Max Lucado Daily: LET GRACE HAPPEN
I became a Christian about the same time I became a Boy Scout, and I made the assumption that God grades like the Boy Scouts do– on a merit system. Good scouts move up. Good people go to heaven.
So I worked toward the day when God, amid falling confetti and dancing cherubim, would drape my badge-laden sash across my chest and welcome me into his eternal kingdom where I would humbly display my badges for eternity. But some thorny questions surfaced. How many badges does He require? How good is good?
Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Unearned. A gift. Our merits merit nothing. So, let grace happen. Of all the things you must earn in life, God’s unending affection is not one of them. You have it!
Read more GRACE
Acts 11
The news traveled fast and in no time the leaders and friends back in Jerusalem heard about it—heard that the non-Jewish “outsiders” were now “in.” When Peter got back to Jerusalem, some of his old associates, concerned about circumcision, called him on the carpet: “What do you think you’re doing rubbing shoulders with that crowd, eating what is prohibited and ruining our good name?”
4-6 So Peter, starting from the beginning, laid it out for them step-by-step: “Recently I was in the town of Joppa praying. I fell into a trance and saw a vision: Something like a huge blanket, lowered by ropes at its four corners, came down out of heaven and settled on the ground in front of me. Milling around on the blanket were farm animals, wild animals, reptiles, birds—you name it, it was there. Fascinated, I took it all in.
7-10 “Then I heard a voice: ‘Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.’ I said, ‘Oh, no, Master. I’ve never so much as tasted food that wasn’t kosher.’ The voice spoke again: ‘If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.’ This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the sky.
11-14 “Just then three men showed up at the house where I was staying, sent from Caesarea to get me. The Spirit told me to go with them, no questions asked. So I went with them, I and six friends, to the man who had sent for me. He told us how he had seen an angel right in his own house, real as his next-door neighbor, saying, ‘Send to Joppa and get Simon, the one they call Peter. He’ll tell you something that will save your life—in fact, you and everyone you care for.’
15-17 “So I started in, talking. Before I’d spoken half a dozen sentences, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he did on us the first time. I remembered Jesus’ words: ‘John baptized with water; you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So I ask you: If God gave the same exact gift to them as to us when we believed in the Master Jesus Christ, how could I object to God?”
18 Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. “It’s really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!”
19-21 Those who had been scattered by the persecution triggered by Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, but they were still only speaking and dealing with their fellow Jews. Then some of the men from Cyprus and Cyrene who had come to Antioch started talking to Greeks, giving them the Message of the Master Jesus. God was pleased with what they were doing and put his stamp of approval on it—quite a number of the Greeks believed and turned to the Master.
22-24 When the church in Jerusalem got wind of this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to check on things. As soon as he arrived, he saw that God was behind and in it all. He threw himself in with them, got behind them, urging them to stay with it the rest of their lives. He was a good man that way, enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit’s ways. The community grew large and strong in the Master.
25-26 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. He found him and brought him back to Antioch. They were there a whole year, meeting with the church and teaching a lot of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were for the first time called Christians.
27-30 It was about this same time that some prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem. One of them named Agabus stood up one day and, prompted by the Spirit, warned that a severe famine was about to devastate the country. (The famine eventually came during the rule of Claudius.) So the disciples decided that each of them would send whatever they could to their fellow Christians in Judea to help out. They sent Barnabas and Saul to deliver the collection to the leaders in Jerusalem.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Corinthians 2:14–17
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
Insight
Up to this point in his letter, Paul has alluded to the pain he’s endured, including extreme physical dangers (2 Corinthians 1:8–10) and having to deal with serious divisions in the church (see 1 Corinthians 1:10–17). These divisions may have been caused by the “many” Paul mentions: “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit” (2 Corinthians 2:17). Besides that, a church member had been committing incest (1 Corinthians 5:1–5). God preserved Paul and his co-workers (2 Corinthians 1:10–11), unity was being restored in the church (7:8–13), and they had dealt with the sexual sin (2:5–11). This is why Paul’s letter takes a triumphant turn: “But thanks be to God . . .” (v. 14). He concludes the section by affirming his apostolic authority: “In Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God” (v. 17).
Victory Parade
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession. 2 Corinthians 2:14
In 2016 when the Chicago Cubs baseball team won the World Series for the first time in more than a century, some sources said that five million people lined the parade route and gathered at a downtown rally to celebrate the championship.
Victory parades are not a modern invention. A famous ancient parade was the Roman Triumph, in which victorious generals led a procession of their armies and captives through crowded streets.
Such parade imagery was likely in Paul’s mind when he wrote to the Corinthian church thanking God for leading believers “as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession” (2 Corinthians 2:14). I find it fascinating that in this imagery, followers of Christ are the captives. However, as believers we’re not forced to participate, but are willing “captives,” willingly part of the parade led by the victorious, resurrected Christ. As Christians, we celebrate that through Christ’s victory, He’s building His kingdom and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).
When we talk about Jesus’s victory on the cross and the freedom it gives believers, we help spread the “aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14). And whether people find the aroma to be the pleasing reassurance of salvation or the odor of their defeat, this unseen but powerful fragrance is present everywhere we go.
As we follow Christ, we declare His resurrection victory, the victory that makes salvation available to the world. By Lisa M. Samra
Reflect & Pray
What does Jesus’s victory on the cross mean to you? How are you living out the power of His resurrection?
Jesus is our victorious King.
For further study, see christianuniversity.org/NT109-06.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
The Miracle of Belief
My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom… —1 Corinthians 2:4
Paul was a scholar and an orator of the highest degree; he was not speaking here out of a deep sense of humility, but was saying that when he preached the gospel, he would veil the power of God if he impressed people with the excellency of his speech. Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the effectiveness of redemption, not by impressive speech, nor by wooing and persuading, but only by the sheer unaided power of God. The creative power of redemption comes through the preaching of the gospel, but never because of the personality of the preacher.
Real and effective fasting by a preacher is not fasting from food, but fasting from eloquence, from impressive diction, and from everything else that might hinder the gospel of God being presented. The preacher is there as the representative of God— “…as though God were pleading through us…” (2 Corinthians 5:20). He is there to present the gospel of God. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get close to Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the gospel will result in making me a traitor to Jesus, and I prevent the creative power of His redemption from doing its work.
“And I, if I am lifted up…, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
For the past three hundred years men have been pointing out how similar Jesus Christ’s teachings are to other good teachings. We have to remember that Christianity, if it is not a supernatural miracle, is a sham. The Highest Good, 548 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Your Time to Shine - #8483
Sometimes you'll hear someone called a "Renaissance man." That means he's a man of many interests, and gifts and pursuits, and skilled in many areas. Now, if there is such a thing as a "Renaissance boy," well, I used to like to think our grandson was one. Interested in a lot of things - and he was pretty good at a lot of them. To round out the other areas of his life, he got involved in a soccer league for kids his age. Which would make his mother a "soccer mom," I guess. Which means everybody wants her vote. Right, in elections? Well, our grandson didn't have the benefit of having an older sibling to learn from as some of the other members of his little team did. The soccer learning curve for him was a little steep, but he was doing well. But something really special happened in one of the last games of the season. The team's two little stars came late - players who the others tend to lean on. But they weren't there to lean on. Well, now it was clearly up to kids who were usually in the shadow of those stars, including our favorite soccer player who really stepped up. Suddenly, he was more focused, more aggressive than we'd seen him all season. And right away he scored two goals for his team. Oh, and of course, they won that night.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Time to Shine."
Now, I guess our grandson looked around and said, "Well, if it is to be, it's up to me!" And suddenly he stepped up to make a difference like he'd never made before. It may be that time in the game for you right now, time to step up and really make a difference.
You've got a great example to follow in our word for today in 1 Samuel 17, beginning with verse 23. The Israelis and Philistines are lined up facing one another on opposite sides of a valley. Every day the Philistine giant comes out and he challenges the Israelites to send out a man to fight him, with the people of the loser serving the people of the winner from that day on. Young David, the youngest brother in his family, arrives to bring food to his warrior brothers just as Goliath is coming out to issue his challenge for the 40th day in a row.
The Bible says, "Goliath...shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. When the Israelites saw the man they all ran from him in great fear. David said to Saul, 'Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.'" Well, none of the big varsity players in their nice uniforms will get in the game - so the kid does, with just a slingshot. He doesn't have the training the others do, he doesn't have the experience, he doesn't have the weapons, but he's willing to step up because he believes, as he tells Goliath, "The battle is the Lord's." And Goliath went down because an unlikely, seemingly unqualified hero stepped up.
This is a time when the Goliaths of hell are holding the field all around us. Not because the darkness is so strong, but because no one will step up and fight the darkness. Right now God's summoning you, maybe as unlikely and unqualified as you may feel you are, to come out of the shadows and get onto the front lines.
Someone has to take that assignment where no one else is rising up to. Someone needs to step up and change the atmosphere in your church, your family, your home, your school, or where you work. Someone has to fight for your marriage. Someone has to be the one to confront what's wrong, to bring people together, to lead a prayer effort, to talk about Jesus.
In Isaiah's day when God asked, "Who will go for us?" Isaiah answered, "Here am I, send me" (Isaiah 6:8). Maybe you've been holding back saying, "Here am I, send him." Well, God's summoning you to step up for this one - like our grandson on that soccer field, making a greater difference than he'd ever made before, because he knew it was up to him this time. And this assignment from God is up to you.
Even if there are defiant giants standing in the way, it's your time to shine! And you will. Because the battle is the Lord's.
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
1 Kings 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: CHRIST’S SACRIFICE IS PERSONAL
Christ took away your sins. He endured not just the nails of the Romans, the mockery of the crowd, and the spear of the soldier, but he endured the anger of God! God didn’t just overlook your sins, lest he endorse them. He didn’t punish you, lest he destroy you. Instead, He found a way to punish the sin and preserve the sinner. Jesus took your punishment, and God gave you credit for Jesus’ perfection.
As long as the cross is God’s gift to the world, it will touch you but it will not change you. Precious as it is to proclaim, “Christ died for the world,” even sweeter it is to whisper, “Christ died for me!”
For my sins he died.
He took my place on the cross.
He felt my shame; and he spoke my name.
Thank God for the day Jesus took your place,
for the day that grace happened to you!
Read more GRACE
1 Kings 13
And then this happened: Just as Jeroboam was at the Altar, about to make an offering, a holy man came from Judah by God’s command and preached (these were God’s orders) to the Altar: “Altar, Altar! God’s message! ‘A son will be born into David’s family named Josiah. The priests from the shrines who are making offerings on you, he will sacrifice—on you! Human bones burned on you!’” At the same time he announced a sign: “This is the proof God gives—the Altar will split into pieces and the holy offerings spill into the dirt.”
4-5 When the king heard the message the holy man preached against the Altar at Bethel, he reached out to grab him, yelling, “Arrest him!” But his arm was paralyzed and hung useless. At the same time the Altar broke apart and the holy offerings all spilled into the dirt—the very sign the holy man had announced by God’s command.
6 The king pleaded with the holy man, “Help me! Pray to your God for the healing of my arm.” The holy man prayed for him and the king’s arm was healed—as good as new!
7 Then the king invited the holy man, “Join me for a meal; I have a gift for you.”
8-10 The holy man told the king, “Not on your life! You couldn’t pay me enough to get me to sit down with you at a meal in this place. I’m here under God’s orders, and he commanded, ‘Don’t eat a crumb, don’t drink a drop, and don’t go back the way you came.’” Then he left by a different road than the one on which he had walked to Bethel.
11 There was an old prophet who lived in Bethel. His sons came and told him the story of what the holy man had done that day in Bethel, told him everything that had happened and what the holy man had said to the king.
12 Their father said, “Which way did he go?” His sons pointed out the road that the holy man from Judah had taken.
13-14 He told his sons, “Saddle my donkey.” When they had saddled it, he got on and rode after the holy man. He found him sitting under an oak tree.
He asked him, “Are you the holy man who came from Judah?”
“Yes, I am,” he said.
15 “Well, come home with me and have a meal.”
16-17 “Sorry, I can’t do that,” the holy man said. “I can neither go back with you nor eat with you in this country. I’m under strict orders from God: ‘Don’t eat a crumb; don’t drink a drop; and don’t come back the way you came.’”
18-19 But he said, “I am also a prophet, just like you. And an angel came to me with a message from God: ‘Bring him home with you, and give him a good meal!’” But the man was lying. So the holy man went home with him and they had a meal together.
20-22 There they were, sitting at the table together, when the word of God came to the prophet who had brought him back. He confronted the holy man who had come from Judah: “God’s word to you: You disobeyed God’s command; you didn’t keep the strict orders your God gave you; you came back and sat down to a good meal in the very place God told you, ‘Don’t eat a crumb; don’t drink a drop.’ For that you’re going to die far from home and not be buried in your ancestral tomb.”
23-25 When the meal was over, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. Down the road a way, a lion met him and killed him. His corpse lay crumpled on the road, the lion on one side and the donkey on the other. Some passersby saw the corpse in a heap on the road, with the lion standing guard beside it. They went to the village where the old prophet lived and told what they had seen.
26 When the prophet who had gotten him off track heard it, he said, “It’s the holy man who disobeyed God’s strict orders. God turned him over to the lion who knocked him around and killed him, just as God had told him.”
27-30 The prophet told his sons, “Saddle my donkey.” They did it. He rode out and found the corpse in a heap in the road, with the lion and the donkey standing there. The lion hadn’t bothered either the corpse or the donkey. The old prophet loaded the corpse of the holy man on his donkey and returned it to his own town to give it a decent burial. He placed the body in his own tomb. The people mourned, saying, “A sad day, brother!”
31-32 After the funeral, the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the same tomb where the holy man is buried, my bones alongside his bones. The message that he preached by God’s command against the Altar at Bethel and against all the sex-and-religion shrines in the towns of Samaria will come true.”
33-34 After this happened, Jeroboam kept right on doing evil, recruiting priests for the forbidden shrines indiscriminately—anyone who wanted to could be a priest at one of the local shrines. This was the root sin of Jeroboam’s government. And it was this that ruined him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 16:1–11
A Miktam[a] of David.
Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.[b]
4 The sorrows of those who run after[c] another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.[d]
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being[e] rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.[f]
11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Insight
In many psalms, introductory information precedes the actual song. This brief title or superscription sometimes identifies who the composer is and why the song was written (see Psalms 3, 18). The superscription can also provide information regarding dedication, performance, instrumental directions, and musical tunes (see Psalms 6, 7, 56, 60).
The introduction to Psalm 16 identifies it as “a miktam of David.” This annotation also appears in five other psalms (Psalms 56–60). Because Bible scholars don’t agree about what miktam means, most English Bibles make no attempt to translate it. Some think it could simply mean “inscription”; others suggest it designates psalms that deal with atonement for sin because its root word means “to cover.”
Precious
You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing. Psalm 16:2
“My precious . . .” First portrayed in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, the image of the emaciated creature Gollum in his maniacal obsession with the “precious ring of power” has become an iconic one today—for greed, obsession, even insanity.
