound. Some are soft, and others are loud. Some convert the lost. Others encourage the saved. And some keep the movement in step. But all are needed! “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).
Read more A Gentle Thunder
Judges 15
Later on—it was during the wheat harvest—Samson visited his bride, bringing a young goat. He said, “Let me see my wife—show me her bedroom.”
But her father wouldn’t let him in. He said, “I concluded that by now you hated her with a passion, so I gave her to your best man. But her little sister is even more beautiful. Why not take her instead?”
3 Samson said, “That does it. This time when I wreak havoc on the Philistines, I’m blameless.”
4-5 Samson then went out and caught three hundred jackals. He lashed the jackals’ tails together in pairs and tied a torch between each pair of tails. He then set fire to the torches and let them loose in the Philistine fields of ripe grain. Everything burned, both stacked and standing grain, vineyards and olive orchards—everything.
6 The Philistines said, “Who did this?”
They were told, “Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite who took his bride and gave her to his best man.”
The Philistines went up and burned both her and her father to death.
7 Samson then said, “If this is the way you’re going to act, I swear I’ll get even with you. And I’m not quitting till the job’s done!”
8 With that he tore into them, ripping them limb from limb—a huge slaughter. Then he went down and stayed in a cave at Etam Rock.
9-10 The Philistines set out and made camp in Judah, preparing to attack Lehi (Jawbone). When the men of Judah asked, “Why have you come up against us?” they said, “We’re out to get Samson. We’re going after Samson to do to him what he did to us.”
11 Three companies of men from Judah went down to the cave at Etam Rock and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines already bully and lord it over us? So what’s going on with you, making things even worse?”
He said, “It was tit for tat. I only did to them what they did to me.”
12 They said, “Well, we’ve come down here to tie you up and turn you over to the Philistines.”
Samson said, “Just promise not to hurt me.”
13 “We promise,” they said. “We will tie you up and surrender you to them but, believe us, we won’t kill you.” They proceeded to tie him with new ropes and led him up from the Rock.
14-16 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him, shouting in triumph. And then the Spirit of God came on him with great power. The ropes on his arms fell apart like flax on fire; the thongs slipped off his hands. He spotted a fresh donkey jawbone, reached down and grabbed it, and with it killed the whole company. And Samson said,
With a donkey’s jawbone
I made heaps of donkeys of them.
With a donkey’s jawbone
I killed an entire company.
17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone. He named that place Ramath Lehi (Jawbone Hill).
18-19 Now he was suddenly very thirsty. He called out to God, “You have given your servant this great victory. Are you going to abandon me to die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” So God split open the rock basin in Lehi; water gushed out and Samson drank. His spirit revived—he was alive again! That’s why it’s called En Hakkore (Caller’s Spring). It’s still there at Lehi today.
20 Samson judged Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, October 19, 2018
Read: Proverbs 3:21–31
My son, do not lose sight of these—
keep sound wisdom and discretion,
22 and they will be life for your soul
and adornment for your neck.
23 Then you will walk on your way securely,
and your foot will not stumble.
24 If you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
25 Do not be afraid of sudden terror
or of the ruin[a] of the wicked, when it comes,
26 for the Lord will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being caught.
27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,[b]
when it is in your power to do it.
28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,
tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.
29 Do not plan evil against your neighbor,
who dwells trustingly beside you.
30 Do not contend with a man for no reason,
when he has done you no harm.
31 Do not envy a man of violence
and do not choose any of his ways,
Footnotes:
Proverbs 3:25 Hebrew storm
Proverbs 3:27 Hebrew Do not withhold good from its owners
INSIGHT
Helping others by doing good when it’s in our power to act (Proverbs 3:27–28) is also the focus of Paul’s instructions to believers. Encouraging us to live meaningful and purposeful lives before a watching, non-believing world, Paul tells us to “be very careful, then, how [we] live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:15–16). Careful living means we are to live godly lives as “children of light” pleasing to the Lord (vv. 8, 10). Paul expects “those who have trusted in God [to] devote themselves to doing what is good” (Titus 3:8). We are to adopt a never-give-up attitude when it comes to serving others: “Let us not become weary in doing good . . . . As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:9–10).
What can you do this week to serve someone?-K. T. Sim
Bring Your Boats
By Kirsten Holmberg
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Proverbs 3:27
Hurricane Harvey brought catastrophic flooding to eastern Texas in 2017. The onslaught of rain stranded thousands of people in their homes, unable to escape the floodwaters. In what was dubbed the “Texas Navy,” many private citizens brought boats from other parts of the state and nation to help evacuate stranded people.
The actions of these valiant, generous men and women call to mind the encouragement of Proverbs 3:27, which instructs us to help others whenever we are able. They had the power to act on behalf of those in need by bringing their boats. And so they did. Their actions demonstrate a willingness to use whatever resources they had at their disposal for the benefit of others.
We may not always feel adequate for the task at hand; often we become paralyzed by thinking we don’t have the skills, experience, resources, or time to help others. In such instances, we’re quick to sideline ourselves, discounting what we do have that might be of assistance to someone else. The Texas Navy couldn’t stop the floodwaters from rising, nor could they legislate government aid. But they used what they had within their power—their boats—to come alongside the deep needs of their fellow man. May we all bring our “boats”—whatever they may be—to take the people in our paths to higher ground.
Lord, all that I have is from You. Help me to always use what You’ve given me to help others.
God provides for His people through His people.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 19, 2018
The Unheeded Secret
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world." —John 18:36
The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the systems of the world. This work insists upon endless energy and activities, but no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation….For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). It is a hidden, obscure thing. An active Christian worker too often lives to be seen by others, while it is the innermost, personal area that reveals the power of a person’s life.
We must get rid of the plague of the spirit of this religious age in which we live. In our Lord’s life there was none of the pressure and the rushing of tremendous activity that we regard so highly today, and a disciple is to be like His Master. The central point of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship with Him, not public usefulness to others.
It is not the practical activities that are the strength of this Bible Training College— its entire strength lies in the fact that here you are immersed in the truths of God to soak in them before Him. You have no idea of where or how God is going to engineer your future circumstances, and no knowledge of what stress and strain is going to be placed on you either at home or abroad. And if you waste your time in overactivity, instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God’s redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be impractical, then you will remain true to Him whatever happens.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance. Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, October 19, 2018
Always Found Out - #8290
So I heard this comedy routine that suggested some humorous ways to finish this sentence: "You're having a bad day when..." Well, I heard on the news about a man who might be a finalist for the "baddest day of the year" award, and there's nothing humorous about what happened to him. There was years ago an Avianca Airlines plane that crashed on Long Island. It was a flight from Colombia to New York. This particular Colombian man was seriously injured in the crash. Well, that's a bad day; I mean that's a really bad day. They rushed him to the hospital where it was determined that they'd have to do abdominal surgery. And when the surgeons opened him up, they found little plastic bags in his stomach full of cocaine. He was a drug courier, and he had ingested those little bags of cocaine to smuggle them into the country. So after he crashed and then was operated on, he was arrested. Now who would have ever thought he would be found out? He was.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Always Found Out."
Actually, everyone is-no matter what they've done-no matter how well they have concealed it. In fact, here's God's personal guarantee of that-you can count on it. It's our word for today from the Word of God in Numbers 32:23, "You may be sure that your sin will find you out." Now you might say, "Well, only if I'm caught." If God knows, you're already caught. And God does know, and it's only a matter of time before He makes sure that you're found out.
If God let us get away with our sin, we would destroy our lives and we'd sin our way right to hell. For our own sake-because He loves us-God insures that we have to deal with our sin. Someone who is listening today, maybe you're living in the illusion that you'll get away with your sin, with that lie, that adultery, the stuff going on behind people's backs, the cheating. Or maybe you think you could get away with that pornography, that habit, that deception, the bitterness, the sinful relationship. You won't get away with it. God won't let you.
Someone says, "Well, I am getting away with it." Well, remember, exposure delayed is not exposure canceled. Judgment postponed is not judgment canceled. God talks about this time lag in judgment in 1 Timothy 5:24, "The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them." Some people may not have the money to cover up their sin or the connections or the protection. But the verse goes on to say, "The sins of others trail behind them." In other words, you can postpone judgment, but it's going to catch up with you; you can't escape it.
And the history of so many who have covered their sin shows that the later the punishment for that sin, the greater that punishment for that sin. While you think you're getting away with it, you're actually accumulating bigger and bigger consequences. Satan has let many a person go on for years with some sin that started a long time ago. And he waits until the exposure of that sin will do maximum damage-to that person, to those they love, to the name of Christ-and then he suddenly yanks on that long chain that he's held them with all those years.
If you feel safe with your sinful secret, remember that man on that plane who must have thought, "There's no way they could ever find out." Never underestimate the infinite ways of God.
That may, in fact, be God's solemn warning to you: "You can be sure that your sin will find you out." Isn't it time to deal with this? Every day the bill for that sin multiplies. This is the easiest it will ever be to face it. Whatever consequences you fear from coming clean, be sure that the consequences of waiting longer will only be greater.
These moments are Savior-moments. Don't run from dealing with this sin one day more. No, run to the cross where that sin was paid for by God's Son, where you can be forgiven, and clean, and free. If you want to have every sin erased from God's book this very day by the One who died for that sin, tell Him that. And tell Him, "Jesus, you're my only hope. I am yours beginning today."
I would encourage you to check out our website today, because it is all about being sure you've been forgiven, you're going to heaven, you belong to Jesus. It's ANewStory.com. It could be your new story.
This can be the day that the secret is brought into the light of Jesus Christ and you are forgiven and you are free.
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Judges 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: JUST BELIEVE JESUS
Suppose you give me a gift. Let’s say you present me with a new tie. I take it out of the box, examine it and say thank you, and then reach for my wallet. “Now, how much do I owe you?” I ask.
You think I’m kidding. “It’s a gift,” you say, “you don’t need to pay me.”
“I understand,” I respond, but show I really don’t by asking, “Could I write you a check?”
In trying to buy your gift, I’ve degraded your grace. I’ve robbed you of the joy of giving. How often we rob God. Have you considered what an insult it is to God when we try to pay him for his goodness? Sly is the scheme of Satan! He causes us to question grace, to earn it. What is it God wants us to do? Just believe…believe the One he sent. And receive the gift he gives. “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29.
Read more A Gentle Thunder
Judges 14
Samson went down to Timnah. There in Timnah a woman caught his eye, a Philistine girl. He came back and told his father and mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah, a Philistine girl; get her for me as my wife.”
3 His parents said to him, “Isn’t there a woman among the girls in the neighborhood of our people? Do you have to go get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?”
But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the one I want—she’s the right one.”
4 (His father and mother had no idea that God was behind this, that he was arranging an opportunity against the Philistines. At the time the Philistines lorded it over Israel.)
5-6 Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother. When he got to the vineyards of Timnah, a young lion came at him, roaring. The Spirit of God came on him powerfully and he ripped it open barehanded, like tearing a young goat. But he didn’t tell his parents what he had done.
7 Then he went on down and spoke to the woman. In Samson’s eyes, she was the one.
8-9 Some days later when he came back to get her, he made a little detour to look at what was left of the lion. And there a wonder: a swarm of bees in the lion’s carcass—and honey! He scooped it up in his hands and kept going, eating as he went. He rejoined his father and mother and gave some to them and they ate. But he didn’t tell them that he had scooped out the honey from the lion’s carcass.
10-11 His father went on down to make arrangements with the woman, while Samson prepared a feast there. That’s what the young men did in those days. Because the people were wary of him, they arranged for thirty friends to mingle with him.
12-13 Samson said to them: “Let me put a riddle to you. If you can figure it out during the seven days of the feast, I’ll give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of fine clothing. But if you can’t figure it out then you’ll give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of fine clothing.”
13-14 They said, “Put your riddle. Let’s hear it.” So he said,
From the eater came something to eat,
From the strong came something sweet.
