Max Lucado Daily: GRACE IS GOD’S BEST IDEA
Your dad makes you come to church, but he can’t make you listen. At least that’s what you’ve always muttered to yourself. But this morning you listen because the preacher speaks of a God who loves prodigals, and you feel like the worst sort of one. You can’t keep the pregnancy a secret much longer. Soon your parents will know. The preacher will know. And the preacher says God already knows. You wonder what God thinks.
Could you use some grace? You know, grace is God’s best idea. Rather than tell us to change, he creates the change. Do we clean up so he can accept us? No, he accepts us and begins cleaning us up. What a difference this makes! Can’t forgive your past? Christ can, and he is on the move…aggressively budging you from grace-less to grace-shaped living. A forgiven person who forgives others. This is grace. Grace is everything Jesus!
Read more GRACE
Ecclesiastes 5
Watch your step when you enter God’s house.
Enter to learn. That’s far better than mindlessly offering a sacrifice,
Doing more harm than good.
2 Don’t shoot off your mouth, or speak before you think.
Don’t be too quick to tell God what you think he wants to hear.
God’s in charge, not you—the less you speak, the better.
3 Overwork makes for restless sleep.
Overtalk shows you up as a fool.
4-5 When you tell God you’ll do something, do it—now.
God takes no pleasure in foolish gabble. Vow it, then do it.
Far better not to vow in the first place than to vow and not pay up.
6 Don’t let your mouth make a total sinner of you.
When called to account, you won’t get by with
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it.”
Why risk provoking God to angry retaliation?
7 But against all illusion and fantasy and empty talk
There’s always this rock foundation: Fear God!
8-9 Don’t be too upset when you see the poor kicked around, and justice and right violated all over the place. Exploitation filters down from one petty official to another. There’s no end to it, and nothing can be done about it. But the good earth doesn’t cheat anyone—even a bad king is honestly served by a field.
10 The one who loves money is never satisfied with money,
Nor the one who loves wealth with big profits. More smoke.
11 The more loot you get, the more looters show up.
And what fun is that—to be robbed in broad daylight?
12 Hard and honest work earns a good night’s sleep,
Whether supper is beans or steak.
But a rich man’s belly gives him insomnia.
13-17 Here’s a piece of bad luck I’ve seen happen:
A man hoards far more wealth than is good for him
And then loses it all in a bad business deal.
He fathered a child but hasn’t a cent left to give him.
He arrived naked from the womb of his mother;
He’ll leave in the same condition—with nothing.
This is bad luck, for sure—naked he came, naked he went.
So what was the point of working for a salary of smoke?
All for a miserable life spent in the dark?
18-20 After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to brood over how long we might live.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 04, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Luke 24:17-27
He asked, “What’s this you’re discussing so intently as you walk along?”
They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard what’s happened during the last few days?”
19-24 He said, “What has happened?”
They said, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened. But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn’t find his body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn’t see Jesus.”
25-27 Then he said to them, “So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don’t you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?” Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him.
Insight
Christ’s teaching in Luke 24 gives us insight as to how we should read the Old Testament—with Him at the center. In verse 27 Jesus referred to the Old Testament using the terms “Moses and all the Prophets.” Speaking of the same sacred writings in verse 44, He used the threefold division “the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” and stated that these writings spoke of Him. John 5:39 essentially says the same thing, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me.”
Every Story
Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24:27
I opened the whimsically illustrated children’s Bible and began to read to my grandson. Immediately we were enthralled as the story of God’s love and provision unfurled in prose. Marking our place, I turned the book over and read the title once again: The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name.
Every story whispers His name.
To be honest, sometimes the Bible, especially the Old Testament, is hard to understand. Why do those who don’t know God seem to triumph over God’s own? How can God permit such cruelty when we know that His character is pure and that His purposes are for our good?
After His resurrection, Jesus met two followers on the road to Emmaus who didn’t recognize Him and were struggling with disappointment over the death of their hoped-for Messiah (Luke 24:19–24). They had “hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel” (v. 21). Luke then records how Jesus reassured them: “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (v. 27).
Every story whispers His name, even the hard stories, because they reveal the comprehensive brokenness of our world and our need for a Rescuer. Every act, every event, every intervention points to the redemption God designed for His wayward loved ones: to bring us back to Himself. By Elisa Morgan
Reflect & Pray
How is God’s rescue at work in your life? What stories trouble you today? In what ways (however small) can you see God at work in them?
Dear God, help me listen as You whisper Your name through the stories of Scripture. Every story.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 04, 2019
One of God’s Great “Don’ts”
Do not fret— it only causes harm. —Psalm 37:8
Fretting means getting ourselves “out of joint” mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, “Do not fret,” but something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret. It’s easy to say, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7) until our own little world is turned upside down and we are forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other people. Is it possible to “rest in the Lord” then? If this “Do not” doesn’t work there, then it will not work anywhere. This “Do not” must work during our days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our peaceful days, or it will never work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship with God Himself.
Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God.
Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all your opinions and speculations aside and “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 04, 2019
Dependence Day - #8474
They keep it under glass that seals out any air getting to it. And when it's not on display, it's kept underground in a vault - actually a bomb proof vault. It's the most important document in the history of the United States. Yep, the Declaration of Independence.
The men who signed it on that hot July 4th in Philadelphia knew it was very important, but I wonder if they could have possibly conceived what a sacred piece of paper it would become to the nation that it birthed. Here were subjects of the English king, daring to declare their independence from their king. It changed their lives forever. It changed the world forever. And once a year, every Fourth of July, America stops to remember that Independence Day.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Dependence Day."
Now, for America's founding fathers, it was a Declaration of Independence from their king that changed everything. But for you, as a child of God, it's your "Declaration of Dependence" on your King that changes everything.
Now, when it comes to God running our lives, you know what? We've all declared our independence. Even if our theology compels us to officially say we trust God, we are, for the most part, "Sinatra-ites." Yeah, you know Frank Sinatra's signature song? I'll sing it for you. No, I won't. "I did it my way." Yeah, even for us Christians, that's often how we really live, I'll do it my way. We'll figure this out by ourselves, we'll find a way, we'll make it happen, we won't wait, we'll get it done now. We tend to depend on our plans, our schemes, our cleverness, our talent, our experience, our persuasiveness, our hard work, our connections. We'll count on our programs or our own strength.
That's why we need to declare our dependence daily! It's in our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus makes it very clear how anything that matters in our life really happens. In John 15:5, Jesus says, "I am the vine; you are the branches." In other words, the fruit of your life doesn't come from you, it comes from Jesus, through you, like the life of the vine comes through the branch.
Then He goes on to say, "If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me, you can do nothing." Or nothing that matters, nothing eternal, nothing that really works over the long haul - nothing. He doesn't say, "Without Me, you can't do much." No, nothing! He says it all comes from Him.
So the size of your life depends on how big your dependency on God is, as opposed to cranking it out yourself. Joni Eareckson Tada once said that when she went to Africa, she was greeted by believers there who said, "Welcome to Africa, where our God is bigger. He is bigger because we need Him so much more!" Actually, we need Him every bit as much. We just have other things we can depend on. So our lives are smaller because our view of God is smaller, because we don't depend on Him desperately for each day's needs, each day's choices, each day's strength, and each day's answers.
You know what the language of dependency is? Prayer. You can pretty much tell how dependent you are on God by how often you feel the need to cry out to Him in prayer. There is so much more waiting for you if you'll only learn how powerful it is to recognize your powerlessness before God.
Look at the frequency and the fervency of your prayers in any given day, and you'll be able to tell how dependant you really are on Him. Each new morning, in the presence of Almighty God, you need to sign it again - your Declaration of Dependence on your King, because that signature will make all the difference.
Thursday, July 4, 2019
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Ecclesiastes 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A SPIRITUAL TRANSPLANT OF THE HEART
Grace! The bank gives us a grace period. The seedy politician falls from grace. Musicians speak of a grace note. We use the word for hospitals, baby girls, kings and pre-meal prayers. We talk as though we know what grace means.
You turn the page of your Bible and look at the words. You might as well be gazing at a cemetery…lifeless, stony…nothing moves you. But you don’t dare close the book, no sirree. You dare not miss a deed for fear that God will erase your name.
If that’s your feeling, grace can speak to you. God’s grace has a drenching about it. It comes after you. It re-wires you! From insecure to God’s secure. From regret riddled to better-because-of-it. From afraid to die to ready to fly. As Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” You might call it a spiritual heart transplant!
Read more GRACE
Ecclesiastes 4
Next I turned my attention to all the outrageous violence that takes place on this planet—the tears of the victims, no one to comfort them; the iron grip of oppressors, no one to rescue the victims from them. So I congratulated the dead who are already dead instead of the living who are still alive. But luckier than the dead or the living is the person who has never even been, who has never seen the bad business that takes place on this earth.
4 Then I observed all the work and ambition motivated by envy. What a waste! Smoke. And spitting into the wind.
5 The fool sits back and takes it easy,
His sloth is slow suicide.
6 One handful of peaceful repose
Is better than two fistfuls of worried work—
More spitting into the wind.
7-8 I turned my head and saw yet another wisp of smoke on its way to nothingness: a solitary person, completely alone—no children, no family, no friends—yet working obsessively late into the night, compulsively greedy for more and more, never bothering to ask, “Why am I working like a dog, never having any fun? And who cares?” More smoke. A bad business.
9-10 It’s better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there’s no one to help, tough!
11 Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.
12 By yourself you’re unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.
13-16 A poor youngster with some wisdom is better off than an old but foolish king who doesn’t know which end is up. I saw a youth just like this start with nothing and go from rags to riches, and I saw everyone rally to the rule of this young successor to the king. Even so, the excitement died quickly, the throngs of people soon lost interest. Can’t you see it’s only smoke? And spitting into the wind?
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 03, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 1:12-18
“Why this frenzy of sacrifices?”
God’s asking.
“Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of burnt sacrifices,
rams and plump grain-fed calves?
Don’t you think I’ve had my fill
of blood from bulls, lambs, and goats?
When you come before me,
whoever gave you the idea of acting like this,
Running here and there, doing this and that—
all this sheer commotion in the place provided for worship?
13-17 “Quit your worship charades.
I can’t stand your trivial religious games:
Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings—
meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them!
You’ve worn me out!
I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion,
while you go right on sinning.
When you put on your next prayer-performance,
I’ll be looking the other way.
No matter how long or loud or often you pray,
I’ll not be listening.
And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing
people to pieces, and your hands are bloody.
Go home and wash up.
Clean up your act.
Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings
so I don’t have to look at them any longer.
Say no to wrong.
Learn to do good.
Work for justice.
Help the down-and-out.
Stand up for the homeless.
Go to bat for the defenseless.
18-20 “Come. Sit down. Let’s argue this out.”
This is God’s Message:
“If your sins are blood-red,
they’ll be snow-white.
If they’re red like crimson,
they’ll be like wool.
If you’ll willingly obey,
you’ll feast like kings.
But if you’re willful and stubborn,
you’ll die like dogs.”
That’s right. God says so.
Insight
The prophet Isaiah, whose name means “the Lord saves,” warned an unrepentant Judah of God’s impending judgment (Isaiah 1–12) through the Babylonian exile (39:6–7). He spoke of God’s grace (chs. 40–55) and a future glorious restoration for all who would repent (chs. 11; 56–66). Here in Isaiah 1, God calls His people to consider carefully their sinfulness (vv. 2–15). But He assures them that no matter how tainted and sinful they are (v. 18), God will cleanse, forgive, and bless them if they “are willing and obedient” (v. 19). He also warns of severe punishment if they fail to repent (v. 20).
Honest to God
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. Psalm 32:5
My three-year-old grandson’s day was off to a rotten start. He couldn’t find his favorite shirt. The shoes he wanted to wear were too hot. He fussed and fumed at his grandmother and then sat down to cry.
“Why are you so upset?” I asked. We talked for a while and after he calmed down, I gently inquired, “Have you been good for Grandma?” He looked thoughtfully at his shoes and responded, “No, I was bad. I’m sorry.”
My heart went out to him. Instead of denying what he had done, he was honest. In the following moments we asked Jesus to forgive us when we do wrong and to help us do better.
In Isaiah 1, God confronts His people about wrongs they’d committed. Bribes and injustice were rampant in the courts, and orphans and widows were taken advantage of for material gain. Yet even then God responded mercifully, asking the people of Judah to confess what they’d done and turn from it: “Come now, let us settle the matter . . . . Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).
God longs for us to be open with Him about our sins. He meets honesty and repentance with loving forgiveness: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Because our God is merciful, new beginnings await! By James Banks
Reflect & Pray
What sins have you not been honest with God about? What’s holding you back from confessing them to Him?
Abba, Father, help me to turn away from the sin in my life and make a new beginning with You today.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 03, 2019
The Concentration of Personal Sin
Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips… —Isaiah 6:5
When I come into the very presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense, but I suddenly realize and the focus of my attention is directed toward the concentration of sin in a particular area of my life. A person will easily say, “Oh yes, I know I am a sinner,” but when he comes into the presence of God he cannot get away with such a broad and indefinite statement. Our conviction is focused on our specific sin, and we realize, as Isaiah did, what we really are. This is always the sign that a person is in the presence of God. There is never any vague sense of sin, but a focusing on the concentration of sin in some specific, personal area of life. God begins by convicting us of the very thing to which His Spirit has directed our mind’s attention. If we will surrender, submitting to His conviction of that particular sin, He will lead us down to where He can reveal the vast underlying nature of sin. That is the way God always deals with us when we are consciously aware of His presence.
This experience of our attention being directed to our concentration of personal sin is true in everyone’s life, from the greatest of saints to the worst of sinners. When a person first begins climbing the ladder of experience, he might say, “I don’t know where I’ve gone wrong,” but the Spirit of God will point out some definite and specific thing to him. The effect of Isaiah’s vision of the holiness of the Lord was the directing of his attention to the fact that he was “a man of unclean lips.” “He touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged’ ” (Isaiah 6:7). The cleansing fire had to be applied where the sin had been concentrated.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 03, 2019
Fighting the Cold - #8473
It's amazing how you can go outside on a brutally cold winter day, and you go from shivering to sweating in a few minutes. If you just stand around in the cold or just move around a little bit, you're not going to stay outside for long. It's just too frigid out there, right! But in a very short time you can get to where you barely even notice the cold. Just start shoveling snow or some other vigorous activity. You know, my wife once was out in the middle of a snowstorm, working on some outside chores, and she told me, "It's amazing how you can work up a sweat on a day like this!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Fighting the Cold."
When you're exercising, the cold just doesn't really affect you that much. That's a very important equation for Christians who are living in times like these, because Jesus said it was going to get really chilly among His children.
In our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus is describing the days that will precede His return to earth. Now, I can't tell you when those "last days" are going to be, but I can tell you that the world has never looked so much like the kind of world Jesus said He would return to than our world looks today. As time runs shorter for Planet Earth, Jesus' prediction of how His followers would live seems to be more and more true, and there will be a chill in the air.
Notice: two groups of believers in these important times. Pick your group; I know you're in one of them. It's in Matthew 24 beginning in verse 12 - Jesus says, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most" - that's most believers, by the way - "will grow cold." Alright, there's group one - the cold. That's the group Jesus said most believers would be in. Living in a world where sin is permeating everything, in a world where sin becomes everyday stuff, most Christians will just turn spiritually cold. That's amazing! At the time when Jesus needs them to be fully engaged in the decisive spiritual battles going on around them, they go cold.
But some believers are going to be fighting the cold with some important spiritual exercise, the most important you can do. And they are group two. Jesus says that at the same time sin is exploding across the world and into people's lives, "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Okay, there they are. The bold! These are the believers who have checked the stadium clock, they can tell it's late in the game and they're going for broke to get some points on the board! They get the Good News about Jesus to as many people as possible.
