Max Lucado Daily: SECOND CHANCES
Not many second chances exist in the world today! It’s more like “three strikes and you’re out.” It’s a dog-eat-dog world!
Jesus has a simple answer. He would say, “Well, then don’t live with the dogs.” Why let a bunch of other failures tell you how much of a failure you are? Sure you can have a second chance! Just ask Peter. One minute he felt lower than a snake’s belly and the next he was high hog at the trough. When Peter denied Jesus, the message came loud and clear, “Be sure and tell Peter he gets to bat again!”
It’s not every day you get a second chance. It’s not every day you find someone who’ll give you a second chance—much less someone who’ll give you a second chance every day. But in Jesus, Peter found both! No wonder they call Him the Savior!
1 Chronicles 2
Israel’s (that is, Jacob’s) sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
3-9 Judah had Er, Onan, and Shelah; their mother was Bathshua the Canaanite. Er, Judah’s firstborn, was so bad before God that God killed him. Judah also had Perez and Zerah by his daughter-in-law Tamar—a total of five sons. Perez had Hezron and Hamul; Zerah had Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda—five sons. Carmi had Achar, who brought doom on Israel when he violated a holy ban. Ethan’s son was Azariah. And Hezron had Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai.
10-17 Ram had Amminadab and Amminadab had Nahshon, a prominent leader in the Judah family. Nahshon had Salmon and Salmon had Boaz. Boaz had Obed and Obed had Jesse. Jesse’s firstborn was Eliab, followed by Abinadab, Shimea, Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem, and finally David; David was the seventh. Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah gave birth to three sons: Abishai, Joab, and Asahel; Abigail was the mother of Amasa (the father was Jether the Ishmaelite).
18-24 Caleb son of Hezron had children by his wife Azubah and also by Jerioth. Azubah’s sons were Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. After Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrath, who gave birth to Hur. Hur had Uri and Uri had Bezalel. Some time later Hezron married the daughter of Makir the father of Gilead; he was sixty years old when he married her; she gave birth to Segub. Then Segub had Jair who owned twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. Geshur and Aram captured the nomadic villages of Jair and Kenath and their satellite settlements—sixty towns. These all belonged to Makir the father of Gilead. After the death of Hezron, Caleb married Ephrathah the wife of his father Hezron; she then gave birth to Ashhur the father of Tekoa.
25-26 The sons of Jerahmeel, Hezron’s firstborn: Ram his firstborn, followed by Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. Jerahmeel had another wife whose name was Atarah; she gave birth to Onam.
27 The sons of Ram, Jerahmeel’s firstborn: Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.
28-29 The sons of Onam: Shammai and Jada.
The sons of Shammai: Nadab and Abishur. Abishur’s wife was Abihail; she gave birth to Ahban and Molid.
30 Nadab had Seled and Appaim. Seled died leaving no sons.
31 Appaim had Ishi; Ishi had Sheshan; and Sheshan had Ahlai.
32 Jada, Shammai’s brother, had Jether and Jonathan. Jether died leaving no sons.
33 Jonathan had Peleth and Zaza.
This is the family tree of the sons of Jerahmeel.
34-41 Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. But Sheshan had an Egyptian servant, Jarha. Sheshan married his daughter to Jarha and she gave birth to Attai. Attai had Nathan, Nathan had Zabad, Zabad had Ephlal, Ephlal had Obed, Obed had Jehu, Jehu had Azariah, Azariah had Helez, Helez had Eleasah, Eleasah had Sismai, Sismai had Shallum, Shallum had Jekamiah, and Jekamiah had Elishama.
42 Jerahmeel’s brother Caleb had a son, his firstborn, named Mesha; Mesha had Ziph; Ziph’s son was Mareshah the father of Hebron.
43-44 The sons of Hebron: Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. Shema had Raham the father of Jorkeam; Rekem had Shammai.
45 Shammai’s son was Maon and Maon was the father of Beth Zur.
46 Caleb’s concubine Ephah gave birth to Haran, Moza, and Gazez; Haran had Gazez.
47 The sons of Jahdai: Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.
48-50 Another concubine of Caleb, Maacah, gave birth to Sheber and Tirhanah. She also bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah and Sheva the father of Macbenah and Gibea. Caleb’s daughter was Acsah. These made up the Caleb branch of the family tree.
50-51 The sons of Hur, Ephrathah’s firstborn: Shobal who had Kiriath Jearim, Salma who had Bethlehem, and Hareph father of Beth Gader.
52-53 The family of Shobal, father of Kiriath Jearim: Haroeh, half of the population of Manahath, the families of Kiriath Jearim, the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites, and the Mishraites. The Zorathites and Eshtaolites also came from this line.
54-55 The sons of Salma: Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab, half of the Manahathites, the Zorites, and the families of Sopherim who lived at Jabez—the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. They made up the Kenites who came from Hammath the father of the house of Recab.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, December 05, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Samuel 9:3–11
The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”
Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan;i he is lamej in both feet.”
4 “Where is he?” the king asked.
Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makirk son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”
5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.
6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.l
David said, “Mephibosheth!”
“At your service,” he replied.
7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan.m I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.n”
8 Mephiboshetho bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dogp like me?”
9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandsonq may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
11 Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’sa table like one of the king’s sons.r
Insight
The events that transpire in 2 Samuel 9 have their roots in the covenant relationship that David had with Jonathan, the son of Israel’s first king, Saul. Jonathan, knowing that David was destined to be king, secured David’s commitment to show “kindness” to his offspring (1 Samuel 20:14–17). Mephibosheth, crippled by an accident when he was five years old (2 Samuel 4:4), was an heir to covenant kindness. By: Arthur Jackson
Intentional Kindness
I want to show God’s kindness to them. 2 Samuel 9:3 nlt
Boarding a plane alone with her children, a young mom tried desperately to calm her three-year-old daughter who began kicking and crying. Then her hungry four-month-old son also began to wail.
A traveler seated next to her quickly offered to hold the baby while Jessica got her daughter buckled in. Then the traveler—recalling his own days as a young dad—began coloring with the toddler while Jessica fed her infant. And on the next connecting flight, the same man offered to assist again if needed.
Jessica recalled, “I [was] blown away by God’s hand in this. [We] could have been placed next to anyone, but we were seated next to one of the nicest men I have ever met.”
In 2 Samuel 9, we read of another example of what I call intentional kindness. After King Saul and his son Jonathan had been killed, some expected David to kill off any competition to his claim for the throne. Instead, he asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” (v. 3). Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, was then brought to David who restored his inheritance and warmly invited him to share his table from then on—just as if he were his own son (v. 11).
As beneficiaries of the immense kindness of God, may we look for opportunities to show intentional kindness toward others (Galatians 6:10). By: Cindy Hess Kasper
Reflect & Pray
Who can you show God’s kindness to? What specific act of kindness can you demonstrate to someone who is hurting or discouraged?
Heavenly Father, I thank You for the kindness You’ve shown me. Help me to lavish it on others.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, December 05, 2019
“The Temple of the Holy Spirit”
…only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. —Genesis 41:40
I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not “set aside the grace of God”— make it ineffective (Galatians 2:21). The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved— I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me. To “work out [my] own salvation” (Philippians 2:12) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me. It also means that I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection . . .” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God has given us the responsibility to rule over all “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to do them.
Paul said, “I beseech you…that you present your bodies a living sacrifice…” (Romans 12:1). What I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple. Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth-my body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit.”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To live a life alone with God does not mean that we live it apart from everyone else. The connection between godly men and women and those associated with them is continually revealed in the Bible, e.g., 1 Timothy 4:10. Not Knowing Whither, 867 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, December 05, 2019
The Biggest Mistake of All - #8584
Amy Biehl was 26 years old, and she really wanted to make a difference. Her graduate studies took her to South Africa in the turbulent days when the repressive system of apartheid was coming down and that nation's first all-race elections were approaching. She actually helped develop voter registration programs to help black South Africans participate in a system that up until then had always shut them out. She was driving three black coworkers back to the township where they lived. Suddenly a group of youths pelted her car with stones and forced it to stop. Dozens of young men surrounded the car and they started chanting, "One settler - one bullet! One settler - one bullet!" They pulled Amy from the car, hit her with a brick, beat her, and stabbed her in the heart. During that attack her black friends were yelling that she was a friend to black South Africans, all to no avail. Amy died from her wounds.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Biggest Mistake of All."
Someone who knew Amy underscored the tragedy of her death this way: "She was killed by some of the very people she had come to help." Some of those she came to help loved her, but others attacked her. And it is an ugly thing to brutalize someone who has come to help you. Of course, that happens to Jesus all the time. Often at the hands of people who have no idea that's what they're doing; people who have actually come close to Jesus, people who know a lot about Jesus. I'll explain.
There's a sobering scenario described in our word for today from the Word of God in Hebrews 10:29. These verses talk about what happens "if we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth." The Bible appears to be talking about people who know about Jesus but keep on running their own lives. And that person, according to Hebrews 10:29, "has trampled the Son of God under foot...treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him...and insulted the Spirit of grace." That's heavy stuff! In fact, Hebrews 6:6 says that those who have tasted what Jesus offers and then go live their own way "are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace."
I'll tell you, if you know that Jesus has died on the cross to pay for your sin, if you've been "into Jesus" to some extent and you remain unchanged, that's serious business. And even though you're for Jesus and you agree with Jesus, you might be missing Jesus. The only response worthy of the sacrifice He made for us is to fall on our knees and give ourselves completely to the One who gave Himself completely for us. Anything less than a life-changing personal commitment to Jesus amounts to (God's words) "trampling the Son of God under foot" and "crucifying the Son of God all over again." In essence, turning on the very One who came to help you, to save you.
And that is the greatest mistake anyone can ever make. This isn't about Christianity, it's not about Christians. It's about Jesus. And maybe right now, He is speaking to you in your heart saying, "Don't do this. Don't come this close to Me and miss Me. I love you, and I'm giving you this chance to make things right with Me. Come on home."
Are you ready to finally give yourself to Him completely? Well, you can tell Him that right where you are. He's been waiting to hear from you, "Jesus, I believe You died on the cross. It was for my sins. You walked out of that grave to give me life, and beginning this very day I want to be Yours."
I hope your next stop will be our website ANewStory.com. Because I believe there's information there that can help you make this the beginning of your new story.
Please, don't risk another day away from Jesus.
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
1 Chronicles 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: JESUS IS A GOOD FRIEND
I’ve always perceived the apostle John as a fellow who viewed life simply. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. But I like John most for the way he loved Jesus.
Jesus was a good friend with a good heart and a good idea. A “once-upon-a-time” storyteller with a “somewhere-over-the-rainbow” promise. Jesus was above all a loyal companion. Messiah? Yes! Son of God? Indeed! But even more to his closest disciple, Jesus was a pal. Jesus was a friend. Now what do you do with a friend? You stick by him. Maybe that’s why John is the only one of the twelve who was at the cross. He came to say good-bye.
After witnessing this simple love, aren’t we left with a burning desire to have one like it? Aren’t we left wondering if we would like to have been the one to offer a smile of loyalty to our dear Lord? I sure hope so.
1 Chronicles 1
1-4 Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
5 Japheth had Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
6 Gomer had Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
7 Javan had Elisha, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim.
8 Ham had Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
9 Cush had Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah, and Sabteca.
Raamah had Sheba and Dedan.
10 Cush had Nimrod, the first great hero on earth.
11-12 Mizraim was ancestor to the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, the Pathrusim, the Casluhim, and the Caphtorim from whom the Philistines descended.
13-16 Canaan had Sidon (his firstborn) and Heth, and was ancestor to the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.