14-15 They couldn’t figure it out. After three days they were still stumped. On the fourth day they said to Samson’s bride, “Worm the answer out of your husband or we’ll burn you and your father’s household. Have you invited us here to bankrupt us?”
16 So Samson’s bride turned on the tears, saying to him, “You hate me. You don’t love me. You’ve told a riddle to my people but you won’t even tell me the answer.”
He said, “I haven’t told my own parents—why would I tell you?”
17 But she turned on the tears all the seven days of the feast. On the seventh day, worn out by her nagging, he told her. Then she went and told it to her people.
18 The men of the town came to him on the seventh day, just before sunset and said,
What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?
And Samson said,
If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer,
You wouldn’t have found out my riddle.
19-20 Then the Spirit of God came powerfully on him. He went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men, stripped them, and gave their clothing to those who had solved the riddle. Stalking out, smoking with anger, he went home to his father’s house. Samson’s bride became the wife of the best man at his wedding.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Read: Isaiah 53:1–6
Who has believed what he has heard from us?[a]
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected[b] by men,
a man of sorrows[c] and acquainted with[d] grief;[e]
and as one from whom men hide their faces[f]
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Footnotes:
Isaiah 53:1 Or Who has believed what we have heard?
Isaiah 53:3 Or forsaken
Isaiah 53:3 Or pains; also verse 4
Isaiah 53:3 Or and knowing
INSIGHT
Isaiah 53:1–6 is part of a section of the book known as the Servant Songs. There are four Servant Songs in Isaiah that describe the service, suffering, and triumph of the servant of the Lord—Jesus the Messiah. These songs are found in Isaiah 42:1–9, 49:1–13, 50:4–11, and 52:13–53:12.
This last servant song describes the suffering and triumph of the servant. Though He is pierced, crushed, punished, and wounded, it’s His suffering that brings us peace and healing (53:5). The ultimate purpose for this suffering is outlined in verse 10—His life is an offering for sin. The servant takes our place—suffering for us and bearing our sins. And by His suffering and death, we are given life and peace. But death is not the end for the servant: “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life” (v. 11). In His suffering and resurrection, Jesus reconciles humanity to God (see Matthew 8:17; Acts 8:30–35; Romans 10:15–17; 15:21).
How can you celebrate the life that Jesus died to give you?
For more on the book of Isaiah, see Old Testament Survey: Ecclesiastes–Isaiah at christianuniversity.org/OT224. - J.R. Hudberg
A Piercing Thorn
By Adam Holz
But he was pierced for our transgressions . . . and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
The thorn pricked my index finger, drawing blood. I hollered and then groaned, drawing back my hand instinctively. But I shouldn’t have been surprised: trying to prune a thorny bush without gardening gloves was a recipe for exactly what just happened.
The pain throbbing in my finger—and the blood flowing from it—demanded attention. And as I searched for a bandage, I found myself unexpectedly thinking about my Savior. After all, soldiers forced Jesus to don an entire crown of thorns (John 19:1–3). If one thorn hurt this much, I thought, how much agony would an entire crown of them inflict? And that’s just a small portion of the physical pain He suffered. A whip flogged His back. Nails penetrated His wrists and ankles.
But Jesus endured spiritual pain too. Verse 5 of Isaiah 53 tells us, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him.” The “peace” Isaiah talks about here is another way of talking about forgiveness. Jesus allowed Himself to be pierced—by nails, by a crown of thorns—to bring us spiritual peace with God. His sacrifice, His willingness to die on our behalf, paved the way to make a relationship with the Father possible. And He did it, Scripture tells us, for me, for you.
Father, I can’t imagine the pain Your Son endured to wash away my sin. Thank You for sending Him for me, to be pierced for my sins that I might have a relationship with You.
Jesus allowed Himself to be pierced to bring us spiritual peace with God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 18, 2018
The Key to the Missionary’s Devotion
…they went forth for His name’s sake… —3 John 7
Our Lord told us how our love for Him is to exhibit itself when He asked, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:17). And then He said, “Feed My sheep.” In effect, He said, “Identify yourself with My interests in other people,” not, “Identify Me with your interests in other people.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 shows us the characteristics of this love— it is actually the love of God expressing itself. The true test of my love for Jesus is a very practical one, and all the rest is sentimental talk.
Faithfulness to Jesus Christ is the supernatural work of redemption that has been performed in me by the Holy Spirit— “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit…” (Romans 5:5). And it is that love in me that effectively works through me and comes in contact with everyone I meet. I remain faithful to His name, even though the commonsense view of my life may seemingly deny that, and may appear to be declaring that He has no more power than the morning mist.
The key to the missionary’s devotion is that he is attached to nothing and to no one except our Lord Himself. It does not mean simply being detached from the external things surrounding us. Our Lord was amazingly in touch with the ordinary things of life, but He had an inner detachment except toward God. External detachment is often an actual indication of a secret, growing, inner attachment to the things we stay away from externally.
The duty of a faithful missionary is to concentrate on keeping his soul completely and continually open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The men and women our Lord sends out on His endeavors are ordinary human people, but people who are controlled by their devotion to Him, which has been brought about through the work of the Holy Spirit.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is not what a man does that is of final importance, but what he is in what he does. The atmosphere produced by a man, much more than his activities, has the lasting influence. Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Missing Those You Love - #8289
I've only been to Israel once, and just for a short visit, but I will never forget the thrill of seeing those places where Jesus walked when He was there, and watching all those names and places in the Bible suddenly come alive. It really was one of the highlights of my life, I'll tell you, except for one thing. I went alone, on my way back home from a ministry trip to Africa. As I stood on the Mount of Olives, and as I walked the streets of old Jerusalem, as I experienced the feel of Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee, you know what I kept thinking? "I want my wife to see all of this. I want to experience this with my kids!" Yes, Israel was terrific, but I really wanted to share it with the people I love.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Missing Those You Love."
I guess that's just the way it is when you're enjoying a special place; you want the people you care about to be there, sharing it with you. That must include the most special place of all-heaven.
Imagine that you get to heaven and you see Jesus. After you fall on your face in adoration and awe, you begin to thank Him for all He did to get you to heaven. And then you ask a question that's been on your mind since you arrived, "Lord, is Scott here? Is Linda here?" What if Jesus says, "Oh, did you bring him? Did you bring her?" See, Jesus was counting on you to help those people you love understand what He did for them on the cross and to point them to the only One who could get them to heaven.
In our word for today from the Word of God, Paul anticipated the joys he was expecting when he got to heaven. In 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, he says, "For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy." Now, when Paul sees Jesus, his joy is going to be that the people he loved-that he loved enough to introduce to Jesus-will be there with him.
I wonder who you'll be looking for when you get to heaven; people who, as far as you know, may not be headed there right now. If you want them to be there in heaven with you, you've got to tell them how they can know the Savior who died to get them there. In fact, that's why God has you in their lives, to help them go to heaven with you. So, how are you doing with that?
There are very few sadnesses deeper in life than standing by the casket of someone you could have told about Christ-you should have told about Christ-but you didn't. Well, you know, we can't have any of those opportunities back, but we do have the friends and neighbors and coworkers and loved ones who are still with us. And we still have time to tell them, but no one knows how much time.
This very day you could start praying what I call the "3-open prayer." First, "Lord, open a door." That's a natural, God-given opportunity to bring up your relationship with Christ. Then, "Lord, open their heart." And then finally, "Lord, open my mouth." You don't even have to pray, "Lord, if it's Your will." It is His will. "Lord, open a door. Lord, a natural opportunity. Lord, open their heart; get them ready, and Lord, open my mouth with the words, and the approach, and the tone, and the courage to tell them what I know about You." Begin to seek opportunities, pursue opportunities to tell the people in your personal world about the Son of God who loved them enough to pay for their sin so they don't have to.
If there are people you want to have in heaven with you, please while there's still time, share with them the message that will get them there.
Suppose you give me a gift. Let’s say you present me with a new tie. I take it out of the box, examine it and say thank you, and then reach for my wallet. “Now, how much do I owe you?” I ask.
You think I’m kidding. “It’s a gift,” you say, “you don’t need to pay me.”
“I understand,” I respond, but show I really don’t by asking, “Could I write you a check?”
In trying to buy your gift, I’ve degraded your grace. I’ve robbed you of the joy of giving. How often we rob God. Have you considered what an insult it is to God when we try to pay him for his goodness? Sly is the scheme of Satan! He causes us to question grace, to earn it. What is it God wants us to do? Just believe…believe the One he sent. And receive the gift he gives. “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29.
Read more A Gentle Thunder
Judges 14
Samson went down to Timnah. There in Timnah a woman caught his eye, a Philistine girl. He came back and told his father and mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah, a Philistine girl; get her for me as my wife.”
3 His parents said to him, “Isn’t there a woman among the girls in the neighborhood of our people? Do you have to go get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?”
But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the one I want—she’s the right one.”
4 (His father and mother had no idea that God was behind this, that he was arranging an opportunity against the Philistines. At the time the Philistines lorded it over Israel.)
5-6 Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother. When he got to the vineyards of Timnah, a young lion came at him, roaring. The Spirit of God came on him powerfully and he ripped it open barehanded, like tearing a young goat. But he didn’t tell his parents what he had done.
7 Then he went on down and spoke to the woman. In Samson’s eyes, she was the one.
8-9 Some days later when he came back to get her, he made a little detour to look at what was left of the lion. And there a wonder: a swarm of bees in the lion’s carcass—and honey! He scooped it up in his hands and kept going, eating as he went. He rejoined his father and mother and gave some to them and they ate. But he didn’t tell them that he had scooped out the honey from the lion’s carcass.
10-11 His father went on down to make arrangements with the woman, while Samson prepared a feast there. That’s what the young men did in those days. Because the people were wary of him, they arranged for thirty friends to mingle with him.
12-13 Samson said to them: “Let me put a riddle to you. If you can figure it out during the seven days of the feast, I’ll give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of fine clothing. But if you can’t figure it out then you’ll give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of fine clothing.”
13-14 They said, “Put your riddle. Let’s hear it.” So he said,
From the eater came something to eat,
From the strong came something sweet.
14-15 They couldn’t figure it out. After three days they were still stumped. On the fourth day they said to Samson’s bride, “Worm the answer out of your husband or we’ll burn you and your father’s household. Have you invited us here to bankrupt us?”
16 So Samson’s bride turned on the tears, saying to him, “You hate me. You don’t love me. You’ve told a riddle to my people but you won’t even tell me the answer.”
He said, “I haven’t told my own parents—why would I tell you?”
17 But she turned on the tears all the seven days of the feast. On the seventh day, worn out by her nagging, he told her. Then she went and told it to her people.
18 The men of the town came to him on the seventh day, just before sunset and said,
What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?
And Samson said,
If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer,
You wouldn’t have found out my riddle.
19-20 Then the Spirit of God came powerfully on him. He went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men, stripped them, and gave their clothing to those who had solved the riddle. Stalking out, smoking with anger, he went home to his father’s house. Samson’s bride became the wife of the best man at his wedding.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Read: Isaiah 53:1–6
Who has believed what he has heard from us?[a]
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected[b] by men,
a man of sorrows[c] and acquainted with[d] grief;[e]
and as one from whom men hide their faces[f]
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Footnotes:
Isaiah 53:1 Or Who has believed what we have heard?
Isaiah 53:3 Or forsaken
Isaiah 53:3 Or pains; also verse 4
Isaiah 53:3 Or and knowing
INSIGHT
Isaiah 53:1–6 is part of a section of the book known as the Servant Songs. There are four Servant Songs in Isaiah that describe the service, suffering, and triumph of the servant of the Lord—Jesus the Messiah. These songs are found in Isaiah 42:1–9, 49:1–13, 50:4–11, and 52:13–53:12.