So where are you in this picture? Are you getting colder or bolder? Are you pursuing your kingdom or Jesus' Kingdom? Living in a sin-saturated world, it's very easy to grow numb, especially numb to the lostness, the dyingness of the people around us. To care only about what affects my personal world and not much about the world for whom Jesus gave His life.
I believe Jesus is summoning many of us to join Him in an all-out effort to rescue as many dying people as possible in the time we've got left, to make the greatest possible difference with the rest of our life. He's asking you to throw yourself totally - I mean your influence, your money, your home, your talents, and your time into the greatest cause in the universe. It is the cause for which Jesus gave His very life.
How could I do anything less than live for what He died for. If you're not in the bold, well, you're part of the cold. But your heart and your life will warm up fast with some exercise, fighting for the eternal souls of people that Jesus thought were worth His life.
Grace! The bank gives us a grace period. The seedy politician falls from grace. Musicians speak of a grace note. We use the word for hospitals, baby girls, kings and pre-meal prayers. We talk as though we know what grace means.
You turn the page of your Bible and look at the words. You might as well be gazing at a cemetery…lifeless, stony…nothing moves you. But you don’t dare close the book, no sirree. You dare not miss a deed for fear that God will erase your name.
If that’s your feeling, grace can speak to you. God’s grace has a drenching about it. It comes after you. It re-wires you! From insecure to God’s secure. From regret riddled to better-because-of-it. From afraid to die to ready to fly. As Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” You might call it a spiritual heart transplant!
Read more GRACE
Ecclesiastes 4
Next I turned my attention to all the outrageous violence that takes place on this planet—the tears of the victims, no one to comfort them; the iron grip of oppressors, no one to rescue the victims from them. So I congratulated the dead who are already dead instead of the living who are still alive. But luckier than the dead or the living is the person who has never even been, who has never seen the bad business that takes place on this earth.
4 Then I observed all the work and ambition motivated by envy. What a waste! Smoke. And spitting into the wind.
5 The fool sits back and takes it easy,
His sloth is slow suicide.
6 One handful of peaceful repose
Is better than two fistfuls of worried work—
More spitting into the wind.
7-8 I turned my head and saw yet another wisp of smoke on its way to nothingness: a solitary person, completely alone—no children, no family, no friends—yet working obsessively late into the night, compulsively greedy for more and more, never bothering to ask, “Why am I working like a dog, never having any fun? And who cares?” More smoke. A bad business.
9-10 It’s better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there’s no one to help, tough!
11 Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.
12 By yourself you’re unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.
13-16 A poor youngster with some wisdom is better off than an old but foolish king who doesn’t know which end is up. I saw a youth just like this start with nothing and go from rags to riches, and I saw everyone rally to the rule of this young successor to the king. Even so, the excitement died quickly, the throngs of people soon lost interest. Can’t you see it’s only smoke? And spitting into the wind?
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 03, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 1:12-18
“Why this frenzy of sacrifices?”
God’s asking.
“Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of burnt sacrifices,
rams and plump grain-fed calves?
Don’t you think I’ve had my fill
of blood from bulls, lambs, and goats?
When you come before me,
whoever gave you the idea of acting like this,
Running here and there, doing this and that—
all this sheer commotion in the place provided for worship?
13-17 “Quit your worship charades.
I can’t stand your trivial religious games:
Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings—
meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them!
You’ve worn me out!
I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion,
while you go right on sinning.
When you put on your next prayer-performance,
I’ll be looking the other way.
No matter how long or loud or often you pray,
I’ll not be listening.
And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing
people to pieces, and your hands are bloody.
Go home and wash up.
Clean up your act.
Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings
so I don’t have to look at them any longer.
Say no to wrong.
Learn to do good.
Work for justice.
Help the down-and-out.
Stand up for the homeless.
Go to bat for the defenseless.
18-20 “Come. Sit down. Let’s argue this out.”
This is God’s Message:
“If your sins are blood-red,
they’ll be snow-white.
If they’re red like crimson,
they’ll be like wool.
If you’ll willingly obey,
you’ll feast like kings.
But if you’re willful and stubborn,
you’ll die like dogs.”
That’s right. God says so.
Insight
The prophet Isaiah, whose name means “the Lord saves,” warned an unrepentant Judah of God’s impending judgment (Isaiah 1–12) through the Babylonian exile (39:6–7). He spoke of God’s grace (chs. 40–55) and a future glorious restoration for all who would repent (chs. 11; 56–66). Here in Isaiah 1, God calls His people to consider carefully their sinfulness (vv. 2–15). But He assures them that no matter how tainted and sinful they are (v. 18), God will cleanse, forgive, and bless them if they “are willing and obedient” (v. 19). He also warns of severe punishment if they fail to repent (v. 20).
Honest to God
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. Psalm 32:5
My three-year-old grandson’s day was off to a rotten start. He couldn’t find his favorite shirt. The shoes he wanted to wear were too hot. He fussed and fumed at his grandmother and then sat down to cry.
“Why are you so upset?” I asked. We talked for a while and after he calmed down, I gently inquired, “Have you been good for Grandma?” He looked thoughtfully at his shoes and responded, “No, I was bad. I’m sorry.”
My heart went out to him. Instead of denying what he had done, he was honest. In the following moments we asked Jesus to forgive us when we do wrong and to help us do better.
In Isaiah 1, God confronts His people about wrongs they’d committed. Bribes and injustice were rampant in the courts, and orphans and widows were taken advantage of for material gain. Yet even then God responded mercifully, asking the people of Judah to confess what they’d done and turn from it: “Come now, let us settle the matter . . . . Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).
God longs for us to be open with Him about our sins. He meets honesty and repentance with loving forgiveness: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Because our God is merciful, new beginnings await! By James Banks
Reflect & Pray
What sins have you not been honest with God about? What’s holding you back from confessing them to Him?
Abba, Father, help me to turn away from the sin in my life and make a new beginning with You today.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 03, 2019
The Concentration of Personal Sin
Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips… —Isaiah 6:5
When I come into the very presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense, but I suddenly realize and the focus of my attention is directed toward the concentration of sin in a particular area of my life. A person will easily say, “Oh yes, I know I am a sinner,” but when he comes into the presence of God he cannot get away with such a broad and indefinite statement. Our conviction is focused on our specific sin, and we realize, as Isaiah did, what we really are. This is always the sign that a person is in the presence of God. There is never any vague sense of sin, but a focusing on the concentration of sin in some specific, personal area of life. God begins by convicting us of the very thing to which His Spirit has directed our mind’s attention. If we will surrender, submitting to His conviction of that particular sin, He will lead us down to where He can reveal the vast underlying nature of sin. That is the way God always deals with us when we are consciously aware of His presence.
This experience of our attention being directed to our concentration of personal sin is true in everyone’s life, from the greatest of saints to the worst of sinners. When a person first begins climbing the ladder of experience, he might say, “I don’t know where I’ve gone wrong,” but the Spirit of God will point out some definite and specific thing to him. The effect of Isaiah’s vision of the holiness of the Lord was the directing of his attention to the fact that he was “a man of unclean lips.” “He touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged’ ” (Isaiah 6:7). The cleansing fire had to be applied where the sin had been concentrated.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 03, 2019
Fighting the Cold - #8473
It's amazing how you can go outside on a brutally cold winter day, and you go from shivering to sweating in a few minutes. If you just stand around in the cold or just move around a little bit, you're not going to stay outside for long. It's just too frigid out there, right! But in a very short time you can get to where you barely even notice the cold. Just start shoveling snow or some other vigorous activity. You know, my wife once was out in the middle of a snowstorm, working on some outside chores, and she told me, "It's amazing how you can work up a sweat on a day like this!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Fighting the Cold."
When you're exercising, the cold just doesn't really affect you that much. That's a very important equation for Christians who are living in times like these, because Jesus said it was going to get really chilly among His children.
In our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus is describing the days that will precede His return to earth. Now, I can't tell you when those "last days" are going to be, but I can tell you that the world has never looked so much like the kind of world Jesus said He would return to than our world looks today. As time runs shorter for Planet Earth, Jesus' prediction of how His followers would live seems to be more and more true, and there will be a chill in the air.
Notice: two groups of believers in these important times. Pick your group; I know you're in one of them. It's in Matthew 24 beginning in verse 12 - Jesus says, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most" - that's most believers, by the way - "will grow cold." Alright, there's group one - the cold. That's the group Jesus said most believers would be in. Living in a world where sin is permeating everything, in a world where sin becomes everyday stuff, most Christians will just turn spiritually cold. That's amazing! At the time when Jesus needs them to be fully engaged in the decisive spiritual battles going on around them, they go cold.
But some believers are going to be fighting the cold with some important spiritual exercise, the most important you can do. And they are group two. Jesus says that at the same time sin is exploding across the world and into people's lives, "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Okay, there they are. The bold! These are the believers who have checked the stadium clock, they can tell it's late in the game and they're going for broke to get some points on the board! They get the Good News about Jesus to as many people as possible.
So where are you in this picture? Are you getting colder or bolder? Are you pursuing your kingdom or Jesus' Kingdom? Living in a sin-saturated world, it's very easy to grow numb, especially numb to the lostness, the dyingness of the people around us. To care only about what affects my personal world and not much about the world for whom Jesus gave His life.
I believe Jesus is summoning many of us to join Him in an all-out effort to rescue as many dying people as possible in the time we've got left, to make the greatest possible difference with the rest of our life. He's asking you to throw yourself totally - I mean your influence, your money, your home, your talents, and your time into the greatest cause in the universe. It is the cause for which Jesus gave His very life.
How could I do anything less than live for what He died for. If you're not in the bold, well, you're part of the cold. But your heart and your life will warm up fast with some exercise, fighting for the eternal souls of people that Jesus thought were worth His life.
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Acts 9:1-22, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: GOD’S ANSWER FOR THE MESS OF LIFE
You stare into the darkness. The ceiling fan whirls above you. Your husband slumbers next to you. In minutes the alarm will sound, and the demands of the day will shoot you like a clown out of a cannon into a three-ring circus of meetings, bosses, and baseball practices.
For the millionth time you’ll make breakfast, schedules, and payroll. . .but for the life of you, you can’t make sense of this thing called life. Life with its beginnings and endings. Cradles and cancers and cemeteries and questions. The meaning of life…the poor choices of life!
God answers the mess of life with one word– grace! Do we really understand it? God in the Bible says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you!” (Ezekiel 36:26). That’s grace. Grace calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off!
Read more GRACE
Acts 9:1-22
All this time Saul was breathing down the necks of the Master’s disciples, out for the kill. He went to the Chief Priest and got arrest warrants to take to the meeting places in Damascus so that if he found anyone there belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he could arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem.
3-4 He set off. When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice: “Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?”
5-6 He said, “Who are you, Master?”
“I am Jesus, the One you’re hunting down. I want you to get up and enter the city. In the city you’ll be told what to do next.”
7-9 His companions stood there dumbstruck—they could hear the sound, but couldn’t see anyone—while Saul, picking himself up off the ground, found himself stone-blind. They had to take him by the hand and lead him into Damascus. He continued blind for three days. He ate nothing, drank nothing.
10 There was a disciple in Damascus by the name of Ananias. The Master spoke to him in a vision: “Ananias.”
“Yes, Master?” he answered.
11-12 “Get up and go over to Straight Avenue. Ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus. His name is Saul. He’s there praying. He has just had a dream in which he saw a man named Ananias enter the house and lay hands on him so he could see again.”
13-14 Ananias protested, “Master, you can’t be serious. Everybody’s talking about this man and the terrible things he’s been doing, his reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem! And now he’s shown up here with papers from the Chief Priest that give him license to do the same to us.”
15-16 But the Master said, “Don’t argue. Go! I have picked him as my personal representative to non-Jews and kings and Jews. And now I’m about to show him what he’s in for—the hard suffering that goes with this job.”
17-19 So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, “Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes—he could see again! He got to his feet, was baptized, and sat down with them to a hearty meal.
19-21 Saul spent a few days getting acquainted with the Damascus disciples, but then went right to work, wasting no time, preaching in the meeting places that this Jesus was the Son of God. They were caught off guard by this and, not at all sure they could trust him, they kept saying, “Isn’t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem among the believers? And didn’t he come here to do the same thing—arrest us and drag us off to jail in Jerusalem for sentencing by the high priests?”
22 But their suspicions didn’t slow Saul down for even a minute. His momentum was up now and he plowed straight into the opposition, disarming the Damascus Jews and trying to show them that this Jesus was the Messiah.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, July 02, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Colossians 3:12-17
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
15-17 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
Insight
Paul’s letter to the Colossians was one of four letters he wrote while being held as a prisoner in Rome. These four letters, commonly called the “Prison Epistles,” consist of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. The church letters went to three different destinations in two different regions of the ancient world. Philippians was directed to the church at Philippi, a city in Macedonia (ancient northern Greece), while Ephesians and Colossians were written to two cities (Ephesus, Colossae) in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The personal letter to Philemon was also delivered to Colossae, where Philemon is believed to have lived, being actively involved in the church there. These letters were probably intended to be circular letters that were read and passed along to other churches.
How to Find Peace
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. Colossians 3:15
“What do you think about peace?” my friend asked as we ate lunch together. “Peace?” I said, puzzled. “I’m not sure—why do you ask?” He answered, “Well, as you jiggled your foot during the church service I wondered if you’re agitated about something. Have you considered the peace God gives to those who love Him?”
That day some years ago, I was a bit hurt by my friend’s question, but it started me on a journey. I began exploring the Bible to see how God’s people embraced this gift of well-being, of peace, even in the midst of hardship. As I read Paul’s letter to the Colossians, I chewed over the apostle’s command to let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts (Colossians 3:15).
Paul was writing to a church he’d never visited but had heard about from his friend Epaphras. He was concerned that as they encountered false teaching, they were losing the peace of Christ. But instead of admonishing them, Paul encouraged them to trust Jesus, who would give them assurance and hope (v. 15).
We all will encounter times when we can choose to embrace or refuse the rule of Christ’s peace in our hearts. As we turn to Him, asking Jesus to dwell in us, He will gently release us from the anxiety and cares that weigh us down. As we seek His peace, we trust that He will meet us with His love. By Amy Boucher Pye
Reflect & Pray
What situations or relationships weigh on your mind and heart? How can you ask Jesus to bring you His peace?
Jesus, You give peace that passes all understanding. Help me embrace Your peace in every area of my life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 02, 2019
The Conditions of Discipleship
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also….And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me….So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. —Luke 14:26-27, 33
If the closest relationships of a disciple’s life conflict with the claims of Jesus Christ, then our Lord requires instant obedience to Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person— our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between devotion to a person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause— He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To be a disciple is to be a devoted bondservant motivated by love for the Lord Jesus. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are not truly devoted to Jesus Christ. No one on earth has this passionate love for the Lord Jesus unless the Holy Spirit has given it to him. We may admire, respect, and revere Him, but we cannot love Him on our own. The only One who truly loves the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit, and it is He who has “poured out in our hearts” the very “love of God” (Romans 5:5). Whenever the Holy Spirit sees an opportunity to glorify Jesus through you, He will take your entire being and set you ablaze with glowing devotion to Jesus Christ.
The Christian life is a life characterized by true and spontaneous creativity. Consequently, a disciple is subject to the same charge that was leveled against Jesus Christ, namely, the charge of inconsistency. But Jesus Christ was always consistent in His relationship to God, and a Christian must be consistent in his relationship to the life of the Son of God in him, not consistent to strict, unyielding doctrines. People pour themselves into their own doctrines, and God has to blast them out of their preconceived ideas before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ.
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
Tuesday, July 02, 2019
Spiritual Land Mines - #8472
It was one of the causes Princess Diana was most passionate about. A little-known organization that addresses this issue won the Nobel Peace Prize. It's not an issue we think much about, but it's one that costs countless lives every year - land mines. They are the deadly leftovers of a lot of old battles, and a lot of innocent people are injured or killed by them. A land mine, of course, is not where you can see it coming. It's buried. You're just walking along and suddenly the ground beneath you explodes, maiming or destroying an innocent person.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Spiritual Land Mines."