17 Shem had Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.
18-19 Arphaxad had Shelah and Shelah had Eber. Eber had two sons: Peleg (Division) because in his time the earth was divided up; his brother was Joktan.
20-23 Joktan had Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Ebal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab—all sons of Joktan.
24-28 The three main branches in summary: Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, and Abram (Abraham). And Abraham had Isaac and Ishmael.
29-31 Abraham’s family tree developed along these lines: Ishmael had Nebaioth (his firstborn), then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah—the Ishmael branch.
32-33 Keturah, Abraham’s concubine, gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Then Jokshan had Sheba and Dedan. And Midian had Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These made up the Keturah branch.
34-37 Abraham had Isaac, and Isaac had Esau and Israel (Jacob). Esau had Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. Eliphaz had Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek. And Reuel had Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.
38-42 Seir then had Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. Lotan had Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan’s sister. Shobal had Alian, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. Zibeon had Aiah and Anah. Anah had Dishon. Dishon had Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. Ezer had Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. And Dishan had Uz and Aran.
43-51 A list of the kings who ruled in the country of Edom before Israel had a king:
Bela son of Beor; his city was Dinhabah.
Bela died; Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah was the next king.
Jobab died; Husham from the country of the Temanites was the next king.
Husham died; Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, was the next king; his city was Avith.
Hadad died; Samlah from Masrekah was the next king.
Samlah died; Shaul from Rehoboth-by-the-River was the next king.
Shaul died; Baal-Hanan son of Acbor was the next king.
Baal-Hanan died; Hadad was the next king; his city was Pau and his wife was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
Last of all Hadad died.
51-54 The chieftains of Edom after that were Chief Timna, Chief Alvah, Chief Jetheth, Chief Oholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon, Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar, Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chieftains of Edom.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, December 04, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 John 3:19–24
This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends,h if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before Godi 22 and receive from him anything we ask,j because we keep his commandsk and do what pleases him.l 23 And this is his command: to believem in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,n and to love one another as he commanded us.o 24 The one who keeps God’s commandsp lives in him,q and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.r
Insight
John’s first letter begins in a way similar to the beginning of the gospel of John (1:1–4). In both his letter and gospel, he reflects the wonder of someone who’s seen the eternal Word of God with his own eyes (John 1:1–3; 1 John 1:1–4). In both books he develops the themes of what it takes to live in the presence of One who personified light, life, and love. But there are also some important differences. John’s gospel focuses on the ways Jesus revealed Himself to men and women who never could’ve guessed that the life, light, and love of God could be revealed from an executioner’s cross. John’s first letter, on the other hand, works as an appeal to those who knew the story but were in danger of forgetting what a lack of love for such a God—and one another—means. By: Mart DeHaan
Free from Condemnation
If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts. 1 John 3:20
As a couple drove their trailer through dry Northern California, they felt a tire blow and heard the scrape of metal against pavement. The sparks ignited the 2018 Carr Fire—a wildfire that burned nearly 230,000 acres, destroyed more than 1,000 homes, and resulted in the deaths of several people.
When survivors heard how the couple were overcome with grief, they formed a Facebook page to show “grace and extend kindness . . . for the shame and despair” enveloping them. One woman wrote: “As someone that lost their home to this fire—I need you to know my family [doesn’t blame you], nor [do] any of the other families that lost homes. . . . Accidents happen. I really hope these kind messages ease your burden. We will all get through this together.”
Condemnation, our fear that we’ve done something unredeemable, can cannibalize the human soul. Thankfully, the Scriptures reveal that “if our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts” (1 John 3:20). Whatever our hidden shame, God is greater than all of it. Jesus calls us to the healing act of repentance (if needed) or simply unmasks the shame consuming us. Then, encountering divine redemption, we “set our hearts at rest in his presence” (v. 19).
Whatever our regrets over things we wish we could undo, God draws us near. Jesus smiles at us and says, “Your heart is free.” By: Winn Collier
Reflect & Pray
How have you experienced shame or condemnation? What does it mean for you to know that Jesus has freed your heart?
God, I have such regret. I wish I could erase this painful situation and do it all over. But thank You for giving me grace to learn and move forward.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, December 04, 2019
The Law of Opposition
To him who overcomes… —Revelation 2:7
Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life.
Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I am alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead. If I have enough inner strength to fight, I help to produce the balance needed for health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a strong and active mental life, I have to fight. This struggle produces the mental balance called thought.
Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.
And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation…” (John 16:33). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, “…but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.
Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, December 04, 2019
Christmas Surprises Under the Rockefeller Center Tree - 8583
Oh, I love this time of year! I love the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting. When I watched it a couple of years ago, you know, it was as always, heartwarming to watch those lights come on in the middle of the city where I spent so much ministry time.
And actually there was some good news coming from that big Christmas tree. Oh, we had the obligatory "bubble gum" songs about Santa and snow and toys. But I was impressed with the fact that Jesus was there, too. That particular year there were some beautiful presentations of "Silent Night" and "Away in a Manger" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." There actually were a few relatively holy moments in the middle of all that New York glitz.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Christmas Surprises Under the Rockefeller Center Tree."
It was a reminder to me of how special this season really is. This Savior of ours who is largely ignored and marginalized the rest of the year is suddenly and inescapably on the radar come December. Oh sure, there's a glut of commercialism. But I'll tell you this, there's more Christ than at any other time of the year.
And that provides for all of us Jesus-lovers an unparalleled opportunity to move people we love to Jesus. To help them be in heaven with us some day. If any season comes under the Biblical heading of "making the most of every opportunity" (Ephesians 5:16) the Christmas season does.
It's a good time to remember what God was saying when His angel told Joseph to "give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:18). Jesus means "God rescues." Christmas means that God has come from heaven as the Rescuer from the hell and the bondage of our sin. And there's no better time than Christmas to join Jesus in His rescue mission. We can pray for opportunities, we can look for opportunities, and we can plan for opportunities to introduce Him to hearts that are opened by the Christmas season.
The problem is that we are so robotically busy from now until Christmas that this season of rescue comes and goes without us even trying to rescue anybody! I can already feel it myself. You get carried away by the inertia of just doing Christmas, American style. The rescuing will not happen if we don't make it a non-negotiable of our plans, let's say these next three weeks ahead.
Our word for today from the Word of God is in John 9:4. It tells us that, "We must work while it is day, for the night is coming." That means making a promise to God that we will be intentional about bringing Jesus into the lives of our lost friends and our neighbors and our loved ones. I said intentional during this time when it is still day, and the light is on and on Jesus more than ever. We can be intentional about this by praying for them by name every day during this season, by asking God to open up natural opportunities for us to talk about our relationship with Jesus. It will be easier this time of year than any other.
I have that three-open prayer that I've talked about before, "Lord, open a door." Which means give me that natural opportunity to bring up my relationship with You. Then, "Lord, open their heart." Get them ready. And then, "Lord, open my mouth." Give me the words and the courage and the approach to use. How about planning to take them to dinner and then to a special Christmas event where the Gospel will be presented, or take them to the event and then have them over for dessert so you can talk about it.
Then include your own personal Hope Story with your Christmas card. I know some friends who do that, and they put it in an attractive form and they include the hope story of how this Jesus, who's birthday it is, changed their life forever and took it from B.C. (before Christ) to A.D. (after Christ). There's all kinds of ways God will answer your prayer for opportunities. Just start praying for them and keeping your eyes open for them.
‘Tis the season! After all, this is His birthday. And there is no gift He wants more than the heart of someone He died for. Someone you know who doesn't know your Jesus. And there's just no better time.
I’ve always perceived the apostle John as a fellow who viewed life simply. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. But I like John most for the way he loved Jesus.
Jesus was a good friend with a good heart and a good idea. A “once-upon-a-time” storyteller with a “somewhere-over-the-rainbow” promise. Jesus was above all a loyal companion. Messiah? Yes! Son of God? Indeed! But even more to his closest disciple, Jesus was a pal. Jesus was a friend. Now what do you do with a friend? You stick by him. Maybe that’s why John is the only one of the twelve who was at the cross. He came to say good-bye.
After witnessing this simple love, aren’t we left with a burning desire to have one like it? Aren’t we left wondering if we would like to have been the one to offer a smile of loyalty to our dear Lord? I sure hope so.
1 Chronicles 1
1-4 Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
5 Japheth had Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
6 Gomer had Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
7 Javan had Elisha, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim.
8 Ham had Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
9 Cush had Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah, and Sabteca.
Raamah had Sheba and Dedan.
10 Cush had Nimrod, the first great hero on earth.
11-12 Mizraim was ancestor to the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, the Pathrusim, the Casluhim, and the Caphtorim from whom the Philistines descended.
13-16 Canaan had Sidon (his firstborn) and Heth, and was ancestor to the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.
17 Shem had Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.
18-19 Arphaxad had Shelah and Shelah had Eber. Eber had two sons: Peleg (Division) because in his time the earth was divided up; his brother was Joktan.
20-23 Joktan had Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Ebal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab—all sons of Joktan.
24-28 The three main branches in summary: Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, and Abram (Abraham). And Abraham had Isaac and Ishmael.
29-31 Abraham’s family tree developed along these lines: Ishmael had Nebaioth (his firstborn), then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah—the Ishmael branch.
32-33 Keturah, Abraham’s concubine, gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Then Jokshan had Sheba and Dedan. And Midian had Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These made up the Keturah branch.
34-37 Abraham had Isaac, and Isaac had Esau and Israel (Jacob). Esau had Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. Eliphaz had Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek. And Reuel had Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.
38-42 Seir then had Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. Lotan had Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan’s sister. Shobal had Alian, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. Zibeon had Aiah and Anah. Anah had Dishon. Dishon had Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. Ezer had Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. And Dishan had Uz and Aran.
43-51 A list of the kings who ruled in the country of Edom before Israel had a king:
Bela son of Beor; his city was Dinhabah.
Bela died; Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah was the next king.
Jobab died; Husham from the country of the Temanites was the next king.
Husham died; Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, was the next king; his city was Avith.
Hadad died; Samlah from Masrekah was the next king.
Samlah died; Shaul from Rehoboth-by-the-River was the next king.
Shaul died; Baal-Hanan son of Acbor was the next king.
Baal-Hanan died; Hadad was the next king; his city was Pau and his wife was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
Last of all Hadad died.
51-54 The chieftains of Edom after that were Chief Timna, Chief Alvah, Chief Jetheth, Chief Oholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon, Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar, Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chieftains of Edom.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, December 04, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 John 3:19–24
This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends,h if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before Godi 22 and receive from him anything we ask,j because we keep his commandsk and do what pleases him.l 23 And this is his command: to believem in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,n and to love one another as he commanded us.o 24 The one who keeps God’s commandsp lives in him,q and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.r
Insight
John’s first letter begins in a way similar to the beginning of the gospel of John (1:1–4). In both his letter and gospel, he reflects the wonder of someone who’s seen the eternal Word of God with his own eyes (John 1:1–3; 1 John 1:1–4). In both books he develops the themes of what it takes to live in the presence of One who personified light, life, and love. But there are also some important differences. John’s gospel focuses on the ways Jesus revealed Himself to men and women who never could’ve guessed that the life, light, and love of God could be revealed from an executioner’s cross. John’s first letter, on the other hand, works as an appeal to those who knew the story but were in danger of forgetting what a lack of love for such a God—and one another—means. By: Mart DeHaan
Free from Condemnation
If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts. 1 John 3:20
As a couple drove their trailer through dry Northern California, they felt a tire blow and heard the scrape of metal against pavement. The sparks ignited the 2018 Carr Fire—a wildfire that burned nearly 230,000 acres, destroyed more than 1,000 homes, and resulted in the deaths of several people.