It’s also a troublingly relatable image. In his tormented love-hate relationship with both the ring and with himself, Gollum’s voice echoes the hunger in our own hearts. Whether it’s directed at one thing in particular, or just a vague longing for “more,” we’re sure that once we finally get our own “precious,” we’ll be satisfied. But instead, what we thought would make us whole leaves us feeling even emptier than before.
There’s a better way to live. As David expresses in Psalm 16, when the longings in our hearts threaten to send us on a desperate, futile quest for satisfaction (v. 4), we can remember to turn to God for refuge (v. 1), reminding ourselves that apart from Him we have nothing (v. 2).
And as our eyes stop looking for satisfaction “out there” to gaze instead on God’s beauty (v. 8), we find ourselves finally tasting true contentment—a life of basking in the “joy [of God’s] presence,” walking with Him each moment in “the way of life”—now and forever (v. 11 nlt). By Monica Brands
Reflect & Pray
What’s the thing you often turn to for satisfaction when you lose sight of God? Who can be a source of support and love for you when you feel trapped in your addiction to “more”?
God, forgive me for thinking I can find what I need apart from You. Thank You for always being there even when I forget to look for You. Draw me to Your side to live in the joy of walking with You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
The Concept of Divine Control
…how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! —Matthew 7:11
Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct in this passage for those people who have His Spirit. He urges us to keep our minds filled with the concept of God’s control over everything, which means that a disciple must maintain an attitude of perfect trust and an eagerness to ask and to seek.
Fill your mind with the thought that God is there. And once your mind is truly filled with that thought, when you experience difficulties it will be as easy as breathing for you to remember, “My heavenly Father knows all about this!” This will be no effort at all, but will be a natural thing for you when difficulties and uncertainties arise. Before you formed this concept of divine control so powerfully in your mind, you used to go from person to person seeking help, but now you go to God about it. Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct for those people who have His Spirit, and it works on the following principle: God is my Father, He loves me, and I will never think of anything that He will forget, so why should I worry?
Jesus said there are times when God cannot lift the darkness from you, but you should trust Him. At times God will appear like an unkind friend, but He is not; He will appear like an unnatural father, but He is not; He will appear like an unjust judge, but He is not. Keep the thought that the mind of God is behind all things strong and growing. Not even the smallest detail of life happens unless God’s will is behind it. Therefore, you can rest in perfect confidence in Him. Prayer is not only asking, but is an attitude of the mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural. “Ask, and it will be given to you…” (Matthew 7:7).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
“I have chosen you” (John 15:16). Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God, but that He has got you. My Utmost for His Highest, October 25, 837 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Proud - But Lost - #8482
I had to laugh as my friend Cathy told me about an experience she had at a former job, because it tells so much about how my half of the human race thinks - like men, I mean. Cathy and her boss had rented a car at the airport for a relatively short trip from the Dallas/Fort Worth airport to a nearby city. We're talking like a few minutes' drive, but not for Cathy and her boss. No, they just kept driving in circles, retracing their steps, turning around. I mean, her boss obviously did not know where he was going. So Cathy kept suggesting that he stop for directions, but, "No, I know where I'm going." Of course men always know where they're going, right? Well, she said she got to the point where she was ready to punch him if she saw this particular restaurant one more time! (Good thing she didn't!) Well, finally, four hours later, they got to their destination. Was this man lost? Uh-huh! Could he admit he didn't know where he was going? No! He's a man!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Proud - But Lost."
That's one of those frustrating things about a lot of us men. We can be lost, but too proud to ask for help. That's a mistake that has made many a man miss his destination, including the meaning of his life and even the heaven he hopes to go to when he dies. A man can be spiritually lost and even have someone in his life who is encouraging him to reach out to God, but he's too proud to do it. That can be fatal pride. Maybe you're a man like that. Well, God loves you too much to lose you, man, so He will do whatever it takes to open you up to what only He can do for you.
There's an example of this in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Kings 5, beginning with verse 1. It's the story of a powerful military leader in Bible times, a Syrian general named Naaman. The Bible says, "Naaman was a commander of the army of the king...He was great in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory..." Okay, so this is a man who has been very successful. He's a conqueror who can seemingly handle life's battles all by himself. But the Bible goes on: "He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy." In those days, leprosy was like a death sentence - something beyond his control, something he could not conquer.
So, Naaman follows a recommendation to go see God's prophet in Israel. He goes with a large military escort, loaded with treasures to help him buy a cure. But the prophet won't take his money and he tells him to go wash seven times in the muddy Jordan River if he wants to be clean. Initially, the general refuses, but his servants persuade him to reconsider. Humbling himself, the Bible says, "He went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy." More importantly, Naaman begins a relationship with God that day.
Do you know what God does with us men when we refuse to admit that we're lost without Him? In His love, He brings something into our life that we can't control or we can't fix. Maybe He's doing that for you right now. He's showing you what's actually been true all along: you're not really in control, no matter how much you thought you were.
And there's only one way to get through to God - it's got to be God's way. And that way is for a man, or woman for that matter, to come to the cross of Jesus Christ and say, "Lord, You died for the sins that I have done, and You are my only hope of being forgiven, of going to heaven. My only hope of my life being changed. I am Yours."
No, it's not a muddy river, but it's a cross where the blood of Christ was shed. That's where you get clean, that's where you get healed.
This may be your day to finally experience the love, the leadership, and the healing of Jesus for yourself. Sometimes it's not until we run into a wall that we let Jesus remove the wall between us and God. Listen, my friend, would you tell Him today, "I'm Yours."
I would love to give you some information. If I was with you personally, I would tell you what's at our website. Please go there and find there the biblical information that will help you anchor the rest of your life to Jesus. ANewStory.com is that website.
Please, don't let your pride make you lost forever.
Christ took away your sins. He endured not just the nails of the Romans, the mockery of the crowd, and the spear of the soldier, but he endured the anger of God! God didn’t just overlook your sins, lest he endorse them. He didn’t punish you, lest he destroy you. Instead, He found a way to punish the sin and preserve the sinner. Jesus took your punishment, and God gave you credit for Jesus’ perfection.
As long as the cross is God’s gift to the world, it will touch you but it will not change you. Precious as it is to proclaim, “Christ died for the world,” even sweeter it is to whisper, “Christ died for me!”
For my sins he died.
He took my place on the cross.
He felt my shame; and he spoke my name.
Thank God for the day Jesus took your place,
for the day that grace happened to you!
Read more GRACE
1 Kings 13
And then this happened: Just as Jeroboam was at the Altar, about to make an offering, a holy man came from Judah by God’s command and preached (these were God’s orders) to the Altar: “Altar, Altar! God’s message! ‘A son will be born into David’s family named Josiah. The priests from the shrines who are making offerings on you, he will sacrifice—on you! Human bones burned on you!’” At the same time he announced a sign: “This is the proof God gives—the Altar will split into pieces and the holy offerings spill into the dirt.”
4-5 When the king heard the message the holy man preached against the Altar at Bethel, he reached out to grab him, yelling, “Arrest him!” But his arm was paralyzed and hung useless. At the same time the Altar broke apart and the holy offerings all spilled into the dirt—the very sign the holy man had announced by God’s command.
6 The king pleaded with the holy man, “Help me! Pray to your God for the healing of my arm.” The holy man prayed for him and the king’s arm was healed—as good as new!
7 Then the king invited the holy man, “Join me for a meal; I have a gift for you.”
8-10 The holy man told the king, “Not on your life! You couldn’t pay me enough to get me to sit down with you at a meal in this place. I’m here under God’s orders, and he commanded, ‘Don’t eat a crumb, don’t drink a drop, and don’t go back the way you came.’” Then he left by a different road than the one on which he had walked to Bethel.
11 There was an old prophet who lived in Bethel. His sons came and told him the story of what the holy man had done that day in Bethel, told him everything that had happened and what the holy man had said to the king.
12 Their father said, “Which way did he go?” His sons pointed out the road that the holy man from Judah had taken.
13-14 He told his sons, “Saddle my donkey.” When they had saddled it, he got on and rode after the holy man. He found him sitting under an oak tree.
He asked him, “Are you the holy man who came from Judah?”
“Yes, I am,” he said.
15 “Well, come home with me and have a meal.”
16-17 “Sorry, I can’t do that,” the holy man said. “I can neither go back with you nor eat with you in this country. I’m under strict orders from God: ‘Don’t eat a crumb; don’t drink a drop; and don’t come back the way you came.’”
18-19 But he said, “I am also a prophet, just like you. And an angel came to me with a message from God: ‘Bring him home with you, and give him a good meal!’” But the man was lying. So the holy man went home with him and they had a meal together.
20-22 There they were, sitting at the table together, when the word of God came to the prophet who had brought him back. He confronted the holy man who had come from Judah: “God’s word to you: You disobeyed God’s command; you didn’t keep the strict orders your God gave you; you came back and sat down to a good meal in the very place God told you, ‘Don’t eat a crumb; don’t drink a drop.’ For that you’re going to die far from home and not be buried in your ancestral tomb.”
23-25 When the meal was over, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. Down the road a way, a lion met him and killed him. His corpse lay crumpled on the road, the lion on one side and the donkey on the other. Some passersby saw the corpse in a heap on the road, with the lion standing guard beside it. They went to the village where the old prophet lived and told what they had seen.
26 When the prophet who had gotten him off track heard it, he said, “It’s the holy man who disobeyed God’s strict orders. God turned him over to the lion who knocked him around and killed him, just as God had told him.”
27-30 The prophet told his sons, “Saddle my donkey.” They did it. He rode out and found the corpse in a heap in the road, with the lion and the donkey standing there. The lion hadn’t bothered either the corpse or the donkey. The old prophet loaded the corpse of the holy man on his donkey and returned it to his own town to give it a decent burial. He placed the body in his own tomb. The people mourned, saying, “A sad day, brother!”
31-32 After the funeral, the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the same tomb where the holy man is buried, my bones alongside his bones. The message that he preached by God’s command against the Altar at Bethel and against all the sex-and-religion shrines in the towns of Samaria will come true.”
33-34 After this happened, Jeroboam kept right on doing evil, recruiting priests for the forbidden shrines indiscriminately—anyone who wanted to could be a priest at one of the local shrines. This was the root sin of Jeroboam’s government. And it was this that ruined him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 16:1–11
A Miktam[a] of David.
Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.[b]
4 The sorrows of those who run after[c] another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.[d]
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being[e] rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.[f]
11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Insight
In many psalms, introductory information precedes the actual song. This brief title or superscription sometimes identifies who the composer is and why the song was written (see Psalms 3, 18). The superscription can also provide information regarding dedication, performance, instrumental directions, and musical tunes (see Psalms 6, 7, 56, 60).
The introduction to Psalm 16 identifies it as “a miktam of David.” This annotation also appears in five other psalms (Psalms 56–60). Because Bible scholars don’t agree about what miktam means, most English Bibles make no attempt to translate it. Some think it could simply mean “inscription”; others suggest it designates psalms that deal with atonement for sin because its root word means “to cover.”
Precious
You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing. Psalm 16:2
“My precious . . .” First portrayed in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, the image of the emaciated creature Gollum in his maniacal obsession with the “precious ring of power” has become an iconic one today—for greed, obsession, even insanity.
It’s also a troublingly relatable image. In his tormented love-hate relationship with both the ring and with himself, Gollum’s voice echoes the hunger in our own hearts. Whether it’s directed at one thing in particular, or just a vague longing for “more,” we’re sure that once we finally get our own “precious,” we’ll be satisfied. But instead, what we thought would make us whole leaves us feeling even emptier than before.
There’s a better way to live. As David expresses in Psalm 16, when the longings in our hearts threaten to send us on a desperate, futile quest for satisfaction (v. 4), we can remember to turn to God for refuge (v. 1), reminding ourselves that apart from Him we have nothing (v. 2).
And as our eyes stop looking for satisfaction “out there” to gaze instead on God’s beauty (v. 8), we find ourselves finally tasting true contentment—a life of basking in the “joy [of God’s] presence,” walking with Him each moment in “the way of life”—now and forever (v. 11 nlt). By Monica Brands
Reflect & Pray
What’s the thing you often turn to for satisfaction when you lose sight of God? Who can be a source of support and love for you when you feel trapped in your addiction to “more”?
God, forgive me for thinking I can find what I need apart from You. Thank You for always being there even when I forget to look for You. Draw me to Your side to live in the joy of walking with You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
The Concept of Divine Control
…how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! —Matthew 7:11
Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct in this passage for those people who have His Spirit. He urges us to keep our minds filled with the concept of God’s control over everything, which means that a disciple must maintain an attitude of perfect trust and an eagerness to ask and to seek.
Fill your mind with the thought that God is there. And once your mind is truly filled with that thought, when you experience difficulties it will be as easy as breathing for you to remember, “My heavenly Father knows all about this!” This will be no effort at all, but will be a natural thing for you when difficulties and uncertainties arise. Before you formed this concept of divine control so powerfully in your mind, you used to go from person to person seeking help, but now you go to God about it. Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct for those people who have His Spirit, and it works on the following principle: God is my Father, He loves me, and I will never think of anything that He will forget, so why should I worry?
Jesus said there are times when God cannot lift the darkness from you, but you should trust Him. At times God will appear like an unkind friend, but He is not; He will appear like an unnatural father, but He is not; He will appear like an unjust judge, but He is not. Keep the thought that the mind of God is behind all things strong and growing. Not even the smallest detail of life happens unless God’s will is behind it. Therefore, you can rest in perfect confidence in Him. Prayer is not only asking, but is an attitude of the mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural. “Ask, and it will be given to you…” (Matthew 7:7).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
“I have chosen you” (John 15:16). Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God, but that He has got you. My Utmost for His Highest, October 25, 837 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Proud - But Lost - #8482
I had to laugh as my friend Cathy told me about an experience she had at a former job, because it tells so much about how my half of the human race thinks - like men, I mean. Cathy and her boss had rented a car at the airport for a relatively short trip from the Dallas/Fort Worth airport to a nearby city. We're talking like a few minutes' drive, but not for Cathy and her boss. No, they just kept driving in circles, retracing their steps, turning around. I mean, her boss obviously did not know where he was going. So Cathy kept suggesting that he stop for directions, but, "No, I know where I'm going." Of course men always know where they're going, right? Well, she said she got to the point where she was ready to punch him if she saw this particular restaurant one more time! (Good thing she didn't!) Well, finally, four hours later, they got to their destination. Was this man lost? Uh-huh! Could he admit he didn't know where he was going? No! He's a man!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Proud - But Lost."
That's one of those frustrating things about a lot of us men. We can be lost, but too proud to ask for help. That's a mistake that has made many a man miss his destination, including the meaning of his life and even the heaven he hopes to go to when he dies. A man can be spiritually lost and even have someone in his life who is encouraging him to reach out to God, but he's too proud to do it. That can be fatal pride. Maybe you're a man like that. Well, God loves you too much to lose you, man, so He will do whatever it takes to open you up to what only He can do for you.