Sudden and unexpected destruction - that happens spiritually, too. Spiritual landmines are under the surface as well, but when they go off they do an awful lot of damage. They come in the form of three unholy loves. Whenever a follower of Christ blows up, or a ministry or ministry leader blows up, it's usually because one of these three loves erupted.
1 John 2:15-17, our word for today from the Word of God, exposes the unholy love that destroys what God is trying to build. "Do not love the world or anything in the world." What God is talking about here is really the world's values, the world's system, the world's way of doing things. "If anyone loves the world," it says, "the love of our Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of the sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."
Let's try to bring that "the cravings of the sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting" right down to where we live. The three unholy loves that are land mines in any life or ministry. Here they are: the love of money, the love of the opposite sex, and the love of power. Think about the spiritual falls you've known about - most, if not all, of them are traceable to one or more of these unholy loves.
Usually, if your sin is because of your love for money, well ultimately you're going to leave a trail and you'll eventually be caught. Usually, if your sin is a sexual sin, it will ultimately be exposed and punished. But maybe the most insidious spiritual land mine of all is the love of power. That one's hard to prove, hard to confront - but a prideful, power-loving spiritual leader can often maim and scar and even destroy people for a lifetime without ever being stopped.
Many of us bring our pre-Christian baggage with us into our Christian life. If we don't repent of it, we usually try to baptize it and make it something spiritual. Consequently, for example, there are many people who were control freaks before they knew Christ and they carry that addiction to control right into their Christian experience and even their leadership. Except now we can dress it up as being a strong leader or having strong convictions. But underneath it's still the life-destroying, unholy love of power and control. It's the cancer that afflicted Diotrephes in 3 John, "Diotrephes," the Bible says, "loves to be first" (3 John 9). Well, 2,000 years have gone by, but there's still plenty of him around.
These three land mines hide beneath the surface for a while, but eventually they go off and they scar families, they split churches, they discredit ministries, and they hurt the name of Christ. So, would you join me in searching your heart to see if there's a mine there? And would you repentantly surrender it to Jesus today, please, before it does any more damage.
You stare into the darkness. The ceiling fan whirls above you. Your husband slumbers next to you. In minutes the alarm will sound, and the demands of the day will shoot you like a clown out of a cannon into a three-ring circus of meetings, bosses, and baseball practices.
For the millionth time you’ll make breakfast, schedules, and payroll. . .but for the life of you, you can’t make sense of this thing called life. Life with its beginnings and endings. Cradles and cancers and cemeteries and questions. The meaning of life…the poor choices of life!
God answers the mess of life with one word– grace! Do we really understand it? God in the Bible says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you!” (Ezekiel 36:26). That’s grace. Grace calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off!
Read more GRACE
Acts 9:1-22
All this time Saul was breathing down the necks of the Master’s disciples, out for the kill. He went to the Chief Priest and got arrest warrants to take to the meeting places in Damascus so that if he found anyone there belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he could arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem.
3-4 He set off. When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice: “Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?”
5-6 He said, “Who are you, Master?”
“I am Jesus, the One you’re hunting down. I want you to get up and enter the city. In the city you’ll be told what to do next.”
7-9 His companions stood there dumbstruck—they could hear the sound, but couldn’t see anyone—while Saul, picking himself up off the ground, found himself stone-blind. They had to take him by the hand and lead him into Damascus. He continued blind for three days. He ate nothing, drank nothing.
10 There was a disciple in Damascus by the name of Ananias. The Master spoke to him in a vision: “Ananias.”
“Yes, Master?” he answered.
11-12 “Get up and go over to Straight Avenue. Ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus. His name is Saul. He’s there praying. He has just had a dream in which he saw a man named Ananias enter the house and lay hands on him so he could see again.”
13-14 Ananias protested, “Master, you can’t be serious. Everybody’s talking about this man and the terrible things he’s been doing, his reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem! And now he’s shown up here with papers from the Chief Priest that give him license to do the same to us.”
15-16 But the Master said, “Don’t argue. Go! I have picked him as my personal representative to non-Jews and kings and Jews. And now I’m about to show him what he’s in for—the hard suffering that goes with this job.”
17-19 So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, “Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes—he could see again! He got to his feet, was baptized, and sat down with them to a hearty meal.
19-21 Saul spent a few days getting acquainted with the Damascus disciples, but then went right to work, wasting no time, preaching in the meeting places that this Jesus was the Son of God. They were caught off guard by this and, not at all sure they could trust him, they kept saying, “Isn’t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem among the believers? And didn’t he come here to do the same thing—arrest us and drag us off to jail in Jerusalem for sentencing by the high priests?”
22 But their suspicions didn’t slow Saul down for even a minute. His momentum was up now and he plowed straight into the opposition, disarming the Damascus Jews and trying to show them that this Jesus was the Messiah.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, July 02, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Colossians 3:12-17
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
15-17 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
Insight
Paul’s letter to the Colossians was one of four letters he wrote while being held as a prisoner in Rome. These four letters, commonly called the “Prison Epistles,” consist of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. The church letters went to three different destinations in two different regions of the ancient world. Philippians was directed to the church at Philippi, a city in Macedonia (ancient northern Greece), while Ephesians and Colossians were written to two cities (Ephesus, Colossae) in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The personal letter to Philemon was also delivered to Colossae, where Philemon is believed to have lived, being actively involved in the church there. These letters were probably intended to be circular letters that were read and passed along to other churches.
How to Find Peace
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. Colossians 3:15
“What do you think about peace?” my friend asked as we ate lunch together. “Peace?” I said, puzzled. “I’m not sure—why do you ask?” He answered, “Well, as you jiggled your foot during the church service I wondered if you’re agitated about something. Have you considered the peace God gives to those who love Him?”
That day some years ago, I was a bit hurt by my friend’s question, but it started me on a journey. I began exploring the Bible to see how God’s people embraced this gift of well-being, of peace, even in the midst of hardship. As I read Paul’s letter to the Colossians, I chewed over the apostle’s command to let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts (Colossians 3:15).
Paul was writing to a church he’d never visited but had heard about from his friend Epaphras. He was concerned that as they encountered false teaching, they were losing the peace of Christ. But instead of admonishing them, Paul encouraged them to trust Jesus, who would give them assurance and hope (v. 15).
We all will encounter times when we can choose to embrace or refuse the rule of Christ’s peace in our hearts. As we turn to Him, asking Jesus to dwell in us, He will gently release us from the anxiety and cares that weigh us down. As we seek His peace, we trust that He will meet us with His love. By Amy Boucher Pye
Reflect & Pray
What situations or relationships weigh on your mind and heart? How can you ask Jesus to bring you His peace?
Jesus, You give peace that passes all understanding. Help me embrace Your peace in every area of my life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 02, 2019
The Conditions of Discipleship
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also….And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me….So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. —Luke 14:26-27, 33
If the closest relationships of a disciple’s life conflict with the claims of Jesus Christ, then our Lord requires instant obedience to Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person— our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between devotion to a person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause— He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To be a disciple is to be a devoted bondservant motivated by love for the Lord Jesus. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are not truly devoted to Jesus Christ. No one on earth has this passionate love for the Lord Jesus unless the Holy Spirit has given it to him. We may admire, respect, and revere Him, but we cannot love Him on our own. The only One who truly loves the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit, and it is He who has “poured out in our hearts” the very “love of God” (Romans 5:5). Whenever the Holy Spirit sees an opportunity to glorify Jesus through you, He will take your entire being and set you ablaze with glowing devotion to Jesus Christ.
The Christian life is a life characterized by true and spontaneous creativity. Consequently, a disciple is subject to the same charge that was leveled against Jesus Christ, namely, the charge of inconsistency. But Jesus Christ was always consistent in His relationship to God, and a Christian must be consistent in his relationship to the life of the Son of God in him, not consistent to strict, unyielding doctrines. People pour themselves into their own doctrines, and God has to blast them out of their preconceived ideas before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ.
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
Tuesday, July 02, 2019
Spiritual Land Mines - #8472
It was one of the causes Princess Diana was most passionate about. A little-known organization that addresses this issue won the Nobel Peace Prize. It's not an issue we think much about, but it's one that costs countless lives every year - land mines. They are the deadly leftovers of a lot of old battles, and a lot of innocent people are injured or killed by them. A land mine, of course, is not where you can see it coming. It's buried. You're just walking along and suddenly the ground beneath you explodes, maiming or destroying an innocent person.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Spiritual Land Mines."
Sudden and unexpected destruction - that happens spiritually, too. Spiritual landmines are under the surface as well, but when they go off they do an awful lot of damage. They come in the form of three unholy loves. Whenever a follower of Christ blows up, or a ministry or ministry leader blows up, it's usually because one of these three loves erupted.
1 John 2:15-17, our word for today from the Word of God, exposes the unholy love that destroys what God is trying to build. "Do not love the world or anything in the world." What God is talking about here is really the world's values, the world's system, the world's way of doing things. "If anyone loves the world," it says, "the love of our Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of the sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."
Let's try to bring that "the cravings of the sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting" right down to where we live. The three unholy loves that are land mines in any life or ministry. Here they are: the love of money, the love of the opposite sex, and the love of power. Think about the spiritual falls you've known about - most, if not all, of them are traceable to one or more of these unholy loves.
Usually, if your sin is because of your love for money, well ultimately you're going to leave a trail and you'll eventually be caught. Usually, if your sin is a sexual sin, it will ultimately be exposed and punished. But maybe the most insidious spiritual land mine of all is the love of power. That one's hard to prove, hard to confront - but a prideful, power-loving spiritual leader can often maim and scar and even destroy people for a lifetime without ever being stopped.
Many of us bring our pre-Christian baggage with us into our Christian life. If we don't repent of it, we usually try to baptize it and make it something spiritual. Consequently, for example, there are many people who were control freaks before they knew Christ and they carry that addiction to control right into their Christian experience and even their leadership. Except now we can dress it up as being a strong leader or having strong convictions. But underneath it's still the life-destroying, unholy love of power and control. It's the cancer that afflicted Diotrephes in 3 John, "Diotrephes," the Bible says, "loves to be first" (3 John 9). Well, 2,000 years have gone by, but there's still plenty of him around.
These three land mines hide beneath the surface for a while, but eventually they go off and they scar families, they split churches, they discredit ministries, and they hurt the name of Christ. So, would you join me in searching your heart to see if there's a mine there? And would you repentantly surrender it to Jesus today, please, before it does any more damage.
Monday, July 1, 2019
Ecclesiastes 3 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: GOD’S GRACE COMES AFTER YOU
God’s grace! It has a wildness about it. A white-water, rip-tide, turn-you-upside-downess about it. Grace comes after you!
Some years ago I underwent a heart procedure. I asked the surgeon, “You’re burning the interior of my heart, right?”
“Correct,” he said.
“You intend to kill the misbehaving cells, yes?” I asked.
“That’s my plan,” was his response.
“As long as you’re in there, could you take your little blowtorch to some of my greed, selfishness, superiority, and guilt?”
He smiled, “Sorry, that’s out of my pay grade!”
But it’s not out of God’s, my friend! We’d be wrong to think this change happens overnight. We’d be equally wrong to assume change never happens at all. It may be in fits and spurts—but it comes! Titus 2:11 says, “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared.” You just never know when grace will seep in. Could you use some?
Read more GRACE
Ecclesiastes 3
There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
2-8 A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.
9-13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift.
14 I’ve also concluded that whatever God does, that’s the way it’s going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God’s done it and that’s it. That’s so we’ll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.
15 Whatever was, is.
Whatever will be, is.
That’s how it always is with God.
16-18 I took another good look at what’s going on: The very place of judgment—corrupt! The place of righteousness—corrupt! I said to myself, “God will judge righteous and wicked.” There’s a right time for every thing, every deed—and there’s no getting around it. I said to myself regarding the human race, “God’s testing the lot of us, showing us up as nothing but animals.”
19-22 Humans and animals come to the same end—humans die, animals die. We all breathe the same air. So there’s really no advantage in being human. None. Everything’s smoke. We all end up in the same place—we all came from dust, we all end up as dust. Nobody knows for sure that the human spirit rises to heaven or that the animal spirit sinks into the earth. So I made up my mind that there’s nothing better for us men and women than to have a good time in whatever we do—that’s our lot. Who knows if there’s anything else to life?
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, July 01, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
James 2:14-18
Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
18 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.”
Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
Insight
James’s letter begins, “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations” (1:1). So who was James? Evangelical scholars are largely convinced that he was the half-brother of Jesus. In Mark 6:3, Jesus’s siblings are listed, and James is among them. While those siblings were slow in coming to faith, Paul tells us that Jesus appeared to James after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7; Galatians 1:19). As a result, James and his brothers are listed among the believers in Christ in the upper room in Acts 1:14. Following the execution of James the son of Zebedee and the brother of John (Acts 12:2), Christ’s brother James would become a leader in the church (v. 17), arbitrating the first church council in Jerusalem (15:13–29). Sometimes called “James the Just,” he was martyred for his faith around ad 60.
Are You Hungry Now?
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? James 2:14
Thomas knew what he needed to do. Having been born to a poor family in India and adopted by Americans, upon a return trip to India he witnessed the dire needs of the children in his hometown. So he knew he had to help. He began making plans to return to the US, finish his education, save a lot of money, and come back in the future.
Then, after reading James 2:14–18 in which James asks, “What good is it . . . if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?” Thomas heard a little girl in his native country cry out to her mother: “But Mommy, I’m hungry now!” He was reminded of the times he had been intensely hungry as a child—searching through trash cans for food. Thomas knew he couldn’t wait years to help. He decided, “I’ll start now!”
Today the orphanage he began houses fifty well-fed and cared-for children who are learning about Jesus and getting an education—all because one man didn’t put off what he knew God was asking him to do.
James’s message applies to us as well. Our faith in Jesus Christ provides us with great advantages—a relationship with Him, an abundant life, and a future hope. But what good is it doing anyone else if we don’t reach out and help those in need? Can you hear the cry: “I’m hungry now”? By Dave Branon
Reflect & Pray
What needs around you touch your heart? What’s one thing you can do to help others—even if it seems insignificant?
Direct my steps, O God, toward the actions You want me to take to help someone in need. Thank You for allowing me to be a part of Your work on earth.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, July 01, 2019
The Inevitable Penalty
You will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. —Matthew 5:26
There is no heaven that has a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure, holy, and right, and He will not allow you to escape from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit for even one moment. He urged you to come to judgment immediately when He convicted you, but you did not obey. Then the inevitable process began to work, bringing its inevitable penalty. Now you have been “thrown into prison, [and]…you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny” (Matthew 5:25-26). Yet you ask, “Is this a God of mercy and love?” When seen from God’s perspective, it is a glorious ministry of love. God is going to bring you out pure, spotless, and undefiled, but He wants you to recognize the nature you were exhibiting— the nature of demanding your right to yourself. The moment you are willing for God to change your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. And the moment you realize that God’s purpose is to get you into the right relationship with Himself and then with others, He will reach to the very limits of the universe to help you take the right road. Decide to do it right now, saying, “Yes, Lord, I will write that letter,” or, “I will be reconciled to that person now.”
These sermons of Jesus Christ are meant for your will and your conscience, not for your head. If you dispute these verses from the Sermon on the Mount with your head, you will dull the appeal to your heart.