When survivors heard how the couple were overcome with grief, they formed a Facebook page to show “grace and extend kindness . . . for the shame and despair” enveloping them. One woman wrote: “As someone that lost their home to this fire—I need you to know my family [doesn’t blame you], nor [do] any of the other families that lost homes. . . . Accidents happen. I really hope these kind messages ease your burden. We will all get through this together.”
Condemnation, our fear that we’ve done something unredeemable, can cannibalize the human soul. Thankfully, the Scriptures reveal that “if our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts” (1 John 3:20). Whatever our hidden shame, God is greater than all of it. Jesus calls us to the healing act of repentance (if needed) or simply unmasks the shame consuming us. Then, encountering divine redemption, we “set our hearts at rest in his presence” (v. 19).
Whatever our regrets over things we wish we could undo, God draws us near. Jesus smiles at us and says, “Your heart is free.” By: Winn Collier
Reflect & Pray
How have you experienced shame or condemnation? What does it mean for you to know that Jesus has freed your heart?
God, I have such regret. I wish I could erase this painful situation and do it all over. But thank You for giving me grace to learn and move forward.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, December 04, 2019
The Law of Opposition
To him who overcomes… —Revelation 2:7
Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life.
Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I am alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead. If I have enough inner strength to fight, I help to produce the balance needed for health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a strong and active mental life, I have to fight. This struggle produces the mental balance called thought.
Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.
And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation…” (John 16:33). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, “…but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.
Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, December 04, 2019
Christmas Surprises Under the Rockefeller Center Tree - 8583
Oh, I love this time of year! I love the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting. When I watched it a couple of years ago, you know, it was as always, heartwarming to watch those lights come on in the middle of the city where I spent so much ministry time.
And actually there was some good news coming from that big Christmas tree. Oh, we had the obligatory "bubble gum" songs about Santa and snow and toys. But I was impressed with the fact that Jesus was there, too. That particular year there were some beautiful presentations of "Silent Night" and "Away in a Manger" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." There actually were a few relatively holy moments in the middle of all that New York glitz.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Christmas Surprises Under the Rockefeller Center Tree."
It was a reminder to me of how special this season really is. This Savior of ours who is largely ignored and marginalized the rest of the year is suddenly and inescapably on the radar come December. Oh sure, there's a glut of commercialism. But I'll tell you this, there's more Christ than at any other time of the year.
And that provides for all of us Jesus-lovers an unparalleled opportunity to move people we love to Jesus. To help them be in heaven with us some day. If any season comes under the Biblical heading of "making the most of every opportunity" (Ephesians 5:16) the Christmas season does.
It's a good time to remember what God was saying when His angel told Joseph to "give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:18). Jesus means "God rescues." Christmas means that God has come from heaven as the Rescuer from the hell and the bondage of our sin. And there's no better time than Christmas to join Jesus in His rescue mission. We can pray for opportunities, we can look for opportunities, and we can plan for opportunities to introduce Him to hearts that are opened by the Christmas season.
The problem is that we are so robotically busy from now until Christmas that this season of rescue comes and goes without us even trying to rescue anybody! I can already feel it myself. You get carried away by the inertia of just doing Christmas, American style. The rescuing will not happen if we don't make it a non-negotiable of our plans, let's say these next three weeks ahead.
Our word for today from the Word of God is in John 9:4. It tells us that, "We must work while it is day, for the night is coming." That means making a promise to God that we will be intentional about bringing Jesus into the lives of our lost friends and our neighbors and our loved ones. I said intentional during this time when it is still day, and the light is on and on Jesus more than ever. We can be intentional about this by praying for them by name every day during this season, by asking God to open up natural opportunities for us to talk about our relationship with Jesus. It will be easier this time of year than any other.
I have that three-open prayer that I've talked about before, "Lord, open a door." Which means give me that natural opportunity to bring up my relationship with You. Then, "Lord, open their heart." Get them ready. And then, "Lord, open my mouth." Give me the words and the courage and the approach to use. How about planning to take them to dinner and then to a special Christmas event where the Gospel will be presented, or take them to the event and then have them over for dessert so you can talk about it.
Then include your own personal Hope Story with your Christmas card. I know some friends who do that, and they put it in an attractive form and they include the hope story of how this Jesus, who's birthday it is, changed their life forever and took it from B.C. (before Christ) to A.D. (after Christ). There's all kinds of ways God will answer your prayer for opportunities. Just start praying for them and keeping your eyes open for them.
‘Tis the season! After all, this is His birthday. And there is no gift He wants more than the heart of someone He died for. Someone you know who doesn't know your Jesus. And there's just no better time.
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
1 Corinthians 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE WORD “ALMOST”
Almost. It’s a sad word in any man’s dictionary. It runs with nearly, next time, and just about! It’s a word that smacks with missed opportunities. It’s honorable mention, on the bench, and burnt cookies!
One of the most famous almosts is in the Bible. His name was Pilate. He almost performed what would have been history’s greatest act of mercy. He almost pardoned the Prince of Peace. He almost released the Son of God. He had the power. He had the choice. The option to free God’s Son was his. And he did it… almost!
Jesus never had room for almost. With Him nearly has to become certainly. Sometimes has to be always. And next time has to become this time! Almost may count in horseshoes, but with the Master, it’s just as good as a never.
1 Corinthians 5
I also received a report of scandalous sex within your church family, a kind that wouldn’t be tolerated even outside the church: One of your men is sleeping with his stepmother. And you’re so above it all that it doesn’t even faze you! Shouldn’t this break your hearts? Shouldn’t it bring you to your knees in tears? Shouldn’t this person and his conduct be confronted and dealt with?
3-5 I’ll tell you what I would do. Even though I’m not there in person, consider me right there with you, because I can fully see what’s going on. I’m telling you that this is wrong. You must not simply look the other way and hope it goes away on its own. Bring it out in the open and deal with it in the authority of Jesus our Master. Assemble the community—I’ll be present in spirit with you and our Master Jesus will be present in power. Hold this man’s conduct up to public scrutiny. Let him defend it if he can! But if he can’t, then out with him! It will be totally devastating to him, of course, and embarrassing to you. But better devastation and embarrassment than damnation. You want him on his feet and forgiven before the Master on the Day of Judgment.
6-8 Your flip and callous arrogance in these things bothers me. You pass it off as a small thing, but it’s anything but that. Yeast, too, is a “small thing,” but it works its way through a whole batch of bread dough pretty fast. So get rid of this “yeast.” Our true identity is flat and plain, not puffed up with the wrong kind of ingredient. The Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has already been sacrificed for the Passover meal, and we are the Unraised Bread part of the Feast. So let’s live out our part in the Feast, not as raised bread swollen with the yeast of evil, but as flat bread—simple, genuine, unpretentious.
9-13 I wrote you in my earlier letter that you shouldn’t make yourselves at home among the sexually promiscuous. I didn’t mean that you should have nothing at all to do with outsiders of that sort. Or with crooks, whether blue- or white-collar. Or with spiritual phonies, for that matter. You’d have to leave the world entirely to do that! But I am saying that you shouldn’t act as if everything is just fine when a friend who claims to be a Christian is promiscuous or crooked, is flip with God or rude to friends, gets drunk or becomes greedy and predatory. You can’t just go along with this, treating it as acceptable behavior. I’m not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don’t we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 6:19–21
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,z where moths and vermin destroy,a and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,b where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.c 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.d
Insight
Matthew (or Levi, son of Alphaeus; Mark 2:14)—the tax collector turned disciple of Jesus—is believed to be the writer of the gospel of Matthew. Matthew 6 is part of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), given on a hillside near Capernaum. It begins with Jesus speaking on the spiritual life of the believer in Christ (vv. 1–18) and moves to warnings against love of possessions, anxiety, and judgmental attitudes (v. 19–7:5). The warning about love of money and possessions in today’s passage is a common theme in the Bible. A few examples are the accounts of Achan (Joshua 7:1), the rich young man (Matthew 19:16–22), and Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11).
By: Alyson Kieda
The Lost Envelope
Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:20
We were on the way home from a visit with family in another state when I found it. I was pumping gas when I noticed a dirty, bulky envelope on the ground. I grabbed it, dirt and all, and looked inside. To my surprise, it contained one hundred dollars.
One hundred dollars that someone had lost and who at that very moment was possibly frantically searching to find. I gave our phone number to the attendants at the gas station in case anyone came back looking for it. But no one ever called.
Someone had that money and lost it. Earthly treasure is often like that. It can be lost, stolen, or even squandered. It can be lost in bad investments or even in a monetary market over which we have no control. But the heavenly treasure we have in Jesus—a restored relationship with God and the promise of eternal life—isn’t like that. We can’t lose it at a gas station or anywhere else.
That’s why Christ told us to store up “treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). We do that when we become “rich in good deeds” (1 Timothy 6:18) or “rich in faith” (James 2:5)—lovingly helping others and sharing Jesus with them. As God leads and empowers us, may we store up eternal treasure even as we anticipate our eternal future with Him. By: Dave Branon
Reflect & Pray
What can you do this week that has eternal implications? How can you better use your earthly treasures as investments for heaven’s good?
Dear God, thank You for everything You’ve given us on this earth—our money, our homes, and more. Help us to hold them loosely while seeking to store up more eternal treasures.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
“Not by Might nor by Power”
My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power… —1 Corinthians 2:4
If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality. Take care to see while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, that you yourself are rooted and grounded by faith in God. Never rely on the clearness of your presentation, but as you give your explanation make sure that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in people.
Once you are rooted in reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. But nothing can ever change God or the reality of redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God Himself. Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification. God disapproves of our human efforts to cling to the concept that sanctification is merely an experience, while forgetting that even our sanctification must also be sanctified (see John 17:19). I must deliberately give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
Everything But a Captain - #8582
It was one of those nightmare days, trying to get a flight out of Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Some thunderstorms actually sent flight schedules into chaos for about 24 hours. You know what that means. Two hundred flights were cancelled that day, a lot more were delayed, and thousands of people were scrambling to find a way to get to where they needed to go...including me. Finally, I just gave up on trying to get out that day and I reserved one of the last seats available the next morning for the city where I was supposed to be speaking. Well, 7:00 A.M. the next morning my coworker and I were in our seats for a full flight. The engine was running - it seemed like we were ready to go. Until the cockpit came on and made this announcement, "Uh, folks, we've encountered one problem this morning. We can't find a captain for this flight." What? Oh, great! No captain! We're not going anywhere, folks! Well, thankfully, a captain finally came, and we finally got there!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Everything But a Captain."
So the engine's running, the plane is full, the passengers are ready, but there was no one to take us there. There are a lot of flights like that - or more accurately, a lot of lives like that...maybe yours.
You've got basically a good life, things are running well, you've got plenty to do, you've got plenty of people in your life. But for all that, it just maybe doesn't seem like you're really going anywhere. Apparently, a lot of people feel like that.
There was a national survey a while back that asked Americans what one question they would ask a Supreme Being if they were guaranteed an answer. The second largest group - 17% said they would ask about life after death. You might have thought that would come in number one. But by far the largest group - 34% wanted to ask, "What's the purpose of my life?" In other words, "What's it all for? What's the point? Where does this all go?"
That's not a new question. King Solomon was struggling with it in our word for today from the Word of God in the book of Ecclesiastes. After accumulating the greatest fortune of his time, building the most impressive structures of his time, trying every pleasure he wanted, and having the best of everything, he concludes in Ecclesiastes 1:14, "I have seen all the things that are under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind."