This last servant song describes the suffering and triumph of the servant. Though He is pierced, crushed, punished, and wounded, it’s His suffering that brings us peace and healing (53:5). The ultimate purpose for this suffering is outlined in verse 10—His life is an offering for sin. The servant takes our place—suffering for us and bearing our sins. And by His suffering and death, we are given life and peace. But death is not the end for the servant: “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life” (v. 11). In His suffering and resurrection, Jesus reconciles humanity to God (see Matthew 8:17; Acts 8:30–35; Romans 10:15–17; 15:21).
How can you celebrate the life that Jesus died to give you?
For more on the book of Isaiah, see Old Testament Survey: Ecclesiastes–Isaiah at christianuniversity.org/OT224. - J.R. Hudberg
A Piercing Thorn
By Adam Holz
But he was pierced for our transgressions . . . and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
The thorn pricked my index finger, drawing blood. I hollered and then groaned, drawing back my hand instinctively. But I shouldn’t have been surprised: trying to prune a thorny bush without gardening gloves was a recipe for exactly what just happened.
The pain throbbing in my finger—and the blood flowing from it—demanded attention. And as I searched for a bandage, I found myself unexpectedly thinking about my Savior. After all, soldiers forced Jesus to don an entire crown of thorns (John 19:1–3). If one thorn hurt this much, I thought, how much agony would an entire crown of them inflict? And that’s just a small portion of the physical pain He suffered. A whip flogged His back. Nails penetrated His wrists and ankles.
But Jesus endured spiritual pain too. Verse 5 of Isaiah 53 tells us, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him.” The “peace” Isaiah talks about here is another way of talking about forgiveness. Jesus allowed Himself to be pierced—by nails, by a crown of thorns—to bring us spiritual peace with God. His sacrifice, His willingness to die on our behalf, paved the way to make a relationship with the Father possible. And He did it, Scripture tells us, for me, for you.
Father, I can’t imagine the pain Your Son endured to wash away my sin. Thank You for sending Him for me, to be pierced for my sins that I might have a relationship with You.
Jesus allowed Himself to be pierced to bring us spiritual peace with God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 18, 2018
The Key to the Missionary’s Devotion
…they went forth for His name’s sake… —3 John 7
Our Lord told us how our love for Him is to exhibit itself when He asked, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:17). And then He said, “Feed My sheep.” In effect, He said, “Identify yourself with My interests in other people,” not, “Identify Me with your interests in other people.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 shows us the characteristics of this love— it is actually the love of God expressing itself. The true test of my love for Jesus is a very practical one, and all the rest is sentimental talk.
Faithfulness to Jesus Christ is the supernatural work of redemption that has been performed in me by the Holy Spirit— “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit…” (Romans 5:5). And it is that love in me that effectively works through me and comes in contact with everyone I meet. I remain faithful to His name, even though the commonsense view of my life may seemingly deny that, and may appear to be declaring that He has no more power than the morning mist.
The key to the missionary’s devotion is that he is attached to nothing and to no one except our Lord Himself. It does not mean simply being detached from the external things surrounding us. Our Lord was amazingly in touch with the ordinary things of life, but He had an inner detachment except toward God. External detachment is often an actual indication of a secret, growing, inner attachment to the things we stay away from externally.
The duty of a faithful missionary is to concentrate on keeping his soul completely and continually open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The men and women our Lord sends out on His endeavors are ordinary human people, but people who are controlled by their devotion to Him, which has been brought about through the work of the Holy Spirit.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is not what a man does that is of final importance, but what he is in what he does. The atmosphere produced by a man, much more than his activities, has the lasting influence. Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Missing Those You Love - #8289
I've only been to Israel once, and just for a short visit, but I will never forget the thrill of seeing those places where Jesus walked when He was there, and watching all those names and places in the Bible suddenly come alive. It really was one of the highlights of my life, I'll tell you, except for one thing. I went alone, on my way back home from a ministry trip to Africa. As I stood on the Mount of Olives, and as I walked the streets of old Jerusalem, as I experienced the feel of Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee, you know what I kept thinking? "I want my wife to see all of this. I want to experience this with my kids!" Yes, Israel was terrific, but I really wanted to share it with the people I love.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Missing Those You Love."
I guess that's just the way it is when you're enjoying a special place; you want the people you care about to be there, sharing it with you. That must include the most special place of all-heaven.
Imagine that you get to heaven and you see Jesus. After you fall on your face in adoration and awe, you begin to thank Him for all He did to get you to heaven. And then you ask a question that's been on your mind since you arrived, "Lord, is Scott here? Is Linda here?" What if Jesus says, "Oh, did you bring him? Did you bring her?" See, Jesus was counting on you to help those people you love understand what He did for them on the cross and to point them to the only One who could get them to heaven.
In our word for today from the Word of God, Paul anticipated the joys he was expecting when he got to heaven. In 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, he says, "For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy." Now, when Paul sees Jesus, his joy is going to be that the people he loved-that he loved enough to introduce to Jesus-will be there with him.
I wonder who you'll be looking for when you get to heaven; people who, as far as you know, may not be headed there right now. If you want them to be there in heaven with you, you've got to tell them how they can know the Savior who died to get them there. In fact, that's why God has you in their lives, to help them go to heaven with you. So, how are you doing with that?
There are very few sadnesses deeper in life than standing by the casket of someone you could have told about Christ-you should have told about Christ-but you didn't. Well, you know, we can't have any of those opportunities back, but we do have the friends and neighbors and coworkers and loved ones who are still with us. And we still have time to tell them, but no one knows how much time.
This very day you could start praying what I call the "3-open prayer." First, "Lord, open a door." That's a natural, God-given opportunity to bring up your relationship with Christ. Then, "Lord, open their heart." And then finally, "Lord, open my mouth." You don't even have to pray, "Lord, if it's Your will." It is His will. "Lord, open a door. Lord, a natural opportunity. Lord, open their heart; get them ready, and Lord, open my mouth with the words, and the approach, and the tone, and the courage to tell them what I know about You." Begin to seek opportunities, pursue opportunities to tell the people in your personal world about the Son of God who loved them enough to pay for their sin so they don't have to.
If there are people you want to have in heaven with you, please while there's still time, share with them the message that will get them there.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Judges 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: LET PRAYER BE OUR FIRST OPTION
It was a tense deacon’s meeting. Apparently there was more agitation than agreement, and after a lengthy discussion someone suggested, “Why don’t we pray about it?” To which another questioned, “Has it come to that?”
What causes us to think of prayer as the last option rather than the first? I can think of two reasons: feelings of independence and feelings of insignificance. We think, God doesn’t want to hear my problems. He’s got famine and the Mafia to deal with. I don’t want to trouble him with my mess. The last thing you should worry about is being a nuisance to God. If that’s your thought, may I share with you a favorite verse of mine? “Because He delights in me, He saved me” (Psalm 18:19).
God can live anywhere in the universe and he chose your heart. He’s crazy about you! Why don’t you talk to him?
Read more A Gentle Thunder
Judges 13
Samson
13 And then the People of Israel were back at it again, doing what was evil in God’s sight. God put them under the domination of the Philistines for forty years.
2-5 At that time there was a man named Manoah from Zorah from the tribe of Dan. His wife was barren and childless. The angel of God appeared to her and told her, “I know that you are barren and childless, but you’re going to become pregnant and bear a son. But take much care: Drink no wine or beer; eat nothing ritually unclean. You are, in fact, pregnant right now, carrying a son. No razor will touch his head—the boy will be God’s Nazirite from the moment of his birth. He will launch the deliverance from Philistine oppression.”
6-7 The woman went to her husband and said, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the angel of God—terror laced with glory! I didn’t ask him where he was from and he didn’t tell me his name, but he told me, ‘You’re pregnant. You’re going to give birth to a son. Don’t drink any wine or beer and eat nothing ritually unclean. The boy will be God’s Nazirite from the moment of birth to the day of his death.’”
8 Manoah prayed to God: “Master, let the man of God you sent come to us again and teach us how to raise this boy who is to be born.”
9-10 God listened to Manoah. God’s angel came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field; her husband Manoah wasn’t there with her. She jumped to her feet and ran and told her husband: “He’s back! The man who came to me that day!”
11 Manoah got up and, following his wife, came to the man. He said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”
He said, “I am.”
12 Manoah said, “So. When what you say comes true, what do you have to tell us about this boy and his work?”
13-14 The angel of God said to Manoah, “Keep in mind everything I told the woman. Eat nothing that comes from the vine: Drink no wine or beer; eat no ritually unclean foods. She’s to observe everything I commanded her.”
15 Manoah said to the angel of God, “Please, stay with us a little longer; we’ll prepare a meal for you—a young goat.”
16 God’s angel said to Manoah, “Even if I stay, I won’t eat your food. But if you want to prepare a Whole-Burnt-Offering for God, go ahead—offer it!” Manoah had no idea that he was talking to the angel of God.
17 Then Manoah asked the angel of God, “What’s your name? When your words come true, we’d like to honor you.”
18 The angel of God said, “What’s this? You ask for my name? You wouldn’t understand—it’s sheer wonder.”
19-21 So Manoah took the kid and the Grain-Offering and sacrificed them on a rock altar to God who works wonders. As the flames leapt up from the altar to heaven, God’s angel also ascended in the altar flames. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground. Manoah and his wife never saw the angel of God again.
21-22 Only then did Manoah realize that this was God’s angel. He said to his wife, “We’re as good as dead! We’ve looked on God!”
23 But his wife said, “If God were planning to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted our Whole-Burnt-Offering and Grain-Offering, or revealed all these things to us—given us this birth announcement.”
24-25 The woman gave birth to a son. They named him Samson. The boy grew and God blessed him. The Spirit of God began working in him while he was staying at a Danite camp between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Read: Nehemiah 1
Report from Jerusalem
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.
Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”
Nehemiah's Prayer
4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
Now I was cupbearer to the king.
The Prayer and the Chain Saw
By Linda Washington
Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant. Nehemiah 1:11
I respect my Aunt Gladys’s intrepid spirit, even if that very spirit concerns me sometimes. The source of my concern came in the form of news she shared in an email: “I cut down a walnut tree yesterday.”
You must understand that my chainsaw-wielding aunt is seventy-six years old! The tree had grown up behind her garage. When the roots threatened to burst through the concrete, she knew it had to go. But she did tell us, “I always pray before I tackle a job like that.”
While serving as butler to the king of Persia during the time of Israel’s exile, Nehemiah heard news concerning the people who had returned to Jerusalem. Some work needed to be done. “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:3). The broken walls left them vulnerable to attack by enemies. Nehemiah had compassion for his people and wanted to get involved. But prayer came first, especially since a new king had written a letter to stop the building efforts in Jerusalem (see Ezra 4). Nehemiah prayed for his people (Nehemiah 1:5–10), and then asked God for help before requesting permission from the king to leave (v. 11).
Is prayer your response? It’s always the best way to face any task or trial in life.
Father, Your Holy Spirit reminds us to pray first. Today, we commit to doing so as Your Spirit prompts us.
Make prayer a first priority, instead of a last resort.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
The Key of the Greater Work
…I say to you, he who believes in Me,…greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. —John 14:12
Prayer does not equip us for greater works— prayer is the greater work. Yet we think of prayer as some commonsense exercise of our higher powers that simply prepares us for God’s work. In the teachings of Jesus Christ, prayer is the working of the miracle of redemption in me, which produces the miracle of redemption in others, through the power of God. The way fruit remains firm is through prayer, but remember that it is prayer based on the agony of Christ in redemption, not on my own agony. We must go to God as His child, because only a child gets his prayers answered; a “wise” man does not (see Matthew 11:25).