If you find yourself asking, “I wonder why I’m not growing spiritually with God?”— then ask yourself if you are paying your debts from God’s standpoint. Do now what you will have to do someday. Every moral question or call comes with an “ought” behind it— the knowledge of knowing what we ought to do.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
If a man cannot prove his religion in the valley, it is not worth anything. Shade of His Hand, 1200 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, July 01, 2019
When God Couldn't Bear to Look - #8471
It was a great day for a high school football game, and I was on the sidelines helping out our local team. And then my 12-year-old son, well he was playing a pickup game on a football field nearby. And I was surprised to see him suddenly heading my way, holding his arm, and then, oh man, I saw him wincing with pain. He'd been tackled and he'd fallen on his arm. I can tell you, it was so badly broken the bone was protruding from his skin. So, we rushed him to the emergency room where I had some of the more agonizing moments of my life. Yeah, I know it wasn't my arm. I know, but I was watching the doctor struggle to set my son's multiple fracture. Doug was a tough guy, but he was in great and obvious agony. If you're a parent, you know. It might as well have been me the doctor was working on.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When God Couldn't Bear to Look."
As a father, it really hurts to watch the son you love suffer. That's a feeling God knows all too well, and on a level I couldn't begin to comprehend. Because His one and only Son Jesus went through unbearable agony, dying an excruciating death on a cross. He wasn't crucified for things He had done. No, He died for things I've done and things you've done. In the Bible's words, "Christ died for our sins" (1 Corinthians 15:3).
The Bible records the reaction of the Father as His Son bore all this pain, not only of death by crucifixion, but of all the hell of all the sin of all the human race. In Matthew 27:46, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus cries out these words from the cross: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" In this moment of unspeakable agony, God the Father has turned His back on God the Son.
Why? Because the Father couldn't stand to see His Son suffer this way? No. The answer to Jesus' question is in something we learn about God in Habakkuk 1:13. It says of God, "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil." That's what was going on in that unthinkable moment when God the Father turned away from His suffering Son. Jesus was carrying every evil thing I have ever done and every sin every person has committed from the beginning of time. In the words of the Bible, Jesus "bore our sins in His body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). See, God is holy. He's unable to even look at sin, even when it's His one and only Son that is carrying it.
So God turned His back on His Son so He would never have to turn His back on you. That's His amazing love. If you think somehow you'll be able to make it to God any way other than totally trusting in His Son, look at that cross. If God turned His back on His own Son when He had your sin, what hope can you possibly have if you leave this life still carrying the sins of your life unforgiven? Your religion, your Christianity, your goodness can't possibly get you into heaven. Only Jesus can do that. Only Jesus died to do that. Your only hope is what He did on the cross for you.
So you have nothing more important to think about other than this. "Has there ever been a time when I consciously gave myself to Jesus, believing that He - and He alone - can forgive my sin, make me right with God, and take me to heaven?" If not, make this the day when you finally act on the total sacrifice Jesus became for you.
You can tell him that right where you are. "Jesus, I know that I have broken your laws and I have put myself first. And I know that I deserve the death penalty for hijacking my life from my Creator. And today I turn from that sin, and there's a new driver as of today. Jesus, I believe when you died on that cross it was my sin you were paying for. I believe you're alive because you walked out of your grave. But I ask you to walk into my life today and change it forever."
This could be your new beginning, and that's why I want to invite you to go to our website, because it's all about making sure you belong to Jesus. It's called ANewStory.com. Go there as soon as you can today.
On the day you stand before the Father, He's going to want to know one thing, "What did you do with My Son?" And you can point to this day as the day you said, "Son of God, I'm Yours!"
God’s grace! It has a wildness about it. A white-water, rip-tide, turn-you-upside-downess about it. Grace comes after you!
Some years ago I underwent a heart procedure. I asked the surgeon, “You’re burning the interior of my heart, right?”
“Correct,” he said.
“You intend to kill the misbehaving cells, yes?” I asked.
“That’s my plan,” was his response.
“As long as you’re in there, could you take your little blowtorch to some of my greed, selfishness, superiority, and guilt?”
He smiled, “Sorry, that’s out of my pay grade!”
But it’s not out of God’s, my friend! We’d be wrong to think this change happens overnight. We’d be equally wrong to assume change never happens at all. It may be in fits and spurts—but it comes! Titus 2:11 says, “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared.” You just never know when grace will seep in. Could you use some?
Read more GRACE
Ecclesiastes 3
There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
2-8 A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.
9-13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift.
14 I’ve also concluded that whatever God does, that’s the way it’s going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God’s done it and that’s it. That’s so we’ll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.
15 Whatever was, is.
Whatever will be, is.
That’s how it always is with God.
16-18 I took another good look at what’s going on: The very place of judgment—corrupt! The place of righteousness—corrupt! I said to myself, “God will judge righteous and wicked.” There’s a right time for every thing, every deed—and there’s no getting around it. I said to myself regarding the human race, “God’s testing the lot of us, showing us up as nothing but animals.”
19-22 Humans and animals come to the same end—humans die, animals die. We all breathe the same air. So there’s really no advantage in being human. None. Everything’s smoke. We all end up in the same place—we all came from dust, we all end up as dust. Nobody knows for sure that the human spirit rises to heaven or that the animal spirit sinks into the earth. So I made up my mind that there’s nothing better for us men and women than to have a good time in whatever we do—that’s our lot. Who knows if there’s anything else to life?
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, July 01, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
James 2:14-18
Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
18 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.”
Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
Insight
James’s letter begins, “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations” (1:1). So who was James? Evangelical scholars are largely convinced that he was the half-brother of Jesus. In Mark 6:3, Jesus’s siblings are listed, and James is among them. While those siblings were slow in coming to faith, Paul tells us that Jesus appeared to James after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7; Galatians 1:19). As a result, James and his brothers are listed among the believers in Christ in the upper room in Acts 1:14. Following the execution of James the son of Zebedee and the brother of John (Acts 12:2), Christ’s brother James would become a leader in the church (v. 17), arbitrating the first church council in Jerusalem (15:13–29). Sometimes called “James the Just,” he was martyred for his faith around ad 60.
Are You Hungry Now?
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? James 2:14
Thomas knew what he needed to do. Having been born to a poor family in India and adopted by Americans, upon a return trip to India he witnessed the dire needs of the children in his hometown. So he knew he had to help. He began making plans to return to the US, finish his education, save a lot of money, and come back in the future.
Then, after reading James 2:14–18 in which James asks, “What good is it . . . if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?” Thomas heard a little girl in his native country cry out to her mother: “But Mommy, I’m hungry now!” He was reminded of the times he had been intensely hungry as a child—searching through trash cans for food. Thomas knew he couldn’t wait years to help. He decided, “I’ll start now!”
Today the orphanage he began houses fifty well-fed and cared-for children who are learning about Jesus and getting an education—all because one man didn’t put off what he knew God was asking him to do.
James’s message applies to us as well. Our faith in Jesus Christ provides us with great advantages—a relationship with Him, an abundant life, and a future hope. But what good is it doing anyone else if we don’t reach out and help those in need? Can you hear the cry: “I’m hungry now”? By Dave Branon
Reflect & Pray
What needs around you touch your heart? What’s one thing you can do to help others—even if it seems insignificant?
Direct my steps, O God, toward the actions You want me to take to help someone in need. Thank You for allowing me to be a part of Your work on earth.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, July 01, 2019
The Inevitable Penalty
You will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. —Matthew 5:26
There is no heaven that has a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure, holy, and right, and He will not allow you to escape from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit for even one moment. He urged you to come to judgment immediately when He convicted you, but you did not obey. Then the inevitable process began to work, bringing its inevitable penalty. Now you have been “thrown into prison, [and]…you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny” (Matthew 5:25-26). Yet you ask, “Is this a God of mercy and love?” When seen from God’s perspective, it is a glorious ministry of love. God is going to bring you out pure, spotless, and undefiled, but He wants you to recognize the nature you were exhibiting— the nature of demanding your right to yourself. The moment you are willing for God to change your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. And the moment you realize that God’s purpose is to get you into the right relationship with Himself and then with others, He will reach to the very limits of the universe to help you take the right road. Decide to do it right now, saying, “Yes, Lord, I will write that letter,” or, “I will be reconciled to that person now.”
These sermons of Jesus Christ are meant for your will and your conscience, not for your head. If you dispute these verses from the Sermon on the Mount with your head, you will dull the appeal to your heart.
If you find yourself asking, “I wonder why I’m not growing spiritually with God?”— then ask yourself if you are paying your debts from God’s standpoint. Do now what you will have to do someday. Every moral question or call comes with an “ought” behind it— the knowledge of knowing what we ought to do.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
If a man cannot prove his religion in the valley, it is not worth anything. Shade of His Hand, 1200 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, July 01, 2019
When God Couldn't Bear to Look - #8471
It was a great day for a high school football game, and I was on the sidelines helping out our local team. And then my 12-year-old son, well he was playing a pickup game on a football field nearby. And I was surprised to see him suddenly heading my way, holding his arm, and then, oh man, I saw him wincing with pain. He'd been tackled and he'd fallen on his arm. I can tell you, it was so badly broken the bone was protruding from his skin. So, we rushed him to the emergency room where I had some of the more agonizing moments of my life. Yeah, I know it wasn't my arm. I know, but I was watching the doctor struggle to set my son's multiple fracture. Doug was a tough guy, but he was in great and obvious agony. If you're a parent, you know. It might as well have been me the doctor was working on.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When God Couldn't Bear to Look."
As a father, it really hurts to watch the son you love suffer. That's a feeling God knows all too well, and on a level I couldn't begin to comprehend. Because His one and only Son Jesus went through unbearable agony, dying an excruciating death on a cross. He wasn't crucified for things He had done. No, He died for things I've done and things you've done. In the Bible's words, "Christ died for our sins" (1 Corinthians 15:3).
The Bible records the reaction of the Father as His Son bore all this pain, not only of death by crucifixion, but of all the hell of all the sin of all the human race. In Matthew 27:46, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus cries out these words from the cross: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" In this moment of unspeakable agony, God the Father has turned His back on God the Son.
Why? Because the Father couldn't stand to see His Son suffer this way? No. The answer to Jesus' question is in something we learn about God in Habakkuk 1:13. It says of God, "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil." That's what was going on in that unthinkable moment when God the Father turned away from His suffering Son. Jesus was carrying every evil thing I have ever done and every sin every person has committed from the beginning of time. In the words of the Bible, Jesus "bore our sins in His body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). See, God is holy. He's unable to even look at sin, even when it's His one and only Son that is carrying it.
So God turned His back on His Son so He would never have to turn His back on you. That's His amazing love. If you think somehow you'll be able to make it to God any way other than totally trusting in His Son, look at that cross. If God turned His back on His own Son when He had your sin, what hope can you possibly have if you leave this life still carrying the sins of your life unforgiven? Your religion, your Christianity, your goodness can't possibly get you into heaven. Only Jesus can do that. Only Jesus died to do that. Your only hope is what He did on the cross for you.
So you have nothing more important to think about other than this. "Has there ever been a time when I consciously gave myself to Jesus, believing that He - and He alone - can forgive my sin, make me right with God, and take me to heaven?" If not, make this the day when you finally act on the total sacrifice Jesus became for you.
You can tell him that right where you are. "Jesus, I know that I have broken your laws and I have put myself first. And I know that I deserve the death penalty for hijacking my life from my Creator. And today I turn from that sin, and there's a new driver as of today. Jesus, I believe when you died on that cross it was my sin you were paying for. I believe you're alive because you walked out of your grave. But I ask you to walk into my life today and change it forever."
This could be your new beginning, and that's why I want to invite you to go to our website, because it's all about making sure you belong to Jesus. It's called ANewStory.com. Go there as soon as you can today.
On the day you stand before the Father, He's going to want to know one thing, "What did you do with My Son?" And you can point to this day as the day you said, "Son of God, I'm Yours!"
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Ecclesiastes 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Say Thank You
The Apostle Paul says, "Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20).
You don't have to name a child after God, but then again, you could. Or you could draft a letter listing all His blessings or write a song in His honor. You could sponsor an orphan or adopt a child just because God adopted you. The surest path out of a slump is marked by the road sign, "Thank you."
But what of the disastrous days? Are you grateful then? Jesus was. "On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it…" (1 Corinthians 11:23-24). Not often are the words betrayed and thanks in the same sentence, much less in the same heart. Anyone can thank God for the light. Jesus teaches us to thank God for the night!
From You'll Get Through This
Ecclesiastes 2
I said to myself, “Let’s go for it—experiment with pleasure, have a good time!” But there was nothing to it, nothing but smoke.
What do I think of the fun-filled life? Insane! Inane!
My verdict on the pursuit of happiness? Who needs it?
With the help of a bottle of wine
and all the wisdom I could muster,
I tried my level best
to penetrate the absurdity of life.
I wanted to get a handle on anything useful we mortals might do
during the years we spend on this earth.
4-8 Oh, I did great things:
built houses,
planted vineyards,
designed gardens and parks
and planted a variety of fruit trees in them,
made pools of water
to irrigate the groves of trees.
I bought slaves, male and female,
who had children, giving me even more slaves;
then I acquired large herds and flocks,
larger than any before me in Jerusalem.
I piled up silver and gold,
loot from kings and kingdoms.
I gathered a chorus of singers to entertain me with song,
and—most exquisite of all pleasures—
voluptuous maidens for my bed.
9-10 Oh, how I prospered! I left all my predecessors in Jerusalem far behind, left them behind in the dust. What’s more, I kept a clear head through it all. Everything I wanted I took—I never said no to myself. I gave in to every impulse, held back nothing. I sucked the marrow of pleasure out of every task—my reward to myself for a hard day’s work!
11 Then I took a good look at everything I’d done, looked at all the sweat and hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke. Smoke and spitting into the wind. There was nothing to any of it. Nothing.
12-14 And then I took a hard look at what’s smart and what’s stupid. What’s left to do after you’ve been king? That’s a hard act to follow. You just do what you can, and that’s it. But I did see that it’s better to be smart than stupid, just as light is better than darkness. Even so, though the smart ones see where they’re going and the stupid ones grope in the dark, they’re all the same in the end. One fate for all—and that’s it.
15-16 When I realized that my fate’s the same as the fool’s, I had to ask myself, “So why bother being wise?” It’s all smoke, nothing but smoke. The smart and the stupid both disappear out of sight. In a day or two they’re both forgotten. Yes, both the smart and the stupid die, and that’s it.
17 I hate life. As far as I can see, what happens on earth is a bad business. It’s smoke—and spitting into the wind.
18-19 And I hated everything I’d accomplished and accumulated on this earth. I can’t take it with me—no, I have to leave it to whoever comes after me. Whether they’re worthy or worthless—and who’s to tell?—they’ll take over the earthly results of my intense thinking and hard work. Smoke.
20-23 That’s when I called it quits, gave up on anything that could be hoped for on this earth. What’s the point of working your fingers to the bone if you hand over what you worked for to someone who never lifted a finger for it? Smoke, that’s what it is. A bad business from start to finish. So what do you get from a life of hard labor? Pain and grief from dawn to dusk. Never a decent night’s rest. Nothing but smoke.
24-26 The best you can do with your life is have a good time and get by the best you can. The way I see it, that’s it—divine fate. Whether we feast or fast, it’s up to God. God may give wisdom and knowledge and joy to his favorites, but sinners are assigned a life of hard labor, and end up turning their wages over to God’s favorites. Nothing but smoke—and spitting into the wind.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Exodus 25:31-40
“Make a Lampstand of pure hammered gold. Make its stem and branches, cups, calyxes, and petals all of one piece. Give it six branches, three from one side and three from the other; put three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on one branch, three on the next, and so on—the same for all six branches. On the main stem of the Lampstand, make four cups shaped like almonds, with calyx and petals, a calyx extending from under each pair of the six branches, the entire Lampstand fashioned from one piece of hammered pure gold.
37-38 “Make seven of these lamps for the Table. Arrange the lamps so they throw their light out in front. Make the candle snuffers and trays out of pure gold.
39-40 “Use a seventy-five-pound brick of pure gold to make the Lampstand and its accessories. Study the design you were given on the mountain and make everything accordingly.”