A little later he starts to uncover what's been missing in all his good times. He says, "God has set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Yeah, we've all got this hole inside us that can only be filled with something that lasts forever...which, of course, nothing on earth does. In the conclusion of his book, Solomon says, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the days of trouble come" (Ecclesiastes 12:1). In other words, get a relationship with your Creator as soon as you can. He's what you've been missing all these years.
All these years our life has been a flight that doesn't go anywhere because we're missing our Captain - the God we were made by; the God we were made for. We've been trying to be our own captain, running a life that our Creator was supposed to run. So we're alienated from the only One who knows why we're here, the only One who can make it all make sense.
Which is why Jesus Christ came - to die to remove the sin-wall that's keeping us from the God we were made for. And until you open up your life to the man who died for you and then rose again from His grave, your life is going to be a flight without a Captain. But once you give yourself to Jesus, you belong to the One who can give each new day eternal meaning.
Maybe you've never begun a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, or you're not sure if you have. Would you tell Him today, even where you are, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
Let me urge you to go to our website. It's called ANewStory.com. Because it is about being at the very crossroads you may be at today and how to be sure you belong to the One you were made for. That website is ANewStory.com.
You've taken your life as far as it's going to go with you in the cockpit. The Captain is ready to come aboard as soon as you open the door. And He can take your life where you could never go without Him.
Almost. It’s a sad word in any man’s dictionary. It runs with nearly, next time, and just about! It’s a word that smacks with missed opportunities. It’s honorable mention, on the bench, and burnt cookies!
One of the most famous almosts is in the Bible. His name was Pilate. He almost performed what would have been history’s greatest act of mercy. He almost pardoned the Prince of Peace. He almost released the Son of God. He had the power. He had the choice. The option to free God’s Son was his. And he did it… almost!
Jesus never had room for almost. With Him nearly has to become certainly. Sometimes has to be always. And next time has to become this time! Almost may count in horseshoes, but with the Master, it’s just as good as a never.
1 Corinthians 5
I also received a report of scandalous sex within your church family, a kind that wouldn’t be tolerated even outside the church: One of your men is sleeping with his stepmother. And you’re so above it all that it doesn’t even faze you! Shouldn’t this break your hearts? Shouldn’t it bring you to your knees in tears? Shouldn’t this person and his conduct be confronted and dealt with?
3-5 I’ll tell you what I would do. Even though I’m not there in person, consider me right there with you, because I can fully see what’s going on. I’m telling you that this is wrong. You must not simply look the other way and hope it goes away on its own. Bring it out in the open and deal with it in the authority of Jesus our Master. Assemble the community—I’ll be present in spirit with you and our Master Jesus will be present in power. Hold this man’s conduct up to public scrutiny. Let him defend it if he can! But if he can’t, then out with him! It will be totally devastating to him, of course, and embarrassing to you. But better devastation and embarrassment than damnation. You want him on his feet and forgiven before the Master on the Day of Judgment.
6-8 Your flip and callous arrogance in these things bothers me. You pass it off as a small thing, but it’s anything but that. Yeast, too, is a “small thing,” but it works its way through a whole batch of bread dough pretty fast. So get rid of this “yeast.” Our true identity is flat and plain, not puffed up with the wrong kind of ingredient. The Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has already been sacrificed for the Passover meal, and we are the Unraised Bread part of the Feast. So let’s live out our part in the Feast, not as raised bread swollen with the yeast of evil, but as flat bread—simple, genuine, unpretentious.
9-13 I wrote you in my earlier letter that you shouldn’t make yourselves at home among the sexually promiscuous. I didn’t mean that you should have nothing at all to do with outsiders of that sort. Or with crooks, whether blue- or white-collar. Or with spiritual phonies, for that matter. You’d have to leave the world entirely to do that! But I am saying that you shouldn’t act as if everything is just fine when a friend who claims to be a Christian is promiscuous or crooked, is flip with God or rude to friends, gets drunk or becomes greedy and predatory. You can’t just go along with this, treating it as acceptable behavior. I’m not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don’t we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 6:19–21
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,z where moths and vermin destroy,a and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,b where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.c 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.d
Insight
Matthew (or Levi, son of Alphaeus; Mark 2:14)—the tax collector turned disciple of Jesus—is believed to be the writer of the gospel of Matthew. Matthew 6 is part of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), given on a hillside near Capernaum. It begins with Jesus speaking on the spiritual life of the believer in Christ (vv. 1–18) and moves to warnings against love of possessions, anxiety, and judgmental attitudes (v. 19–7:5). The warning about love of money and possessions in today’s passage is a common theme in the Bible. A few examples are the accounts of Achan (Joshua 7:1), the rich young man (Matthew 19:16–22), and Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11).
By: Alyson Kieda
The Lost Envelope
Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:20
We were on the way home from a visit with family in another state when I found it. I was pumping gas when I noticed a dirty, bulky envelope on the ground. I grabbed it, dirt and all, and looked inside. To my surprise, it contained one hundred dollars.
One hundred dollars that someone had lost and who at that very moment was possibly frantically searching to find. I gave our phone number to the attendants at the gas station in case anyone came back looking for it. But no one ever called.
Someone had that money and lost it. Earthly treasure is often like that. It can be lost, stolen, or even squandered. It can be lost in bad investments or even in a monetary market over which we have no control. But the heavenly treasure we have in Jesus—a restored relationship with God and the promise of eternal life—isn’t like that. We can’t lose it at a gas station or anywhere else.
That’s why Christ told us to store up “treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). We do that when we become “rich in good deeds” (1 Timothy 6:18) or “rich in faith” (James 2:5)—lovingly helping others and sharing Jesus with them. As God leads and empowers us, may we store up eternal treasure even as we anticipate our eternal future with Him. By: Dave Branon
Reflect & Pray
What can you do this week that has eternal implications? How can you better use your earthly treasures as investments for heaven’s good?
Dear God, thank You for everything You’ve given us on this earth—our money, our homes, and more. Help us to hold them loosely while seeking to store up more eternal treasures.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
“Not by Might nor by Power”
My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power… —1 Corinthians 2:4
If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality. Take care to see while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, that you yourself are rooted and grounded by faith in God. Never rely on the clearness of your presentation, but as you give your explanation make sure that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in people.
Once you are rooted in reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. But nothing can ever change God or the reality of redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God Himself. Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification. God disapproves of our human efforts to cling to the concept that sanctification is merely an experience, while forgetting that even our sanctification must also be sanctified (see John 17:19). I must deliberately give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
Everything But a Captain - #8582
It was one of those nightmare days, trying to get a flight out of Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Some thunderstorms actually sent flight schedules into chaos for about 24 hours. You know what that means. Two hundred flights were cancelled that day, a lot more were delayed, and thousands of people were scrambling to find a way to get to where they needed to go...including me. Finally, I just gave up on trying to get out that day and I reserved one of the last seats available the next morning for the city where I was supposed to be speaking. Well, 7:00 A.M. the next morning my coworker and I were in our seats for a full flight. The engine was running - it seemed like we were ready to go. Until the cockpit came on and made this announcement, "Uh, folks, we've encountered one problem this morning. We can't find a captain for this flight." What? Oh, great! No captain! We're not going anywhere, folks! Well, thankfully, a captain finally came, and we finally got there!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Everything But a Captain."
So the engine's running, the plane is full, the passengers are ready, but there was no one to take us there. There are a lot of flights like that - or more accurately, a lot of lives like that...maybe yours.
You've got basically a good life, things are running well, you've got plenty to do, you've got plenty of people in your life. But for all that, it just maybe doesn't seem like you're really going anywhere. Apparently, a lot of people feel like that.
There was a national survey a while back that asked Americans what one question they would ask a Supreme Being if they were guaranteed an answer. The second largest group - 17% said they would ask about life after death. You might have thought that would come in number one. But by far the largest group - 34% wanted to ask, "What's the purpose of my life?" In other words, "What's it all for? What's the point? Where does this all go?"
That's not a new question. King Solomon was struggling with it in our word for today from the Word of God in the book of Ecclesiastes. After accumulating the greatest fortune of his time, building the most impressive structures of his time, trying every pleasure he wanted, and having the best of everything, he concludes in Ecclesiastes 1:14, "I have seen all the things that are under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind."
A little later he starts to uncover what's been missing in all his good times. He says, "God has set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Yeah, we've all got this hole inside us that can only be filled with something that lasts forever...which, of course, nothing on earth does. In the conclusion of his book, Solomon says, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the days of trouble come" (Ecclesiastes 12:1). In other words, get a relationship with your Creator as soon as you can. He's what you've been missing all these years.
All these years our life has been a flight that doesn't go anywhere because we're missing our Captain - the God we were made by; the God we were made for. We've been trying to be our own captain, running a life that our Creator was supposed to run. So we're alienated from the only One who knows why we're here, the only One who can make it all make sense.
Which is why Jesus Christ came - to die to remove the sin-wall that's keeping us from the God we were made for. And until you open up your life to the man who died for you and then rose again from His grave, your life is going to be a flight without a Captain. But once you give yourself to Jesus, you belong to the One who can give each new day eternal meaning.
Maybe you've never begun a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, or you're not sure if you have. Would you tell Him today, even where you are, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
Let me urge you to go to our website. It's called ANewStory.com. Because it is about being at the very crossroads you may be at today and how to be sure you belong to the One you were made for. That website is ANewStory.com.
You've taken your life as far as it's going to go with you in the cockpit. The Captain is ready to come aboard as soon as you open the door. And He can take your life where you could never go without Him.
Monday, December 2, 2019
Psalm 150, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: YOU ARE FREE TO GO
GUARD: “You’re free to go!”
BARRABAS: ”Wh…what?”
GUARD: “They took the Nazarene instead of you!”
It happened so fast. One minute Barabbas was in his cell on death row playing tic-tac-toe on the dirt walls. The next, he’s squinting his eyes at the bright sun. In many ways Barabbas stands for us; a prisoner freed because someone he’d never seen took his place. Someone tossed him a life preserver and he grabbed it; no questions asked.
I can’t imagine him pulling some of our stunts. We take our free gift of God’s grace and try to earn it or pay for it ourselves instead of simply saying, “thank you”, and accepting it. Barabbas may not have understood mercy and he surely didn’t deserve it, but he wasn’t about to refuse it. We, too, are prisoners with no chance for appeal. Why some prefer to stay in prison while the cell door has been unlocked is a mystery worth pondering!
Psalm 150
Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy house of worship,
praise him under the open skies;
Praise him for his acts of power,
praise him for his magnificent greatness;
Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
praise by strumming soft strings;
Praise him with castanets and dance,
praise him with banjo and flute;
Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
Hallelujah!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, December 02, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: 2 John 1:1–11
The elder,
To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:
3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.
4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we[a] have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.
Footnotes:
2 John 1:8 Some manuscripts you
Insight
The author of 1, 2, and 3 John isn’t explicitly identified. First John has no author identification at all, and 2 and 3 John simply refer to the author as “the elder” (2 John 1:1; 3 John 1:1). However, there’s much evidence to link these three letters to John the disciple. For example, the gospel of John (which is attributed to John the disciple) and the epistles of John all share similar themes. In today’s reading from 2 John, three key ideas echo themes in John’s gospel: truth (John 14:6), love (John 3:16), and love leading to obedience (John 15:9–17).
The Flip Side of Love
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. 2 John 1:3
The Roman inns during the time of Christ had a reputation so bad that rabbis wouldn’t even permit cattle to be left at them. Faced with such bad conditions, traveling Christians usually sought out other believers for hospitality.