Prayer is the battle, and it makes no difference where you are. However God may engineer your circumstances, your duty is to pray. Never allow yourself this thought, “I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly cannot be used where you have not yet been placed. Wherever God has placed you and whatever your circumstances, you should pray, continually offering up prayers to Him. And He promises, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do…” (John 14:13). Yet we refuse to pray unless it thrills or excites us, which is the most intense form of spiritual selfishness. We must learn to work according to God’s direction, and He says to pray. “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:38).
There is nothing thrilling about a laboring person’s work, but it is the laboring person who makes the ideas of the genius possible. And it is the laboring saint who makes the ideas of his Master possible. When you labor at prayer, from God’s perspective there are always results. What an astonishment it will be to see, once the veil is finally lifted, all the souls that have been reaped by you, simply because you have been in the habit of taking your orders from Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of pronouncing any verdict on the life of faith if you are not living it. Not Knowing Whither, 900 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
The Wind That Changes Everything - #8288
Years ago we were just beginning the process of building our Ministry Headquarters. At that point, all that was on this field was the footings for the building and a barn that was on the property. Volunteers were in the process of renovating and weatherproofing that old barn for storage when some friends donated a truckload of office furniture to our ministry. It was going to be a few days before we could bring that furniture into the barn, so we had to leave it next to the barn, which meant it had to be covered to protect it, right?
Well, wouldn't you know, that moment came at a time when I was out of town and there was no one available to get that tarp over the furniture except my dear wife. Yeah, well we're talking here strong and resourceful farm girl, so she thought nothing of it, but getting that tarp up and over all that furniture turned out to be quite a challenge for one person; especially for a woman alone. And she realized that all her pulling and straining wasn't going to do it. She had a wonderful gift from God all of a sudden – a strong wind suddenly came up. Suddenly that wind was lifting the tarp up and over the furniture, just where it needed to go. Isn't that awesome? That wind blew strategically several times until the job was done; leaving my dear wife, and me when I heard about it, again amazed by God.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Wind That Changes Everything."
What an incredible picture of how God gets things done. What a picture of what He wants to do in your life right now; especially in some challenges where all your pulling and straining just isn't getting it done.
Listen to these familiar, encouraging words from our word for today from the Word of God. They're found in Isaiah 40:29, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." Okay. You feeling weary? You feeling weak right now? Great! That qualifies you to receive God's strength for your weariness, God's power for your weakness. Isaiah goes on: "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, (Yes, we do. Oh, wait...) but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
I've watched soaring birds; eagles, hawks, and even turkey vultures. I never see them before mid-morning, when the air is warm enough to start rising and creating those thermal updrafts. And those birds don't get where they're going by frantically flapping their wings. They ride the winds of God. That's what my wife ended up doing that day when her efforts couldn't get the job done; she let the winds of God carry her. That's how we're all supposed to live – not frantically flapping our wings, but relaxing and letting God carry us where we could never fly in our own strength.
Some of us are such driven, type-A, "make-it-happen" people (Notice I said us.) that we miss the miracle of being carried by a God who makes it happen. We get all stressed, brittle, frustrated, exhausted, and depleted because we don't allow the God-takeover that's where the power really is.
Paul seemed to understand this mysterious synergy between our effort and God's energy. He said in Colossians 1:29, "I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me." Yes, I work hard, but I'm doing it in His strength, His energy, not mine.
I just can't forget that picture of my wife struggling with that tarp by the barn and a wind from God suddenly lifting what she couldn't carry, moving what she couldn't move, helping her do what she could have never done otherwise.
You know what? The wind of God is blowing your way today to lift you, to empower you, to do what you have not been able to do. You see, it's the wind of God that changes everything!
It was a tense deacon’s meeting. Apparently there was more agitation than agreement, and after a lengthy discussion someone suggested, “Why don’t we pray about it?” To which another questioned, “Has it come to that?”
What causes us to think of prayer as the last option rather than the first? I can think of two reasons: feelings of independence and feelings of insignificance. We think, God doesn’t want to hear my problems. He’s got famine and the Mafia to deal with. I don’t want to trouble him with my mess. The last thing you should worry about is being a nuisance to God. If that’s your thought, may I share with you a favorite verse of mine? “Because He delights in me, He saved me” (Psalm 18:19).
God can live anywhere in the universe and he chose your heart. He’s crazy about you! Why don’t you talk to him?
Read more A Gentle Thunder
Judges 13
Samson
13 And then the People of Israel were back at it again, doing what was evil in God’s sight. God put them under the domination of the Philistines for forty years.
2-5 At that time there was a man named Manoah from Zorah from the tribe of Dan. His wife was barren and childless. The angel of God appeared to her and told her, “I know that you are barren and childless, but you’re going to become pregnant and bear a son. But take much care: Drink no wine or beer; eat nothing ritually unclean. You are, in fact, pregnant right now, carrying a son. No razor will touch his head—the boy will be God’s Nazirite from the moment of his birth. He will launch the deliverance from Philistine oppression.”
6-7 The woman went to her husband and said, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the angel of God—terror laced with glory! I didn’t ask him where he was from and he didn’t tell me his name, but he told me, ‘You’re pregnant. You’re going to give birth to a son. Don’t drink any wine or beer and eat nothing ritually unclean. The boy will be God’s Nazirite from the moment of birth to the day of his death.’”
8 Manoah prayed to God: “Master, let the man of God you sent come to us again and teach us how to raise this boy who is to be born.”
9-10 God listened to Manoah. God’s angel came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field; her husband Manoah wasn’t there with her. She jumped to her feet and ran and told her husband: “He’s back! The man who came to me that day!”
11 Manoah got up and, following his wife, came to the man. He said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”
He said, “I am.”
12 Manoah said, “So. When what you say comes true, what do you have to tell us about this boy and his work?”
13-14 The angel of God said to Manoah, “Keep in mind everything I told the woman. Eat nothing that comes from the vine: Drink no wine or beer; eat no ritually unclean foods. She’s to observe everything I commanded her.”
15 Manoah said to the angel of God, “Please, stay with us a little longer; we’ll prepare a meal for you—a young goat.”
16 God’s angel said to Manoah, “Even if I stay, I won’t eat your food. But if you want to prepare a Whole-Burnt-Offering for God, go ahead—offer it!” Manoah had no idea that he was talking to the angel of God.
17 Then Manoah asked the angel of God, “What’s your name? When your words come true, we’d like to honor you.”
18 The angel of God said, “What’s this? You ask for my name? You wouldn’t understand—it’s sheer wonder.”
19-21 So Manoah took the kid and the Grain-Offering and sacrificed them on a rock altar to God who works wonders. As the flames leapt up from the altar to heaven, God’s angel also ascended in the altar flames. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground. Manoah and his wife never saw the angel of God again.
21-22 Only then did Manoah realize that this was God’s angel. He said to his wife, “We’re as good as dead! We’ve looked on God!”
23 But his wife said, “If God were planning to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted our Whole-Burnt-Offering and Grain-Offering, or revealed all these things to us—given us this birth announcement.”
24-25 The woman gave birth to a son. They named him Samson. The boy grew and God blessed him. The Spirit of God began working in him while he was staying at a Danite camp between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Read: Nehemiah 1
Report from Jerusalem
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.
Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”
Nehemiah's Prayer
4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
Now I was cupbearer to the king.
The Prayer and the Chain Saw
By Linda Washington
Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant. Nehemiah 1:11
I respect my Aunt Gladys’s intrepid spirit, even if that very spirit concerns me sometimes. The source of my concern came in the form of news she shared in an email: “I cut down a walnut tree yesterday.”
You must understand that my chainsaw-wielding aunt is seventy-six years old! The tree had grown up behind her garage. When the roots threatened to burst through the concrete, she knew it had to go. But she did tell us, “I always pray before I tackle a job like that.”
While serving as butler to the king of Persia during the time of Israel’s exile, Nehemiah heard news concerning the people who had returned to Jerusalem. Some work needed to be done. “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:3). The broken walls left them vulnerable to attack by enemies. Nehemiah had compassion for his people and wanted to get involved. But prayer came first, especially since a new king had written a letter to stop the building efforts in Jerusalem (see Ezra 4). Nehemiah prayed for his people (Nehemiah 1:5–10), and then asked God for help before requesting permission from the king to leave (v. 11).
Is prayer your response? It’s always the best way to face any task or trial in life.
Father, Your Holy Spirit reminds us to pray first. Today, we commit to doing so as Your Spirit prompts us.
Make prayer a first priority, instead of a last resort.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
The Key of the Greater Work
…I say to you, he who believes in Me,…greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. —John 14:12
Prayer does not equip us for greater works— prayer is the greater work. Yet we think of prayer as some commonsense exercise of our higher powers that simply prepares us for God’s work. In the teachings of Jesus Christ, prayer is the working of the miracle of redemption in me, which produces the miracle of redemption in others, through the power of God. The way fruit remains firm is through prayer, but remember that it is prayer based on the agony of Christ in redemption, not on my own agony. We must go to God as His child, because only a child gets his prayers answered; a “wise” man does not (see Matthew 11:25).
Prayer is the battle, and it makes no difference where you are. However God may engineer your circumstances, your duty is to pray. Never allow yourself this thought, “I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly cannot be used where you have not yet been placed. Wherever God has placed you and whatever your circumstances, you should pray, continually offering up prayers to Him. And He promises, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do…” (John 14:13). Yet we refuse to pray unless it thrills or excites us, which is the most intense form of spiritual selfishness. We must learn to work according to God’s direction, and He says to pray. “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:38).
There is nothing thrilling about a laboring person’s work, but it is the laboring person who makes the ideas of the genius possible. And it is the laboring saint who makes the ideas of his Master possible. When you labor at prayer, from God’s perspective there are always results. What an astonishment it will be to see, once the veil is finally lifted, all the souls that have been reaped by you, simply because you have been in the habit of taking your orders from Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of pronouncing any verdict on the life of faith if you are not living it. Not Knowing Whither, 900 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
The Wind That Changes Everything - #8288
Years ago we were just beginning the process of building our Ministry Headquarters. At that point, all that was on this field was the footings for the building and a barn that was on the property. Volunteers were in the process of renovating and weatherproofing that old barn for storage when some friends donated a truckload of office furniture to our ministry. It was going to be a few days before we could bring that furniture into the barn, so we had to leave it next to the barn, which meant it had to be covered to protect it, right?
Well, wouldn't you know, that moment came at a time when I was out of town and there was no one available to get that tarp over the furniture except my dear wife. Yeah, well we're talking here strong and resourceful farm girl, so she thought nothing of it, but getting that tarp up and over all that furniture turned out to be quite a challenge for one person; especially for a woman alone. And she realized that all her pulling and straining wasn't going to do it. She had a wonderful gift from God all of a sudden – a strong wind suddenly came up. Suddenly that wind was lifting the tarp up and over the furniture, just where it needed to go. Isn't that awesome? That wind blew strategically several times until the job was done; leaving my dear wife, and me when I heard about it, again amazed by God.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Wind That Changes Everything."
What an incredible picture of how God gets things done. What a picture of what He wants to do in your life right now; especially in some challenges where all your pulling and straining just isn't getting it done.
Listen to these familiar, encouraging words from our word for today from the Word of God. They're found in Isaiah 40:29, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." Okay. You feeling weary? You feeling weak right now? Great! That qualifies you to receive God's strength for your weariness, God's power for your weakness. Isaiah goes on: "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, (Yes, we do. Oh, wait...) but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
I've watched soaring birds; eagles, hawks, and even turkey vultures. I never see them before mid-morning, when the air is warm enough to start rising and creating those thermal updrafts. And those birds don't get where they're going by frantically flapping their wings. They ride the winds of God. That's what my wife ended up doing that day when her efforts couldn't get the job done; she let the winds of God carry her. That's how we're all supposed to live – not frantically flapping our wings, but relaxing and letting God carry us where we could never fly in our own strength.
Some of us are such driven, type-A, "make-it-happen" people (Notice I said us.) that we miss the miracle of being carried by a God who makes it happen. We get all stressed, brittle, frustrated, exhausted, and depleted because we don't allow the God-takeover that's where the power really is.