Insight
Today’s text has ten verses devoted to the creation of the lampstand for the tabernacle. This is just one piece of furniture that was to be created for the portable structure where God would dwell with His people. Other pieces included the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:10–22), the table (vv. 23–30), the altar of burnt offering (27:1–8), the altar of incense (30:1–10), and the bronze basin (vv. 17–21). In addition to these things, many other items are specifically described for use in Israel’s worship: the tabernacle itself (size and materials); the oil for the lampstand; the composition of the incense; the priest’s ephod, breastplate, and other garments. Each served a specific purpose within the worship life of Israel.
Through a New Lens
God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. Romans 1:20
“It must be amazing to look at a tree and see the individual leaves instead of just a blur of green!” my dad said. I couldn’t have said it better. I was eighteen at the time and not a fan of my new need to wear glasses, but they changed the way I saw everything, making the blurry beautiful!
When reading Scripture, I view certain books like I do when I look at trees without my glasses. There doesn’t seem to be much to see. But noticing details can reveal the beauty in what might seem to be a boring passage.
This happened to me when I was reading Exodus. God’s directions for building the tabernacle—His temporary dwelling place among the Israelites—can seem like a blur of boring details. But I paused at the end of chapter 25 where God gave directions for the lampstand. It was to be hammered out “of pure gold,” including its base and shaft and its flowerlike cups, buds, and blossoms (v. 31). The cups were to be “shaped like almond flowers” (v. 34).
Almond trees are breathtaking. And God incorporated that same natural beauty into His tabernacle!
Paul wrote, “God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature” are seen and understood in creation (Romans 1:20). To see God’s beauty, sometimes we have to look at creation, and what might seem like uninteresting passages in the Bible, through a new lens. By Julie Schwab
Reflect & Pray
How can you look at Scripture in a new way to see God’s beauty in it? How has God’s beautiful creation drawn you closer to Him?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Do It Now!
Agree with your adversary quickly… —Matthew 5:25
In this verse, Jesus Christ laid down a very important principle by saying, “Do what you know you must do— now. Do it quickly. If you don’t, an inevitable process will begin to work ‘till you have paid the last penny’ (Matthew 5:26) in pain, agony, and distress.” God’s laws are unchangeable and there is no escape from them. The teachings of Jesus always penetrate right to the heart of our being.
Wanting to make sure that my adversary gives me all my rights is a natural thing. But Jesus says that it is a matter of inescapable and eternal importance to me that I pay my adversary what I owe him. From our Lord’s standpoint it doesn’t matter whether I am cheated or not, but what does matter is that I don’t cheat someone else. Am I insisting on having my own rights, or am I paying what I owe from Jesus Christ’s standpoint?
Do it quickly— bring yourself to judgment now. In moral and spiritual matters, you must act immediately. If you don’t, the inevitable, relentless process will begin to work. God is determined to have His child as pure, clean, and white as driven snow, and as long as there is disobedience in any point of His teaching, He will allow His Spirit to use whatever process it may take to bring us to obedience. The fact that we insist on proving that we are right is almost always a clear indication that we have some point of disobedience. No wonder the Spirit of God so strongly urges us to stay steadfastly in the light! (see John 3:19-21).
“Agree with your adversary quickly….” Have you suddenly reached a certain place in your relationship with someone, only to find that you have anger in your heart? Confess it quickly— make it right before God. Be reconciled to that person— do it now!
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is impossible to read too much, but always keep before you why you read. Remember that “the need to receive, recognize, and rely on the Holy Spirit” is before all else. Approved Unto God, 11 L
The Apostle Paul says, "Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20).
You don't have to name a child after God, but then again, you could. Or you could draft a letter listing all His blessings or write a song in His honor. You could sponsor an orphan or adopt a child just because God adopted you. The surest path out of a slump is marked by the road sign, "Thank you."
But what of the disastrous days? Are you grateful then? Jesus was. "On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it…" (1 Corinthians 11:23-24). Not often are the words betrayed and thanks in the same sentence, much less in the same heart. Anyone can thank God for the light. Jesus teaches us to thank God for the night!
From You'll Get Through This
Ecclesiastes 2
I said to myself, “Let’s go for it—experiment with pleasure, have a good time!” But there was nothing to it, nothing but smoke.
What do I think of the fun-filled life? Insane! Inane!
My verdict on the pursuit of happiness? Who needs it?
With the help of a bottle of wine
and all the wisdom I could muster,
I tried my level best
to penetrate the absurdity of life.
I wanted to get a handle on anything useful we mortals might do
during the years we spend on this earth.
4-8 Oh, I did great things:
built houses,
planted vineyards,
designed gardens and parks
and planted a variety of fruit trees in them,
made pools of water
to irrigate the groves of trees.
I bought slaves, male and female,
who had children, giving me even more slaves;
then I acquired large herds and flocks,
larger than any before me in Jerusalem.
I piled up silver and gold,
loot from kings and kingdoms.
I gathered a chorus of singers to entertain me with song,
and—most exquisite of all pleasures—
voluptuous maidens for my bed.
9-10 Oh, how I prospered! I left all my predecessors in Jerusalem far behind, left them behind in the dust. What’s more, I kept a clear head through it all. Everything I wanted I took—I never said no to myself. I gave in to every impulse, held back nothing. I sucked the marrow of pleasure out of every task—my reward to myself for a hard day’s work!
11 Then I took a good look at everything I’d done, looked at all the sweat and hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke. Smoke and spitting into the wind. There was nothing to any of it. Nothing.
12-14 And then I took a hard look at what’s smart and what’s stupid. What’s left to do after you’ve been king? That’s a hard act to follow. You just do what you can, and that’s it. But I did see that it’s better to be smart than stupid, just as light is better than darkness. Even so, though the smart ones see where they’re going and the stupid ones grope in the dark, they’re all the same in the end. One fate for all—and that’s it.
15-16 When I realized that my fate’s the same as the fool’s, I had to ask myself, “So why bother being wise?” It’s all smoke, nothing but smoke. The smart and the stupid both disappear out of sight. In a day or two they’re both forgotten. Yes, both the smart and the stupid die, and that’s it.
17 I hate life. As far as I can see, what happens on earth is a bad business. It’s smoke—and spitting into the wind.
18-19 And I hated everything I’d accomplished and accumulated on this earth. I can’t take it with me—no, I have to leave it to whoever comes after me. Whether they’re worthy or worthless—and who’s to tell?—they’ll take over the earthly results of my intense thinking and hard work. Smoke.
20-23 That’s when I called it quits, gave up on anything that could be hoped for on this earth. What’s the point of working your fingers to the bone if you hand over what you worked for to someone who never lifted a finger for it? Smoke, that’s what it is. A bad business from start to finish. So what do you get from a life of hard labor? Pain and grief from dawn to dusk. Never a decent night’s rest. Nothing but smoke.
24-26 The best you can do with your life is have a good time and get by the best you can. The way I see it, that’s it—divine fate. Whether we feast or fast, it’s up to God. God may give wisdom and knowledge and joy to his favorites, but sinners are assigned a life of hard labor, and end up turning their wages over to God’s favorites. Nothing but smoke—and spitting into the wind.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Exodus 25:31-40
“Make a Lampstand of pure hammered gold. Make its stem and branches, cups, calyxes, and petals all of one piece. Give it six branches, three from one side and three from the other; put three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on one branch, three on the next, and so on—the same for all six branches. On the main stem of the Lampstand, make four cups shaped like almonds, with calyx and petals, a calyx extending from under each pair of the six branches, the entire Lampstand fashioned from one piece of hammered pure gold.
37-38 “Make seven of these lamps for the Table. Arrange the lamps so they throw their light out in front. Make the candle snuffers and trays out of pure gold.
39-40 “Use a seventy-five-pound brick of pure gold to make the Lampstand and its accessories. Study the design you were given on the mountain and make everything accordingly.”
Insight
Today’s text has ten verses devoted to the creation of the lampstand for the tabernacle. This is just one piece of furniture that was to be created for the portable structure where God would dwell with His people. Other pieces included the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:10–22), the table (vv. 23–30), the altar of burnt offering (27:1–8), the altar of incense (30:1–10), and the bronze basin (vv. 17–21). In addition to these things, many other items are specifically described for use in Israel’s worship: the tabernacle itself (size and materials); the oil for the lampstand; the composition of the incense; the priest’s ephod, breastplate, and other garments. Each served a specific purpose within the worship life of Israel.
Through a New Lens
God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. Romans 1:20
“It must be amazing to look at a tree and see the individual leaves instead of just a blur of green!” my dad said. I couldn’t have said it better. I was eighteen at the time and not a fan of my new need to wear glasses, but they changed the way I saw everything, making the blurry beautiful!
When reading Scripture, I view certain books like I do when I look at trees without my glasses. There doesn’t seem to be much to see. But noticing details can reveal the beauty in what might seem to be a boring passage.
This happened to me when I was reading Exodus. God’s directions for building the tabernacle—His temporary dwelling place among the Israelites—can seem like a blur of boring details. But I paused at the end of chapter 25 where God gave directions for the lampstand. It was to be hammered out “of pure gold,” including its base and shaft and its flowerlike cups, buds, and blossoms (v. 31). The cups were to be “shaped like almond flowers” (v. 34).
Almond trees are breathtaking. And God incorporated that same natural beauty into His tabernacle!
Paul wrote, “God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature” are seen and understood in creation (Romans 1:20). To see God’s beauty, sometimes we have to look at creation, and what might seem like uninteresting passages in the Bible, through a new lens. By Julie Schwab
Reflect & Pray
How can you look at Scripture in a new way to see God’s beauty in it? How has God’s beautiful creation drawn you closer to Him?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Do It Now!
Agree with your adversary quickly… —Matthew 5:25
In this verse, Jesus Christ laid down a very important principle by saying, “Do what you know you must do— now. Do it quickly. If you don’t, an inevitable process will begin to work ‘till you have paid the last penny’ (Matthew 5:26) in pain, agony, and distress.” God’s laws are unchangeable and there is no escape from them. The teachings of Jesus always penetrate right to the heart of our being.
Wanting to make sure that my adversary gives me all my rights is a natural thing. But Jesus says that it is a matter of inescapable and eternal importance to me that I pay my adversary what I owe him. From our Lord’s standpoint it doesn’t matter whether I am cheated or not, but what does matter is that I don’t cheat someone else. Am I insisting on having my own rights, or am I paying what I owe from Jesus Christ’s standpoint?
Do it quickly— bring yourself to judgment now. In moral and spiritual matters, you must act immediately. If you don’t, the inevitable, relentless process will begin to work. God is determined to have His child as pure, clean, and white as driven snow, and as long as there is disobedience in any point of His teaching, He will allow His Spirit to use whatever process it may take to bring us to obedience. The fact that we insist on proving that we are right is almost always a clear indication that we have some point of disobedience. No wonder the Spirit of God so strongly urges us to stay steadfastly in the light! (see John 3:19-21).
“Agree with your adversary quickly….” Have you suddenly reached a certain place in your relationship with someone, only to find that you have anger in your heart? Confess it quickly— make it right before God. Be reconciled to that person— do it now!
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is impossible to read too much, but always keep before you why you read. Remember that “the need to receive, recognize, and rely on the Holy Spirit” is before all else. Approved Unto God, 11 L
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Ecclesiastes 1 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Give Thanks
Some things just weren’t made to coexist. Long-tailed cats and rocking chairs? Bulls in a china shop? Not a good idea. Blessings and bitterness? The mixture doesn’t go over well with God. Combine heavenly kindness with earthly ingratitude and expect a sour concoction. Perhaps you’ve sampled it. Gratitude doesn’t come naturally. Self-pity does. Bellyaches do. Grumbles and mumbles—no one has to remind us to offer them. Yet they don’t mix well with the kindness we’ve been given.
Gratitude gets us through the hard stuff. To reflect on your blessings is to rehearse God’s accomplishments. To rehearse His accomplishments is to discover His heart. Gratitude always leaves us looking at God and away from dread. “Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).
From You’ll Get Through This
Ecclesiastes 1
These are the words of the Quester, David’s son and king in Jerusalem
2-11 Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That’s what the Quester says.]
There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke.
What’s there to show for a lifetime of work,
a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone?
One generation goes its way, the next one arrives,
but nothing changes—it’s business as usual for old
planet earth.
The sun comes up and the sun goes down,
then does it again, and again—the same old round.
The wind blows south, the wind blows north.
Around and around and around it blows,
blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind.
All the rivers flow into the sea,
but the sea never fills up.
The rivers keep flowing to the same old place,
and then start all over and do it again.
Everything’s boring, utterly boring—
no one can find any meaning in it.
Boring to the eye,
boring to the ear.
What was will be again,
what happened will happen again.
There’s nothing new on this earth.
Year after year it’s the same old thing.
Does someone call out, “Hey, this is new”?
Don’t get excited—it’s the same old story.
Nobody remembers what happened yesterday.
And the things that will happen tomorrow?
Nobody’ll remember them either.
Don’t count on being remembered.
12-14 Call me “the Quester.” I’ve been king over Israel in Jerusalem. I looked most carefully into everything, searched out all that is done on this earth. And let me tell you, there’s not much to write home about. God hasn’t made it easy for us. I’ve seen it all and it’s nothing but smoke—smoke, and spitting into the wind.
15 Life’s a corkscrew that can’t be straightened,
A minus that won’t add up.
16-17 I said to myself, “I know more and I’m wiser than anyone before me in Jerusalem. I’ve stockpiled wisdom and knowledge.” What I’ve finally concluded is that so-called wisdom and knowledge are mindless and witless—nothing but spitting into the wind.
18 Much learning earns you much trouble.
The more you know, the more you hurt.
2 1-3 I said to myself, “Let’s go for it—experiment
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Proverbs 27:1-10
Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow;
you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.
2 Don’t call attention to yourself;
let others do that for you.
3 Carrying a log across your shoulders
while you’re hefting a boulder with your arms
Is nothing compared to the burden
of putting up with a fool.
4 We’re blasted by anger and swamped by rage,
but who can survive jealousy?
5 A spoken reprimand is better
than approval that’s never expressed.
6 The wounds from a lover are worth it;
kisses from an enemy do you in.
7 When you’ve stuffed yourself, you refuse dessert;
when you’re starved, you could eat a horse.
8 People who won’t settle down, wandering hither and yon,
are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.
9 Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight,
a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.
10 Don’t leave your friends or your parents’ friends
and run home to your family when things get rough;
Better a nearby friend
than a distant family.
Insight
Proverbs has much to say about relationships (10:12; 16:28; 17:9–10; 18:24) and the importance and value of having godly friends (12:26; 13:20; 17:17; 22:24–25; 24:1–2). Here in Proverbs 27, Solomon celebrates the value of having a true friend (vv. 5–6, 9–10, 17). Trustworthy friends are those who are involved in your life and are loving enough to confront and provide correction; they aren’t afraid to hurt you momentarily in order to protect you from irreparable harm (vv. 5–6). Their heartfelt and honest counsel are welcomed like the delightful aromas of perfumes and incense (v. 9). True friends are those who remain close by and are always there for you, providing comfort and support in times of need (v. 10). A true friend makes you a better person (v. 17).
When Sharks Won’t Bite
One who is full loathes honey from the comb. Proverbs 27:7
My children were thrilled, but I felt uneasy. During a vacation, we visited an aquarium where people could pet small sharks kept in a special tank. When I asked the attendant if the creatures ever snapped at fingers, she explained that the sharks had recently been fed and then given extra food. They wouldn’t bite because they weren’t hungry.
What I learned about shark petting makes sense according to a proverb: “One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet” (Proverbs 27:7). Hunger—that sense of inner emptiness—can weaken our discernment as we make decisions. It convinces us that it’s okay to settle for anything that fills us up, even if it causes us to take a bite out of someone.
God wants more for us than a life lived at the mercy of our appetites. He wants us to be filled with Christ’s love so that everything we do flows from the peace and stability He provides. The constant awareness that we’re unconditionally loved gives us confidence. It enables us to be selective as we consider the “sweet” things in life—achievements, possessions, and relationships.