Among those early travelers were false teachers who denied that Jesus was the Messiah. This is why the letter of 2 John tells its readers there is a time to refuse to extend hospitality. John had said in a previous letter that these false teachers were “antichrist—denying the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). In 2 John he elaborated on this, telling his readers that whoever believes Jesus is the Messiah “has both the Father and the Son” (v. 9).
Then he warned, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them” (v. 10). To extend hospitality to someone preaching a false gospel would actually help keep people separated from God.
John’s second letter shows us a “flip side” of God’s love. We serve a God who welcomes everyone with open arms. But genuine love won’t enable those who deceitfully harm themselves and others. God wraps His arms around those who come to Him in repentance, but He never embraces a lie. By: Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
How can you reflect God’s love in your relationships today? What issues might you need to confront in your own life or in the lives of others?
Father, You love us in Your truth. Help us extend that love to others with the unwavering grace that comes only from Your Spirit.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, December 02, 2019
Christian Perfection
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect… —Philippians 3:12
It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, “It could never be God’s will for me to be sick”? If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn’t He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick.
Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary— that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God’s standard for your life. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God. Not Knowing Whither, 903 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, December 02, 2019
Stopping to Recharge - #8581
Oh, you can see it at an airport. You can see it in a conference. You can see it whenever people are in a new place. Right away they're looking for a plug. Yeah, you know why? Because we all have cell phones. That's why. And because those cell phones don't run forever. And it's not a good thing when you really need to communicate with somebody and that thing has a battery that's dying. So we're all trying to recharge the battery. I sometimes think I'm like that. We all are like that. Wouldn't it be nice if people could plug in and get recharged like one of those batteries? I think it's called a night's sleep probably. Well, I can't allow my cell phone to be dead. There's too much going on in this ministry, so I need to put that little phone down sometimes, plug it into recharge so it's good to go again.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stopping to Recharge."
A cell phone needs some down time to recharge so it can serve again, and so do you and I. In fact, God created you that way. That's the Sabbath principle that He built into our creation, and He doesn't intend for us to work all the time. He made us so we would take regular rest. It's part of the creation.
Maybe you're running down fast. You're stressed, you're fatigued, you're more impatient, on edge, more irritable, and you're addicted to your own adrenaline. If you keep driving at this speed, you're going to go over the edge…or the people around you are. It's time for the stress-reduction prescription in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Psalm 23 beginning in verse 1. Familiar words: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul." So where do you get restored? By quiet waters where your Shepherd might be trying to lead you right now. But you haven't allowed any time lately for quiet waters, have you? You're saying, "I'm too busy to take a timeout." Well, you're too busy not to.
It's the down time that recharges the battery of my cell phone. And it's not wasted time. If I don't give it that recovery time, it eventually won't work at all! It's down time that recharges your battery. And it's not wasted time. If you don't allow that recovery time, eventually you won't work at all!
I know how a make-it-happen, conscientious, goal-oriented, driven person can fill up their life until there are just no margins. I'm that kind of person. I've done it. But I also know it costs way too much. It costs you in your personal peace, in your close relationships, even in your performance and your creativity. God created us in such a way that when we take time out to rest and restore, we actually get a lot more done in a lot less time!
You may very well need some "quiet waters" time. And it won't happen unless you make a non-negotiable commitment to it - put it in your calendar. And then you need to stand back, re-examine your priorities, and literally schedule regular times to recharge; to put some margins back in your life, like setting a firm quitting time, getting to bed earlier, or time off to balance extended time on. Without those balancing mechanisms, you literally begin to burn out. And if you don't get your Sabbaths, the Bible seems to indicate that one day your Sabbaths will come to get you all at once.
The alternative is just continuing to run down, like you have been. Your physical and emotional battery cannot run indefinitely. You have to stop to recharge. And when you do, you'll be able to run again at full strength.
GUARD: “You’re free to go!”
BARRABAS: ”Wh…what?”
GUARD: “They took the Nazarene instead of you!”
It happened so fast. One minute Barabbas was in his cell on death row playing tic-tac-toe on the dirt walls. The next, he’s squinting his eyes at the bright sun. In many ways Barabbas stands for us; a prisoner freed because someone he’d never seen took his place. Someone tossed him a life preserver and he grabbed it; no questions asked.
I can’t imagine him pulling some of our stunts. We take our free gift of God’s grace and try to earn it or pay for it ourselves instead of simply saying, “thank you”, and accepting it. Barabbas may not have understood mercy and he surely didn’t deserve it, but he wasn’t about to refuse it. We, too, are prisoners with no chance for appeal. Why some prefer to stay in prison while the cell door has been unlocked is a mystery worth pondering!
Psalm 150
Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy house of worship,
praise him under the open skies;
Praise him for his acts of power,
praise him for his magnificent greatness;
Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
praise by strumming soft strings;
Praise him with castanets and dance,
praise him with banjo and flute;
Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
Hallelujah!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, December 02, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: 2 John 1:1–11
The elder,
To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:
3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.
4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we[a] have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.
Footnotes:
2 John 1:8 Some manuscripts you
Insight
The author of 1, 2, and 3 John isn’t explicitly identified. First John has no author identification at all, and 2 and 3 John simply refer to the author as “the elder” (2 John 1:1; 3 John 1:1). However, there’s much evidence to link these three letters to John the disciple. For example, the gospel of John (which is attributed to John the disciple) and the epistles of John all share similar themes. In today’s reading from 2 John, three key ideas echo themes in John’s gospel: truth (John 14:6), love (John 3:16), and love leading to obedience (John 15:9–17).
The Flip Side of Love
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. 2 John 1:3
The Roman inns during the time of Christ had a reputation so bad that rabbis wouldn’t even permit cattle to be left at them. Faced with such bad conditions, traveling Christians usually sought out other believers for hospitality.
Among those early travelers were false teachers who denied that Jesus was the Messiah. This is why the letter of 2 John tells its readers there is a time to refuse to extend hospitality. John had said in a previous letter that these false teachers were “antichrist—denying the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). In 2 John he elaborated on this, telling his readers that whoever believes Jesus is the Messiah “has both the Father and the Son” (v. 9).
Then he warned, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them” (v. 10). To extend hospitality to someone preaching a false gospel would actually help keep people separated from God.
John’s second letter shows us a “flip side” of God’s love. We serve a God who welcomes everyone with open arms. But genuine love won’t enable those who deceitfully harm themselves and others. God wraps His arms around those who come to Him in repentance, but He never embraces a lie. By: Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
How can you reflect God’s love in your relationships today? What issues might you need to confront in your own life or in the lives of others?
Father, You love us in Your truth. Help us extend that love to others with the unwavering grace that comes only from Your Spirit.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, December 02, 2019
Christian Perfection
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect… —Philippians 3:12
It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, “It could never be God’s will for me to be sick”? If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn’t He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick.
Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary— that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God’s standard for your life. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God. Not Knowing Whither, 903 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, December 02, 2019
Stopping to Recharge - #8581
Oh, you can see it at an airport. You can see it in a conference. You can see it whenever people are in a new place. Right away they're looking for a plug. Yeah, you know why? Because we all have cell phones. That's why. And because those cell phones don't run forever. And it's not a good thing when you really need to communicate with somebody and that thing has a battery that's dying. So we're all trying to recharge the battery. I sometimes think I'm like that. We all are like that. Wouldn't it be nice if people could plug in and get recharged like one of those batteries? I think it's called a night's sleep probably. Well, I can't allow my cell phone to be dead. There's too much going on in this ministry, so I need to put that little phone down sometimes, plug it into recharge so it's good to go again.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stopping to Recharge."
A cell phone needs some down time to recharge so it can serve again, and so do you and I. In fact, God created you that way. That's the Sabbath principle that He built into our creation, and He doesn't intend for us to work all the time. He made us so we would take regular rest. It's part of the creation.
Maybe you're running down fast. You're stressed, you're fatigued, you're more impatient, on edge, more irritable, and you're addicted to your own adrenaline. If you keep driving at this speed, you're going to go over the edge…or the people around you are. It's time for the stress-reduction prescription in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Psalm 23 beginning in verse 1. Familiar words: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul." So where do you get restored? By quiet waters where your Shepherd might be trying to lead you right now. But you haven't allowed any time lately for quiet waters, have you? You're saying, "I'm too busy to take a timeout." Well, you're too busy not to.
It's the down time that recharges the battery of my cell phone. And it's not wasted time. If I don't give it that recovery time, it eventually won't work at all! It's down time that recharges your battery. And it's not wasted time. If you don't allow that recovery time, eventually you won't work at all!
I know how a make-it-happen, conscientious, goal-oriented, driven person can fill up their life until there are just no margins. I'm that kind of person. I've done it. But I also know it costs way too much. It costs you in your personal peace, in your close relationships, even in your performance and your creativity. God created us in such a way that when we take time out to rest and restore, we actually get a lot more done in a lot less time!
You may very well need some "quiet waters" time. And it won't happen unless you make a non-negotiable commitment to it - put it in your calendar. And then you need to stand back, re-examine your priorities, and literally schedule regular times to recharge; to put some margins back in your life, like setting a firm quitting time, getting to bed earlier, or time off to balance extended time on. Without those balancing mechanisms, you literally begin to burn out. And if you don't get your Sabbaths, the Bible seems to indicate that one day your Sabbaths will come to get you all at once.
The alternative is just continuing to run down, like you have been. Your physical and emotional battery cannot run indefinitely. You have to stop to recharge. And when you do, you'll be able to run again at full strength.
Sunday, December 1, 2019
Psalm 149, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: The Winner's Circle
For all we don't know about the next life-this much is certain. The day Christ comes will be a day of reward. A day in the winner's circle! Those who went unknown on earth will be known in heaven. Those who never heard the cheers of men will hear the cheers of angels. Those who missed the blessing of a father will hear the blessing of their heavenly Father. The small will be great. The forgotten will be remembered. The unnoticed will be crowned and the faithful will be honored!
Ephesians 6:8 says, "The Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he or she does, whether slave or free." The winner's circle is not reserved for a handful of the elite, but for a heaven full of God's children who "will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him!" (James 1:12).
From Grace for the Moment
Psalm 149
Hallelujah!
Sing to God a brand-new song,
praise him in the company of all who love him.
Let all Israel celebrate their Sovereign Creator,
Zion’s children exult in their King.
Let them praise his name in dance;
strike up the band and make great music!
And why? Because God delights in his people,
festoons plain folk with salvation garlands!
5-9 Let true lovers break out in praise,
sing out from wherever they’re sitting,
Shout the high praises of God,
brandish their swords in the wild sword-dance—
A portent of vengeance on the God-defying nations,
a signal that punishment’s coming,
Their kings chained and hauled off to jail,
their leaders behind bars for good,
The judgment on them carried out to the letter
—and all who love God in the seat of honor!
Hallelujah!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, December 01, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Romans 8:31–39
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[a]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Footnotes:
Romans 8:36 Psalm 44:22
Romans 8:38 Or nor heavenly rulers
Insight
In Romans 8, three things jump from the page to fill God’s child with assurance and hope. Verses 1–4 remind us that “there is now no condemnation” for believers in Christ. This affirmation gives us confidence that in Jesus we’re brought into right relationship with God and are safe from judgment for our sins. The bulk of the chapter (vv. 5–27) confirms the role of the Holy Spirit in empowering us in living out our faith. The final segment (vv. 28–39) assures us that God’s love for us will never die or diminish. After seven chapters that speak to our failings and our need of a Savior, chapter 8 builds a case for spiritual confidence in Christ. His protection, Spirit, and love have come to us through the cross, reminding us that we’re loved and cared for by the Father. By: Bill Crowder
Is There Hope?