Paul seemed to understand this mysterious synergy between our effort and God's energy. He said in Colossians 1:29, "I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me." Yes, I work hard, but I'm doing it in His strength, His energy, not mine.
I just can't forget that picture of my wife struggling with that tarp by the barn and a wind from God suddenly lifting what she couldn't carry, moving what she couldn't move, helping her do what she could have never done otherwise.
You know what? The wind of God is blowing your way today to lift you, to empower you, to do what you have not been able to do. You see, it's the wind of God that changes everything!
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Judges 12, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: GOD IS PATIENT WITH US
God is more patient with us than we are with ourselves. We assume if we fall, we aren’t born again. If we have the old desires, we must not be a new creation. If you’re anxious please remember what Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.”
In many ways your new birth is like your first. In your new birth God provides what you need; someone else feels the pain, and someone else does the work. And just as parents are patient with their newborn, so God is patient with you. But there’s one difference. The first time you had no choice about being born. This time you do. The power is God’s. The effort is God’s. The pain is God’s. But the choice is yours.
Read more A Gentle Thunder
Judges 12
The men of Ephraim mustered their troops, crossed to Zaphon, and said to Jephthah, “Why did you go out to fight the Ammonites without letting us go with you? We’re going to burn your house down on you!”
2-3 Jephthah said, “I and my people had our hands full negotiating with the Ammonites. And I did call to you for help but you ignored me. When I saw that you weren’t coming, I took my life in my hands and confronted the Ammonites myself. And God gave them to me! So why did you show up here today? Are you spoiling for a fight with me?”
4 So Jephthah got his Gilead troops together and fought Ephraim. And the men of Gilead hit them hard because they were saying, “Gileadites are nothing but half breeds and rejects from Ephraim and Manasseh.”
5-6 Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan at the crossing to Ephraim. If an Ephraimite fugitive said, “Let me cross,” the men of Gilead would ask, “Are you an Ephraimite?” and he would say, “No.” And they would say, “Say, ‘Shibboleth.’” But he would always say, “Sibboleth”—he couldn’t say it right. Then they would grab him and kill him there at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two Ephraimite divisions were killed on that occasion.
7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city, Mizpah of Gilead.
Ibzan
8-9 After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters in marriage outside his clan and brought in thirty daughters-in-law from the outside for his sons.
10 He judged Israel seven years. Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.
Elon
11-12 After him, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel. He judged Israel ten years. Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
Abdon
13-15 After him, Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys. He judged Israel eight years. Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim in the Amalekite hill country.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Read: Psalm 57
Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam[a] of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
57 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
4 My soul is in the midst of lions;
I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8 Awake, my glory![b]
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
Footnotes:
Psalm 57:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 57:8 Or my whole being
INSIGHT
In the book of Psalms, superscriptions often precede the actual text. These notes shed light on the individual or group designated to lead the composition, the author, or the situation that inspired the lyrics. The superscription for Psalm 57 tells us David wrote this psalm “when he had fled from Saul into the cave.” Scripture records two times when David found refuge from Saul in a cave (1 Samuel 22 and 24). While there is uncertainty as to which of these two incidents is in view here, the truth of the psalm is crystal clear—the fearful, the anxious, the fleeing can find ultimate safety in the Lord (Psalm 57:1).
When was the last time a difficult situation caused you to call out to “God Most High”? (v. 2). - Arthur Jackson
Terrible and Beautiful Things
By Monica Brands
Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. Psalm 57:8
Fear can leave us frozen. We know all the reasons to be afraid—everything that’s hurt us in the past, everything that could easily do so again. So sometimes we’re stuck—unable to go back; too afraid to move forward. I just can’t do it. I’m not smart enough, strong enough, or brave enough to handle being hurt like that again.
I’m captivated by how author Frederick Buechner describes God’s grace: like a gentle voice that says, “Here is the world. Terrible and beautiful things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you.”
Terrible things will happen. In our world, hurting people hurt other people, often terribly. Like the psalmist David, we carry our own stories of when evil surrounded us, when, like “ravenous beasts,” others wounded us (Psalm 57:4). And so we grieve; we cry out (vv. 1–2).
But because God is with us, beautiful things can happen too. As we run to Him with our hurts and fears, we find ourselves carried by a love far greater than anyone’s power to harm us (vv. 1–3), a love so deep it fills the skies (v. 10). Even when disaster rages around us, His love is a solid refuge where our hearts find healing (vv. 1, 7). Until one day we’ll find ourselves awakening to renewed courage, ready to greet the day with a song of His faithfulness (vv. 8–10).
Healer and Redeemer, thank You for holding us and healing us with Your endless love. Help us find in Your love the courage to follow You and share Your love with those around us.
God’s love and beauty make us brave.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
The Key to the Master’s Orders
Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. —Matthew 9:38
The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the Master’s orders— the key is prayer. “Pray the Lord of the harvest….” In the natural realm, prayer is not practical but absurd. We have to realize that prayer is foolish from the commonsense point of view.
From Jesus Christ’s perspective, there are no nations, but only the world. How many of us pray without regard to the persons, but with regard to only one Person— Jesus Christ? He owns the harvest that is produced through distress and through conviction of sin. This is the harvest for which we have to pray that laborers be sent out to reap. We stay busy at work, while people all around us are ripe and ready to be harvested; we do not reap even one of them, but simply waste our Lord’s time in over-energized activities and programs. Suppose a crisis were to come into your father’s or your brother’s life— are you there as a laborer to reap the harvest for Jesus Christ? Is your response, “Oh, but I have a special work to do!” No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ’s own, “a servant [who] is not greater than his master” (John 13:16), and someone who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do. Our Lord calls us to no special work— He calls us to Himself. “Pray the Lord of the harvest,” and He will engineer your circumstances to send you out as His laborer.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly. Disciples Indeed, 393 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Always Taking Notes - #8287
When I was in college, there were certain times of the year when there was a huge crowd of guys jammed into my little room. One was when my mother or my girlfriend had sent homemade cookies. Somehow, everyone knows when those arrive, and then your popularity suddenly skyrockets for some reason. But the busiest time in my room was before mid-terms and final exams. One simple reason: I had the notes. I always scoped it out this way. You've got to be in class anyway, and you have to learn all this stuff eventually. Right? Why not make the most of class time, get good notes, learn all you can while the teacher's presenting it. That system worked pretty well for me, but it's not that I was particularly smart. Maybe I was just smart enough to realize that it pays to listen and record it when someone's teaching you something!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Always Taking Notes."
If you wanted to put a new title on the book of Proverbs in the Bible, you could call it something like, "Living Smart." It's wall-to-wall with God's practical directives on what wisdom looks like in everyday living. And one important key to wisdom, and sign of wisdom, is in our word for today from the Word of God, Proverbs 9:8-9, "Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning."
Did you notice that revealing trait in one truly wise person? Yeah, I call it teachability. Show a wise man or woman something and they'll say, "Thank you. I'm a wiser person because of what you said." On the other hand, the person who is un-teachable is like headed for disaster.
So, would your spouse say that you're a teachable person? Do you learn from his or her advice; even from their criticism? Would your parents say you're teachable? Or your children? Wait a minute, you say, "Hey, I'm the Mama! I'm the Papa! I'm supposed to be teaching my child!" That's true. But there are times when a five-year-old, a ten-year-old, a seventeen-year-old has a simple insight that could teach you a lot.
If you're in Christian leadership, are you secure enough and are you humble enough to learn from each person you're with – even from your critics? And I wonder if your boss would call you teachable...your coworkers...your friends.
What got me through college was the realization that I needed to be learning when it was time to learn and recording it so I wouldn't forget it. That should be a lifestyle for those who are trying to live in the humility of Jesus Christ. Humility gets real practical when it comes down to whether or not you are humble enough to see every person around you as your teacher – no matter their age, their spiritual condition, their gender, their style, their position in life.
God has put the people in your life from whom you can learn something about Him, about yourself, or about good choices, about bad choices, about your blind spots. Whether or not you keep getting "wiser still" depends on the openness of your heart to this world of teachers around you, to new information, to new ways of seeing old information, to uncomfortable information.
Listen, I didn't have to really like my professors to learn from them. They knew and they had experienced things that I didn't know. Whether or not they were my kind of person didn't really matter. What mattered was whether or not I went in with my heart and my head and my notebook open to learn what they could teach me.
That's a great – and wise – way to live. Maybe we should walk around with a big sign around our neck, "TEACH ME." There's no limit to how wise you can become if you see every person as your teacher, someone you can learn from and if you're always taking notes!
God is more patient with us than we are with ourselves. We assume if we fall, we aren’t born again. If we have the old desires, we must not be a new creation. If you’re anxious please remember what Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.”
In many ways your new birth is like your first. In your new birth God provides what you need; someone else feels the pain, and someone else does the work. And just as parents are patient with their newborn, so God is patient with you. But there’s one difference. The first time you had no choice about being born. This time you do. The power is God’s. The effort is God’s. The pain is God’s. But the choice is yours.
Read more A Gentle Thunder
Judges 12
The men of Ephraim mustered their troops, crossed to Zaphon, and said to Jephthah, “Why did you go out to fight the Ammonites without letting us go with you? We’re going to burn your house down on you!”
2-3 Jephthah said, “I and my people had our hands full negotiating with the Ammonites. And I did call to you for help but you ignored me. When I saw that you weren’t coming, I took my life in my hands and confronted the Ammonites myself. And God gave them to me! So why did you show up here today? Are you spoiling for a fight with me?”
4 So Jephthah got his Gilead troops together and fought Ephraim. And the men of Gilead hit them hard because they were saying, “Gileadites are nothing but half breeds and rejects from Ephraim and Manasseh.”
5-6 Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan at the crossing to Ephraim. If an Ephraimite fugitive said, “Let me cross,” the men of Gilead would ask, “Are you an Ephraimite?” and he would say, “No.” And they would say, “Say, ‘Shibboleth.’” But he would always say, “Sibboleth”—he couldn’t say it right. Then they would grab him and kill him there at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two Ephraimite divisions were killed on that occasion.
7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city, Mizpah of Gilead.
Ibzan
8-9 After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters in marriage outside his clan and brought in thirty daughters-in-law from the outside for his sons.
10 He judged Israel seven years. Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.
Elon
11-12 After him, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel. He judged Israel ten years. Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
Abdon
13-15 After him, Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys. He judged Israel eight years. Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim in the Amalekite hill country.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Read: Psalm 57
Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam[a] of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
57 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
4 My soul is in the midst of lions;
I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8 Awake, my glory![b]
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
Footnotes:
Psalm 57:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 57:8 Or my whole being
INSIGHT
In the book of Psalms, superscriptions often precede the actual text. These notes shed light on the individual or group designated to lead the composition, the author, or the situation that inspired the lyrics. The superscription for Psalm 57 tells us David wrote this psalm “when he had fled from Saul into the cave.” Scripture records two times when David found refuge from Saul in a cave (1 Samuel 22 and 24). While there is uncertainty as to which of these two incidents is in view here, the truth of the psalm is crystal clear—the fearful, the anxious, the fleeing can find ultimate safety in the Lord (Psalm 57:1).
When was the last time a difficult situation caused you to call out to “God Most High”? (v. 2). - Arthur Jackson
Terrible and Beautiful Things
By Monica Brands
Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. Psalm 57:8
Fear can leave us frozen. We know all the reasons to be afraid—everything that’s hurt us in the past, everything that could easily do so again. So sometimes we’re stuck—unable to go back; too afraid to move forward. I just can’t do it. I’m not smart enough, strong enough, or brave enough to handle being hurt like that again.
I’m captivated by how author Frederick Buechner describes God’s grace: like a gentle voice that says, “Here is the world. Terrible and beautiful things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you.”