Only a relationship with Jesus gives true satisfaction. May we grasp His incredible love for us so we can be “filled to the measure [with] all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19) for our sake—and the sake of others. By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
What are you most hungry for in life? Why does Jesus fulfill you in a way that nothing else can?
Those who see Jesus as the Bread of Life will never be hungry.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, June 29, 2019
The Strictest Discipline
If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. —Matthew 5:30
Jesus did not say that everyone must cut off his right hand, but that “if your right hand causes you to sin” in your walk with Him, then it is better to “cut it off.” There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God you cannot do them. Your right hand is one of the best things you have, but Jesus says that if it hinders you in following His precepts, then “cut it off.” The principle taught here is the strictest discipline or lesson that ever hit humankind.
When God changes you through regeneration, giving you new life through spiritual rebirth, your life initially has the characteristic of being maimed. There are a hundred and one things that you dare not do— things that would be sin for you, and would be recognized as sin by those who really know you. But the unspiritual people around you will say, “What’s so wrong with doing that? How absurd you are!” There has never yet been a saint who has not lived a maimed life initially. Yet it is better to enter into life maimed but lovely in God’s sight than to appear lovely to man’s eyes but lame to God’s. At first, Jesus Christ through His Spirit has to restrain you from doing a great many things that may be perfectly right for everyone else but not right for you. Yet, see that you don’t use your restrictions to criticize someone else.
The Christian life is a maimed life initially, but in Matthew 5:48 Jesus gave us the picture of a perfectly well-rounded life— “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The main characteristic which is the proof of the indwelling Spirit is an amazing tenderness in personal dealing, and a blazing truthfulness with regard to God’s Word. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
Some things just weren’t made to coexist. Long-tailed cats and rocking chairs? Bulls in a china shop? Not a good idea. Blessings and bitterness? The mixture doesn’t go over well with God. Combine heavenly kindness with earthly ingratitude and expect a sour concoction. Perhaps you’ve sampled it. Gratitude doesn’t come naturally. Self-pity does. Bellyaches do. Grumbles and mumbles—no one has to remind us to offer them. Yet they don’t mix well with the kindness we’ve been given.
Gratitude gets us through the hard stuff. To reflect on your blessings is to rehearse God’s accomplishments. To rehearse His accomplishments is to discover His heart. Gratitude always leaves us looking at God and away from dread. “Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).
From You’ll Get Through This
Ecclesiastes 1
These are the words of the Quester, David’s son and king in Jerusalem
2-11 Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That’s what the Quester says.]
There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke.
What’s there to show for a lifetime of work,
a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone?
One generation goes its way, the next one arrives,
but nothing changes—it’s business as usual for old
planet earth.
The sun comes up and the sun goes down,
then does it again, and again—the same old round.
The wind blows south, the wind blows north.
Around and around and around it blows,
blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind.
All the rivers flow into the sea,
but the sea never fills up.
The rivers keep flowing to the same old place,
and then start all over and do it again.
Everything’s boring, utterly boring—
no one can find any meaning in it.
Boring to the eye,
boring to the ear.
What was will be again,
what happened will happen again.
There’s nothing new on this earth.
Year after year it’s the same old thing.
Does someone call out, “Hey, this is new”?
Don’t get excited—it’s the same old story.
Nobody remembers what happened yesterday.
And the things that will happen tomorrow?
Nobody’ll remember them either.
Don’t count on being remembered.
12-14 Call me “the Quester.” I’ve been king over Israel in Jerusalem. I looked most carefully into everything, searched out all that is done on this earth. And let me tell you, there’s not much to write home about. God hasn’t made it easy for us. I’ve seen it all and it’s nothing but smoke—smoke, and spitting into the wind.
15 Life’s a corkscrew that can’t be straightened,
A minus that won’t add up.
16-17 I said to myself, “I know more and I’m wiser than anyone before me in Jerusalem. I’ve stockpiled wisdom and knowledge.” What I’ve finally concluded is that so-called wisdom and knowledge are mindless and witless—nothing but spitting into the wind.
18 Much learning earns you much trouble.
The more you know, the more you hurt.
2 1-3 I said to myself, “Let’s go for it—experiment
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Proverbs 27:1-10
Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow;
you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.
2 Don’t call attention to yourself;
let others do that for you.
3 Carrying a log across your shoulders
while you’re hefting a boulder with your arms
Is nothing compared to the burden
of putting up with a fool.
4 We’re blasted by anger and swamped by rage,
but who can survive jealousy?
5 A spoken reprimand is better
than approval that’s never expressed.
6 The wounds from a lover are worth it;
kisses from an enemy do you in.
7 When you’ve stuffed yourself, you refuse dessert;
when you’re starved, you could eat a horse.
8 People who won’t settle down, wandering hither and yon,
are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.
9 Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight,
a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.
10 Don’t leave your friends or your parents’ friends
and run home to your family when things get rough;
Better a nearby friend
than a distant family.
Insight
Proverbs has much to say about relationships (10:12; 16:28; 17:9–10; 18:24) and the importance and value of having godly friends (12:26; 13:20; 17:17; 22:24–25; 24:1–2). Here in Proverbs 27, Solomon celebrates the value of having a true friend (vv. 5–6, 9–10, 17). Trustworthy friends are those who are involved in your life and are loving enough to confront and provide correction; they aren’t afraid to hurt you momentarily in order to protect you from irreparable harm (vv. 5–6). Their heartfelt and honest counsel are welcomed like the delightful aromas of perfumes and incense (v. 9). True friends are those who remain close by and are always there for you, providing comfort and support in times of need (v. 10). A true friend makes you a better person (v. 17).
When Sharks Won’t Bite
One who is full loathes honey from the comb. Proverbs 27:7
My children were thrilled, but I felt uneasy. During a vacation, we visited an aquarium where people could pet small sharks kept in a special tank. When I asked the attendant if the creatures ever snapped at fingers, she explained that the sharks had recently been fed and then given extra food. They wouldn’t bite because they weren’t hungry.
What I learned about shark petting makes sense according to a proverb: “One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet” (Proverbs 27:7). Hunger—that sense of inner emptiness—can weaken our discernment as we make decisions. It convinces us that it’s okay to settle for anything that fills us up, even if it causes us to take a bite out of someone.
God wants more for us than a life lived at the mercy of our appetites. He wants us to be filled with Christ’s love so that everything we do flows from the peace and stability He provides. The constant awareness that we’re unconditionally loved gives us confidence. It enables us to be selective as we consider the “sweet” things in life—achievements, possessions, and relationships.
Only a relationship with Jesus gives true satisfaction. May we grasp His incredible love for us so we can be “filled to the measure [with] all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19) for our sake—and the sake of others. By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
What are you most hungry for in life? Why does Jesus fulfill you in a way that nothing else can?
Those who see Jesus as the Bread of Life will never be hungry.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, June 29, 2019
The Strictest Discipline
If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. —Matthew 5:30
Jesus did not say that everyone must cut off his right hand, but that “if your right hand causes you to sin” in your walk with Him, then it is better to “cut it off.” There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God you cannot do them. Your right hand is one of the best things you have, but Jesus says that if it hinders you in following His precepts, then “cut it off.” The principle taught here is the strictest discipline or lesson that ever hit humankind.
When God changes you through regeneration, giving you new life through spiritual rebirth, your life initially has the characteristic of being maimed. There are a hundred and one things that you dare not do— things that would be sin for you, and would be recognized as sin by those who really know you. But the unspiritual people around you will say, “What’s so wrong with doing that? How absurd you are!” There has never yet been a saint who has not lived a maimed life initially. Yet it is better to enter into life maimed but lovely in God’s sight than to appear lovely to man’s eyes but lame to God’s. At first, Jesus Christ through His Spirit has to restrain you from doing a great many things that may be perfectly right for everyone else but not right for you. Yet, see that you don’t use your restrictions to criticize someone else.
The Christian life is a maimed life initially, but in Matthew 5:48 Jesus gave us the picture of a perfectly well-rounded life— “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The main characteristic which is the proof of the indwelling Spirit is an amazing tenderness in personal dealing, and a blazing truthfulness with regard to God’s Word. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
Friday, June 28, 2019
Acts 8:26-40, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE GIFTS OF GOD
God gives us wonderful gifts. He gives us his work on the cross and in the resurrection. As a result, your sin brings no guilt, and the grave brings no fear.
He give us his energy. You can do all things through Christ, who gives you strength. He gives us his lordship. He is in charge of you and looks out for you. He give us his love. Nothing can separate you from it.
But sometimes we place Christ on the mantel of our heart: respect him, revere his name, but never open his gifts. He says in Revelation 3:20, “Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends.” Why don’t you invite him to enter your world? Work, Energy, Lordship, Love, W-E-L-L. Come to the well and drink.
Read more Come Thirsty
Acts 8:26-40
Later God’s angel spoke to Philip: “At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza.” He got up and went. He met an Ethiopian eunuch coming down the road. The eunuch had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was returning to Ethiopia, where he was minister in charge of all the finances of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was riding in a chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.
29-30 The Spirit told Philip, “Climb into the chariot.” Running up alongside, Philip heard the eunuch reading Isaiah and asked, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”
31-33 He answered, “How can I without some help?” and invited Philip into the chariot with him. The passage he was reading was this:
As a sheep led to slaughter,
and quiet as a lamb being sheared,
He was silent, saying nothing.
He was mocked and put down, never got a fair trial.
But who now can count his kin
since he’s been taken from the earth?
34-35 The eunuch said, “Tell me, who is the prophet talking about: himself or some other?” Philip grabbed his chance. Using this passage as his text, he preached Jesus to him.
36-39 As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, “Here’s water. Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn’t mind. He had what he’d come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be.
40 Philip showed up in Azotus and continued north, preaching the Message in all the villages along that route until he arrived at Caesarea.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, June 28, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Acts 16:6-10
They went to Phrygia, and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them go there either. Proceeding on through Mysia, they went down to the seaport Troas.
9-10 That night Paul had a dream: A Macedonian stood on the far shore and called across the sea, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” The dream gave Paul his map. We went to work at once getting things ready to cross over to Macedonia. All the pieces had come together. We knew now for sure that God had called us to preach the good news to the Europeans.
Insight
On his second missionary journey (Acts 16:1–18:22), Paul wanted to preach the gospel in the provinces of Asia Minor (modern-day western Turkey) and Bithynia (modern-day northern Turkey); however, God redirected Paul northwest to Troas. Through “a vision of a man of Macedonia” God called Paul to bring the gospel into Europe (16:8–9). The identity of the “man of Macedonia” is much debated. Because the pronoun “they” in verse 8 changes to “we” in verse 10, some scholars say this man is Luke himself who has now joined the mission team. Luke, a gentile medical doctor (Colossians 4:14), wrote the gospel of Luke and Acts and became Paul’s traveling companion and co-worker (Acts 16:10–40, 20:4–17, Philemon 1:24). He also took care of Paul during his last days in prison before his death (2 Timothy 4:11).
Divine Diversions
They tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. Acts 16:7
It can be difficult when we’re told “no” or “not now,” especially when we sense God has opened a door for us to serve others. Early in my ministry, two opportunities came my way where I thought my gifts and skills matched the churches’ needs, but both doors eventually closed. After these two disappointments, another position came along, and I was selected. With that ministry call came thirteen years of life-touching pastoral labors.
Twice in Acts 16 Paul and company were redirected by God. First, they were “kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia” (v. 6). Then, “When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to” (v. 7). Unknown to them, God had other plans that would be right for His work and workers. His no to the previous plans put them in a position to listen to and be confidently led by Him (vv. 9–10).
Who among us hasn’t grieved what we initially thought to be a painful loss? We’ve felt wounded when we didn’t get a certain job, when a service opportunity didn’t materialize, when a relocation got derailed. Though such things can momentarily be weighty, time often reveals that such detours are actually divine diversions that God graciously uses to get us where He wants us, and we are grateful. By Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
What loss have you grieved only to be grateful that what you desired you didn’t get? How did the situation serve to bolster your trust in the Lord?
Father, I praise You that in Your wisdom You know how to best arrange my life. Thank You for protecting me through Your detours.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, June 28, 2019
Held by the Grip of God
I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. —Philippians 3:12
Never choose to be a worker for God, but once God has placed His call on you, woe be to you if you “turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). We are not here to work for God because we have chosen to do so, but because God has “laid hold of” us. And once He has done so, we never have this thought, “Well, I’m really not suited for this.” What you are to preach is also determined by God, not by your own natural leanings or desires. Keep your soul steadfastly related to God, and remember that you are called not simply to convey your testimony but also to preach the gospel. Every Christian must testify to the truth of God, but when it comes to the call to preach, there must be the agonizing grip of God’s hand on you— your life is in the grip of God for that very purpose. How many of us are held like that?
Never water down the Word of God, but preach it in its undiluted sternness. There must be unflinching faithfulness to the Word of God, but when you come to personal dealings with others, remember who you are— you are not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace.
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do…I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….” So Send I You, 1325 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, June 28, 2019
Bigger Than You Realize - #8470
Our friends had bought a new horse and named it Peanut. What kind of horse does that suggest to your imagination? A cute little Shetland Pony? Nope. Try again. Peanut was the biggest horse in their pasture. You know those Clydesdale horses in commercials, you'll have some idea of the size of this big mama. Part Belgian, part Morgan. That meant she was so big my body's probably not big enough to ride her. And they named Peanut. Something is wrong in this picture.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Bigger Than You Realize."
So when it comes to horses, what you're called obviously doesn't always tell how big you really are - when it comes to people, too. We've all been called a lot of things in our lifetime - some of them not very complimentary, some of them really damaging, and many of them just totally wrong.
The problem is we start to believe we are what other people have called us, what they've said about us. If you've been hurt a lot, abused a lot, put down a lot, you really start to believe that you can't be worth much. Or maybe it isn't what people have called you. It's the way they've treated you - ignored, invisible, abandoned, betrayed by someone you thought you could trust. We start to buy lies about who we are and what we're worth. The fact is, the people who've talked about you and mistreated you have no idea who you really are. Maybe you don't either.
There is only one person whose evaluation of you really matters and that is the person who created you in the first place. He really knows you. Now, listen to what God calls you in our word for today from the Word of God in Ephesians 2:10. He says, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." Wow, look at that! God's workmanship! That's the right name to call you. And nothing you've been through, nothing that has been done to you or by you, can change who you really are. And you don't need to miss who you are or what you're here for any longer!
The sad thing is that we've missed those "good works" that "God prepared in advance for us to do." We haven't followed the Creator's plans for us. We've made up our own, which has left us separated from the very One who gives us our worth. And that's why it all feels so hollow and so lonely so much of the time. God had every right to let us live and die like this, away from Him by our own sinful choice, but He didn't. He loves us too much.
In the Bible's words, "God so loved you that He gave His one and only Son," and He gave Him to die for you to take all the punishment for all the stuff you have done that has broken His heart.
And the day you open up to this "unloseable" love of Jesus Christ is the day you begin to experience how much you're really worth. He thought you were worth dying for. The question is, "Do you think He's worth living for?" Especially since the Bible says He's the One you were made by and made for (Colossians 1:16). Your personal love relationship with the One who loves you most begins when you tell Him, "Jesus, I resign running my own life. I was made by you - I was made for you. You died to pay for my sins. You walked out of Your grave under Your own power and I want You to walk into my life today. Beginning today Jesus, I am yours." Tell Him that today.
Go to our website today, it's called ANewStory.com. And right there you will find, right from God's own word, the information you need to anchor your life to Jesus Christ and know you belong to Him once and for all.
And you know what? He's going to say "welcome home" today, because He's the home your heart has always been looking for.
God gives us wonderful gifts. He gives us his work on the cross and in the resurrection. As a result, your sin brings no guilt, and the grave brings no fear.
He give us his energy. You can do all things through Christ, who gives you strength. He gives us his lordship. He is in charge of you and looks out for you. He give us his love. Nothing can separate you from it.