There's an example of this in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Kings 5, beginning with verse 1. It's the story of a powerful military leader in Bible times, a Syrian general named Naaman. The Bible says, "Naaman was a commander of the army of the king...He was great in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory..." Okay, so this is a man who has been very successful. He's a conqueror who can seemingly handle life's battles all by himself. But the Bible goes on: "He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy." In those days, leprosy was like a death sentence - something beyond his control, something he could not conquer.
So, Naaman follows a recommendation to go see God's prophet in Israel. He goes with a large military escort, loaded with treasures to help him buy a cure. But the prophet won't take his money and he tells him to go wash seven times in the muddy Jordan River if he wants to be clean. Initially, the general refuses, but his servants persuade him to reconsider. Humbling himself, the Bible says, "He went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy." More importantly, Naaman begins a relationship with God that day.
Do you know what God does with us men when we refuse to admit that we're lost without Him? In His love, He brings something into our life that we can't control or we can't fix. Maybe He's doing that for you right now. He's showing you what's actually been true all along: you're not really in control, no matter how much you thought you were.
And there's only one way to get through to God - it's got to be God's way. And that way is for a man, or woman for that matter, to come to the cross of Jesus Christ and say, "Lord, You died for the sins that I have done, and You are my only hope of being forgiven, of going to heaven. My only hope of my life being changed. I am Yours."
No, it's not a muddy river, but it's a cross where the blood of Christ was shed. That's where you get clean, that's where you get healed.
This may be your day to finally experience the love, the leadership, and the healing of Jesus for yourself. Sometimes it's not until we run into a wall that we let Jesus remove the wall between us and God. Listen, my friend, would you tell Him today, "I'm Yours."
I would love to give you some information. If I was with you personally, I would tell you what's at our website. Please go there and find there the biblical information that will help you anchor the rest of your life to Jesus. ANewStory.com is that website.
Please, don't let your pride make you lost forever.
Monday, July 15, 2019
1 Kings 12, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: SET FREE FROM GUILT
We are incarcerated by our past. We have been found guilty! Our executioner’s footsteps echo against stone walls. We sit on the floor of the dusty cell, awaiting our final moment. We don’t look up as he opens the door. We know what he’s going to say.
“Time to pay for your sins.” But we hear something else!
“You’re free to go. They took Jesus instead of you!”
The door swings open, the guard barks, “Get out.”
And we find ourselves shackles gone, crimes pardoned, wondering what just happened? Grace just happened! Christ took away your sins. Romans 3:24 says, “God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.” What happened? Grace happened!
Read more GRACE
1 Kings 12
Rehoboam traveled to Shechem where all Israel had gathered to inaugurate him as king. Jeroboam had been in Egypt, where he had taken asylum from King Solomon; when he got the report of Solomon’s death he had come back.
3-4 Rehoboam assembled Jeroboam and all the people. They said to Rehoboam, “Your father made life hard for us—worked our fingers to the bone. Give us a break; lighten up on us and we’ll willingly serve you.”
5 “Give me three days to think it over, then come back,” Rehoboam said.
6 King Rehoboam talked it over with the elders who had advised his father when he was alive: “What’s your counsel? How do you suggest that I answer the people?”
7 They said, “If you will be a servant to this people, be considerate of their needs and respond with compassion, work things out with them, they’ll end up doing anything for you.”
8-9 But he rejected the counsel of the elders and asked the young men he’d grown up with who were now currying his favor, “What do you think? What should I say to these people who are saying, ‘Give us a break from your father’s harsh ways—lighten up on us’?”
10-11 The young turks he’d grown up with said, “These people who complain, ‘Your father was too hard on us; lighten up’—well, tell them this: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. If you think life under my father was hard, you haven’t seen the half of it. My father thrashed you with whips; I’ll beat you bloody with chains!’”
12-14 Three days later Jeroboam and the people showed up, just as Rehoboam had directed when he said, “Give me three days to think it over, then come back.” The king’s answer was harsh and rude. He spurned the counsel of the elders and went with the advice of the younger set, “If you think life under my father was hard, you haven’t seen the half of it. My father thrashed you with whips; I’ll beat you bloody with chains!”
15 Rehoboam turned a deaf ear to the people. God was behind all this, confirming the message that he had given to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah of Shiloh.
16-17 When all Israel realized that the king hadn’t listened to a word they’d said, they stood up to him and said,
Get lost, David!
We’ve had it with you, son of Jesse!
Let’s get out of here, Israel, and fast!
From now on, David, mind your own business.
And with that, they left. But Rehoboam continued to rule those who lived in the towns of Judah.
18-19 When King Rehoboam next sent out Adoniram, head of the workforce, the Israelites ganged up on him, pelted him with stones, and killed him. King Rehoboam jumped in his chariot and fled to Jerusalem as fast as he could. Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic regime ever since.
20 When the word was out that Jeroboam was back and available, the assembled people invited him and inaugurated him king over all Israel. The only tribe left to the Davidic dynasty was Judah.
21 When Rehoboam got back to Jerusalem, he called up the men of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, a 180,000 of their best soldiers, to go to war against Israel and recover the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.
22-24 At this time the word of God came to Shemaiah, a man of God: “Tell this to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, along with everyone in Judah and Benjamin and anyone else who is around: This is God’s word: Don’t march out; don’t fight against your brothers the Israelites; go back home, every last one of you; I’m in charge here.” And they did it; they did what God said and went home.
25 Jeroboam made a fort at Shechem in the hills of Ephraim, and made that his headquarters. He also built a fort at Penuel.
26-27 But then Jeroboam thought, “It won’t be long before the kingdom is reunited under David. As soon as these people resume worship at The Temple of God in Jerusalem, they’ll start thinking of Rehoboam king of Judah as their ruler. They’ll then kill me and go back to King Rehoboam.”
28-30 So the king came up with a plan: He made two golden calves. Then he announced, “It’s too much trouble for you to go to Jerusalem to worship. Look at these—the gods who brought you out of Egypt!” He put one calf in Bethel; the other he placed in Dan. This was blatant sin. Think of it—people traveling all the way to Dan to worship a calf!
31-33 And that wasn’t the end of it. Jeroboam built forbidden shrines all over the place and recruited priests from wherever he could find them, regardless of whether they were fit for the job or not. To top it off, he created a holy New Year festival to be held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month to replace the one in Judah, complete with worship offered on the Altar at Bethel and sacrificing before the calves he had set up there. He staffed Bethel with priests from the local shrines he had made. This was strictly his own idea to compete with the feast in Judah; and he carried it off with flair, a festival exclusively for Israel, Jeroboam himself leading the worship at the Altar.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, July 15, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Timothy 6:6–10
But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and[a] we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Insight
Paul invested heavily in training young men for ministry, including Timothy. He was the son of a believing Jewish mother, Eunice, and a Greek father. His grandmother Lois was also a follower of Christ (Acts 16:1; 2 Timothy 1:5). We’re not told how Timothy came to faith, but it apparently was through the influence of his mother and grandmother, for 2 Timothy 3:14–15 says that he had from childhood been taught the Scriptures “which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Nevertheless, Paul viewed Timothy as one of his own, calling him “my true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2). Paul was so concerned for Timothy that, although he was in a Roman prison awaiting death (2 Timothy 4:6), he took the time to write to him to encourage him in his ministry at Ephesus.
Out of the Trap
I have learned the secret of being content. Philippians 4:12
The Venus flytrap was first discovered in a small area of sandy wetlands not far from our home in North Carolina. These plants are fascinating to watch because they’re carnivorous.
Venus flytraps release a sweet-smelling nectar into colorful traps that resemble open flowers. When an insect crawls inside, triggering sensors along the outer rim, the trap clamps shut in less than a second—capturing its victim. The trap then closes further and emits enzymes that consume its prey over time, giving the plant nutrients not provided by the sandy soil.
God’s Word tells of another trap that can capture unexpectedly. The apostle Paul warned his protégé Timothy: “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” And “some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:9–10).
Money and material things may promise happiness, but when they take first place in our lives, we walk on dangerous ground. We avoid this trap by living with thankful, humble hearts focused on God’s goodness to us through Jesus: “godliness with contentment is great gain” (v. 6).
The temporary things of this world never satisfy like God can. True, lasting contentment is found only through our relationship with Him. By James Banks
Reflect & Pray
Which do you think more about—money or your relationship with God? How can you give Him the highest priority today?
Loving Lord, You are the greatest blessing of my life! Help me to live contentedly with all that You are today.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, July 15, 2019
My Life’s Spiritual Honor and Duty
I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians… —Romans 1:14
Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding every unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of my life that has value I owe to the redemption of Jesus Christ. Am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His redemption into evident reality in the lives of others? I will only be able to do this as the Spirit of God works into me this sense of indebtedness.
I am not a superior person among other people— I am a bondservant of the Lord Jesus. Paul said, “…you are not your own…you were bought at a price…” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ and he said, in effect, “I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His.” That is the characteristic of a Christian’s life once this level of spiritual honor and duty becomes real. Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine in real life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus. Facing Reality, 34 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, July 15, 2019
Stat Living - #8481
Okay, here is one of my un-favorite sentences: "I guess we have to go to the emergency room!" Well, I mean, I'm glad the emergency room is there, but I hate to go there. I remember one time our son had a mild stomach disorder and we knew it had to be checked out. Well, we went late at night when it really gets really busy. I guess it was rush hour for sure that day when we were there. We'd already waited for a while and finally they noticed us. They began to give some attention to our son, and then suddenly all the doctors and nurses vanished. I'll tell you why. There was a word that had been sounded across that emergency room - "STAT" - and everybody came running to an accident victim. It was a severe situation. It was life-or-death. Stat means it's time to drop everything.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stat Living."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians 5, and I'll begin reading at verse 15. "Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."
Now, some of these words about how you live come out a little differently in the King James when it talks about "walking circumspectly." In other words, you're looking around looking, you're looking at everything carefully, and it says if you are doing that you'll live smart. You'll be wise, you won't be unwise. What does it mean to live wisely? Well, it's buying up the time, redeeming the time, and making the most of every opportunity. Why? Because the days are evil.
You can tell how smart a person is by how they use their time. There's no time to waste. That's the attitude of a truly wise person. Why? Because the days are evil. That word "evil" in the original Greek language of the New Testament means sick and in poor rotting condition. We are living in a sick and dying world. If you'll look around, if you're wise, you'll be able to see that the people around you are dying people unless they know Jesus. Your school is an emergency room, your workplace, your neighborhood - it's an emergency room, and people are terminal there without Christ.
Some years ago, there was a Gospel song "People Need the Lord." You know what? You ought to put some names in a song like that. I think it's time we say, "Jimmy needs the Lord. Jennifer needs the Lord. Sue needs the Lord. My boss needs the Lord." You put names in there!
I think when you look at the Biblical predictions, it doesn't look like there's a whole lot of time left on God's clock. Besides, God gives you only like 70 years to live a life that will count for a hundred million years. You might not even have the seventy, so you can't waste a day. Our attitude is to be one of living urgently. Not making everyone else tense around us, but having a sense of the importance of every day. "Numbering our days," as the Bible says, "to apply our heart to wisdom." So each conversation needs to count for something - each opportunity, each relationship. Buying up the time is what the Greeks said, like a shopper who would grab the last item on sale.
I remember a lady who said to me, "Ron, I have to make up for a lot of lost time." She said, "I wasted 30 years on soap operas." But now she wants to buy up the time. She's thinking wisely now. It's time to evaluate. What are the time wasters in your life? This is war! You can't mess around with trivial pursuits when the bullets are flying.
God is looking at your world, the people around you, and He's yelling, "Stat!" throughout the emergency room. There's a life-or-death situation here! It requires an immediate response. It's time to live not casually but urgently.
We are incarcerated by our past. We have been found guilty! Our executioner’s footsteps echo against stone walls. We sit on the floor of the dusty cell, awaiting our final moment. We don’t look up as he opens the door. We know what he’s going to say.
“Time to pay for your sins.” But we hear something else!
“You’re free to go. They took Jesus instead of you!”
The door swings open, the guard barks, “Get out.”
And we find ourselves shackles gone, crimes pardoned, wondering what just happened? Grace just happened! Christ took away your sins. Romans 3:24 says, “God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.” What happened? Grace happened!
Read more GRACE
1 Kings 12
Rehoboam traveled to Shechem where all Israel had gathered to inaugurate him as king. Jeroboam had been in Egypt, where he had taken asylum from King Solomon; when he got the report of Solomon’s death he had come back.
3-4 Rehoboam assembled Jeroboam and all the people. They said to Rehoboam, “Your father made life hard for us—worked our fingers to the bone. Give us a break; lighten up on us and we’ll willingly serve you.”
5 “Give me three days to think it over, then come back,” Rehoboam said.
6 King Rehoboam talked it over with the elders who had advised his father when he was alive: “What’s your counsel? How do you suggest that I answer the people?”
7 They said, “If you will be a servant to this people, be considerate of their needs and respond with compassion, work things out with them, they’ll end up doing anything for you.”
8-9 But he rejected the counsel of the elders and asked the young men he’d grown up with who were now currying his favor, “What do you think? What should I say to these people who are saying, ‘Give us a break from your father’s harsh ways—lighten up on us’?”
10-11 The young turks he’d grown up with said, “These people who complain, ‘Your father was too hard on us; lighten up’—well, tell them this: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. If you think life under my father was hard, you haven’t seen the half of it. My father thrashed you with whips; I’ll beat you bloody with chains!’”
12-14 Three days later Jeroboam and the people showed up, just as Rehoboam had directed when he said, “Give me three days to think it over, then come back.” The king’s answer was harsh and rude. He spurned the counsel of the elders and went with the advice of the younger set, “If you think life under my father was hard, you haven’t seen the half of it. My father thrashed you with whips; I’ll beat you bloody with chains!”
15 Rehoboam turned a deaf ear to the people. God was behind all this, confirming the message that he had given to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah of Shiloh.
16-17 When all Israel realized that the king hadn’t listened to a word they’d said, they stood up to him and said,
Get lost, David!
We’ve had it with you, son of Jesse!
Let’s get out of here, Israel, and fast!
From now on, David, mind your own business.
And with that, they left. But Rehoboam continued to rule those who lived in the towns of Judah.
18-19 When King Rehoboam next sent out Adoniram, head of the workforce, the Israelites ganged up on him, pelted him with stones, and killed him. King Rehoboam jumped in his chariot and fled to Jerusalem as fast as he could. Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic regime ever since.
20 When the word was out that Jeroboam was back and available, the assembled people invited him and inaugurated him king over all Israel. The only tribe left to the Davidic dynasty was Judah.
21 When Rehoboam got back to Jerusalem, he called up the men of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, a 180,000 of their best soldiers, to go to war against Israel and recover the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.