Terrible things will happen. In our world, hurting people hurt other people, often terribly. Like the psalmist David, we carry our own stories of when evil surrounded us, when, like “ravenous beasts,” others wounded us (Psalm 57:4). And so we grieve; we cry out (vv. 1–2).
But because God is with us, beautiful things can happen too. As we run to Him with our hurts and fears, we find ourselves carried by a love far greater than anyone’s power to harm us (vv. 1–3), a love so deep it fills the skies (v. 10). Even when disaster rages around us, His love is a solid refuge where our hearts find healing (vv. 1, 7). Until one day we’ll find ourselves awakening to renewed courage, ready to greet the day with a song of His faithfulness (vv. 8–10).
Healer and Redeemer, thank You for holding us and healing us with Your endless love. Help us find in Your love the courage to follow You and share Your love with those around us.
God’s love and beauty make us brave.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
The Key to the Master’s Orders
Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. —Matthew 9:38
The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the Master’s orders— the key is prayer. “Pray the Lord of the harvest….” In the natural realm, prayer is not practical but absurd. We have to realize that prayer is foolish from the commonsense point of view.
From Jesus Christ’s perspective, there are no nations, but only the world. How many of us pray without regard to the persons, but with regard to only one Person— Jesus Christ? He owns the harvest that is produced through distress and through conviction of sin. This is the harvest for which we have to pray that laborers be sent out to reap. We stay busy at work, while people all around us are ripe and ready to be harvested; we do not reap even one of them, but simply waste our Lord’s time in over-energized activities and programs. Suppose a crisis were to come into your father’s or your brother’s life— are you there as a laborer to reap the harvest for Jesus Christ? Is your response, “Oh, but I have a special work to do!” No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ’s own, “a servant [who] is not greater than his master” (John 13:16), and someone who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do. Our Lord calls us to no special work— He calls us to Himself. “Pray the Lord of the harvest,” and He will engineer your circumstances to send you out as His laborer.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly. Disciples Indeed, 393 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Always Taking Notes - #8287
When I was in college, there were certain times of the year when there was a huge crowd of guys jammed into my little room. One was when my mother or my girlfriend had sent homemade cookies. Somehow, everyone knows when those arrive, and then your popularity suddenly skyrockets for some reason. But the busiest time in my room was before mid-terms and final exams. One simple reason: I had the notes. I always scoped it out this way. You've got to be in class anyway, and you have to learn all this stuff eventually. Right? Why not make the most of class time, get good notes, learn all you can while the teacher's presenting it. That system worked pretty well for me, but it's not that I was particularly smart. Maybe I was just smart enough to realize that it pays to listen and record it when someone's teaching you something!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Always Taking Notes."
If you wanted to put a new title on the book of Proverbs in the Bible, you could call it something like, "Living Smart." It's wall-to-wall with God's practical directives on what wisdom looks like in everyday living. And one important key to wisdom, and sign of wisdom, is in our word for today from the Word of God, Proverbs 9:8-9, "Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning."
Did you notice that revealing trait in one truly wise person? Yeah, I call it teachability. Show a wise man or woman something and they'll say, "Thank you. I'm a wiser person because of what you said." On the other hand, the person who is un-teachable is like headed for disaster.
So, would your spouse say that you're a teachable person? Do you learn from his or her advice; even from their criticism? Would your parents say you're teachable? Or your children? Wait a minute, you say, "Hey, I'm the Mama! I'm the Papa! I'm supposed to be teaching my child!" That's true. But there are times when a five-year-old, a ten-year-old, a seventeen-year-old has a simple insight that could teach you a lot.
If you're in Christian leadership, are you secure enough and are you humble enough to learn from each person you're with – even from your critics? And I wonder if your boss would call you teachable...your coworkers...your friends.
What got me through college was the realization that I needed to be learning when it was time to learn and recording it so I wouldn't forget it. That should be a lifestyle for those who are trying to live in the humility of Jesus Christ. Humility gets real practical when it comes down to whether or not you are humble enough to see every person around you as your teacher – no matter their age, their spiritual condition, their gender, their style, their position in life.
God has put the people in your life from whom you can learn something about Him, about yourself, or about good choices, about bad choices, about your blind spots. Whether or not you keep getting "wiser still" depends on the openness of your heart to this world of teachers around you, to new information, to new ways of seeing old information, to uncomfortable information.
Listen, I didn't have to really like my professors to learn from them. They knew and they had experienced things that I didn't know. Whether or not they were my kind of person didn't really matter. What mattered was whether or not I went in with my heart and my head and my notebook open to learn what they could teach me.
That's a great – and wise – way to live. Maybe we should walk around with a big sign around our neck, "TEACH ME." There's no limit to how wise you can become if you see every person as your teacher, someone you can learn from and if you're always taking notes!
Monday, October 15, 2018
Judges 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE
I had planned to nap during my trip. But the fellow next to me had other ideas! Knowing I couldn’t sleep, I opened my Bible.
“What ya’ studying there, buddy?” I told him, but he never heard.
“The church is lost,” he declared. “Hellbound and heartsick. Christians are asleep. They don’t pray. They don’t love. They don’t care.” And with that he began listing all the woes and weaknesses of the church.
I shouldn’t have let it bug me, but it did. God’s faithfulness has never depended on the faithfulness of his children. He is faithful even when we are not. When we lack courage, he doesn’t.
I’ll probably never see that proclaimer of pessimism again, but if you do, will you give him a message for me? God’s blessings are dispensed according to the riches of his grace, not according to the depth of our faith. That’s what makes God…God! And that is what makes the church strong.
Read more A Gentle Thunder
Judges 11
Jephthah the Gileadite was one tough warrior. He was the son of a whore, but Gilead was his father. Meanwhile Gilead’s legal wife had given him other sons, and when they grew up, his wife’s sons threw Jephthah out. They told him: “You’re not getting any of our family inheritance—you’re the son of another woman.” So Jephthah fled from his brothers and went to live in the land of Tob. Some riffraff joined him and went around with him.
4-6 Some time passed. And then the Ammonites started fighting Israel. With the Ammonites at war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. They said to Jephthah: “Come. Be our general and we’ll fight the Ammonites.”
7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead: “But you hate me. You kicked me out of my family home. So why are you coming to me now? Because you are in trouble. Right?”
8 The elders of Gilead replied, “That’s it exactly. We’ve come to you to get you to go with us and fight the Ammonites. You’ll be the head of all of us, all the Gileadites.”
9 Jephthah addressed the elders of Gilead, “So if you bring me back home to fight the Ammonites and God gives them to me, I’ll be your head—is that right?”
10-11 They said, “God is witness between us; whatever you say, we’ll do.” Jephthah went along with the elders of Gilead. The people made him their top man and general. And Jephthah repeated what he had said before God at Mizpah.
12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with a message: “What’s going on here that you have come into my country picking a fight?”
13 The king of the Ammonites told Jephthah’s messengers: “Because Israel took my land when they came up out of Egypt—from the Arnon all the way to the Jabbok and to the Jordan. Give it back peaceably and I’ll go.”
14-27 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with the message: “Jephthah’s word: Israel took no Moabite land and no Ammonite land. When they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the desert as far as the Red Sea, arriving at Kadesh. There Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom saying, ‘Let us pass through your land, please.’ But the king of Edom wouldn’t let them. Israel also requested permission from the king of Moab, but he wouldn’t let them cross either. They were stopped in their tracks at Kadesh. So they traveled across the desert and circled around the lands of Edom and Moab. They came out east of the land of Moab and set camp on the other side of the Arnon—they didn’t set foot in Moabite territory, for Arnon was the Moabite border. Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites at Heshbon the capital. Israel asked, ‘Let us pass, please, through your land on the way to our country.’ But Sihon didn’t trust Israel to cut across his land; he got his entire army together, set up camp at Jahaz, and fought Israel. But God, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his troops to Israel. Israel defeated them. Israel took all the Amorite land, all Amorite land from Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan. It was God, the God of Israel, who pushed out the Amorites in favor of Israel; so who do you think you are to try to take it over? Why don’t you just be satisfied with what your god Chemosh gives you and we’ll settle for what God, our God, gives us? Do you think you’re going to come off better than Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab? Did he get anywhere in opposing Israel? Did he risk war? All this time—it’s been three hundred years now!—that Israel has lived in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns along the Arnon, why didn’t you try to snatch them away then? No, I haven’t wronged you. But this is an evil thing that you are doing to me by starting a fight. Today God the Judge will decide between the People of Israel and the people of Ammon.”
28 But the king of the Ammonites refused to listen to a word that Jephthah had sent him.
29-31 God’s Spirit came upon Jephthah. He went across Gilead and Manasseh, went through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there approached the Ammonites. Jephthah made a vow before God: “If you give me a clear victory over the Ammonites, then I’ll give to God whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in one piece from among the Ammonites—I’ll offer it up in a sacrificial burnt offering.”
32-33 Then Jephthah was off to fight the Ammonites. And God gave them to him. He beat them soundly, all the way from Aroer to the area around Minnith as far as Abel Keramim—twenty cities! A massacre! Ammonites brought to their knees by the People of Israel.
34-35 Jephthah came home to Mizpah. His daughter ran from the house to welcome him home—dancing to tambourines! She was his only child. He had no son or daughter except her. When he realized who it was, he ripped his clothes, saying, “Ah, dearest daughter—I’m dirt. I’m despicable. My heart is torn to shreds. I made a vow to God and I can’t take it back!”
36 She said, “Dear father, if you made a vow to God, do to me what you vowed; God did his part and saved you from your Ammonite enemies.”
37 And then she said to her father, “But let this one thing be done for me. Give me two months to wander through the hills and lament my virginity since I will never marry, I and my dear friends.”
38-39 “Oh yes, go,” he said. He sent her off for two months. She and her dear girlfriends went among the hills, lamenting that she would never marry. At the end of the two months, she came back to her father. He fulfilled the vow with her that he had made. She had never slept with a man.
39-40 It became a custom in Israel that for four days every year the young women of Israel went out to mourn for the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, October 15, 2018
Read: Isaiah 46:3–13
“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
5 “To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?
6 Those who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
then they fall down and worship!
7 They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
it cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.
8 “Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
12 “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from righteousness:
13 I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay;
I will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.”
INSIGHT
For further reading on trust in God during difficult times, see the free booklet Anchors in the Storm at discoveryseries.org/hp073.
Trust Him First
By James Banks
Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 nlt
“Don’t let go, Dad!”
“I won’t. I’ve got you. I promise.”
I was a little boy terrified of the water, but my dad wanted me to learn to swim. He would purposefully take me away from the side of the pool into a depth that was over my head, where he was my only support. Then he would teach me to relax and float.
It wasn’t just a swimming lesson; it was a lesson in trust. I knew my father loved me and would never let me be harmed intentionally, but I was also afraid. I would cling tightly to his neck until he reassured me all would be well. Eventually his patience and kindness won out, and I began to swim. But I had to trust him first.
When I feel “over my head” in a difficulty, I sometimes think back on those moments. They help me call to mind the Lord’s reassurance to His people: “Even to your old age . . . I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you” (Isaiah 46:4).
We may not always be able to feel God’s arms beneath us, but the Lord has promised that He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5). As we rest in His care and promises, He helps us learn to trust in His faithfulness. He lifts us above our worries to discover new peace in Him.
Abba, Father, I praise You for carrying me through life. Please give me faith to trust that You are always with me.
God carries us to new places of grace as we trust in Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, October 15, 2018
The Key to the Missionary’s Message
He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. —1 John 2:2
The key to the missionary’s message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus— His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God. Look at any other aspect of Christ’s work, whether it is healing, saving, or sanctifying, and you will see that there is nothing limitless about those. But— “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”— that is limitless (John 1:29). The missionary’s message is the limitless importance of Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins, and a missionary is someone who is immersed in the truth of that revelation.