But sometimes we place Christ on the mantel of our heart: respect him, revere his name, but never open his gifts. He says in Revelation 3:20, “Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends.” Why don’t you invite him to enter your world? Work, Energy, Lordship, Love, W-E-L-L. Come to the well and drink.
Read more Come Thirsty
Acts 8:26-40
Later God’s angel spoke to Philip: “At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza.” He got up and went. He met an Ethiopian eunuch coming down the road. The eunuch had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was returning to Ethiopia, where he was minister in charge of all the finances of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was riding in a chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.
29-30 The Spirit told Philip, “Climb into the chariot.” Running up alongside, Philip heard the eunuch reading Isaiah and asked, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”
31-33 He answered, “How can I without some help?” and invited Philip into the chariot with him. The passage he was reading was this:
As a sheep led to slaughter,
and quiet as a lamb being sheared,
He was silent, saying nothing.
He was mocked and put down, never got a fair trial.
But who now can count his kin
since he’s been taken from the earth?
34-35 The eunuch said, “Tell me, who is the prophet talking about: himself or some other?” Philip grabbed his chance. Using this passage as his text, he preached Jesus to him.
36-39 As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, “Here’s water. Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn’t mind. He had what he’d come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be.
40 Philip showed up in Azotus and continued north, preaching the Message in all the villages along that route until he arrived at Caesarea.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, June 28, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Acts 16:6-10
They went to Phrygia, and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them go there either. Proceeding on through Mysia, they went down to the seaport Troas.
9-10 That night Paul had a dream: A Macedonian stood on the far shore and called across the sea, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” The dream gave Paul his map. We went to work at once getting things ready to cross over to Macedonia. All the pieces had come together. We knew now for sure that God had called us to preach the good news to the Europeans.
Insight
On his second missionary journey (Acts 16:1–18:22), Paul wanted to preach the gospel in the provinces of Asia Minor (modern-day western Turkey) and Bithynia (modern-day northern Turkey); however, God redirected Paul northwest to Troas. Through “a vision of a man of Macedonia” God called Paul to bring the gospel into Europe (16:8–9). The identity of the “man of Macedonia” is much debated. Because the pronoun “they” in verse 8 changes to “we” in verse 10, some scholars say this man is Luke himself who has now joined the mission team. Luke, a gentile medical doctor (Colossians 4:14), wrote the gospel of Luke and Acts and became Paul’s traveling companion and co-worker (Acts 16:10–40, 20:4–17, Philemon 1:24). He also took care of Paul during his last days in prison before his death (2 Timothy 4:11).
Divine Diversions
They tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. Acts 16:7
It can be difficult when we’re told “no” or “not now,” especially when we sense God has opened a door for us to serve others. Early in my ministry, two opportunities came my way where I thought my gifts and skills matched the churches’ needs, but both doors eventually closed. After these two disappointments, another position came along, and I was selected. With that ministry call came thirteen years of life-touching pastoral labors.
Twice in Acts 16 Paul and company were redirected by God. First, they were “kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia” (v. 6). Then, “When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to” (v. 7). Unknown to them, God had other plans that would be right for His work and workers. His no to the previous plans put them in a position to listen to and be confidently led by Him (vv. 9–10).
Who among us hasn’t grieved what we initially thought to be a painful loss? We’ve felt wounded when we didn’t get a certain job, when a service opportunity didn’t materialize, when a relocation got derailed. Though such things can momentarily be weighty, time often reveals that such detours are actually divine diversions that God graciously uses to get us where He wants us, and we are grateful. By Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
What loss have you grieved only to be grateful that what you desired you didn’t get? How did the situation serve to bolster your trust in the Lord?
Father, I praise You that in Your wisdom You know how to best arrange my life. Thank You for protecting me through Your detours.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, June 28, 2019
Held by the Grip of God
I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. —Philippians 3:12
Never choose to be a worker for God, but once God has placed His call on you, woe be to you if you “turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). We are not here to work for God because we have chosen to do so, but because God has “laid hold of” us. And once He has done so, we never have this thought, “Well, I’m really not suited for this.” What you are to preach is also determined by God, not by your own natural leanings or desires. Keep your soul steadfastly related to God, and remember that you are called not simply to convey your testimony but also to preach the gospel. Every Christian must testify to the truth of God, but when it comes to the call to preach, there must be the agonizing grip of God’s hand on you— your life is in the grip of God for that very purpose. How many of us are held like that?
Never water down the Word of God, but preach it in its undiluted sternness. There must be unflinching faithfulness to the Word of God, but when you come to personal dealings with others, remember who you are— you are not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace.
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do…I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….” So Send I You, 1325 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, June 28, 2019
Bigger Than You Realize - #8470
Our friends had bought a new horse and named it Peanut. What kind of horse does that suggest to your imagination? A cute little Shetland Pony? Nope. Try again. Peanut was the biggest horse in their pasture. You know those Clydesdale horses in commercials, you'll have some idea of the size of this big mama. Part Belgian, part Morgan. That meant she was so big my body's probably not big enough to ride her. And they named Peanut. Something is wrong in this picture.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Bigger Than You Realize."
So when it comes to horses, what you're called obviously doesn't always tell how big you really are - when it comes to people, too. We've all been called a lot of things in our lifetime - some of them not very complimentary, some of them really damaging, and many of them just totally wrong.
The problem is we start to believe we are what other people have called us, what they've said about us. If you've been hurt a lot, abused a lot, put down a lot, you really start to believe that you can't be worth much. Or maybe it isn't what people have called you. It's the way they've treated you - ignored, invisible, abandoned, betrayed by someone you thought you could trust. We start to buy lies about who we are and what we're worth. The fact is, the people who've talked about you and mistreated you have no idea who you really are. Maybe you don't either.
There is only one person whose evaluation of you really matters and that is the person who created you in the first place. He really knows you. Now, listen to what God calls you in our word for today from the Word of God in Ephesians 2:10. He says, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." Wow, look at that! God's workmanship! That's the right name to call you. And nothing you've been through, nothing that has been done to you or by you, can change who you really are. And you don't need to miss who you are or what you're here for any longer!
The sad thing is that we've missed those "good works" that "God prepared in advance for us to do." We haven't followed the Creator's plans for us. We've made up our own, which has left us separated from the very One who gives us our worth. And that's why it all feels so hollow and so lonely so much of the time. God had every right to let us live and die like this, away from Him by our own sinful choice, but He didn't. He loves us too much.
In the Bible's words, "God so loved you that He gave His one and only Son," and He gave Him to die for you to take all the punishment for all the stuff you have done that has broken His heart.
And the day you open up to this "unloseable" love of Jesus Christ is the day you begin to experience how much you're really worth. He thought you were worth dying for. The question is, "Do you think He's worth living for?" Especially since the Bible says He's the One you were made by and made for (Colossians 1:16). Your personal love relationship with the One who loves you most begins when you tell Him, "Jesus, I resign running my own life. I was made by you - I was made for you. You died to pay for my sins. You walked out of Your grave under Your own power and I want You to walk into my life today. Beginning today Jesus, I am yours." Tell Him that today.
Go to our website today, it's called ANewStory.com. And right there you will find, right from God's own word, the information you need to anchor your life to Jesus Christ and know you belong to Him once and for all.
And you know what? He's going to say "welcome home" today, because He's the home your heart has always been looking for.
Thursday, June 27, 2019
1 Kings 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: NO FEAR OF JUDGMENT
According to 1 John 4:17 and 18, “So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment …perfect love expels all fear.’” Perfect love is a perfect knowledge of the past and a perfect vision of the future. You cannot shock God with your actions. He knows your entire story, and with clear assessment declares, You are mine. The day of judgment is circled on heaven’s calendar. We don’t know the details, but we know the day is coming.
God views Christians the way he views Christ— sinless and perfect. Hence, Christians can view judgment the way Christ does, with confidence and hope. You need never fear God’s judgment. Not today. Not on Judgment Day. Jesus, in the light of God’s glory, is speaking on your behalf. And when he does, the door of heaven opens.
Read more Come Thirsty
1 Kings 11
King Solomon was obsessed with women. Pharaoh’s daughter was only the first of the many foreign women he loved—Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite. He took them from the surrounding pagan nations of which God had clearly warned Israel, “You must not marry them; they’ll seduce you into infatuations with their gods.” Solomon fell in love with them anyway, refusing to give them up. He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines—a thousand women in all! And they did seduce him away from God. As Solomon grew older, his wives beguiled him with their alien gods and he became unfaithful—he didn’t stay true to his God as his father David had done. Solomon took up with Ashtoreth, the whore goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the horrible god of the Ammonites.
6-8 Solomon openly defied God; he did not follow in his father David’s footsteps. He went on to build a sacred shrine to Chemosh, the horrible god of Moab, and to Molech, the horrible god of the Ammonites, on a hill just east of Jerusalem. He built similar shrines for all his foreign wives, who then polluted the countryside with the smoke and stench of their sacrifices.
9-10 God was furious with Solomon for abandoning the God of Israel, the God who had twice appeared to him and had so clearly commanded him not to fool around with other gods. Solomon faithlessly disobeyed God’s orders.
11-13 God said to Solomon, “Since this is the way it is with you, that you have no intention of keeping faith with me and doing what I have commanded, I’m going to rip the kingdom from you and hand it over to someone else. But out of respect for your father David I won’t do it in your lifetime. It’s your son who will pay—I’ll rip it right out of his grasp. Even then I won’t take it all; I’ll leave him one tribe in honor of my servant David and out of respect for my chosen city Jerusalem.”
14-20 God incited Hadad, a descendant of the king of Edom, into hostile actions against Solomon. Years earlier, when David devastated Edom, Joab, commander of the army, on his way to bury the dead, massacred all the men of Edom. Joab and his army stayed there for six months, making sure they had killed every man in Edom. Hadad, just a boy at the time, had escaped with some of the Edomites who had worked for his father. Their escape route took them through Midian to Paran. They picked up some men in Paran and went on to Egypt and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house, food, and even land. Pharaoh liked him so well that he gave him the sister of his wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. She bore Hadad a son named Genubath who was raised like one of the royal family. Genubath grew up in the palace with Pharaoh’s children.
21 While living in Egypt, Hadad heard that both David and Joab, commander of the army, were dead. He approached Pharaoh and said, “Send me off with your blessing—I want to return to my country.”
22 “But why?” said Pharaoh. “Why would you want to leave here? Hasn’t everything been to your liking?”
“Everything has been just fine,” said Hadad, “but I want to go home—give me a good send-off!”
23-25 Then God incited another adversary against Solomon, Rezon son of Eliada, who had deserted from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. After David’s slaughter of the Arameans, Rezon collected a band of outlaws and became their leader. They later settled in Damascus, where Rezon eventually took over as king. Like Hadad, Rezon was a thorn in Israel’s side all of Solomon’s life. He was king over Aram, and he hated Israel.
26 And then, the last straw: Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was an Ephraimite from Zeredah, his mother a widow named Zeruah. He served in Solomon’s administration.
27-28 This is why he rebelled. Solomon had built the outer defense system (the Millo) and had restored the fortifications that were in disrepair from the time of his father David. Jeroboam stood out during the construction as strong and able. When Solomon observed what a good worker he was, he put the young man in charge of the entire workforce of the tribe of Joseph.
29-30 One day Jeroboam was walking down the road out of Jerusalem. Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh, wearing a brand-new cloak, met him. The two of them were alone on that remote stretch of road. Ahijah took off the new cloak that he was wearing and ripped it into twelve pieces.
31-33 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten of these pieces for yourself; this is by order of the God of Israel: See what I’m doing—I’m ripping the kingdom out of Solomon’s hands and giving you ten of the tribes. In honor of my servant David and out of respect for Jerusalem, the city I especially chose, he will get one tribe. And here’s the reason: He faithlessly abandoned me and went off worshiping Ashtoreth goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh god of the Moabites, and Molech god of the Ammonites. He hasn’t lived the way I have shown him, hasn’t done what I have wanted, and hasn’t followed directions or obeyed orders as his father David did.
34-36 “Still, I won’t take the whole kingdom away from him. I’ll stick with him through his lifetime because of my servant David whom I chose and who did follow my directions and obey my orders. But after that I’ll remove the kingdom from his son’s control and give you ten tribes. I’ll leave one tribe to his son, to maintain a witness to my servant David in Jerusalem, the city I chose as a memorial to my Name.
37-39 “But I have taken you in hand. Rule to your heart’s content! You are to be the king of Israel. If you listen to what I tell you and live the way I show you and do what pleases me, following directions and obeying orders as my servant David did, I’ll stick with you no matter what. I’ll build you a kingdom as solid as the one I built for David. Israel will be yours! I am bringing pain and trouble on David’s descendants, but the trials won’t last forever.”
40 Solomon ordered the assassination of Jeroboam, but he got away to Egypt and found asylum there with King Shishak. He remained in exile there until Solomon died.
41-43 The rest of Solomon’s life and rule, his work and his wisdom, you can read for yourself in The Chronicles of Solomon. Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. He died and was buried in the City of David his father. His son Rehoboam was the next king.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Genesis 33:1-11
Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his four hundred men. He divided the children between Leah and Rachel and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants out in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. He led the way and, as he approached his brother, bowed seven times, honoring his brother. But Esau ran up and embraced him, held him tight and kissed him. And they both wept.
5 Then Esau looked around and saw the women and children: “And who are these with you?”
Jacob said, “The children that God saw fit to bless me with.”
6-7 Then the maidservants came up with their children and bowed; then Leah and her children, also bowing; and finally, Joseph and Rachel came up and bowed to Esau.
8 Esau then asked, “And what was the meaning of all those herds that I met?”
“I was hoping that they would pave the way for my master to welcome me.”
9 Esau said, “Oh, brother. I have plenty of everything—keep what is yours for yourself.”
10-11 Jacob said, “Please. If you can find it in your heart to welcome me, accept these gifts. When I saw your face, it was as the face of God smiling on me. Accept the gifts I have brought for you. God has been good to me and I have more than enough.” Jacob urged the gifts on him and Esau accepted.
Insight
By Jacob’s own testimony, the Lord had been gracious to him by providing children and material possessions (Genesis 33:5, 11). But even though he was favored with family and worldly goods, Jacob’s life was incomplete without settling accounts with his brother.
Untying the Rope
But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. Genesis 33:4
One Christian organization’s mission is to promote the healing nature of forgiveness. One of their activities involves a skit in which a person who has been wronged is strapped back to back with a rope to the wrongdoer. Only the one sinned against can untie the rope. No matter what she does, she’s got someone on her back. Without forgiveness—without untying the rope—she cannot escape.
Offering forgiveness to someone who comes to us in sorrow for their wrongdoing begins the process of releasing us and them from the bitterness and pain that can cling to us over wrongs we’ve suffered. In Genesis, we see two brothers separated for twenty years after Jacob stole Esau’s birthright. After this long time, God told Jacob to return to his homeland (Genesis 31:3). He obeyed, but nervously, sending ahead to Esau gifts of herds of animals (32:13–15). When the brothers met, Jacob bowed at Esau’s feet seven times in humility (33:3). Imagine his surprise when Esau ran and embraced him, both of them weeping over their reconciliation (v. 4). No longer was Jacob held by the sin he committed against his brother.
Do you feel imprisoned by unforgiveness, saddled with anger, fear, or shame? Know that God through His Son and Spirit can release you when you seek His help. He will enable you to begin the process of untying any ropes and setting you free. By Amy Boucher Pye
Reflect & Pray
How do you think Esau felt to see Jacob bowing before him? Could you similarly humble yourself before someone you’ve wronged? Who do you need to release through forgiveness?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, June 27, 2019
The Overshadowing of God’s Personal Deliverance
"…I am with you to deliver you," says the Lord. —Jeremiah 1:8
God promised Jeremiah that He would deliver him personally— “…your life shall be as a prize to you…” (Jeremiah 39:18). That is all God promises His children. Wherever God sends us, He will guard our lives. Our personal property and possessions are to be a matter of indifference to us, and our hold on these things should be very loose. If this is not the case, we will have panic, heartache, and distress. Having the proper outlook is evidence of the deeply rooted belief in the overshadowing of God’s personal deliverance.