22-24 At this time the word of God came to Shemaiah, a man of God: “Tell this to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, along with everyone in Judah and Benjamin and anyone else who is around: This is God’s word: Don’t march out; don’t fight against your brothers the Israelites; go back home, every last one of you; I’m in charge here.” And they did it; they did what God said and went home.
25 Jeroboam made a fort at Shechem in the hills of Ephraim, and made that his headquarters. He also built a fort at Penuel.
26-27 But then Jeroboam thought, “It won’t be long before the kingdom is reunited under David. As soon as these people resume worship at The Temple of God in Jerusalem, they’ll start thinking of Rehoboam king of Judah as their ruler. They’ll then kill me and go back to King Rehoboam.”
28-30 So the king came up with a plan: He made two golden calves. Then he announced, “It’s too much trouble for you to go to Jerusalem to worship. Look at these—the gods who brought you out of Egypt!” He put one calf in Bethel; the other he placed in Dan. This was blatant sin. Think of it—people traveling all the way to Dan to worship a calf!
31-33 And that wasn’t the end of it. Jeroboam built forbidden shrines all over the place and recruited priests from wherever he could find them, regardless of whether they were fit for the job or not. To top it off, he created a holy New Year festival to be held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month to replace the one in Judah, complete with worship offered on the Altar at Bethel and sacrificing before the calves he had set up there. He staffed Bethel with priests from the local shrines he had made. This was strictly his own idea to compete with the feast in Judah; and he carried it off with flair, a festival exclusively for Israel, Jeroboam himself leading the worship at the Altar.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, July 15, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Timothy 6:6–10
But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and[a] we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Insight
Paul invested heavily in training young men for ministry, including Timothy. He was the son of a believing Jewish mother, Eunice, and a Greek father. His grandmother Lois was also a follower of Christ (Acts 16:1; 2 Timothy 1:5). We’re not told how Timothy came to faith, but it apparently was through the influence of his mother and grandmother, for 2 Timothy 3:14–15 says that he had from childhood been taught the Scriptures “which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Nevertheless, Paul viewed Timothy as one of his own, calling him “my true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2). Paul was so concerned for Timothy that, although he was in a Roman prison awaiting death (2 Timothy 4:6), he took the time to write to him to encourage him in his ministry at Ephesus.
Out of the Trap
I have learned the secret of being content. Philippians 4:12
The Venus flytrap was first discovered in a small area of sandy wetlands not far from our home in North Carolina. These plants are fascinating to watch because they’re carnivorous.
Venus flytraps release a sweet-smelling nectar into colorful traps that resemble open flowers. When an insect crawls inside, triggering sensors along the outer rim, the trap clamps shut in less than a second—capturing its victim. The trap then closes further and emits enzymes that consume its prey over time, giving the plant nutrients not provided by the sandy soil.
God’s Word tells of another trap that can capture unexpectedly. The apostle Paul warned his protégé Timothy: “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” And “some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:9–10).
Money and material things may promise happiness, but when they take first place in our lives, we walk on dangerous ground. We avoid this trap by living with thankful, humble hearts focused on God’s goodness to us through Jesus: “godliness with contentment is great gain” (v. 6).
The temporary things of this world never satisfy like God can. True, lasting contentment is found only through our relationship with Him. By James Banks
Reflect & Pray
Which do you think more about—money or your relationship with God? How can you give Him the highest priority today?
Loving Lord, You are the greatest blessing of my life! Help me to live contentedly with all that You are today.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, July 15, 2019
My Life’s Spiritual Honor and Duty
I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians… —Romans 1:14
Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding every unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of my life that has value I owe to the redemption of Jesus Christ. Am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His redemption into evident reality in the lives of others? I will only be able to do this as the Spirit of God works into me this sense of indebtedness.
I am not a superior person among other people— I am a bondservant of the Lord Jesus. Paul said, “…you are not your own…you were bought at a price…” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ and he said, in effect, “I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His.” That is the characteristic of a Christian’s life once this level of spiritual honor and duty becomes real. Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine in real life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus. Facing Reality, 34 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, July 15, 2019
Stat Living - #8481
Okay, here is one of my un-favorite sentences: "I guess we have to go to the emergency room!" Well, I mean, I'm glad the emergency room is there, but I hate to go there. I remember one time our son had a mild stomach disorder and we knew it had to be checked out. Well, we went late at night when it really gets really busy. I guess it was rush hour for sure that day when we were there. We'd already waited for a while and finally they noticed us. They began to give some attention to our son, and then suddenly all the doctors and nurses vanished. I'll tell you why. There was a word that had been sounded across that emergency room - "STAT" - and everybody came running to an accident victim. It was a severe situation. It was life-or-death. Stat means it's time to drop everything.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stat Living."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians 5, and I'll begin reading at verse 15. "Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."
Now, some of these words about how you live come out a little differently in the King James when it talks about "walking circumspectly." In other words, you're looking around looking, you're looking at everything carefully, and it says if you are doing that you'll live smart. You'll be wise, you won't be unwise. What does it mean to live wisely? Well, it's buying up the time, redeeming the time, and making the most of every opportunity. Why? Because the days are evil.
You can tell how smart a person is by how they use their time. There's no time to waste. That's the attitude of a truly wise person. Why? Because the days are evil. That word "evil" in the original Greek language of the New Testament means sick and in poor rotting condition. We are living in a sick and dying world. If you'll look around, if you're wise, you'll be able to see that the people around you are dying people unless they know Jesus. Your school is an emergency room, your workplace, your neighborhood - it's an emergency room, and people are terminal there without Christ.
Some years ago, there was a Gospel song "People Need the Lord." You know what? You ought to put some names in a song like that. I think it's time we say, "Jimmy needs the Lord. Jennifer needs the Lord. Sue needs the Lord. My boss needs the Lord." You put names in there!
I think when you look at the Biblical predictions, it doesn't look like there's a whole lot of time left on God's clock. Besides, God gives you only like 70 years to live a life that will count for a hundred million years. You might not even have the seventy, so you can't waste a day. Our attitude is to be one of living urgently. Not making everyone else tense around us, but having a sense of the importance of every day. "Numbering our days," as the Bible says, "to apply our heart to wisdom." So each conversation needs to count for something - each opportunity, each relationship. Buying up the time is what the Greeks said, like a shopper who would grab the last item on sale.
I remember a lady who said to me, "Ron, I have to make up for a lot of lost time." She said, "I wasted 30 years on soap operas." But now she wants to buy up the time. She's thinking wisely now. It's time to evaluate. What are the time wasters in your life? This is war! You can't mess around with trivial pursuits when the bullets are flying.
God is looking at your world, the people around you, and He's yelling, "Stat!" throughout the emergency room. There's a life-or-death situation here! It requires an immediate response. It's time to live not casually but urgently.
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Acts 10:24-48, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Evil. God. Good
Life turns every person upside down. No one escapes unscathed. Not the woman who discovers her husband is having an affair. Not the businessman whose investments are embezzled by a crooked colleague. Not the pastor who feels his faith shaken by questions of suffering and fear. We would be foolish to think we're invulnerable.
But we would be just as foolish to think that evil wins the day. The Bible vibrates with the steady drumbeat of faith. God recycles evil into righteousness. Joseph, saddled with family rejection, slavery, and imprisonment emerged triumphant- a hero of his generation. Among his final words to his brothers are these: "You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20). It is the repeated pattern in Scripture. Evil-God-Good. Trust God. No…really trust Him! God will make good out of this mess.
From You'll Get Through This
Acts 10:24-48
The next morning he got up and went with them. Some of his friends from Joppa went along. A day later they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had his relatives and close friends waiting with him. The minute Peter came through the door, Cornelius was up on his feet greeting him—and then down on his face worshiping him! Peter pulled him up and said, “None of that—I’m a man and only a man, no different from you.”
27-29 Talking things over, they went on into the house, where Cornelius introduced Peter to everyone who had come. Peter addressed them, “You know, I’m sure that this is highly irregular. Jews just don’t do this—visit and relax with people of another race. But God has just shown me that no race is better than any other. So the minute I was sent for, I came, no questions asked. But now I’d like to know why you sent for me.”
30-32 Cornelius said, “Four days ago at about this time, midafternoon, I was home praying. Suddenly there was a man right in front of me, flooding the room with light. He said, ‘Cornelius, your daily prayers and neighborly acts have brought you to God’s attention. I want you to send to Joppa to get Simon, the one they call Peter. He’s staying with Simon the Tanner down by the sea.’
33 “So I did it—I sent for you. And you’ve been good enough to come. And now we’re all here in God’s presence, ready to listen to whatever the Master put in your heart to tell us.”
34-36 Peter fairly exploded with his good news: “It’s God’s own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you’re from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. The Message he sent to the children of Israel—that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again—well, he’s doing it everywhere, among everyone.
37-38 “You know the story of what happened in Judea. It began in Galilee after John preached a total life-change. Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.
39-43 “And we saw it, saw it all, everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem where they killed him, hung him from a cross. But in three days God had him up, alive, and out where he could be seen. Not everyone saw him—he wasn’t put on public display. Witnesses had been carefully handpicked by God beforehand—us! We were the ones, there to eat and drink with him after he came back from the dead. He commissioned us to announce this in public, to bear solemn witness that he is in fact the One whom God destined as Judge of the living and dead. But we’re not alone in this. Our witness that he is the means to forgiveness of sins is backed up by the witness of all the prophets.”
44-46 No sooner were these words out of Peter’s mouth than the Holy Spirit came on the listeners. The believing Jews who had come with Peter couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on “outsider” non-Jews, but there it was—they heard them speaking in tongues, heard them praising God.
46-48 Then Peter said, “Do I hear any objections to baptizing these friends with water? They’ve received the Holy Spirit exactly as we did.” Hearing no objections, he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Then they asked Peter to stay on for a few days.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Revelation 4:1-6
After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings[a] and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:
Insight
Revelation 4:1–6 is a picturesque read with its vivid description of Christ and the throne room of heaven. Ruby, jasper, a brilliant rainbow, white robes, gold crowns, and a crystal sea all paint a colorful picture. In addition, the author adds the auditory element of rumblings and peals of thunder that come from the throne, along with flashes of lightning. While this imagery enthralls the imagination, we shouldn’t miss the incongruous nature of the picture being presented. On the one side there’s the regal beauty of Christ on the throne, a rainbow, and a glass-like sea. On the other, there’s the power and destruction represented by lightning and thunder. Taken together, the picture of God is one of power and beauty combined.
In Living Color
The one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. Revelation 4:3
When Xavier McCoury put on the glasses Aunt Celena sent for his tenth birthday, he burst into tears. Born colorblind, Xavier had only ever seen the world in shades of gray, white, and black. With his new EnChroma glasses, however, Xavier saw color for the first time. His euphoria at witnessing the beauty around him made his family feel like they’d beheld a miracle.
Witnessing God’s colorfully radiant brilliance also evoked a powerful reaction in the apostle John (Revelation 1:17). After encountering the full glory of the resurrected Christ, John glimpsed “a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. . . . From the throne came flashes of lightning” (Revelation 4:2–5).
In a different time, Ezekiel had a similar vision, seeing “what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli,” with a figure above the throne who “looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire” (Ezekiel 1:26–27). This magnificent figure was surrounded with rainbow-like radiance (v. 28).
One day we will meet Christ face-to-face. These visions give us just a hint of the magnificence that awaits us. As we celebrate the beauty of God’s creation here and now, may we live in anticipation of the glory yet to be revealed. By Remi Oyedele
Reflect & Pray
What response does the color and beauty of creation evoke in you? How can you express your gratitude to God for His wonderful gift?
Father, words fail us when we try to imagine what we will experience when we meet You face-to-face. Thank You for the small hints of Your beauty You have placed in our world.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Suffering Afflictions and Going the Second Mile
I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. —Matthew 5:39
This verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but you must make it an opportunity to exhibit the Son of God in your life. And you cannot imitate the nature of Jesus— it is either in you or it is not. A personal insult becomes an opportunity for a saint to reveal the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not, “Do your duty,” but is, in effect, “Do what is not your duty.” It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things. We will not say, “Oh well, I just can’t do any more, and I’ve been so misrepresented and misunderstood.” Every time I insist on having my own rights, I hurt the Son of God, while in fact I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I will take the blow myself. That is the real meaning of filling “up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24). A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor.
Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is— Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
Life turns every person upside down. No one escapes unscathed. Not the woman who discovers her husband is having an affair. Not the businessman whose investments are embezzled by a crooked colleague. Not the pastor who feels his faith shaken by questions of suffering and fear. We would be foolish to think we're invulnerable.
But we would be just as foolish to think that evil wins the day. The Bible vibrates with the steady drumbeat of faith. God recycles evil into righteousness. Joseph, saddled with family rejection, slavery, and imprisonment emerged triumphant- a hero of his generation. Among his final words to his brothers are these: "You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20). It is the repeated pattern in Scripture. Evil-God-Good. Trust God. No…really trust Him! God will make good out of this mess.
From You'll Get Through This
Acts 10:24-48
The next morning he got up and went with them. Some of his friends from Joppa went along. A day later they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had his relatives and close friends waiting with him. The minute Peter came through the door, Cornelius was up on his feet greeting him—and then down on his face worshiping him! Peter pulled him up and said, “None of that—I’m a man and only a man, no different from you.”
27-29 Talking things over, they went on into the house, where Cornelius introduced Peter to everyone who had come. Peter addressed them, “You know, I’m sure that this is highly irregular. Jews just don’t do this—visit and relax with people of another race. But God has just shown me that no race is better than any other. So the minute I was sent for, I came, no questions asked. But now I’d like to know why you sent for me.”
30-32 Cornelius said, “Four days ago at about this time, midafternoon, I was home praying. Suddenly there was a man right in front of me, flooding the room with light. He said, ‘Cornelius, your daily prayers and neighborly acts have brought you to God’s attention. I want you to send to Joppa to get Simon, the one they call Peter. He’s staying with Simon the Tanner down by the sea.’
33 “So I did it—I sent for you. And you’ve been good enough to come. And now we’re all here in God’s presence, ready to listen to whatever the Master put in your heart to tell us.”
34-36 Peter fairly exploded with his good news: “It’s God’s own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you’re from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. The Message he sent to the children of Israel—that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again—well, he’s doing it everywhere, among everyone.
37-38 “You know the story of what happened in Judea. It began in Galilee after John preached a total life-change. Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.
39-43 “And we saw it, saw it all, everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem where they killed him, hung him from a cross. But in three days God had him up, alive, and out where he could be seen. Not everyone saw him—he wasn’t put on public display. Witnesses had been carefully handpicked by God beforehand—us! We were the ones, there to eat and drink with him after he came back from the dead. He commissioned us to announce this in public, to bear solemn witness that he is in fact the One whom God destined as Judge of the living and dead. But we’re not alone in this. Our witness that he is the means to forgiveness of sins is backed up by the witness of all the prophets.”