The real key to the missionary’s message is the “remissionary” aspect of Christ’s life, not His kindness, His goodness, or even His revealing of the fatherhood of God to us. “…repentance and remission of sins should be preached…to all nations…” (Luke 24:47). The greatest message of limitless importance is that “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins….” The missionary’s message is not nationalistic, favoring nations or individuals; it is “for the whole world.” When the Holy Spirit comes into me, He does not consider my partialities or preferences; He simply brings me into oneness with the Lord Jesus.
A missionary is someone who is bound by marriage to the stated mission and purpose of his Lord and Master. He is not to proclaim his own point of view, but is only to proclaim “the Lamb of God.” It is easier to belong to a faction that simply tells what Jesus Christ has done for me, and easier to become a devotee of divine healing, or of a special type of sanctification, or of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But Paul did not say, “Woe is me if I do not preach what Christ has done for me,” but, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). And this is the gospel— “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him. Approved Unto God, 10 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, October 15, 2018
The Damaged Wood Miracle - #8286
Our friend is in the flooring business; actually that's wood flooring. He had been tearing the old floor out in this house he was working on, and before he threw it away, he decided to call us and see if we might have any use for it. (That was nice.) Actually, we were pretty excited about his call because we were in the middle of a project where we'd be needing a floor. He said, "I do want you to know it's actually pretty ugly, but it's a good solid maple wood."
Now we got piles and bucketfuls of that wood and our friend was right. It really was pretty ugly. Those old floor boards had several coats of paint on them, they were really dirty, some were gouged out, kind of beat up. Frankly, it looked like it might only be good for firewood. But our friend pointed out that that wood was an inch thick-and he assured us he could sand off all the damage and still have plenty of wood left. And you know what? Eventually I was holding in my hand a sample of what he could do. It was a piece of that old ugly wood that he has restored-and there was no trace of the damage-it was this smooth, beautifully stained piece of wood. The restoration was amazing and I was, you might say, floored!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Damaged Wood Miracle."
Now that wood was ready for the dumpster honestly, until the skilled restorer worked on it. The ugly was gone. It was like new.
That's exactly what the Master Carpenter from Nazareth does with people-people like you and me. We're all damaged wood. We've got layers of dirt and scarring from years of use. But Jesus restores damaged wood.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 5:17. (I love this!) "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" So from the moment you put your life in the hands of Jesus, the Master Restorer, He begins to repair and transform the damage that's been done by years of sinning and being sinned against. We all carry the damage done from our sinning, from mistreatment, from bad choices, maybe from abuse or addiction or anger. Jesus is a Savior for a person who is tired of the guilt, tired of the pain, tired of the burden-maybe somebody like you.
He is more of a Savior than you could ever imagine. In Isaiah 61, He describes the total restoring work He came to do and that He wants to do for you. He said, "The Lord has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair" (Isaiah 61:1-3).
Now, here is a Savior who wants to turn your captivity into freedom and your grieving into comfort. He wants to take the ashes of your life and turn them into beauty, the mourning of your life into gladness, and He wants to turn your despair into praise. There is no therapist on earth that can do that, no religion, no self-improvement program. Only the Savior can restore the damage of sin-only Jesus can.
Because of what He did one dark day on an old piece of wood-what one hymn writer described as "the old rugged cross." The Bible says, "He bore our sins in His body on the tree-by His wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24). He's broken the hold of sin forever-by dying for it-for anyone who trusts Him to be their Savior from their sin.
So the future doesn't have to be more of the past. No, Jesus is waiting right now to begin His restoring miracle, but you have to open up your life to Him. You can tell Him right now where you are, "Jesus, beginning today, I'm Yours."
If you want to belong to Him, our website is a great place for you to go to be able to get this done. It is ANewStory.com.
You've carried the dirt, the scars long enough. It doesn't matter how damaged you are, Jesus can make something beautiful out of your life.
I had planned to nap during my trip. But the fellow next to me had other ideas! Knowing I couldn’t sleep, I opened my Bible.
“What ya’ studying there, buddy?” I told him, but he never heard.
“The church is lost,” he declared. “Hellbound and heartsick. Christians are asleep. They don’t pray. They don’t love. They don’t care.” And with that he began listing all the woes and weaknesses of the church.
I shouldn’t have let it bug me, but it did. God’s faithfulness has never depended on the faithfulness of his children. He is faithful even when we are not. When we lack courage, he doesn’t.
I’ll probably never see that proclaimer of pessimism again, but if you do, will you give him a message for me? God’s blessings are dispensed according to the riches of his grace, not according to the depth of our faith. That’s what makes God…God! And that is what makes the church strong.
Read more A Gentle Thunder
Judges 11
Jephthah the Gileadite was one tough warrior. He was the son of a whore, but Gilead was his father. Meanwhile Gilead’s legal wife had given him other sons, and when they grew up, his wife’s sons threw Jephthah out. They told him: “You’re not getting any of our family inheritance—you’re the son of another woman.” So Jephthah fled from his brothers and went to live in the land of Tob. Some riffraff joined him and went around with him.
4-6 Some time passed. And then the Ammonites started fighting Israel. With the Ammonites at war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. They said to Jephthah: “Come. Be our general and we’ll fight the Ammonites.”
7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead: “But you hate me. You kicked me out of my family home. So why are you coming to me now? Because you are in trouble. Right?”
8 The elders of Gilead replied, “That’s it exactly. We’ve come to you to get you to go with us and fight the Ammonites. You’ll be the head of all of us, all the Gileadites.”
9 Jephthah addressed the elders of Gilead, “So if you bring me back home to fight the Ammonites and God gives them to me, I’ll be your head—is that right?”
10-11 They said, “God is witness between us; whatever you say, we’ll do.” Jephthah went along with the elders of Gilead. The people made him their top man and general. And Jephthah repeated what he had said before God at Mizpah.
12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with a message: “What’s going on here that you have come into my country picking a fight?”
13 The king of the Ammonites told Jephthah’s messengers: “Because Israel took my land when they came up out of Egypt—from the Arnon all the way to the Jabbok and to the Jordan. Give it back peaceably and I’ll go.”
14-27 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with the message: “Jephthah’s word: Israel took no Moabite land and no Ammonite land. When they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the desert as far as the Red Sea, arriving at Kadesh. There Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom saying, ‘Let us pass through your land, please.’ But the king of Edom wouldn’t let them. Israel also requested permission from the king of Moab, but he wouldn’t let them cross either. They were stopped in their tracks at Kadesh. So they traveled across the desert and circled around the lands of Edom and Moab. They came out east of the land of Moab and set camp on the other side of the Arnon—they didn’t set foot in Moabite territory, for Arnon was the Moabite border. Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites at Heshbon the capital. Israel asked, ‘Let us pass, please, through your land on the way to our country.’ But Sihon didn’t trust Israel to cut across his land; he got his entire army together, set up camp at Jahaz, and fought Israel. But God, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his troops to Israel. Israel defeated them. Israel took all the Amorite land, all Amorite land from Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan. It was God, the God of Israel, who pushed out the Amorites in favor of Israel; so who do you think you are to try to take it over? Why don’t you just be satisfied with what your god Chemosh gives you and we’ll settle for what God, our God, gives us? Do you think you’re going to come off better than Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab? Did he get anywhere in opposing Israel? Did he risk war? All this time—it’s been three hundred years now!—that Israel has lived in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns along the Arnon, why didn’t you try to snatch them away then? No, I haven’t wronged you. But this is an evil thing that you are doing to me by starting a fight. Today God the Judge will decide between the People of Israel and the people of Ammon.”
28 But the king of the Ammonites refused to listen to a word that Jephthah had sent him.
29-31 God’s Spirit came upon Jephthah. He went across Gilead and Manasseh, went through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there approached the Ammonites. Jephthah made a vow before God: “If you give me a clear victory over the Ammonites, then I’ll give to God whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in one piece from among the Ammonites—I’ll offer it up in a sacrificial burnt offering.”
32-33 Then Jephthah was off to fight the Ammonites. And God gave them to him. He beat them soundly, all the way from Aroer to the area around Minnith as far as Abel Keramim—twenty cities! A massacre! Ammonites brought to their knees by the People of Israel.
34-35 Jephthah came home to Mizpah. His daughter ran from the house to welcome him home—dancing to tambourines! She was his only child. He had no son or daughter except her. When he realized who it was, he ripped his clothes, saying, “Ah, dearest daughter—I’m dirt. I’m despicable. My heart is torn to shreds. I made a vow to God and I can’t take it back!”
36 She said, “Dear father, if you made a vow to God, do to me what you vowed; God did his part and saved you from your Ammonite enemies.”
37 And then she said to her father, “But let this one thing be done for me. Give me two months to wander through the hills and lament my virginity since I will never marry, I and my dear friends.”
38-39 “Oh yes, go,” he said. He sent her off for two months. She and her dear girlfriends went among the hills, lamenting that she would never marry. At the end of the two months, she came back to her father. He fulfilled the vow with her that he had made. She had never slept with a man.
39-40 It became a custom in Israel that for four days every year the young women of Israel went out to mourn for the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, October 15, 2018
Read: Isaiah 46:3–13
“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
5 “To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?
6 Those who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
then they fall down and worship!
7 They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
it cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.
8 “Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
12 “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from righteousness:
13 I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay;
I will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.”
INSIGHT
For further reading on trust in God during difficult times, see the free booklet Anchors in the Storm at discoveryseries.org/hp073.
Trust Him First
By James Banks
Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 nlt
“Don’t let go, Dad!”
“I won’t. I’ve got you. I promise.”
I was a little boy terrified of the water, but my dad wanted me to learn to swim. He would purposefully take me away from the side of the pool into a depth that was over my head, where he was my only support. Then he would teach me to relax and float.
It wasn’t just a swimming lesson; it was a lesson in trust. I knew my father loved me and would never let me be harmed intentionally, but I was also afraid. I would cling tightly to his neck until he reassured me all would be well. Eventually his patience and kindness won out, and I began to swim. But I had to trust him first.
When I feel “over my head” in a difficulty, I sometimes think back on those moments. They help me call to mind the Lord’s reassurance to His people: “Even to your old age . . . I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you” (Isaiah 46:4).
We may not always be able to feel God’s arms beneath us, but the Lord has promised that He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5). As we rest in His care and promises, He helps us learn to trust in His faithfulness. He lifts us above our worries to discover new peace in Him.
Abba, Father, I praise You for carrying me through life. Please give me faith to trust that You are always with me.
God carries us to new places of grace as we trust in Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, October 15, 2018
The Key to the Missionary’s Message
He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. —1 John 2:2
The key to the missionary’s message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus— His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God. Look at any other aspect of Christ’s work, whether it is healing, saving, or sanctifying, and you will see that there is nothing limitless about those. But— “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”— that is limitless (John 1:29). The missionary’s message is the limitless importance of Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins, and a missionary is someone who is immersed in the truth of that revelation.
The real key to the missionary’s message is the “remissionary” aspect of Christ’s life, not His kindness, His goodness, or even His revealing of the fatherhood of God to us. “…repentance and remission of sins should be preached…to all nations…” (Luke 24:47). The greatest message of limitless importance is that “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins….” The missionary’s message is not nationalistic, favoring nations or individuals; it is “for the whole world.” When the Holy Spirit comes into me, He does not consider my partialities or preferences; He simply brings me into oneness with the Lord Jesus.
A missionary is someone who is bound by marriage to the stated mission and purpose of his Lord and Master. He is not to proclaim his own point of view, but is only to proclaim “the Lamb of God.” It is easier to belong to a faction that simply tells what Jesus Christ has done for me, and easier to become a devotee of divine healing, or of a special type of sanctification, or of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But Paul did not say, “Woe is me if I do not preach what Christ has done for me,” but, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). And this is the gospel— “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him. Approved Unto God, 10 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, October 15, 2018
The Damaged Wood Miracle - #8286
Our friend is in the flooring business; actually that's wood flooring. He had been tearing the old floor out in this house he was working on, and before he threw it away, he decided to call us and see if we might have any use for it. (That was nice.) Actually, we were pretty excited about his call because we were in the middle of a project where we'd be needing a floor. He said, "I do want you to know it's actually pretty ugly, but it's a good solid maple wood."