The Sermon on the Mount indicates that when we are on a mission for Jesus Christ, there is no time to stand up for ourselves. Jesus says, in effect, “Don’t worry about whether or not you are being treated justly.” Looking for justice is actually a sign that we have been diverted from our devotion to Him. Never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we will only begin to complain and to indulge ourselves in the discontent of self-pity, as if to say, “Why should I be treated like this?” If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we have nothing to do with what we encounter, whether it is just or unjust. In essence, Jesus says, “Continue steadily on with what I have told you to do, and I will guard your life. If you try to guard it yourself, you remove yourself from My deliverance.” Even the most devout among us become atheistic in this regard— we do not believe Him. We put our common sense on the throne and then attach God’s name to it. We do lean to our own understanding, instead of trusting God with all our hearts (see Proverbs 3:5-6).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest. Disciples Indeed, 395 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, June 27, 2019
The One You're Playing For - #8469
My friend Ted was a high school football player - actually he was the starting center. But the game he remembers most is the one he didn't play in. All season, the second string center, Billy, hadn't played much. Well, actually he hadn't played very well. Until the day that Billy came to the coach and said, "Coach, I know you haven't felt I was good enough to start all season, but I want to ask you to start me this one game. Please. It means a lot, and I'm just asking for a chance." The coach agreed and Billy amazed not only his coach, but his teammates and his hometown fans. He played incredible game. No one had ever seen anything close to this kind of performance or ability from him. Needless to say, immediately after the game, the coach said, "Billy, what in the world happened? I didn't know you had it in you!" Billy's explanation was something the coach and my friend would never forget. He said, "My dad died last night, Coach. And he was blind, but not now. Tonight was the first time my father could see me play!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The One You're Playing For."
For one high school football player, it made all the difference knowing his father was watching him play. For every one of us who claims to belong to Jesus, that's what should determine how we play our position, too, knowing that our Father is watching us play.
Jesus lived with that always in His mind. He said in John 8:29, "The One who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him." And then in our word for today from the Word of God, Paul lays out for us the ultimate reason we should do everything we do with all our heart. In Colossians 3:23-24, he says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
The Bible says you and I should have only one way we do everything we do - with all our heart. When you work, you work with all your heart. When you pray, you pray with all your heart. When you're listening to someone, you listen with all your heart. When you're studying, right, you study with all your heart. When you play, you play with all your heart. When you're with someone, be with them with all your heart. In the words of missionary martyr Jim Elliott, "Everywhere you are, be all there!"
Why? Because your Heavenly Father who made you and who paid for you with the life of His Son, is watching you. Don't play for the crowds. Don't play for yourself. Play for the one person in the stands who matters most - your Heavenly Father. He's the reason you do what's right. You don't want to hurt Him. He's the reason you knock yourself out. Your Father's the reason you stay away from what's wrong. It's not the rules you're breaking, it's your Father's heart. And when no one else seems worth playing for anymore, remember you're doing it for the one who's always worth doing it for!
It really simplifies your life and it reduces a lot of stress when you decide who you're going to please and whose approval you're going to live for. If you try to live for the boss's approval, and for the approval of the people you're with at this time, or for society's approval, or for the church's approval - well, you're going to be a chameleon, constantly having to change colors based on the environment you're in. But you can be one person all the time if you decide there's only one person you're playing for - one person you have to please. "I am playing with everything I've got because my Father - the One who loves me most - is watching me, and I'm going to make my Father proud!"
According to 1 John 4:17 and 18, “So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment …perfect love expels all fear.’” Perfect love is a perfect knowledge of the past and a perfect vision of the future. You cannot shock God with your actions. He knows your entire story, and with clear assessment declares, You are mine. The day of judgment is circled on heaven’s calendar. We don’t know the details, but we know the day is coming.
God views Christians the way he views Christ— sinless and perfect. Hence, Christians can view judgment the way Christ does, with confidence and hope. You need never fear God’s judgment. Not today. Not on Judgment Day. Jesus, in the light of God’s glory, is speaking on your behalf. And when he does, the door of heaven opens.
Read more Come Thirsty
1 Kings 11
King Solomon was obsessed with women. Pharaoh’s daughter was only the first of the many foreign women he loved—Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite. He took them from the surrounding pagan nations of which God had clearly warned Israel, “You must not marry them; they’ll seduce you into infatuations with their gods.” Solomon fell in love with them anyway, refusing to give them up. He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines—a thousand women in all! And they did seduce him away from God. As Solomon grew older, his wives beguiled him with their alien gods and he became unfaithful—he didn’t stay true to his God as his father David had done. Solomon took up with Ashtoreth, the whore goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the horrible god of the Ammonites.
6-8 Solomon openly defied God; he did not follow in his father David’s footsteps. He went on to build a sacred shrine to Chemosh, the horrible god of Moab, and to Molech, the horrible god of the Ammonites, on a hill just east of Jerusalem. He built similar shrines for all his foreign wives, who then polluted the countryside with the smoke and stench of their sacrifices.
9-10 God was furious with Solomon for abandoning the God of Israel, the God who had twice appeared to him and had so clearly commanded him not to fool around with other gods. Solomon faithlessly disobeyed God’s orders.
11-13 God said to Solomon, “Since this is the way it is with you, that you have no intention of keeping faith with me and doing what I have commanded, I’m going to rip the kingdom from you and hand it over to someone else. But out of respect for your father David I won’t do it in your lifetime. It’s your son who will pay—I’ll rip it right out of his grasp. Even then I won’t take it all; I’ll leave him one tribe in honor of my servant David and out of respect for my chosen city Jerusalem.”
14-20 God incited Hadad, a descendant of the king of Edom, into hostile actions against Solomon. Years earlier, when David devastated Edom, Joab, commander of the army, on his way to bury the dead, massacred all the men of Edom. Joab and his army stayed there for six months, making sure they had killed every man in Edom. Hadad, just a boy at the time, had escaped with some of the Edomites who had worked for his father. Their escape route took them through Midian to Paran. They picked up some men in Paran and went on to Egypt and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house, food, and even land. Pharaoh liked him so well that he gave him the sister of his wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. She bore Hadad a son named Genubath who was raised like one of the royal family. Genubath grew up in the palace with Pharaoh’s children.
21 While living in Egypt, Hadad heard that both David and Joab, commander of the army, were dead. He approached Pharaoh and said, “Send me off with your blessing—I want to return to my country.”
22 “But why?” said Pharaoh. “Why would you want to leave here? Hasn’t everything been to your liking?”
“Everything has been just fine,” said Hadad, “but I want to go home—give me a good send-off!”
23-25 Then God incited another adversary against Solomon, Rezon son of Eliada, who had deserted from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. After David’s slaughter of the Arameans, Rezon collected a band of outlaws and became their leader. They later settled in Damascus, where Rezon eventually took over as king. Like Hadad, Rezon was a thorn in Israel’s side all of Solomon’s life. He was king over Aram, and he hated Israel.
26 And then, the last straw: Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was an Ephraimite from Zeredah, his mother a widow named Zeruah. He served in Solomon’s administration.
27-28 This is why he rebelled. Solomon had built the outer defense system (the Millo) and had restored the fortifications that were in disrepair from the time of his father David. Jeroboam stood out during the construction as strong and able. When Solomon observed what a good worker he was, he put the young man in charge of the entire workforce of the tribe of Joseph.
29-30 One day Jeroboam was walking down the road out of Jerusalem. Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh, wearing a brand-new cloak, met him. The two of them were alone on that remote stretch of road. Ahijah took off the new cloak that he was wearing and ripped it into twelve pieces.
31-33 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten of these pieces for yourself; this is by order of the God of Israel: See what I’m doing—I’m ripping the kingdom out of Solomon’s hands and giving you ten of the tribes. In honor of my servant David and out of respect for Jerusalem, the city I especially chose, he will get one tribe. And here’s the reason: He faithlessly abandoned me and went off worshiping Ashtoreth goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh god of the Moabites, and Molech god of the Ammonites. He hasn’t lived the way I have shown him, hasn’t done what I have wanted, and hasn’t followed directions or obeyed orders as his father David did.
34-36 “Still, I won’t take the whole kingdom away from him. I’ll stick with him through his lifetime because of my servant David whom I chose and who did follow my directions and obey my orders. But after that I’ll remove the kingdom from his son’s control and give you ten tribes. I’ll leave one tribe to his son, to maintain a witness to my servant David in Jerusalem, the city I chose as a memorial to my Name.
37-39 “But I have taken you in hand. Rule to your heart’s content! You are to be the king of Israel. If you listen to what I tell you and live the way I show you and do what pleases me, following directions and obeying orders as my servant David did, I’ll stick with you no matter what. I’ll build you a kingdom as solid as the one I built for David. Israel will be yours! I am bringing pain and trouble on David’s descendants, but the trials won’t last forever.”
40 Solomon ordered the assassination of Jeroboam, but he got away to Egypt and found asylum there with King Shishak. He remained in exile there until Solomon died.
41-43 The rest of Solomon’s life and rule, his work and his wisdom, you can read for yourself in The Chronicles of Solomon. Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. He died and was buried in the City of David his father. His son Rehoboam was the next king.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Genesis 33:1-11
Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his four hundred men. He divided the children between Leah and Rachel and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants out in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. He led the way and, as he approached his brother, bowed seven times, honoring his brother. But Esau ran up and embraced him, held him tight and kissed him. And they both wept.
5 Then Esau looked around and saw the women and children: “And who are these with you?”
Jacob said, “The children that God saw fit to bless me with.”
6-7 Then the maidservants came up with their children and bowed; then Leah and her children, also bowing; and finally, Joseph and Rachel came up and bowed to Esau.
8 Esau then asked, “And what was the meaning of all those herds that I met?”
“I was hoping that they would pave the way for my master to welcome me.”
9 Esau said, “Oh, brother. I have plenty of everything—keep what is yours for yourself.”
10-11 Jacob said, “Please. If you can find it in your heart to welcome me, accept these gifts. When I saw your face, it was as the face of God smiling on me. Accept the gifts I have brought for you. God has been good to me and I have more than enough.” Jacob urged the gifts on him and Esau accepted.
Insight
By Jacob’s own testimony, the Lord had been gracious to him by providing children and material possessions (Genesis 33:5, 11). But even though he was favored with family and worldly goods, Jacob’s life was incomplete without settling accounts with his brother.
Untying the Rope
But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. Genesis 33:4
One Christian organization’s mission is to promote the healing nature of forgiveness. One of their activities involves a skit in which a person who has been wronged is strapped back to back with a rope to the wrongdoer. Only the one sinned against can untie the rope. No matter what she does, she’s got someone on her back. Without forgiveness—without untying the rope—she cannot escape.
Offering forgiveness to someone who comes to us in sorrow for their wrongdoing begins the process of releasing us and them from the bitterness and pain that can cling to us over wrongs we’ve suffered. In Genesis, we see two brothers separated for twenty years after Jacob stole Esau’s birthright. After this long time, God told Jacob to return to his homeland (Genesis 31:3). He obeyed, but nervously, sending ahead to Esau gifts of herds of animals (32:13–15). When the brothers met, Jacob bowed at Esau’s feet seven times in humility (33:3). Imagine his surprise when Esau ran and embraced him, both of them weeping over their reconciliation (v. 4). No longer was Jacob held by the sin he committed against his brother.
Do you feel imprisoned by unforgiveness, saddled with anger, fear, or shame? Know that God through His Son and Spirit can release you when you seek His help. He will enable you to begin the process of untying any ropes and setting you free. By Amy Boucher Pye
Reflect & Pray
How do you think Esau felt to see Jacob bowing before him? Could you similarly humble yourself before someone you’ve wronged? Who do you need to release through forgiveness?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, June 27, 2019
The Overshadowing of God’s Personal Deliverance
"…I am with you to deliver you," says the Lord. —Jeremiah 1:8
God promised Jeremiah that He would deliver him personally— “…your life shall be as a prize to you…” (Jeremiah 39:18). That is all God promises His children. Wherever God sends us, He will guard our lives. Our personal property and possessions are to be a matter of indifference to us, and our hold on these things should be very loose. If this is not the case, we will have panic, heartache, and distress. Having the proper outlook is evidence of the deeply rooted belief in the overshadowing of God’s personal deliverance.
The Sermon on the Mount indicates that when we are on a mission for Jesus Christ, there is no time to stand up for ourselves. Jesus says, in effect, “Don’t worry about whether or not you are being treated justly.” Looking for justice is actually a sign that we have been diverted from our devotion to Him. Never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we will only begin to complain and to indulge ourselves in the discontent of self-pity, as if to say, “Why should I be treated like this?” If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we have nothing to do with what we encounter, whether it is just or unjust. In essence, Jesus says, “Continue steadily on with what I have told you to do, and I will guard your life. If you try to guard it yourself, you remove yourself from My deliverance.” Even the most devout among us become atheistic in this regard— we do not believe Him. We put our common sense on the throne and then attach God’s name to it. We do lean to our own understanding, instead of trusting God with all our hearts (see Proverbs 3:5-6).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest. Disciples Indeed, 395 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, June 27, 2019
The One You're Playing For - #8469
My friend Ted was a high school football player - actually he was the starting center. But the game he remembers most is the one he didn't play in. All season, the second string center, Billy, hadn't played much. Well, actually he hadn't played very well. Until the day that Billy came to the coach and said, "Coach, I know you haven't felt I was good enough to start all season, but I want to ask you to start me this one game. Please. It means a lot, and I'm just asking for a chance." The coach agreed and Billy amazed not only his coach, but his teammates and his hometown fans. He played incredible game. No one had ever seen anything close to this kind of performance or ability from him. Needless to say, immediately after the game, the coach said, "Billy, what in the world happened? I didn't know you had it in you!" Billy's explanation was something the coach and my friend would never forget. He said, "My dad died last night, Coach. And he was blind, but not now. Tonight was the first time my father could see me play!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The One You're Playing For."
For one high school football player, it made all the difference knowing his father was watching him play. For every one of us who claims to belong to Jesus, that's what should determine how we play our position, too, knowing that our Father is watching us play.
Jesus lived with that always in His mind. He said in John 8:29, "The One who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him." And then in our word for today from the Word of God, Paul lays out for us the ultimate reason we should do everything we do with all our heart. In Colossians 3:23-24, he says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
The Bible says you and I should have only one way we do everything we do - with all our heart. When you work, you work with all your heart. When you pray, you pray with all your heart. When you're listening to someone, you listen with all your heart. When you're studying, right, you study with all your heart. When you play, you play with all your heart. When you're with someone, be with them with all your heart. In the words of missionary martyr Jim Elliott, "Everywhere you are, be all there!"
Why? Because your Heavenly Father who made you and who paid for you with the life of His Son, is watching you. Don't play for the crowds. Don't play for yourself. Play for the one person in the stands who matters most - your Heavenly Father. He's the reason you do what's right. You don't want to hurt Him. He's the reason you knock yourself out. Your Father's the reason you stay away from what's wrong. It's not the rules you're breaking, it's your Father's heart. And when no one else seems worth playing for anymore, remember you're doing it for the one who's always worth doing it for!
It really simplifies your life and it reduces a lot of stress when you decide who you're going to please and whose approval you're going to live for. If you try to live for the boss's approval, and for the approval of the people you're with at this time, or for society's approval, or for the church's approval - well, you're going to be a chameleon, constantly having to change colors based on the environment you're in. But you can be one person all the time if you decide there's only one person you're playing for - one person you have to please. "I am playing with everything I've got because my Father - the One who loves me most - is watching me, and I'm going to make my Father proud!"
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