44-46 No sooner were these words out of Peter’s mouth than the Holy Spirit came on the listeners. The believing Jews who had come with Peter couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on “outsider” non-Jews, but there it was—they heard them speaking in tongues, heard them praising God.
46-48 Then Peter said, “Do I hear any objections to baptizing these friends with water? They’ve received the Holy Spirit exactly as we did.” Hearing no objections, he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Then they asked Peter to stay on for a few days.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Revelation 4:1-6
After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings[a] and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:
Insight
Revelation 4:1–6 is a picturesque read with its vivid description of Christ and the throne room of heaven. Ruby, jasper, a brilliant rainbow, white robes, gold crowns, and a crystal sea all paint a colorful picture. In addition, the author adds the auditory element of rumblings and peals of thunder that come from the throne, along with flashes of lightning. While this imagery enthralls the imagination, we shouldn’t miss the incongruous nature of the picture being presented. On the one side there’s the regal beauty of Christ on the throne, a rainbow, and a glass-like sea. On the other, there’s the power and destruction represented by lightning and thunder. Taken together, the picture of God is one of power and beauty combined.
In Living Color
The one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. Revelation 4:3
When Xavier McCoury put on the glasses Aunt Celena sent for his tenth birthday, he burst into tears. Born colorblind, Xavier had only ever seen the world in shades of gray, white, and black. With his new EnChroma glasses, however, Xavier saw color for the first time. His euphoria at witnessing the beauty around him made his family feel like they’d beheld a miracle.
Witnessing God’s colorfully radiant brilliance also evoked a powerful reaction in the apostle John (Revelation 1:17). After encountering the full glory of the resurrected Christ, John glimpsed “a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. . . . From the throne came flashes of lightning” (Revelation 4:2–5).
In a different time, Ezekiel had a similar vision, seeing “what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli,” with a figure above the throne who “looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire” (Ezekiel 1:26–27). This magnificent figure was surrounded with rainbow-like radiance (v. 28).
One day we will meet Christ face-to-face. These visions give us just a hint of the magnificence that awaits us. As we celebrate the beauty of God’s creation here and now, may we live in anticipation of the glory yet to be revealed. By Remi Oyedele
Reflect & Pray
What response does the color and beauty of creation evoke in you? How can you express your gratitude to God for His wonderful gift?
Father, words fail us when we try to imagine what we will experience when we meet You face-to-face. Thank You for the small hints of Your beauty You have placed in our world.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Suffering Afflictions and Going the Second Mile
I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. —Matthew 5:39
This verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but you must make it an opportunity to exhibit the Son of God in your life. And you cannot imitate the nature of Jesus— it is either in you or it is not. A personal insult becomes an opportunity for a saint to reveal the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not, “Do your duty,” but is, in effect, “Do what is not your duty.” It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things. We will not say, “Oh well, I just can’t do any more, and I’ve been so misrepresented and misunderstood.” Every time I insist on having my own rights, I hurt the Son of God, while in fact I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I will take the blow myself. That is the real meaning of filling “up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24). A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor.
Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is— Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Ecclesiastes 12 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Map Out a Strategy
You cannot control the weather. You are not in charge of the economy. You can’t un-wreck the car. But you can map out a strategy. Remember, God is in this crisis. Ask God to give you two or three steps you can take today. Seek counsel from someone who has faced a similar challenge. Ask friends to pray. Reach out to a support group. Most importantly, make a plan.
You’d prefer a miracle for your crisis? You’d rather see the bread multiplied or the stormy sea turned glassy calm in a finger snap? God may do this. Then again, He may say, “I am with you. I can use this for good. Now let’s make a plan.” God’s sovereignty does not negate our responsibility. It empowers it. Don’t let the crisis paralyze you. Trust God to do what you cannot. Obey God, and do what you can.
From You’ll Get Through This
Ecclesiastes 12
Honor and enjoy your Creator while you’re still young,
Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,
Before your vision dims and the world blurs
And the winter years keep you close to the fire.
3-5 In old age, your body no longer serves you so well.
Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen.
The shades are pulled down on the world.
You can’t come and go at will. Things grind to a halt.
The hum of the household fades away.
You are wakened now by bird-song.
Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past.
Even a stroll down the road has its terrors.
Your hair turns apple-blossom white,
Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body.
Yes, you’re well on your way to eternal rest,
While your friends make plans for your funeral.
6-7 Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over.
Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends.
The body is put back in the same ground it came from.
The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.
8 It’s all smoke, nothing but smoke.
The Quester says that everything’s smoke.
9-10 Besides being wise himself, the Quester also taught others knowledge. He weighed, examined, and arranged many proverbs. The Quester did his best to find the right words and write the plain truth.
11 The words of the wise prod us to live well.
They’re like nails hammered home, holding life together.
They are given by God, the one Shepherd.
12-13 But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There’s no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you’re no good for anything else. The last and final word is this:
Fear God.
Do what he tells you.
14 And that’s it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it’s good or evil.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 8:4-9
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings[a]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Insight
It’s interesting to note how the writers of the Bible reference other Scriptures. Psalm 8 includes David’s poetic echoes of what’s recorded in Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’” Centuries later, the writer of the book of Hebrews quoted Psalm 8:4–6 to note mankind’s failure to fully realize the dominion mandate and to note the ultimate fulfillment of it in Jesus. Speaking of Christ, Hebrews 2:9 says, “But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
Beautiful to God
What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? Psalm 8:4
When Denise began dating her boyfriend, she attempted to maintain a slim figure and dress stylishly, believing she would be more attractive to him in that way. After all, it was what all the women’s magazines advised. It was only much later that she discovered what he really thought: “I liked you just as much when you were heavier and didn’t worry about what you wore.”
Denise realized then how subjective “beauty” was. Our view of beauty is so easily influenced by others. It’s often focused on the external, forgetting the value of inner beauty. But God sees us in only one way—as His beautiful, beloved children. I’d like to think that when God created the world, He left the best for last—us! Everything He created was good, but we’re extra special because we’re made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).
God considers us beautiful! No wonder the psalmist was filled with awe as he compared the greatness of nature with humans. “What is mankind,” he asked, “that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:4). Yet God chose to give mortals a glory and honor that nothing else had (v. 5).
This truth gives us an assurance and reason to praise Him (v. 9). No matter what others think of us—or what we think of ourselves—know this: We are beautiful to God. By Leslie Koh
Reflect & Pray
How do you see yourself? How do you think God sees you?
Father, You know how insecure we can feel about ourselves. Thank You for the assurance that You love us!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, July 13, 2019
The Price of the Vision
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord… —Isaiah 6:1
Our soul’s personal history with God is often an account of the death of our heroes. Over and over again God has to remove our friends to put Himself in their place, and that is when we falter, fail, and become discouraged. Let me think about this personally— when the person died who represented for me all that God was, did I give up on everything in life? Did I become ill or disheartened? Or did I do as Isaiah did and see the Lord?
My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can even be revealed to me. Before I can say, “I saw the Lord,” there must be something in my character that conforms to the likeness of God. Until I am born again and really begin to see the kingdom of God, I only see from the perspective of my own biases. What I need is God’s surgical procedure— His use of external circumstances to bring about internal purification.
Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God and no one else is taken into account whatsoever. Your prayer will then be, “In all the world there is no one but You, dear God; there is no one but You.”
Keep paying the price. Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ reveals, not an embarrassed God, not a confused God, not a God who stands apart from the problems, but One who stands in the thick of the whole thing with man. Disciples Indeed, 388 L
You cannot control the weather. You are not in charge of the economy. You can’t un-wreck the car. But you can map out a strategy. Remember, God is in this crisis. Ask God to give you two or three steps you can take today. Seek counsel from someone who has faced a similar challenge. Ask friends to pray. Reach out to a support group. Most importantly, make a plan.
You’d prefer a miracle for your crisis? You’d rather see the bread multiplied or the stormy sea turned glassy calm in a finger snap? God may do this. Then again, He may say, “I am with you. I can use this for good. Now let’s make a plan.” God’s sovereignty does not negate our responsibility. It empowers it. Don’t let the crisis paralyze you. Trust God to do what you cannot. Obey God, and do what you can.
From You’ll Get Through This
Ecclesiastes 12
Honor and enjoy your Creator while you’re still young,
Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,
Before your vision dims and the world blurs
And the winter years keep you close to the fire.
3-5 In old age, your body no longer serves you so well.
Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen.
The shades are pulled down on the world.
You can’t come and go at will. Things grind to a halt.
The hum of the household fades away.
You are wakened now by bird-song.
Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past.
Even a stroll down the road has its terrors.
Your hair turns apple-blossom white,
Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body.
Yes, you’re well on your way to eternal rest,
While your friends make plans for your funeral.
6-7 Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over.
Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends.
The body is put back in the same ground it came from.
The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.
8 It’s all smoke, nothing but smoke.
The Quester says that everything’s smoke.
9-10 Besides being wise himself, the Quester also taught others knowledge. He weighed, examined, and arranged many proverbs. The Quester did his best to find the right words and write the plain truth.
11 The words of the wise prod us to live well.
They’re like nails hammered home, holding life together.
They are given by God, the one Shepherd.
12-13 But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There’s no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you’re no good for anything else. The last and final word is this:
Fear God.
Do what he tells you.
14 And that’s it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it’s good or evil.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 8:4-9
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings[a]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Insight
It’s interesting to note how the writers of the Bible reference other Scriptures. Psalm 8 includes David’s poetic echoes of what’s recorded in Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’” Centuries later, the writer of the book of Hebrews quoted Psalm 8:4–6 to note mankind’s failure to fully realize the dominion mandate and to note the ultimate fulfillment of it in Jesus. Speaking of Christ, Hebrews 2:9 says, “But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
Beautiful to God
What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? Psalm 8:4
When Denise began dating her boyfriend, she attempted to maintain a slim figure and dress stylishly, believing she would be more attractive to him in that way. After all, it was what all the women’s magazines advised. It was only much later that she discovered what he really thought: “I liked you just as much when you were heavier and didn’t worry about what you wore.”
Denise realized then how subjective “beauty” was. Our view of beauty is so easily influenced by others. It’s often focused on the external, forgetting the value of inner beauty. But God sees us in only one way—as His beautiful, beloved children. I’d like to think that when God created the world, He left the best for last—us! Everything He created was good, but we’re extra special because we’re made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).
God considers us beautiful! No wonder the psalmist was filled with awe as he compared the greatness of nature with humans. “What is mankind,” he asked, “that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:4). Yet God chose to give mortals a glory and honor that nothing else had (v. 5).
This truth gives us an assurance and reason to praise Him (v. 9). No matter what others think of us—or what we think of ourselves—know this: We are beautiful to God. By Leslie Koh
Reflect & Pray
How do you see yourself? How do you think God sees you?
Father, You know how insecure we can feel about ourselves. Thank You for the assurance that You love us!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, July 13, 2019
The Price of the Vision
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord… —Isaiah 6:1
Our soul’s personal history with God is often an account of the death of our heroes. Over and over again God has to remove our friends to put Himself in their place, and that is when we falter, fail, and become discouraged. Let me think about this personally— when the person died who represented for me all that God was, did I give up on everything in life? Did I become ill or disheartened? Or did I do as Isaiah did and see the Lord?
My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can even be revealed to me. Before I can say, “I saw the Lord,” there must be something in my character that conforms to the likeness of God. Until I am born again and really begin to see the kingdom of God, I only see from the perspective of my own biases. What I need is God’s surgical procedure— His use of external circumstances to bring about internal purification.
Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God and no one else is taken into account whatsoever. Your prayer will then be, “In all the world there is no one but You, dear God; there is no one but You.”
Keep paying the price. Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ reveals, not an embarrassed God, not a confused God, not a God who stands apart from the problems, but One who stands in the thick of the whole thing with man. Disciples Indeed, 388 L
Friday, July 12, 2019
Ecclesiastes 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: YOU HAVE AN ADVOCATE
Not all guilt is bad. God uses appropriate doses of guilt to awaken us to sin! God’s guilt brings enough regret to change us! Satan’s guilt on the other hand, brings enough regret to enslave us. Don’t let Satan lock his shackles on you.
Colossians 3:3 reminds us, “your life is hidden with Christ in God.” When God looks at you, he sees Jesus first. In the Chinese language the word for “righteousness” is a combination of two characters, the figure of a lamb and a person. The lamb is on top, covering the person. Whenever God looks down on you, he sees the perfect Lamb of God covering you.
It boils down to this choice: Do you trust your Advocate—Jesus or your Accuser—Satan? Give no heed to Satan’s voice. You have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous!
Read more GRACE
Ecclesiastes 11
Be generous: Invest in acts of charity.
Charity yields high returns.
2 Don’t hoard your goods; spread them around.
Be a blessing to others. This could be your last night.
3-4 When the clouds are full of water, it rains.
When the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls.
Don’t sit there watching the wind. Do your own work.
Don’t stare at the clouds. Get on with your life.
5 Just as you’ll never understand
the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman,
So you’ll never understand
the mystery at work in all that God does.
6 Go to work in the morning
and stick to it until evening without watching the clock.
You never know from moment to moment
how your work will turn out in the end.
7-8 Oh, how sweet the light of day,
And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!
Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted.
Take delight in each light-filled hour,
Remembering that there will also be many dark days
And that most of what comes your way is smoke.
9 You who are young, make the most of your youth.
Relish your youthful vigor.
Follow the impulses of your heart.
If something looks good to you, pursue it.
But know also that not just anything goes;
You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.
10 Live footloose and fancy-free—
You won’t be young forever.
Youth lasts about as long as smoke.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, July 12, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Luke 8:11-15
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
Insight
Luke’s gospel is different from the other three gospels—Matthew, Mark, and John—in several ways. First, Luke was written by the only gentile gospel writer (and the only gentile contributor to the New Testament). Also, while Matthew and John were eyewitnesses to the events they recorded, and it’s believed that Mark recorded Peter’s memoirs, Luke’s gospel was the result of careful research (Luke 1:1–4). Being a doctor (Colossians 4:14), Luke uniquely shows interest in medical matters. For instance, while all four gospels record Peter’s attack in the garden of Gethsemane on Malchus, the high priest’s servant, only Luke tells us that Jesus healed him (Luke 22:51). Luke also is interested in how women fit into the story (8:1–3). Finally, Luke’s gospel was volume one of a two-volume history (along with Acts). In Luke and Acts together, Luke provides more New Testament content than any other New Testament writer, including Paul.
Son Followers
The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. Luke 8:15
Sunflowers sprout in a carefree manner all over the world. Pollinated by bees, the plants spring up on the sides of highways, under bird feeders, and across fields, meadows, and prairies. To produce a harvest, however, sunflowers need good soil. Well-drained, slightly acidic, nutrient-rich soil “with organic matter or composted,” says the Farmer’s Almanac, finally produces tasty sunflower seeds, pure oil, and also a livelihood for hard-working sunflower growers.