Now we got piles and bucketfuls of that wood and our friend was right. It really was pretty ugly. Those old floor boards had several coats of paint on them, they were really dirty, some were gouged out, kind of beat up. Frankly, it looked like it might only be good for firewood. But our friend pointed out that that wood was an inch thick-and he assured us he could sand off all the damage and still have plenty of wood left. And you know what? Eventually I was holding in my hand a sample of what he could do. It was a piece of that old ugly wood that he has restored-and there was no trace of the damage-it was this smooth, beautifully stained piece of wood. The restoration was amazing and I was, you might say, floored!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Damaged Wood Miracle."
Now that wood was ready for the dumpster honestly, until the skilled restorer worked on it. The ugly was gone. It was like new.
That's exactly what the Master Carpenter from Nazareth does with people-people like you and me. We're all damaged wood. We've got layers of dirt and scarring from years of use. But Jesus restores damaged wood.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 5:17. (I love this!) "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" So from the moment you put your life in the hands of Jesus, the Master Restorer, He begins to repair and transform the damage that's been done by years of sinning and being sinned against. We all carry the damage done from our sinning, from mistreatment, from bad choices, maybe from abuse or addiction or anger. Jesus is a Savior for a person who is tired of the guilt, tired of the pain, tired of the burden-maybe somebody like you.
He is more of a Savior than you could ever imagine. In Isaiah 61, He describes the total restoring work He came to do and that He wants to do for you. He said, "The Lord has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair" (Isaiah 61:1-3).
Now, here is a Savior who wants to turn your captivity into freedom and your grieving into comfort. He wants to take the ashes of your life and turn them into beauty, the mourning of your life into gladness, and He wants to turn your despair into praise. There is no therapist on earth that can do that, no religion, no self-improvement program. Only the Savior can restore the damage of sin-only Jesus can.
Because of what He did one dark day on an old piece of wood-what one hymn writer described as "the old rugged cross." The Bible says, "He bore our sins in His body on the tree-by His wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24). He's broken the hold of sin forever-by dying for it-for anyone who trusts Him to be their Savior from their sin.
So the future doesn't have to be more of the past. No, Jesus is waiting right now to begin His restoring miracle, but you have to open up your life to Him. You can tell Him right now where you are, "Jesus, beginning today, I'm Yours."
If you want to belong to Him, our website is a great place for you to go to be able to get this done. It is ANewStory.com.
You've carried the dirt, the scars long enough. It doesn't matter how damaged you are, Jesus can make something beautiful out of your life.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Luke 14:25-35, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Become as Little Children
We prayer wimps fear "mis-praying." What is the expected etiquette and dress code for prayer? What if we kneel instead of stand?
Jesus' answer? In Matthew 18:3 He says, "Become as little children." Carefree. Joy filled. Playful. Trusting. Curious. Trust more-strut less.
God prefers this greeting: "God, you are my Daddy, and I am your child!" It's hard to show off and call God "Daddy" at the same time. Impossible, in fact. Remember, prayer doesn't depend on how you pray. The power of prayer depends on the One who hears the prayer!
Here's my simple prayer challenge for you today! Join me every day for 4 weeks and pray 4 minutes. Sign on at BeforeAmen.com. And just be honest-honest to God!
Before Amen
Luke 14:25-35
One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.
28-30 “Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’
31-32 “Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?
33 “Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.
34 “Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it’s useless, good for nothing.
“Are you listening to this? Really listening?”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Read: Job 12:7–10
“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
8 or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;[a]
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
Footnotes:
Job 12:8 Or or speak to the earth, and it will teach you
INSIGHT
Gaining a good grasp of the book of Job requires us to understand its literary structure. Though the book begins (chs. 1–2) and ends (42:7–16) in narrative format, the bulk of the book is comprised of speeches packaged in poetry (3:1–42:6), including the stunning monologue of the Almighty Himself (38:1–41:34). By the time the reader comes to chapter 12, all three of Job’s friends—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—have spoken once. Two more series of speeches follow, and in the last series a fourth counselor (Elihu) enters the picture (chs. 32–37). In their well-ordered and reasoned speeches, each friend offers explanations for Job’s calamities and prescriptions for a remedy. Job himself is the speaker in chapter 12, where he indicts the denseness of his first three accusers. He directs them to nature which teaches us about the supremacy and sovereignty of God. In verses 7–8, the language of instruction is quite clear: Animals “will teach”; birds “will tell”; the earth “will teach”; the fish will “inform.” Without a word they witness to the wisdom and greatness of God.
Can you recall a time when you were prompted to reflect on God’s greatness by something in nature? - Arthur Jackson
Ask the Animals
By Alyson Kieda
Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you. Job 12:7
Our grandkids, enraptured, got a close-up look at a rescued bald eagle. They were even allowed to touch him. As the zoo volunteer told about the powerful bird perched on her arm, I was surprised to learn this male had a wingspan of about six and one-half feet, yet because of its hollow bones it weighed only about eight pounds.
This reminded me of the majestic eagle I had seen soaring above a lake, ready to swoop down and snatch its prey in its talons. And I pictured in my mind another big bird—the spindly legged blue heron I had spied standing motionless on the edge of a pond. It was poised to dart its long beak into the water. They’re just two among the nearly 10,000 species of birds that can direct our thoughts to our Creator.
In the book of Job, Job’s friends are debating the reasons for his suffering and ask, “Can you fathom the mysteries of God?” (see 11:5–9). In response Job declares, “Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you” (Job 12:7). Animals testify to the truth that God designed, cares for, and controls His creation: “In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind” (v. 10).
Since God cares for birds (Matthew 6:26; 10:29), we can be assured He loves and cares for you and me, even when we don’t understand our circumstances. Look around and learn of Him.
Where is your favorite place in God’s world? Share your photos with others on Facebook.com/ourdailybread.
God’s world teaches us about Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 14, 2018
The Key to the Missionary’s Work
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…" —Matthew 28:18-19
The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. We are inclined to look on our Lord as one who assists us in our endeavors for God. Yet our Lord places Himself as the absolute sovereign and supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say that the lost will never be saved if we don’t go— He simply says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations….” He says, “Go on the basis of the revealed truth of My sovereignty, teaching and preaching out of your living experience of Me.”
“Then the eleven disciples went…to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them” (Matthew 28:16). If I want to know the universal sovereignty of Christ, I must know Him myself. I must take time to worship the One whose name I bear. Jesus says, “Come to Me…”— that is the place to meet Jesus— “all you who labor and are heavy laden…” (Matthew 11:28)— and how many missionaries are! We completely dismiss these wonderful words of the universal Sovereign of the world, but they are the words of Jesus to His disciples meant for here and now.
“Go therefore….” To “go” simply means to live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. Jesus did not say in this verse, “Go into Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria,” but, “…you shall be witnesses to Me in [all these places].” He takes upon Himself the work of sending us.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…” (John 15:7)— that is the way to keep going. Where we are placed is then a matter of indifference to us, because God sovereignly engineers our goings.
“None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus…” (Acts 20:24). That is how to keep going until we are gone from this life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves. The Place of Help, 1051 L
We prayer wimps fear "mis-praying." What is the expected etiquette and dress code for prayer? What if we kneel instead of stand?
Jesus' answer? In Matthew 18:3 He says, "Become as little children." Carefree. Joy filled. Playful. Trusting. Curious. Trust more-strut less.
God prefers this greeting: "God, you are my Daddy, and I am your child!" It's hard to show off and call God "Daddy" at the same time. Impossible, in fact. Remember, prayer doesn't depend on how you pray. The power of prayer depends on the One who hears the prayer!
Here's my simple prayer challenge for you today! Join me every day for 4 weeks and pray 4 minutes. Sign on at BeforeAmen.com. And just be honest-honest to God!
Before Amen
Luke 14:25-35
One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.
28-30 “Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’
31-32 “Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?
33 “Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.
34 “Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it’s useless, good for nothing.
“Are you listening to this? Really listening?”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Read: Job 12:7–10
“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
8 or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;[a]
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
Footnotes:
Job 12:8 Or or speak to the earth, and it will teach you
INSIGHT
Gaining a good grasp of the book of Job requires us to understand its literary structure. Though the book begins (chs. 1–2) and ends (42:7–16) in narrative format, the bulk of the book is comprised of speeches packaged in poetry (3:1–42:6), including the stunning monologue of the Almighty Himself (38:1–41:34). By the time the reader comes to chapter 12, all three of Job’s friends—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—have spoken once. Two more series of speeches follow, and in the last series a fourth counselor (Elihu) enters the picture (chs. 32–37). In their well-ordered and reasoned speeches, each friend offers explanations for Job’s calamities and prescriptions for a remedy. Job himself is the speaker in chapter 12, where he indicts the denseness of his first three accusers. He directs them to nature which teaches us about the supremacy and sovereignty of God. In verses 7–8, the language of instruction is quite clear: Animals “will teach”; birds “will tell”; the earth “will teach”; the fish will “inform.” Without a word they witness to the wisdom and greatness of God.
Can you recall a time when you were prompted to reflect on God’s greatness by something in nature? - Arthur Jackson
Ask the Animals
By Alyson Kieda
Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you. Job 12:7
Our grandkids, enraptured, got a close-up look at a rescued bald eagle. They were even allowed to touch him. As the zoo volunteer told about the powerful bird perched on her arm, I was surprised to learn this male had a wingspan of about six and one-half feet, yet because of its hollow bones it weighed only about eight pounds.
This reminded me of the majestic eagle I had seen soaring above a lake, ready to swoop down and snatch its prey in its talons. And I pictured in my mind another big bird—the spindly legged blue heron I had spied standing motionless on the edge of a pond. It was poised to dart its long beak into the water. They’re just two among the nearly 10,000 species of birds that can direct our thoughts to our Creator.
In the book of Job, Job’s friends are debating the reasons for his suffering and ask, “Can you fathom the mysteries of God?” (see 11:5–9). In response Job declares, “Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you” (Job 12:7). Animals testify to the truth that God designed, cares for, and controls His creation: “In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind” (v. 10).
Since God cares for birds (Matthew 6:26; 10:29), we can be assured He loves and cares for you and me, even when we don’t understand our circumstances. Look around and learn of Him.
Where is your favorite place in God’s world? Share your photos with others on Facebook.com/ourdailybread.
God’s world teaches us about Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 14, 2018
The Key to the Missionary’s Work
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…" —Matthew 28:18-19
The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. We are inclined to look on our Lord as one who assists us in our endeavors for God. Yet our Lord places Himself as the absolute sovereign and supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say that the lost will never be saved if we don’t go— He simply says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations….” He says, “Go on the basis of the revealed truth of My sovereignty, teaching and preaching out of your living experience of Me.”
“Then the eleven disciples went…to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them” (Matthew 28:16). If I want to know the universal sovereignty of Christ, I must know Him myself. I must take time to worship the One whose name I bear. Jesus says, “Come to Me…”— that is the place to meet Jesus— “all you who labor and are heavy laden…” (Matthew 11:28)— and how many missionaries are! We completely dismiss these wonderful words of the universal Sovereign of the world, but they are the words of Jesus to His disciples meant for here and now.
“Go therefore….” To “go” simply means to live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. Jesus did not say in this verse, “Go into Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria,” but, “…you shall be witnesses to Me in [all these places].” He takes upon Himself the work of sending us.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…” (John 15:7)— that is the way to keep going. Where we are placed is then a matter of indifference to us, because God sovereignly engineers our goings.
“None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus…” (Acts 20:24). That is how to keep going until we are gone from this life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves. The Place of Help, 1051 L
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