If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31
Edward Payson (1783–1827) led an extremely difficult life. The death of his younger brother shook him to the core. He struggled with bipolar disorder, and he was affected by extreme migraine headaches for days. If this wasn’t enough, a fall from a horse led to paralysis of his arm, and he almost died from tuberculosis! Surprisingly, his response wasn’t one of despair and hopelessness. His friends said that before Edward passed away, his joy was intense. How could that be?
In his letter to the believers in Rome, the apostle Paul expressed his complete confidence in the reality of God’s love regardless of circumstances. He asked with boldness, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). If God gave His very own Son, Jesus, to save us, then He will provide everything we need to finish this life well. Paul listed seven seemingly unbearable situations that he himself faced: trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and the sword (v. 35). He didn’t imply that Christ’s love would stop bad things from happening. But Paul said that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (v. 37).
Through the uncertainty of this world, God can be trusted completely, knowing that nothing, absolutely nothing, “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (v. 39). By: Estera Pirosca Escobar
Reflect & Pray
When you face seemingly hopeless situations, how do you typically respond? What promise of God can you cling to, knowing He is faithful?
Faithful Father, thank You for Your Son’s sacrifice so that I can have eternal life. Thank You that, no matter how gray life may seem, I can trust in Your promises.
To learn more about living with the difficulties, visit bit.ly/2wXd3Jj.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, December 01, 2019
The Law and the Gospel
Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. —James 2:10
The moral law does not consider our weaknesses as human beings; in fact, it does not take into account our heredity or infirmities. It simply demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never changes, either for the highest of society or for the weakest in the world. It is enduring and eternally the same. The moral law, ordained by God, does not make itself weak to the weak by excusing our shortcomings. It remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we are not aware of this, it is because we are less than alive. Once we do realize it, our life immediately becomes a fatal tragedy. “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Romans 7:9). The moment we realize this, the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a person gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Christ remains absurd to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful, confining sense of the law. It makes a person hopeless— “…sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). I, a guilty sinner, can never work to get right with God— it is impossible. There is only one way by which I can get right with God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the underlying idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience. Who of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection!
We only begin to realize the power of the moral law once we see that it comes with a condition and a promise. But God never coerces us. Sometimes we wish He would make us be obedient, and at other times we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God’s will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. And when we deliberately choose to obey Him, He will reach to the remotest star and to the ends of the earth to assist us with all of His almighty power.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of isolation; beware of the idea that you have to develop a holy life alone. It is impossible to develop a holy life alone; you will develop into an oddity and a peculiarism, into something utterly unlike what God wants you to be. The only way to develop spiritually is to go into the society of God’s own children, and you will soon find how God alters your set. God does not contradict our social instincts; He alters them. Biblical Psychology, 189 L
For all we don't know about the next life-this much is certain. The day Christ comes will be a day of reward. A day in the winner's circle! Those who went unknown on earth will be known in heaven. Those who never heard the cheers of men will hear the cheers of angels. Those who missed the blessing of a father will hear the blessing of their heavenly Father. The small will be great. The forgotten will be remembered. The unnoticed will be crowned and the faithful will be honored!
Ephesians 6:8 says, "The Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he or she does, whether slave or free." The winner's circle is not reserved for a handful of the elite, but for a heaven full of God's children who "will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him!" (James 1:12).
From Grace for the Moment
Psalm 149
Hallelujah!
Sing to God a brand-new song,
praise him in the company of all who love him.
Let all Israel celebrate their Sovereign Creator,
Zion’s children exult in their King.
Let them praise his name in dance;
strike up the band and make great music!
And why? Because God delights in his people,
festoons plain folk with salvation garlands!
5-9 Let true lovers break out in praise,
sing out from wherever they’re sitting,
Shout the high praises of God,
brandish their swords in the wild sword-dance—
A portent of vengeance on the God-defying nations,
a signal that punishment’s coming,
Their kings chained and hauled off to jail,
their leaders behind bars for good,
The judgment on them carried out to the letter
—and all who love God in the seat of honor!
Hallelujah!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, December 01, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Romans 8:31–39
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[a]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Footnotes:
Romans 8:36 Psalm 44:22
Romans 8:38 Or nor heavenly rulers
Insight
In Romans 8, three things jump from the page to fill God’s child with assurance and hope. Verses 1–4 remind us that “there is now no condemnation” for believers in Christ. This affirmation gives us confidence that in Jesus we’re brought into right relationship with God and are safe from judgment for our sins. The bulk of the chapter (vv. 5–27) confirms the role of the Holy Spirit in empowering us in living out our faith. The final segment (vv. 28–39) assures us that God’s love for us will never die or diminish. After seven chapters that speak to our failings and our need of a Savior, chapter 8 builds a case for spiritual confidence in Christ. His protection, Spirit, and love have come to us through the cross, reminding us that we’re loved and cared for by the Father. By: Bill Crowder
Is There Hope?
If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31
Edward Payson (1783–1827) led an extremely difficult life. The death of his younger brother shook him to the core. He struggled with bipolar disorder, and he was affected by extreme migraine headaches for days. If this wasn’t enough, a fall from a horse led to paralysis of his arm, and he almost died from tuberculosis! Surprisingly, his response wasn’t one of despair and hopelessness. His friends said that before Edward passed away, his joy was intense. How could that be?
In his letter to the believers in Rome, the apostle Paul expressed his complete confidence in the reality of God’s love regardless of circumstances. He asked with boldness, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). If God gave His very own Son, Jesus, to save us, then He will provide everything we need to finish this life well. Paul listed seven seemingly unbearable situations that he himself faced: trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and the sword (v. 35). He didn’t imply that Christ’s love would stop bad things from happening. But Paul said that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (v. 37).
Through the uncertainty of this world, God can be trusted completely, knowing that nothing, absolutely nothing, “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (v. 39). By: Estera Pirosca Escobar
Reflect & Pray
When you face seemingly hopeless situations, how do you typically respond? What promise of God can you cling to, knowing He is faithful?
Faithful Father, thank You for Your Son’s sacrifice so that I can have eternal life. Thank You that, no matter how gray life may seem, I can trust in Your promises.
To learn more about living with the difficulties, visit bit.ly/2wXd3Jj.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, December 01, 2019
The Law and the Gospel
Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. —James 2:10
The moral law does not consider our weaknesses as human beings; in fact, it does not take into account our heredity or infirmities. It simply demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never changes, either for the highest of society or for the weakest in the world. It is enduring and eternally the same. The moral law, ordained by God, does not make itself weak to the weak by excusing our shortcomings. It remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we are not aware of this, it is because we are less than alive. Once we do realize it, our life immediately becomes a fatal tragedy. “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Romans 7:9). The moment we realize this, the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a person gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Christ remains absurd to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful, confining sense of the law. It makes a person hopeless— “…sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). I, a guilty sinner, can never work to get right with God— it is impossible. There is only one way by which I can get right with God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the underlying idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience. Who of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection!
We only begin to realize the power of the moral law once we see that it comes with a condition and a promise. But God never coerces us. Sometimes we wish He would make us be obedient, and at other times we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God’s will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. And when we deliberately choose to obey Him, He will reach to the remotest star and to the ends of the earth to assist us with all of His almighty power.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of isolation; beware of the idea that you have to develop a holy life alone. It is impossible to develop a holy life alone; you will develop into an oddity and a peculiarism, into something utterly unlike what God wants you to be. The only way to develop spiritually is to go into the society of God’s own children, and you will soon find how God alters your set. God does not contradict our social instincts; He alters them. Biblical Psychology, 189 L
Saturday, November 30, 2019
1 Corinthians 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Press Into God’s Promises
Our God is a promise-keeping God. Others may make a promise and forget it. But if God makes a promise, he keeps it. Does God’s integrity make a difference? When your daughter is on life support, it does. When you are pacing the ER floor, it does. When you are wondering what to do and you have to choose between faith or fear; God’s purpose or random history; a God who knows and cares or a God who isn’t there? We all choose.
Promised Land people choose to trust God’s promises. They choose to believe that God is up to something good even though all we see looks bad. Press into God’s promises. When fears surface, respond with this thought: But God said … And when doubts arise, but God said… And when guilt overwhelms you, but God said... Search the Scriptures like a miner digging for gold and trust the promises you find.
From Glory Days
1 Corinthians 4
Don’t imagine us leaders to be something we aren’t. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God’s most sublime secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don’t even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I’m not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn’t mean much. The Master makes that judgment.
5 So don’t get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the “Well done!” of God.
6 All I’m doing right now, friends, is showing how these things pertain to Apollos and me so that you will learn restraint and not rush into making judgments without knowing all the facts. It’s important to look at things from God’s point of view. I would rather not see you inflating or deflating reputations based on mere hearsay.
7-8 For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. Without bringing either Apollos or me into it, you’re sitting on top of the world—at least God’s world—and we’re right there, sitting alongside you!
9-13 It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We’re something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We’re the Messiah’s misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we’re mostly kicked around. Much of the time we don’t have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, “God bless you.” When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We’re treated like garbage, potato peelings from the culture’s kitchen. And it’s not getting any better.
14-16 I’m not writing all this as a neighborhood scold just to make you feel rotten. I’m writing as a father to you, my children. I love you and want you to grow up well, not spoiled. There are a lot of people around who can’t wait to tell you what you’ve done wrong, but there aren’t many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up. It was as Jesus helped me proclaim God’s Message to you that I became your father. I’m not, you know, asking you to do anything I’m not already doing myself.
17 This is why I sent Timothy to you earlier. He is also my dear son, and true to the Master. He will refresh your memory on the instructions I regularly give all the churches on the way of Christ.
18-20 I know there are some among you who are so full of themselves they never listen to anyone, let alone me. They don’t think I’ll ever show up in person. But I’ll be there sooner than you think, God willing, and then we’ll see if they’re full of anything but hot air. God’s Way is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life.
21 So how should I prepare to come to you? As a severe disciplinarian who makes you toe the mark? Or as a good friend and counselor who wants to share heart-to-heart with you? You decide.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Ephesians 4:11–14
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
Insight
The New Testament contains three main listings of spiritual gifts—Romans 12:6–8, 1 Corinthians 12:8–10, and 1 Corinthians 12:28–30. In addition, Ephesians 4:11 lists offices carried out by those with specific gifts, and 1 Peter 4:10–11 classifies the gifts into speaking and serving. That no two lists are identical suggests they’re not exhaustive. In each, the emphasis isn’t on the quantity of gifts but on their diversity and purpose. They’re to be used in a loving way to promote unity in the church (1 Corinthians 12:12–27; 13:1–13), build up the spiritual maturity of the believers (Ephesians 4:12–16), and bring glory to God (1 Peter 4:10–11). In Ephesians 4, interposed between the unity (vv. 1–6) and maturity (vv. 14–16) of the church, Paul highlights the teaching gifts that help grow, build up, stabilize, unite, equip, and mature the church (vv. 11–13).
Carefully Crafted
Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people. Ephesians 4:11–12
In a YouTube video, Alan Glustoff, a cheese farmer in Goshen, New York, described his process for aging cheese, a process that adds to a cheese’s flavor and texture. Before it can be sent out to a market, each block of cheese remains on a shelf in an underground cave for six to twelve months. In this humid environment the cheese is carefully tended. “We do our best to give it the right environment to thrive . . . [and] to develop to its truest potential,” Glustoff explained.
Glustoff’s passion for developing the potential of the cheese he produces reminded me of God’s passion for developing the “truest potential” of His children so they will become fruitful and mature. In Ephesians 4, the apostle Paul describes the people involved in this process: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (v. 11). People with these gifts help to stimulate the growth of each believer as well as to encourage acts of service (the “works” mentioned in verse 12). The goal is that we “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (v. 13).