We also need “good soil” for spiritual growth (Luke 8:15). As Jesus taught in His parable of the farmer scattering seed, God’s Word can sprout even in rocky or thorny soil (see vv. 6–7). It only thrives, however, in the soil of “honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest” (v. 15 nlt).
Young sunflowers are just as patient in their growth. Following the sun’s movement throughout the day, they turn sunward daily in a process called heliotropism. Mature sunflowers are just as deliberate. They turn eastward permanently, warming the face of the flower and increasing visits from pollinator bees. This in turn produces a greater harvest.
As with those who care for sunflowers, we can provide a rich medium for God’s Word to grow by clinging to His Word and following after His Son—developing honesty and a good heart for God’s Word to mature us. It’s a daily process. May we follow the Son and grow. By Patricia Raybon
Reflect & Pray
What’s the condition of your spiritual soil? Rocky, thorny, or rich in spiritual “nutrients”? Why? When you follow the Son daily, how does this practice impact your honesty and heart?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, July 12, 2019
The Spiritually Self-Seeking Church
…till we all come…to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ… —Ephesians 4:13
Reconciliation means the restoring of the relationship between the entire human race and God, putting it back to what God designed it to be. This is what Jesus Christ did in redemption. The church ceases to be spiritual when it becomes self-seeking, only interested in the development of its own organization. The reconciliation of the human race according to His plan means realizing Him not only in our lives individually, but also in our lives collectively. Jesus Christ sent apostles and teachers for this very purpose— that the corporate Person of Christ and His church, made up of many members, might be brought into being and made known. We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our own, or to enjoy a quiet spiritual retreat. We are here to have the full realization of Jesus Christ, for the purpose of building His body.
Am I building up the body of Christ, or am I only concerned about my own personal development? The essential thing is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “…that I may know Him…” (Philippians 3:10). To fulfill God’s perfect design for me requires my total surrender— complete abandonment of myself to Him. Whenever I only want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. And I will suffer great humiliation once I come to acknowledge and understand that I have not really been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ Himself, but only concerned with knowing what He has done for me.
My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace,
Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.
Am I measuring my life by this standard or by something less?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.
Disciples Indeed
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 12, 2019
The High Price Of Running - #8480
Eight wedding showers in a month! Six hundred guests scheduled to be at the wedding where 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen would attend the bride and groom. Four days before the wedding, the bride went missing after she went out for a jog. The American news channels were dominated by the all-out search and the investigation into the case of the vanishing bride, and then we learned what happened. The bride turned up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, claiming she had been kidnapped - a story which she later changed to tell the real story of what happened. She said that the stress leading up to her wedding had given her cold feet, and she just kept running with those cold feet. In retrospect, I'm sure folks must be saying, "Girl, why didn't you just tell someone what you were feeling?" Instead she ran from her family, her community, her wedding, and even from the truth. Tens of thousands of dollars and countless man-hours were spent looking for her. Now she faced the additional stress of negative national notoriety and even the possibility of legal or financial penalties. Pretty simple here: running solved nothing. It never does.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The High Price Of Running."
The flight of the runaway bride is a powerful lesson for all of us, actually. When you run from a problem, you only run into bigger problems. Just ask Jonah. He's someone to be thinking about if your tendency is to run away from the pain or from the pressure. God may be wanting you to consider the high price that God's prophet Jonah paid for running, so you can avoid the same mistakes and avoid the same pain.
Our word for today from the Word of God begins with Jonah 1:3. God has told Jonah where He wanted Him to go and minister but "Jonah ran away from the Lord" on a ship headed the opposite direction. It goes on to say, "Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god." Finally, Jonah "fesses up" to his running from what God wanted and he realized that he was to blame for what was happening to the innocent crew. He asks them to throw him overboard because as he said, "I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you."
Finally, in the belly of the great fish that God sent to swallow and ultimately save His prophet, Jonah says, "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered You, Lord, and my prayer rose to You." So Jonah finally faces his responsibilities. He faces his rebellion, and the rest of the story is about how, as the Bible says, "the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time." Aren't you glad we serve the God of second chances?
If you tend to be a Jonah - running from things instead of dealing with them - consider the incredibly high cost. First, you hurt the people you love. Second, like a runaway bride or a runaway prophet, your running stirs up consequences you had never dreamed of. Thirdly, you end up where you never dreamed, in a situation far worse than the one you were running from. And your running has given you no more answers, just more problems.
The God who loves you has come to you today to say, "It's time for you to face what you've been fleeing. Facing it and fixing it may be painful - but nowhere near as painful as leaving it broken." Jesus said, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). If you continue to flee, you'll never be free. Let out what you've been holding in, acknowledge what you've been denying, and be man or woman enough to say what Jonah said, "I know it is my fault."
Your big, big God with His big, big love for you has promised to go with you to face whatever you've been running from. You may not be able to handle it, but oh, He can. You just can't afford to keep running. It costs too much.
Not all guilt is bad. God uses appropriate doses of guilt to awaken us to sin! God’s guilt brings enough regret to change us! Satan’s guilt on the other hand, brings enough regret to enslave us. Don’t let Satan lock his shackles on you.
Colossians 3:3 reminds us, “your life is hidden with Christ in God.” When God looks at you, he sees Jesus first. In the Chinese language the word for “righteousness” is a combination of two characters, the figure of a lamb and a person. The lamb is on top, covering the person. Whenever God looks down on you, he sees the perfect Lamb of God covering you.
It boils down to this choice: Do you trust your Advocate—Jesus or your Accuser—Satan? Give no heed to Satan’s voice. You have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous!
Read more GRACE
Ecclesiastes 11
Be generous: Invest in acts of charity.
Charity yields high returns.
2 Don’t hoard your goods; spread them around.
Be a blessing to others. This could be your last night.
3-4 When the clouds are full of water, it rains.
When the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls.
Don’t sit there watching the wind. Do your own work.
Don’t stare at the clouds. Get on with your life.
5 Just as you’ll never understand
the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman,
So you’ll never understand
the mystery at work in all that God does.
6 Go to work in the morning
and stick to it until evening without watching the clock.
You never know from moment to moment
how your work will turn out in the end.
7-8 Oh, how sweet the light of day,
And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!
Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted.
Take delight in each light-filled hour,
Remembering that there will also be many dark days
And that most of what comes your way is smoke.
9 You who are young, make the most of your youth.
Relish your youthful vigor.
Follow the impulses of your heart.
If something looks good to you, pursue it.
But know also that not just anything goes;
You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.
10 Live footloose and fancy-free—
You won’t be young forever.
Youth lasts about as long as smoke.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, July 12, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Luke 8:11-15
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
Insight
Luke’s gospel is different from the other three gospels—Matthew, Mark, and John—in several ways. First, Luke was written by the only gentile gospel writer (and the only gentile contributor to the New Testament). Also, while Matthew and John were eyewitnesses to the events they recorded, and it’s believed that Mark recorded Peter’s memoirs, Luke’s gospel was the result of careful research (Luke 1:1–4). Being a doctor (Colossians 4:14), Luke uniquely shows interest in medical matters. For instance, while all four gospels record Peter’s attack in the garden of Gethsemane on Malchus, the high priest’s servant, only Luke tells us that Jesus healed him (Luke 22:51). Luke also is interested in how women fit into the story (8:1–3). Finally, Luke’s gospel was volume one of a two-volume history (along with Acts). In Luke and Acts together, Luke provides more New Testament content than any other New Testament writer, including Paul.
Son Followers
The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. Luke 8:15
Sunflowers sprout in a carefree manner all over the world. Pollinated by bees, the plants spring up on the sides of highways, under bird feeders, and across fields, meadows, and prairies. To produce a harvest, however, sunflowers need good soil. Well-drained, slightly acidic, nutrient-rich soil “with organic matter or composted,” says the Farmer’s Almanac, finally produces tasty sunflower seeds, pure oil, and also a livelihood for hard-working sunflower growers.
We also need “good soil” for spiritual growth (Luke 8:15). As Jesus taught in His parable of the farmer scattering seed, God’s Word can sprout even in rocky or thorny soil (see vv. 6–7). It only thrives, however, in the soil of “honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest” (v. 15 nlt).
Young sunflowers are just as patient in their growth. Following the sun’s movement throughout the day, they turn sunward daily in a process called heliotropism. Mature sunflowers are just as deliberate. They turn eastward permanently, warming the face of the flower and increasing visits from pollinator bees. This in turn produces a greater harvest.
As with those who care for sunflowers, we can provide a rich medium for God’s Word to grow by clinging to His Word and following after His Son—developing honesty and a good heart for God’s Word to mature us. It’s a daily process. May we follow the Son and grow. By Patricia Raybon
Reflect & Pray
What’s the condition of your spiritual soil? Rocky, thorny, or rich in spiritual “nutrients”? Why? When you follow the Son daily, how does this practice impact your honesty and heart?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, July 12, 2019
The Spiritually Self-Seeking Church
…till we all come…to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ… —Ephesians 4:13
Reconciliation means the restoring of the relationship between the entire human race and God, putting it back to what God designed it to be. This is what Jesus Christ did in redemption. The church ceases to be spiritual when it becomes self-seeking, only interested in the development of its own organization. The reconciliation of the human race according to His plan means realizing Him not only in our lives individually, but also in our lives collectively. Jesus Christ sent apostles and teachers for this very purpose— that the corporate Person of Christ and His church, made up of many members, might be brought into being and made known. We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our own, or to enjoy a quiet spiritual retreat. We are here to have the full realization of Jesus Christ, for the purpose of building His body.
Am I building up the body of Christ, or am I only concerned about my own personal development? The essential thing is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “…that I may know Him…” (Philippians 3:10). To fulfill God’s perfect design for me requires my total surrender— complete abandonment of myself to Him. Whenever I only want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. And I will suffer great humiliation once I come to acknowledge and understand that I have not really been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ Himself, but only concerned with knowing what He has done for me.
My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace,
Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.
Am I measuring my life by this standard or by something less?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.
Disciples Indeed
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 12, 2019
The High Price Of Running - #8480
Eight wedding showers in a month! Six hundred guests scheduled to be at the wedding where 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen would attend the bride and groom. Four days before the wedding, the bride went missing after she went out for a jog. The American news channels were dominated by the all-out search and the investigation into the case of the vanishing bride, and then we learned what happened. The bride turned up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, claiming she had been kidnapped - a story which she later changed to tell the real story of what happened. She said that the stress leading up to her wedding had given her cold feet, and she just kept running with those cold feet. In retrospect, I'm sure folks must be saying, "Girl, why didn't you just tell someone what you were feeling?" Instead she ran from her family, her community, her wedding, and even from the truth. Tens of thousands of dollars and countless man-hours were spent looking for her. Now she faced the additional stress of negative national notoriety and even the possibility of legal or financial penalties. Pretty simple here: running solved nothing. It never does.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The High Price Of Running."
The flight of the runaway bride is a powerful lesson for all of us, actually. When you run from a problem, you only run into bigger problems. Just ask Jonah. He's someone to be thinking about if your tendency is to run away from the pain or from the pressure. God may be wanting you to consider the high price that God's prophet Jonah paid for running, so you can avoid the same mistakes and avoid the same pain.
Our word for today from the Word of God begins with Jonah 1:3. God has told Jonah where He wanted Him to go and minister but "Jonah ran away from the Lord" on a ship headed the opposite direction. It goes on to say, "Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god." Finally, Jonah "fesses up" to his running from what God wanted and he realized that he was to blame for what was happening to the innocent crew. He asks them to throw him overboard because as he said, "I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you."
Finally, in the belly of the great fish that God sent to swallow and ultimately save His prophet, Jonah says, "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered You, Lord, and my prayer rose to You." So Jonah finally faces his responsibilities. He faces his rebellion, and the rest of the story is about how, as the Bible says, "the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time." Aren't you glad we serve the God of second chances?
If you tend to be a Jonah - running from things instead of dealing with them - consider the incredibly high cost. First, you hurt the people you love. Second, like a runaway bride or a runaway prophet, your running stirs up consequences you had never dreamed of. Thirdly, you end up where you never dreamed, in a situation far worse than the one you were running from. And your running has given you no more answers, just more problems.
The God who loves you has come to you today to say, "It's time for you to face what you've been fleeing. Facing it and fixing it may be painful - but nowhere near as painful as leaving it broken." Jesus said, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). If you continue to flee, you'll never be free. Let out what you've been holding in, acknowledge what you've been denying, and be man or woman enough to say what Jonah said, "I know it is my fault."
Your big, big God with His big, big love for you has promised to go with you to face whatever you've been running from. You may not be able to handle it, but oh, He can. You just can't afford to keep running. It costs too much.
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Ecclesiastes 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: SATAN’S DESTRUCTIVE LIES
Satan’s condemnation brings no repentance or resolve…just regret! Satan has come to steal, kill, and destroy. To steal your peace, to kill your dreams, to destroy your future. Satan has deputized people to peddle his poison. Friends dredge up your past. Preachers proclaim all guilt and no grace. And parents, “Why can’t you grow up?” they say. “When are you going to make me proud?” they say. But your accusers will not have the last word.
Jesus has acted on your behalf. Jesus has risen to your defense. Hebrews 10:22 says, “…let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, because we have been made free from a guilty conscience.” Not just for our past mistakes but also for our future ones. Behold the fruit of grace: saved by God, raised by God, seated with God! Gifted, equipped, and commissioned!
Read more GRACE
Ecclesiastes 10
Dead flies in perfume make it stink,
And a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.
2 Wise thinking leads to right living;
Stupid thinking leads to wrong living.
3 Fools on the road have no sense of direction.
The way they walk tells the story: “There goes the fool again!”
4 If a ruler loses his temper against you, don’t panic;
A calm disposition quiets intemperate rage.
5-7 Here’s a piece of bad business I’ve seen on this earth,
An error that can be blamed on whoever is in charge:
Immaturity is given a place of prominence,
While maturity is made to take a backseat.
I’ve seen unproven upstarts riding in style,
While experienced veterans are put out to pasture.
8 Caution: The trap you set might catch you.
Warning: Your accomplice in crime might double-cross you.
9 Safety first: Quarrying stones is dangerous.
Be alert: Felling trees is hazardous.
10 Remember: The duller the ax the harder the work;
Use your head: The more brains, the less muscle.
11 If the snake bites before it’s been charmed,
What’s the point in then sending for the charmer?
12-13 The words of a wise person are gracious.
The talk of a fool self-destructs—
He starts out talking nonsense
And ends up spouting insanity and evil.
14 Fools talk way too much,
Chattering stuff they know nothing about.
15 A decent day’s work so fatigues fools
That they can’t find their way back to town.
16-17 Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup,
And whose princes party all night.
Lucky the land whose king is mature,
Where the princes behave themselves
And don’t drink themselves silly.
18 A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack;
A lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof.
19 Laughter and bread go together,
And wine gives sparkle to life—
But it’s money that makes the world go around.
20 Don’t bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath,
And don’t abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.
Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.
Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:John 10:11-15
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Insight
In literature, when a phrase is repeated at the beginning and end of a section, it’s called an inclusio. We see this in John 10:11–15: “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (v. 11); “I lay down my life for the sheep” (v. 15). This inclusio provides an interesting picture of a shepherd.
When we think of a shepherd protecting his sheep, we may think of David’s statement about killing the lion and the bear who attacked the sheep (1 Samuel 17:34–36). But in today’s passage, instead of saying that the good shepherd defends the sheep against the wolf, the picture is more of offering Himself in place of the sheep. The good shepherd is one who is willing to sacrifice His life.
Football and Shepherds
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11
An intriguing element of English football is the team anthem sung by the fans at the start of each match. These songs range from the fun (“Glad All Over”) to the whimsical (“I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles”) to the surprising. “Psalm 23,” for instance, is the anthem of the club from West Bromwich Albion. The words of that psalm appear on the façade inside the team’s stadium, declaring to everyone who comes to watch the “West Brom Baggies” the care of the good, great, and chief Shepherd.
In Psalm 23, David made his timeless statement, “The Lord is my shepherd” (v. 1). Later, the gospel writer Matthew would tell us, “When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). And in John 10, Jesus declared His love and concern for the human “sheep” of His generation. “I am the good shepherd,” He said. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (v. 11). Jesus’s compassion drove His interactions with the crowds, His responses to their needs, and, ultimately, His sacrifice on their (and our) behalf.
“The Lord is my shepherd” is far more than an ancient lyric or a clever slogan. It’s the confident statement of what it means to be known and loved by our great God—and what it means to be rescued by His Son. By Bill Crowder
Reflect & Pray
In what ways have you seen God’s care for you? Who can you tell about Him today?
What a gift our Shepherd is to us, Father! Help us to respond to His voice—and draw nearer to You.
Read The Lord Is My Shepherd at discoveryseries.org/hp952.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 11, 2019
The Spiritually Vigorous Saint
…that I may know Him… —Philippians 3:10
A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him. The Holy Spirit is determined that we will have the realization of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives, and He will bring us back to the same point over and over again until we do. Self-realization only leads to the glorification of good works, whereas a saint of God glorifies Jesus Christ through his good works. Whatever we may be doing— even eating, drinking, or washing disciples’ feet— we have to take the initiative of realizing and recognizing Jesus Christ in it. Every phase of our life has its counterpart in the life of Jesus. Our Lord realized His relationship to the Father even in the most menial task. “Jesus, knowing…that He had come from God and was going to God,…took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet…” (John 13:3-5).
The aim of a spiritually vigorous saint is “that I may know Him…” Do I know Him where I am today? If not, I am failing Him. I am not here for self-realization, but to know Jesus Christ. In Christian work our initiative and motivation are too often simply the result of realizing that there is work to be done and that we must do it. Yet that is never the attitude of a spiritually vigorous saint. His aim is to achieve the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.
Not Knowing Whither
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Treasure in the Trash - #8479
My mom didn't know it, but boy, did she make a mistake! I know that now because of my son's long-time interest in baseball card collecting...actually, baseball card investing. Oh yeah, he's always known what those cards are worth - especially the rare ones. One little card can be worth many hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. I think I had some of those valuable cards when I was a kid. I had players like Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams! Cards like that are worth big bucks today! Of course, I don't have them anymore. Sometime when we were moving, my mother threw them away!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Treasure in the Trash."
My mother had no idea of the value of what she was throwing away. A lot of people make that same mistake, because they don't know how much they're worth. When you've been put down, left out, mistreated, abandoned, you can battle feelings of worthlessness your whole life no matter how successful you may become. Maybe that's a feeling you know all too well. And, tragically, those of us who don't know what we're worth have a tendency to throw ourselves away on bad relationships, low goals and self-destructive choices.
But this very day, the person who created you wants to remind you of how much you are worth. In Matthew 13:44, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus is telling one of His parables. He says, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." The parable right before this indicates that the field is this world we live in and the man in the field is Jesus. And the buried treasure? That's you and me.
It's very possible you've been such a buried treasure that you don't even know you're a treasure. But Jesus thinks so! I love one thought that George W. Bush expressed in his Inaugural Address. He said, "No insignificant person was ever born." Well, God would agree with that! He says in Ephesians 2:10 that "we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." So all those people who have treated you like you're worthless...they don't know who you really are. You are God's workmanship, my friend!
And here's the ultimate proof of how much Jesus values you. In the words of His parable, "He went out and sold all He had" so you could belong to Him. The reason we feel like we're worth so little is ultimately because we're away from the One who gave us our worth. The Bible describes us as being "without God" (Ephesians 2:12) because we've taken over the running of our own lives. I mean, the middle letter of sin is "I." All our sinning has put a wall between us and the God who made us for himself.
But when Jesus was dying on that cross, He was giving "all He had" to pay the price for all the wrong things you have ever done. In your heart, for just a moment, would you walk up that hill the Bible calls Skull Hill and just stand there quietly at the foot of that cross where the Son of God is pouring out His life for you. Look at Him dying for you! You are not worthless!
But you'll never know how valuable you are until you give yourself to the One who died to buy you back, and you could do that right now, right where you are. Tell Him, "Jesus I want to belong to you. I believe the only way I can is for you to forgive my sin. And only you can, because you died for it. I turn from that sinning and ask you to come into my life. You're alive! You walked out of your grave. Please come into my life today; the rest of my life is yours."
Boy, at this crossroads moment, this is what we made our website for is for you at a time like this. Go there and check it out. It will really help you know you belong to Him. That's ANewStory.com.
See, Jesus doesn't want to lose you. That's why He paid for you with His life. This could be the day that you finally belong to the One who loves you like you've never been loved before.
Satan’s condemnation brings no repentance or resolve…just regret! Satan has come to steal, kill, and destroy. To steal your peace, to kill your dreams, to destroy your future. Satan has deputized people to peddle his poison. Friends dredge up your past. Preachers proclaim all guilt and no grace. And parents, “Why can’t you grow up?” they say. “When are you going to make me proud?” they say. But your accusers will not have the last word.
Jesus has acted on your behalf. Jesus has risen to your defense. Hebrews 10:22 says, “…let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, because we have been made free from a guilty conscience.” Not just for our past mistakes but also for our future ones. Behold the fruit of grace: saved by God, raised by God, seated with God! Gifted, equipped, and commissioned!
Read more GRACE
Ecclesiastes 10
Dead flies in perfume make it stink,
And a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.
2 Wise thinking leads to right living;
Stupid thinking leads to wrong living.
3 Fools on the road have no sense of direction.
The way they walk tells the story: “There goes the fool again!”
4 If a ruler loses his temper against you, don’t panic;
A calm disposition quiets intemperate rage.
5-7 Here’s a piece of bad business I’ve seen on this earth,
An error that can be blamed on whoever is in charge:
Immaturity is given a place of prominence,
While maturity is made to take a backseat.
I’ve seen unproven upstarts riding in style,
While experienced veterans are put out to pasture.
8 Caution: The trap you set might catch you.
Warning: Your accomplice in crime might double-cross you.
9 Safety first: Quarrying stones is dangerous.
Be alert: Felling trees is hazardous.
10 Remember: The duller the ax the harder the work;
Use your head: The more brains, the less muscle.
11 If the snake bites before it’s been charmed,
What’s the point in then sending for the charmer?
12-13 The words of a wise person are gracious.
The talk of a fool self-destructs—
He starts out talking nonsense
And ends up spouting insanity and evil.
14 Fools talk way too much,
Chattering stuff they know nothing about.
15 A decent day’s work so fatigues fools
That they can’t find their way back to town.
16-17 Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup,
And whose princes party all night.
Lucky the land whose king is mature,
Where the princes behave themselves
And don’t drink themselves silly.
18 A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack;
A lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof.
19 Laughter and bread go together,
And wine gives sparkle to life—
But it’s money that makes the world go around.
20 Don’t bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath,
And don’t abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.
Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.
Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:John 10:11-15
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Insight
In literature, when a phrase is repeated at the beginning and end of a section, it’s called an inclusio. We see this in John 10:11–15: “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (v. 11); “I lay down my life for the sheep” (v. 15). This inclusio provides an interesting picture of a shepherd.
When we think of a shepherd protecting his sheep, we may think of David’s statement about killing the lion and the bear who attacked the sheep (1 Samuel 17:34–36). But in today’s passage, instead of saying that the good shepherd defends the sheep against the wolf, the picture is more of offering Himself in place of the sheep. The good shepherd is one who is willing to sacrifice His life.
Football and Shepherds
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11
An intriguing element of English football is the team anthem sung by the fans at the start of each match. These songs range from the fun (“Glad All Over”) to the whimsical (“I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles”) to the surprising. “Psalm 23,” for instance, is the anthem of the club from West Bromwich Albion. The words of that psalm appear on the façade inside the team’s stadium, declaring to everyone who comes to watch the “West Brom Baggies” the care of the good, great, and chief Shepherd.
In Psalm 23, David made his timeless statement, “The Lord is my shepherd” (v. 1). Later, the gospel writer Matthew would tell us, “When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). And in John 10, Jesus declared His love and concern for the human “sheep” of His generation. “I am the good shepherd,” He said. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (v. 11). Jesus’s compassion drove His interactions with the crowds, His responses to their needs, and, ultimately, His sacrifice on their (and our) behalf.
“The Lord is my shepherd” is far more than an ancient lyric or a clever slogan. It’s the confident statement of what it means to be known and loved by our great God—and what it means to be rescued by His Son. By Bill Crowder
Reflect & Pray
In what ways have you seen God’s care for you? Who can you tell about Him today?
What a gift our Shepherd is to us, Father! Help us to respond to His voice—and draw nearer to You.
Read The Lord Is My Shepherd at discoveryseries.org/hp952.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 11, 2019
The Spiritually Vigorous Saint
…that I may know Him… —Philippians 3:10
A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him. The Holy Spirit is determined that we will have the realization of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives, and He will bring us back to the same point over and over again until we do. Self-realization only leads to the glorification of good works, whereas a saint of God glorifies Jesus Christ through his good works. Whatever we may be doing— even eating, drinking, or washing disciples’ feet— we have to take the initiative of realizing and recognizing Jesus Christ in it. Every phase of our life has its counterpart in the life of Jesus. Our Lord realized His relationship to the Father even in the most menial task. “Jesus, knowing…that He had come from God and was going to God,…took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet…” (John 13:3-5).
The aim of a spiritually vigorous saint is “that I may know Him…” Do I know Him where I am today? If not, I am failing Him. I am not here for self-realization, but to know Jesus Christ. In Christian work our initiative and motivation are too often simply the result of realizing that there is work to be done and that we must do it. Yet that is never the attitude of a spiritually vigorous saint. His aim is to achieve the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.
Not Knowing Whither
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Treasure in the Trash - #8479
My mom didn't know it, but boy, did she make a mistake! I know that now because of my son's long-time interest in baseball card collecting...actually, baseball card investing. Oh yeah, he's always known what those cards are worth - especially the rare ones. One little card can be worth many hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. I think I had some of those valuable cards when I was a kid. I had players like Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams! Cards like that are worth big bucks today! Of course, I don't have them anymore. Sometime when we were moving, my mother threw them away!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Treasure in the Trash."
My mother had no idea of the value of what she was throwing away. A lot of people make that same mistake, because they don't know how much they're worth. When you've been put down, left out, mistreated, abandoned, you can battle feelings of worthlessness your whole life no matter how successful you may become. Maybe that's a feeling you know all too well. And, tragically, those of us who don't know what we're worth have a tendency to throw ourselves away on bad relationships, low goals and self-destructive choices.
But this very day, the person who created you wants to remind you of how much you are worth. In Matthew 13:44, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus is telling one of His parables. He says, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." The parable right before this indicates that the field is this world we live in and the man in the field is Jesus. And the buried treasure? That's you and me.
It's very possible you've been such a buried treasure that you don't even know you're a treasure. But Jesus thinks so! I love one thought that George W. Bush expressed in his Inaugural Address. He said, "No insignificant person was ever born." Well, God would agree with that! He says in Ephesians 2:10 that "we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." So all those people who have treated you like you're worthless...they don't know who you really are. You are God's workmanship, my friend!
And here's the ultimate proof of how much Jesus values you. In the words of His parable, "He went out and sold all He had" so you could belong to Him. The reason we feel like we're worth so little is ultimately because we're away from the One who gave us our worth. The Bible describes us as being "without God" (Ephesians 2:12) because we've taken over the running of our own lives. I mean, the middle letter of sin is "I." All our sinning has put a wall between us and the God who made us for himself.
But when Jesus was dying on that cross, He was giving "all He had" to pay the price for all the wrong things you have ever done. In your heart, for just a moment, would you walk up that hill the Bible calls Skull Hill and just stand there quietly at the foot of that cross where the Son of God is pouring out His life for you. Look at Him dying for you! You are not worthless!
But you'll never know how valuable you are until you give yourself to the One who died to buy you back, and you could do that right now, right where you are. Tell Him, "Jesus I want to belong to you. I believe the only way I can is for you to forgive my sin. And only you can, because you died for it. I turn from that sinning and ask you to come into my life. You're alive! You walked out of your grave. Please come into my life today; the rest of my life is yours."
Boy, at this crossroads moment, this is what we made our website for is for you at a time like this. Go there and check it out. It will really help you know you belong to Him. That's ANewStory.com.
See, Jesus doesn't want to lose you. That's why He paid for you with His life. This could be the day that you finally belong to the One who loves you like you've never been loved before.
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Acts 10:1-26, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: VOICES IN OUR HEAD
Voices in our head whisper, “You aren’t good enough!” “You’ll never improve.” “You failed—again!” Voices in our world. Voices in our head.
Who is this morality patrolman who issues a citation at every stumble? Does he ever shut up? No. Because Satan never shuts up! Revelation 12:9-10 says, “For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth, the one who accused our brothers and sisters before our God day and night.” Satan is relentless, tireless. The Accuser makes a career out of accusing. But he will not have the last word.
Jesus has acted on our behalf. He stooped. Low enough to be spat upon, nailed, and speared. Low…low enough to be buried.
And then he stood…he stood up! Romans 8:34 promises He is in the presence of God at this very moment standing up for us. We have a clean record. Grace!
Read more GRACE
Acts 10:1-26
There was a man named Cornelius who lived in Caesarea, captain of the Italian Guard stationed there. He was a thoroughly good man. He had led everyone in his house to live worshipfully before God, was always helping people in need, and had the habit of prayer. One day about three o’clock in the afternoon he had a vision. An angel of God, as real as his next-door neighbor, came in and said, “Cornelius.”
4-6 Cornelius stared hard, wondering if he was seeing things. Then he said, “What do you want, sir?”
The angel said, “Your prayers and neighborly acts have brought you to God’s attention. Here’s what you are to do. Send men to Joppa to get Simon, the one everyone calls Peter. He is staying with Simon the Tanner, whose house is down by the sea.”