Spiritual growth comes about through the power of the Holy Spirit as we submit to His maturing process. As we follow the guidance of the people He places in our lives, we become more effective as He sends us out to serve. By: Linda Washington
Reflect & Pray
Who has been most influential to your spiritual growth? In what ways have you been challenged to grow? How can you encourage the growth of someone else?
Loving God, I’m grateful for the tender way You help me to grow.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, November 30, 2019
“By the Grace of God I Am What I Am”
By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain… —1 Corinthians 15:10
The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, “Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint.” But to say that before God means, “No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible.” That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.
Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, “Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified,” is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.
There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R
Our God is a promise-keeping God. Others may make a promise and forget it. But if God makes a promise, he keeps it. Does God’s integrity make a difference? When your daughter is on life support, it does. When you are pacing the ER floor, it does. When you are wondering what to do and you have to choose between faith or fear; God’s purpose or random history; a God who knows and cares or a God who isn’t there? We all choose.
Promised Land people choose to trust God’s promises. They choose to believe that God is up to something good even though all we see looks bad. Press into God’s promises. When fears surface, respond with this thought: But God said … And when doubts arise, but God said… And when guilt overwhelms you, but God said... Search the Scriptures like a miner digging for gold and trust the promises you find.
From Glory Days
1 Corinthians 4
Don’t imagine us leaders to be something we aren’t. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God’s most sublime secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don’t even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I’m not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn’t mean much. The Master makes that judgment.
5 So don’t get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the “Well done!” of God.
6 All I’m doing right now, friends, is showing how these things pertain to Apollos and me so that you will learn restraint and not rush into making judgments without knowing all the facts. It’s important to look at things from God’s point of view. I would rather not see you inflating or deflating reputations based on mere hearsay.
7-8 For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. Without bringing either Apollos or me into it, you’re sitting on top of the world—at least God’s world—and we’re right there, sitting alongside you!
9-13 It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We’re something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We’re the Messiah’s misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we’re mostly kicked around. Much of the time we don’t have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, “God bless you.” When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We’re treated like garbage, potato peelings from the culture’s kitchen. And it’s not getting any better.
14-16 I’m not writing all this as a neighborhood scold just to make you feel rotten. I’m writing as a father to you, my children. I love you and want you to grow up well, not spoiled. There are a lot of people around who can’t wait to tell you what you’ve done wrong, but there aren’t many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up. It was as Jesus helped me proclaim God’s Message to you that I became your father. I’m not, you know, asking you to do anything I’m not already doing myself.
17 This is why I sent Timothy to you earlier. He is also my dear son, and true to the Master. He will refresh your memory on the instructions I regularly give all the churches on the way of Christ.
18-20 I know there are some among you who are so full of themselves they never listen to anyone, let alone me. They don’t think I’ll ever show up in person. But I’ll be there sooner than you think, God willing, and then we’ll see if they’re full of anything but hot air. God’s Way is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life.
21 So how should I prepare to come to you? As a severe disciplinarian who makes you toe the mark? Or as a good friend and counselor who wants to share heart-to-heart with you? You decide.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Ephesians 4:11–14
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
Insight
The New Testament contains three main listings of spiritual gifts—Romans 12:6–8, 1 Corinthians 12:8–10, and 1 Corinthians 12:28–30. In addition, Ephesians 4:11 lists offices carried out by those with specific gifts, and 1 Peter 4:10–11 classifies the gifts into speaking and serving. That no two lists are identical suggests they’re not exhaustive. In each, the emphasis isn’t on the quantity of gifts but on their diversity and purpose. They’re to be used in a loving way to promote unity in the church (1 Corinthians 12:12–27; 13:1–13), build up the spiritual maturity of the believers (Ephesians 4:12–16), and bring glory to God (1 Peter 4:10–11). In Ephesians 4, interposed between the unity (vv. 1–6) and maturity (vv. 14–16) of the church, Paul highlights the teaching gifts that help grow, build up, stabilize, unite, equip, and mature the church (vv. 11–13).
Carefully Crafted
Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people. Ephesians 4:11–12
In a YouTube video, Alan Glustoff, a cheese farmer in Goshen, New York, described his process for aging cheese, a process that adds to a cheese’s flavor and texture. Before it can be sent out to a market, each block of cheese remains on a shelf in an underground cave for six to twelve months. In this humid environment the cheese is carefully tended. “We do our best to give it the right environment to thrive . . . [and] to develop to its truest potential,” Glustoff explained.
Glustoff’s passion for developing the potential of the cheese he produces reminded me of God’s passion for developing the “truest potential” of His children so they will become fruitful and mature. In Ephesians 4, the apostle Paul describes the people involved in this process: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (v. 11). People with these gifts help to stimulate the growth of each believer as well as to encourage acts of service (the “works” mentioned in verse 12). The goal is that we “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (v. 13).
Spiritual growth comes about through the power of the Holy Spirit as we submit to His maturing process. As we follow the guidance of the people He places in our lives, we become more effective as He sends us out to serve. By: Linda Washington
Reflect & Pray
Who has been most influential to your spiritual growth? In what ways have you been challenged to grow? How can you encourage the growth of someone else?
Loving God, I’m grateful for the tender way You help me to grow.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, November 30, 2019
“By the Grace of God I Am What I Am”
By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain… —1 Corinthians 15:10
The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, “Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint.” But to say that before God means, “No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible.” That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.
Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, “Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified,” is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.
There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R
Friday, November 29, 2019
Psalm 147 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: JESUS WELCOMES OUR PROBLEMS
Do you want to see a father’s face go ashen? Watch as he discovers three words on the box of a just-bought toy– “Some assembly required!”
What follows are hours of squeezing A into B, bolting D into F, sliding R over Z, and hoping no one notices if steps four, five, and six were skipped altogether. I’m convinced the devil indwells the details of toy assembly. Somewhere in perdition is a warehouse of stolen toy parts.
“Some assembly required.” Not the most welcome sentence but an honest one. Life is a gift, albeit unassembled. The pieces don’t fit. When they don’t, take your problem to Jesus. He says, “Bring your problems to Me!” In prayer, state them simply. Present them faithfully, and trust Him reverently!
Psalm 147
Hallelujah!
It’s a good thing to sing praise to our God;
praise is beautiful, praise is fitting.
2-6 God’s the one who rebuilds Jerusalem,
who regathers Israel’s scattered exiles.
He heals the heartbroken
and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars
and assigns each a name.
Our Lord is great, with limitless strength;
we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does.
God puts the fallen on their feet again
and pushes the wicked into the ditch.
7-11 Sing to God a thanksgiving hymn,
play music on your instruments to God,
Who fills the sky with clouds,
preparing rain for the earth,
Then turning the mountains green with grass,
feeding both cattle and crows.
He’s not impressed with horsepower;
the size of our muscles means little to him.
Those who fear God get God’s attention;
they can depend on his strength.
12-18 Jerusalem, worship God!
Zion, praise your God!
He made your city secure,
he blessed your children among you.
He keeps the peace at your borders,
he puts the best bread on your tables.
He launches his promises earthward—
how swift and sure they come!
He spreads snow like a white fleece,
he scatters frost like ashes,
He broadcasts hail like birdseed—
who can survive his winter?
Then he gives the command and it all melts;
he breathes on winter—suddenly it’s spring!
19-20 He speaks the same way to Jacob,
speaks words that work to Israel.
He never did this to the other nations;
they never heard such commands.
Hallelujah!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, November 29, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 6:1–10
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
9 He said, “Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.[a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
Footnotes:
Isaiah 6:10 Hebrew; Septuagint ‘You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; / you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ / 10 This people’s heart has become calloused; / they hardly hear with their ears, / and they have closed their eyes
Insight
The book of Isaiah was written by the prophet whose name means “Yahweh is salvation” during a time of almost constant clash with the kingdom of Assyria. Isaiah was the son of Amoz and was married to a woman called “the prophetess” (8:3). They had two sons—Shear-Jashub and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (7:3; 8:3). From the very first verse we know that Isaiah prophesied “during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah,” a period of possibly fifty years. By: Alyson Kieda
Hazardous Materials
See, this [live coal] has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. Isaiah 6:7
The sound of a siren increased to an ear-piercing level as an emergency vehicle sped by my car. Its flashing lights glared through my windshield, illuminating the words “hazardous materials” printed on the side of the truck. Later, I learned it had been racing to a science laboratory where a 400-gallon container of sulfuric acid had begun to leak. Emergency workers had to contain the substance immediately because of its ability to damage whatever it came in contact with.
As I thought about this news story, I wondered what would happen if sirens blared every time a harsh or critical word “leaked” out of my mouth? Sadly, it might become rather noisy around our house.
The prophet Isaiah shared this sense of awareness about his sin. When he saw God’s glory in a vision, he was overcome by his unworthiness. He recognized that he was “a man of unclean lips” living with people who shared the same problem (Isaiah 6:5). What happened next gives me hope. An angel touched his lips with a red-hot coal, explaining, “your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for” (v. 7).
We have moment-by-moment choices to make with our words—both written and spoken. Will they be “hazardous” material, or will we allow God’s glory to convict us and His grace to heal us so we can honor Him with everything we express? By: Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
Why do our words have such a powerful effect on others? How might God want to change your speech?
Dear God, help me to see how my words affect other people. Show me how to encourage them.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, November 29, 2019
The Supremacy of Jesus Christ
He will glorify Me… —John 16:14
The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, “That is the work of God Almighty!” Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else.
The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!
Jesus said, “…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come,…He will glorify Me…” (John 16:13-14). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. Our Brilliant Heritage
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, November 29, 2019
Daisy Chains - #8580
Amy Carmichael was one of India's most heroic missionaries, and a woman whose life continues to inspire a lot of people today. She has written some inspiring words, but none more inspiring than her account of a scene she saw in her mind one sleepless night as she agonized over the people around her who didn't have a relationship with Jesus. She saw herself standing on the edge of a sheer cliff that dropped off into this dark and seemingly bottomless space. She described the people who were moving steadily toward that edge. She saw a blind woman plunge over the cliff with a baby in her arms and a child holding onto her dress. Streams of people began to come from all directions; all of them blind.
There were horrible screams as they suddenly found themselves plunging into that awful darkness. There were, thankfully, a few sentinels along the edge, but the gaps between them were really far apart. And while the sentinels were able to save a few, most people just kept plummeting unwarned into that oblivion. In Amy Carmichael's words, "Over and over the people fell, like a waterfall of souls." She went on to say, "Then I saw a little picture of peace, a group of people under some trees with their backs turned toward that gulf." When she investigated what had them so occupied that they were ignoring the carnage just beyond their circle, she found them playing with the grass and the flowers. They were busy, they said, making daisy chains.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Daisy Chains."
It's an awful picture, isn't it? One I can't get out of my mind. And, honestly, I hope it's a picture you'll not forget. Because somewhere in that tragic vision is you and me. If you've never put your total trust in Jesus Christ and His cross to rescue you from your sins, you're the blind man or woman headed for that spiritual cliff. Not because it's what God wants, but because you've never opened your heart to the Savior who died so you don't have to. And none of us knows how soon we'll reach the edge.
Or maybe your place in the picture is standing as one of those sentinels, trying to stop as many people as possible from going over the edge into a Christless eternity. You're actively praying for opportunities to tell people about Jesus. You're seizing every possible opportunity to give them the life-saving message about Him. Because of you, some of those folks will be rescued by Jesus. They'll be in heaven with you, and that will be the ultimate legacy of your life.