7-8 As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two servants and one particularly devout soldier from the guard. He went over with them in great detail everything that had just happened, and then sent them off to Joppa.
9-13 The next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray. It was about noon. Peter got hungry and started thinking about lunch. While lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the skies open up. Something that looked like a huge blanket lowered by ropes at its four corners settled on the ground. Every kind of animal and reptile and bird you could think of was on it. Then a voice came: “Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.”
14 Peter said, “Oh, no, Lord. I’ve never so much as tasted food that was not kosher.”
15 The voice came a second time: “If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.”
16 This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the skies.
17-20 As Peter, puzzled, sat there trying to figure out what it all meant, the men sent by Cornelius showed up at Simon’s front door. They called in, asking if there was a Simon, also called Peter, staying there. Peter, lost in thought, didn’t hear them, so the Spirit whispered to him, “Three men are knocking at the door looking for you. Get down there and go with them. Don’t ask any questions. I sent them to get you.”
21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I think I’m the man you’re looking for. What’s up?”
22-23 They said, “Captain Cornelius, a God-fearing man well-known for his fair play—ask any Jew in this part of the country—was commanded by a holy angel to get you and bring you to his house so he could hear what you had to say.” Peter invited them in and made them feel at home.
23-26 The next morning he got up and went with them. Some of his friends from Joppa went along. A day later they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had his relatives and close friends waiting with him. The minute Peter came through the door, Cornelius was up on his feet greeting him—and then down on his face worshiping him! Peter pulled him up and said, “None of that—I’m a man and only a man, no different from you.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Kings 6:8-17
Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.
11 And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in (A)Dothan.” 14 So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, (B)for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please (C)open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of (D)horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Insight
In the Old Testament, Aram (2 Kings 6:8) was the territory that today is known as Syria. Its capital, Damascus, was one of the great cities of ancient times and continued to be prominent in the New Testament. It was the destination of Saul of Tarsus when on a mission to persecute believers in Jesus (Acts 9).
Unseen Realities
Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” 2 Kings 6:17
Stephen Cass, an editor at Discover magazine, was determined to investigate some of the invisible things that are part of his daily life. As he walked toward his office in New York City, he thought: “If I could see radio waves, the top of the Empire State Building [with its host of radio and TV antennas] would be lit like a kaleidoscopic flare, illuminating the entire city.” He realized he was surrounded by an invisible electromagnetic field of radio and TV signals, Wi-Fi, and more.
Elisha’s servant learned about another kind of unseen reality one morning—the invisible spiritual world. He awoke to find himself and his master surrounded by the armies of Aram. As far as his eyes could see, there were soldiers mounted on powerful warhorses (2 Kings 6:15)! The servant was afraid, but Elisha was confident because he saw the army of angels that surrounded them. He said: “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (v. 16). Then he asked the Lord to open his servant’s eyes so he too could see that the Lord had surrounded their enemy and He was in control (v. 17).
Do you feel overpowered and helpless? Remember that God is in control and fights for you. He “will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11). By Poh Fang Chia
Reflect & Pray
How can you learn to trust God’s supernatural help? How would trusting Him more change the way you face difficulties?
Fear not for God is with us and for us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
The Spiritually Lazy Saint
Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together… —Hebrews 10:24-25
We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward Christ-realization, not the initiative toward self-realization. To live a distant, withdrawn, and secluded life is diametrically opposed to spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.
The true test of our spirituality occurs when we come up against injustice, degradation, ingratitude, and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritually lazy. While being tested, we want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of finding a quiet retreat. We use God only for the sake of getting peace and joy. We seek only our enjoyment of Jesus Christ, not a true realization of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things we are seeking are simply effects, and yet we try to make them causes.
“Yes, I think it is right,” Peter said, “…to stir you up by reminding you…” (2 Peter 1:13). It is a most disturbing thing to be hit squarely in the stomach by someone being used of God to stir us up— someone who is full of spiritual activity. Simple active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work can actually be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The real danger in spiritual laziness is that we do not want to be stirred up— all we want to hear about is a spiritual retirement from the world. Yet Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement— He says, “Go and tell My brethren…” (Matthew 28:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6). The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Your Line in the Sand - #8478
Some say it's legend. Some say it's history, but it's one of the most inspiring stories from America's past. The scene: a tiny mission near San Antonio, Texas. You know, a small band of Texas Freedom Fighters is taking their stand against the invading Mexican Army, and they're vastly outnumbered. There's a brief window during which the men of the Alamo have a choice between leaving or staying to fight. Col. William Travis is in command of the garrison, and according to some accounts, he gathered the defenders in the courtyard of the Alamo. With his sword, he drew a line in the sand and he called his men to a destiny choice: cross the line as your pledge to fight or stay where you are as an announcement that you are leaving. They all crossed the line to heroism, to immortality, and to honor that has endured some 200 years.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Line in the Sand."
Two thousand years ago, a spiritual line was drawn in the sand and it's still there. And every person who belongs to Jesus Christ has to make their choice.
To understand that choice, we go back 20 centuries to the first Christians who had to make it. Their story is found in Acts 4, beginning with verse 12. It's our word for today from the Word of God. The scene is Jerusalem - the city where Jesus has been put to death only weeks before. Peter and John have just been proclaiming Jesus in the temple area. Now, they're facing a hostile crowd of powerful rulers, and they make this bombshell announcement: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved."
At that point, some of the same people who had arranged for Jesus' crucifixion "called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus." There is the line in the sand. Talk about whatever you want, but don't talk about Jesus! The Christian's answer? "We cannot help but speaking about what we have seen and heard." Later, the Bible says, "With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus." They made their choice. They would talk about Jesus, whatever it cost.
So, what about you and me? We face the same choice in situation after situation. Will we talk about Jesus at a time and in a culture where it's okay to talk about anything you want except Jesus? Actress Patricia Heaton has publicly professed her faith in Christ. A while back in People Magazine, she said: "Most people have some kind of faith. However, I think Jesus is a scary subject. 'God' you can make into anything you want. But confronted with Jesus you have to say I believe that or I don't, and that's very powerful."
Yes, it is, and the devil knows it. That's why he made you and me choke so often, think about it, when we get to that name. We'll talk about God, family values, church, faith, but when it comes to Jesus, we unwittingly obey the 2,000-year-old order from hell, "Do not mention Jesus." But there's no other name by which people can be rescued from an awful eternity. Of course, Satan does everything he can do to have us chicken out on talking that name.
So the line is in the sand. Are you going to stay where it's "safe," hiding Jesus behind you. Or are you going to cross the line and join the heroes who say, "I will tell them about Jesus, whatever it costs." The people who think nothing of Jesus aren't ashamed to freely speak His name in disrespect.
What about you - someone whose life, whose eternity has been changed by Jesus? Will you talk about Him because you love Him and because they need Him? Or will you be ashamed of Jesus? On that brutal cross, Jesus was not ashamed of you.
Voices in our head whisper, “You aren’t good enough!” “You’ll never improve.” “You failed—again!” Voices in our world. Voices in our head.
Who is this morality patrolman who issues a citation at every stumble? Does he ever shut up? No. Because Satan never shuts up! Revelation 12:9-10 says, “For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth, the one who accused our brothers and sisters before our God day and night.” Satan is relentless, tireless. The Accuser makes a career out of accusing. But he will not have the last word.
Jesus has acted on our behalf. He stooped. Low enough to be spat upon, nailed, and speared. Low…low enough to be buried.
And then he stood…he stood up! Romans 8:34 promises He is in the presence of God at this very moment standing up for us. We have a clean record. Grace!
Read more GRACE
Acts 10:1-26
There was a man named Cornelius who lived in Caesarea, captain of the Italian Guard stationed there. He was a thoroughly good man. He had led everyone in his house to live worshipfully before God, was always helping people in need, and had the habit of prayer. One day about three o’clock in the afternoon he had a vision. An angel of God, as real as his next-door neighbor, came in and said, “Cornelius.”
4-6 Cornelius stared hard, wondering if he was seeing things. Then he said, “What do you want, sir?”
The angel said, “Your prayers and neighborly acts have brought you to God’s attention. Here’s what you are to do. Send men to Joppa to get Simon, the one everyone calls Peter. He is staying with Simon the Tanner, whose house is down by the sea.”
7-8 As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two servants and one particularly devout soldier from the guard. He went over with them in great detail everything that had just happened, and then sent them off to Joppa.
9-13 The next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray. It was about noon. Peter got hungry and started thinking about lunch. While lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the skies open up. Something that looked like a huge blanket lowered by ropes at its four corners settled on the ground. Every kind of animal and reptile and bird you could think of was on it. Then a voice came: “Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.”
14 Peter said, “Oh, no, Lord. I’ve never so much as tasted food that was not kosher.”
15 The voice came a second time: “If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.”
16 This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the skies.
17-20 As Peter, puzzled, sat there trying to figure out what it all meant, the men sent by Cornelius showed up at Simon’s front door. They called in, asking if there was a Simon, also called Peter, staying there. Peter, lost in thought, didn’t hear them, so the Spirit whispered to him, “Three men are knocking at the door looking for you. Get down there and go with them. Don’t ask any questions. I sent them to get you.”
21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I think I’m the man you’re looking for. What’s up?”
22-23 They said, “Captain Cornelius, a God-fearing man well-known for his fair play—ask any Jew in this part of the country—was commanded by a holy angel to get you and bring you to his house so he could hear what you had to say.” Peter invited them in and made them feel at home.
23-26 The next morning he got up and went with them. Some of his friends from Joppa went along. A day later they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had his relatives and close friends waiting with him. The minute Peter came through the door, Cornelius was up on his feet greeting him—and then down on his face worshiping him! Peter pulled him up and said, “None of that—I’m a man and only a man, no different from you.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Kings 6:8-17
Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.
11 And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in (A)Dothan.” 14 So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, (B)for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please (C)open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of (D)horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Insight
In the Old Testament, Aram (2 Kings 6:8) was the territory that today is known as Syria. Its capital, Damascus, was one of the great cities of ancient times and continued to be prominent in the New Testament. It was the destination of Saul of Tarsus when on a mission to persecute believers in Jesus (Acts 9).
Unseen Realities
Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” 2 Kings 6:17
Stephen Cass, an editor at Discover magazine, was determined to investigate some of the invisible things that are part of his daily life. As he walked toward his office in New York City, he thought: “If I could see radio waves, the top of the Empire State Building [with its host of radio and TV antennas] would be lit like a kaleidoscopic flare, illuminating the entire city.” He realized he was surrounded by an invisible electromagnetic field of radio and TV signals, Wi-Fi, and more.
Elisha’s servant learned about another kind of unseen reality one morning—the invisible spiritual world. He awoke to find himself and his master surrounded by the armies of Aram. As far as his eyes could see, there were soldiers mounted on powerful warhorses (2 Kings 6:15)! The servant was afraid, but Elisha was confident because he saw the army of angels that surrounded them. He said: “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (v. 16). Then he asked the Lord to open his servant’s eyes so he too could see that the Lord had surrounded their enemy and He was in control (v. 17).
Do you feel overpowered and helpless? Remember that God is in control and fights for you. He “will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11). By Poh Fang Chia
Reflect & Pray
How can you learn to trust God’s supernatural help? How would trusting Him more change the way you face difficulties?
Fear not for God is with us and for us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
The Spiritually Lazy Saint
Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together… —Hebrews 10:24-25
We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward Christ-realization, not the initiative toward self-realization. To live a distant, withdrawn, and secluded life is diametrically opposed to spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.
The true test of our spirituality occurs when we come up against injustice, degradation, ingratitude, and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritually lazy. While being tested, we want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of finding a quiet retreat. We use God only for the sake of getting peace and joy. We seek only our enjoyment of Jesus Christ, not a true realization of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things we are seeking are simply effects, and yet we try to make them causes.
“Yes, I think it is right,” Peter said, “…to stir you up by reminding you…” (2 Peter 1:13). It is a most disturbing thing to be hit squarely in the stomach by someone being used of God to stir us up— someone who is full of spiritual activity. Simple active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work can actually be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The real danger in spiritual laziness is that we do not want to be stirred up— all we want to hear about is a spiritual retirement from the world. Yet Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement— He says, “Go and tell My brethren…” (Matthew 28:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6). The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Your Line in the Sand - #8478
Some say it's legend. Some say it's history, but it's one of the most inspiring stories from America's past. The scene: a tiny mission near San Antonio, Texas. You know, a small band of Texas Freedom Fighters is taking their stand against the invading Mexican Army, and they're vastly outnumbered. There's a brief window during which the men of the Alamo have a choice between leaving or staying to fight. Col. William Travis is in command of the garrison, and according to some accounts, he gathered the defenders in the courtyard of the Alamo. With his sword, he drew a line in the sand and he called his men to a destiny choice: cross the line as your pledge to fight or stay where you are as an announcement that you are leaving. They all crossed the line to heroism, to immortality, and to honor that has endured some 200 years.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Line in the Sand."
Two thousand years ago, a spiritual line was drawn in the sand and it's still there. And every person who belongs to Jesus Christ has to make their choice.
To understand that choice, we go back 20 centuries to the first Christians who had to make it. Their story is found in Acts 4, beginning with verse 12. It's our word for today from the Word of God. The scene is Jerusalem - the city where Jesus has been put to death only weeks before. Peter and John have just been proclaiming Jesus in the temple area. Now, they're facing a hostile crowd of powerful rulers, and they make this bombshell announcement: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved."
At that point, some of the same people who had arranged for Jesus' crucifixion "called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus." There is the line in the sand. Talk about whatever you want, but don't talk about Jesus! The Christian's answer? "We cannot help but speaking about what we have seen and heard." Later, the Bible says, "With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus." They made their choice. They would talk about Jesus, whatever it cost.
So, what about you and me? We face the same choice in situation after situation. Will we talk about Jesus at a time and in a culture where it's okay to talk about anything you want except Jesus? Actress Patricia Heaton has publicly professed her faith in Christ. A while back in People Magazine, she said: "Most people have some kind of faith. However, I think Jesus is a scary subject. 'God' you can make into anything you want. But confronted with Jesus you have to say I believe that or I don't, and that's very powerful."
Yes, it is, and the devil knows it. That's why he made you and me choke so often, think about it, when we get to that name. We'll talk about God, family values, church, faith, but when it comes to Jesus, we unwittingly obey the 2,000-year-old order from hell, "Do not mention Jesus." But there's no other name by which people can be rescued from an awful eternity. Of course, Satan does everything he can do to have us chicken out on talking that name.
So the line is in the sand. Are you going to stay where it's "safe," hiding Jesus behind you. Or are you going to cross the line and join the heroes who say, "I will tell them about Jesus, whatever it costs." The people who think nothing of Jesus aren't ashamed to freely speak His name in disrespect.
What about you - someone whose life, whose eternity has been changed by Jesus? Will you talk about Him because you love Him and because they need Him? Or will you be ashamed of Jesus? On that brutal cross, Jesus was not ashamed of you.
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