But sadly, too many of us are in that group sitting in the grass, doing nothing about those around us who are moving steadily toward an awful eternity. We're real busy making our daisy chains. Listen to God's warning in Amos 6:1, our word for today from the Word of God. "Woe to you who are complacent in Zion." Complacent in God's place; going to heaven but not much caring about those who aren't - making daisy chains. You're so immersed in your work, your family, your activities, even your church you might be missing the reason God has placed you where you are - to help some of the folks there be in heaven with you someday! To be sure, God has to draw them to Himself, but His chosen deliverer of how to know Him is you. He won't be sending an angel to tell them what Jesus did for them on the cross. He's left that with you. You're their chance.
Maybe there's a gap in the rescue line because you haven't taken your place as God's rescuer of the people around you. God's command from Proverbs 24:11 is: "Rescue those being led away to death... If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?...Will He not repay each person according to what he has done?"
If in that picture you are the one who has been, maybe unknowingly, heading toward the destruction of the death penalty for human sin, and you're headed for the edge and you've never asked Jesus to rescue you from your destruction - see He took all that for you. Well, right now would be your time to say, "Jesus, I'm yours." And to go to our website and get the information that will help you be sure you belong to Him. That website is ANewStory.com.
But if you know Jesus, how can you be content making your oh-so important daisy chains when every day someone is plunging over the edge into an unthinkable eternity?
Do you want to see a father’s face go ashen? Watch as he discovers three words on the box of a just-bought toy– “Some assembly required!”
What follows are hours of squeezing A into B, bolting D into F, sliding R over Z, and hoping no one notices if steps four, five, and six were skipped altogether. I’m convinced the devil indwells the details of toy assembly. Somewhere in perdition is a warehouse of stolen toy parts.
“Some assembly required.” Not the most welcome sentence but an honest one. Life is a gift, albeit unassembled. The pieces don’t fit. When they don’t, take your problem to Jesus. He says, “Bring your problems to Me!” In prayer, state them simply. Present them faithfully, and trust Him reverently!
Psalm 147
Hallelujah!
It’s a good thing to sing praise to our God;
praise is beautiful, praise is fitting.
2-6 God’s the one who rebuilds Jerusalem,
who regathers Israel’s scattered exiles.
He heals the heartbroken
and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars
and assigns each a name.
Our Lord is great, with limitless strength;
we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does.
God puts the fallen on their feet again
and pushes the wicked into the ditch.
7-11 Sing to God a thanksgiving hymn,
play music on your instruments to God,
Who fills the sky with clouds,
preparing rain for the earth,
Then turning the mountains green with grass,
feeding both cattle and crows.
He’s not impressed with horsepower;
the size of our muscles means little to him.
Those who fear God get God’s attention;
they can depend on his strength.
12-18 Jerusalem, worship God!
Zion, praise your God!
He made your city secure,
he blessed your children among you.
He keeps the peace at your borders,
he puts the best bread on your tables.
He launches his promises earthward—
how swift and sure they come!
He spreads snow like a white fleece,
he scatters frost like ashes,
He broadcasts hail like birdseed—
who can survive his winter?
Then he gives the command and it all melts;
he breathes on winter—suddenly it’s spring!
19-20 He speaks the same way to Jacob,
speaks words that work to Israel.
He never did this to the other nations;
they never heard such commands.
Hallelujah!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, November 29, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 6:1–10
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
9 He said, “Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.[a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
Footnotes:
Isaiah 6:10 Hebrew; Septuagint ‘You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; / you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ / 10 This people’s heart has become calloused; / they hardly hear with their ears, / and they have closed their eyes
Insight
The book of Isaiah was written by the prophet whose name means “Yahweh is salvation” during a time of almost constant clash with the kingdom of Assyria. Isaiah was the son of Amoz and was married to a woman called “the prophetess” (8:3). They had two sons—Shear-Jashub and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (7:3; 8:3). From the very first verse we know that Isaiah prophesied “during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah,” a period of possibly fifty years. By: Alyson Kieda
Hazardous Materials
See, this [live coal] has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. Isaiah 6:7
The sound of a siren increased to an ear-piercing level as an emergency vehicle sped by my car. Its flashing lights glared through my windshield, illuminating the words “hazardous materials” printed on the side of the truck. Later, I learned it had been racing to a science laboratory where a 400-gallon container of sulfuric acid had begun to leak. Emergency workers had to contain the substance immediately because of its ability to damage whatever it came in contact with.
As I thought about this news story, I wondered what would happen if sirens blared every time a harsh or critical word “leaked” out of my mouth? Sadly, it might become rather noisy around our house.
The prophet Isaiah shared this sense of awareness about his sin. When he saw God’s glory in a vision, he was overcome by his unworthiness. He recognized that he was “a man of unclean lips” living with people who shared the same problem (Isaiah 6:5). What happened next gives me hope. An angel touched his lips with a red-hot coal, explaining, “your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for” (v. 7).
We have moment-by-moment choices to make with our words—both written and spoken. Will they be “hazardous” material, or will we allow God’s glory to convict us and His grace to heal us so we can honor Him with everything we express? By: Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
Why do our words have such a powerful effect on others? How might God want to change your speech?
Dear God, help me to see how my words affect other people. Show me how to encourage them.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, November 29, 2019
The Supremacy of Jesus Christ
He will glorify Me… —John 16:14
The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, “That is the work of God Almighty!” Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else.
The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!
Jesus said, “…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come,…He will glorify Me…” (John 16:13-14). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. Our Brilliant Heritage
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, November 29, 2019
Daisy Chains - #8580
Amy Carmichael was one of India's most heroic missionaries, and a woman whose life continues to inspire a lot of people today. She has written some inspiring words, but none more inspiring than her account of a scene she saw in her mind one sleepless night as she agonized over the people around her who didn't have a relationship with Jesus. She saw herself standing on the edge of a sheer cliff that dropped off into this dark and seemingly bottomless space. She described the people who were moving steadily toward that edge. She saw a blind woman plunge over the cliff with a baby in her arms and a child holding onto her dress. Streams of people began to come from all directions; all of them blind.
There were horrible screams as they suddenly found themselves plunging into that awful darkness. There were, thankfully, a few sentinels along the edge, but the gaps between them were really far apart. And while the sentinels were able to save a few, most people just kept plummeting unwarned into that oblivion. In Amy Carmichael's words, "Over and over the people fell, like a waterfall of souls." She went on to say, "Then I saw a little picture of peace, a group of people under some trees with their backs turned toward that gulf." When she investigated what had them so occupied that they were ignoring the carnage just beyond their circle, she found them playing with the grass and the flowers. They were busy, they said, making daisy chains.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Daisy Chains."
It's an awful picture, isn't it? One I can't get out of my mind. And, honestly, I hope it's a picture you'll not forget. Because somewhere in that tragic vision is you and me. If you've never put your total trust in Jesus Christ and His cross to rescue you from your sins, you're the blind man or woman headed for that spiritual cliff. Not because it's what God wants, but because you've never opened your heart to the Savior who died so you don't have to. And none of us knows how soon we'll reach the edge.
Or maybe your place in the picture is standing as one of those sentinels, trying to stop as many people as possible from going over the edge into a Christless eternity. You're actively praying for opportunities to tell people about Jesus. You're seizing every possible opportunity to give them the life-saving message about Him. Because of you, some of those folks will be rescued by Jesus. They'll be in heaven with you, and that will be the ultimate legacy of your life.
But sadly, too many of us are in that group sitting in the grass, doing nothing about those around us who are moving steadily toward an awful eternity. We're real busy making our daisy chains. Listen to God's warning in Amos 6:1, our word for today from the Word of God. "Woe to you who are complacent in Zion." Complacent in God's place; going to heaven but not much caring about those who aren't - making daisy chains. You're so immersed in your work, your family, your activities, even your church you might be missing the reason God has placed you where you are - to help some of the folks there be in heaven with you someday! To be sure, God has to draw them to Himself, but His chosen deliverer of how to know Him is you. He won't be sending an angel to tell them what Jesus did for them on the cross. He's left that with you. You're their chance.
Maybe there's a gap in the rescue line because you haven't taken your place as God's rescuer of the people around you. God's command from Proverbs 24:11 is: "Rescue those being led away to death... If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?...Will He not repay each person according to what he has done?"
If in that picture you are the one who has been, maybe unknowingly, heading toward the destruction of the death penalty for human sin, and you're headed for the edge and you've never asked Jesus to rescue you from your destruction - see He took all that for you. Well, right now would be your time to say, "Jesus, I'm yours." And to go to our website and get the information that will help you be sure you belong to Him. That website is ANewStory.com.
But if you know Jesus, how can you be content making your oh-so important daisy chains when every day someone is plunging over the edge into an unthinkable eternity?
Thursday, November 28, 2019
1 Corinthians 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THANK GOD—EVERY DAY FOR EVERYTHING
A person never runs out of reasons to say “thanks!” Just the word lifts the spirit! To say, “thanks” is to celebrate a gift. Something. Anything.
In Scripture the idea of giving thanks is not a suggestion or a recommendation; it’s a command. It carries the same weight as “love your neighbor” and “give to the poor.” More than a hundred times, either by imperative or example, the Bible commands us to be thankful. If quantity implies gravity, God takes thanksgiving seriously.
Ingratitude is the original sin. Adam and Eve had a million reasons to give thanks. They lived in a perfect world. Then Satan slithered into the garden and just like that, Eden wasn’t enough. Oh, the hissing we hear. “Don’t you want more?” So thank God. Moment by moment. Day by day. Thank him…for everything!
1 Corinthians 3
But for right now, friends, I’m completely frustrated by your unspiritual dealings with each other and with God. You’re acting like infants in relation to Christ, capable of nothing much more than nursing at the breast. Well, then, I’ll nurse you since you don’t seem capable of anything more. As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything’s going your way? When one of you says, “I’m on Paul’s side,” and another says, “I’m for Apollos,” aren’t you being totally infantile?
5-9 Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God’s field in which we are working.
9-15 Or, to put it another way, you are God’s house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely.
16-17 You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple.
18-20 Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God’s fool—that’s the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It’s written in Scripture,
He exposes the chicanery of the chic.
The Master sees through the smoke screens
of the know-it-alls.
21-23 I don’t want to hear any of you bragging about yourself or anyone else. Everything is already yours as a gift—Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, the future—all of it is yours, and you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 9:1–2, 7–10
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.
1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
Footnotes:
Psalm 9:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
Psalm 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1-20 is numbered 9:2-21.
The Lord reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
8 He rules the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Insight
Psalms 9 and 10 may have originally been a single acrostic poem in Hebrew in which alternating lines begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Unlike other laments (a prayer or poem of deep sorrow for the hardships and difficulties of life), these psalms begin with deep confidence and praise to God. Even in the midst of the trials, the author recognizes that God has done wonderful things and the proper response is to give thanks, spread the news of those deeds, and rejoice and sing praises to His name (9:1–2).
We see in Psalm 9 a lesson in perspective. Not only has God performed grand things like delivering His people from Egypt, sustaining them in the wilderness, and giving them the Promised Land, but His deeds are personal as well. God shows His goodness and unfolds His plan in both grand and personal ways.
A Sincere Thank You
I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1
In preparation for Xavier’s first job interview, my husband, Alan, handed our son a pack of thank-you cards for him to send out after he met with prospective employers. He then pretended to be a hiring interviewer, using his decades of experience as a manager to ask Xavier questions. After the role-playing, our son tucked several copies of his resume into a folder. He smiled when Alan reminded him about the cards. “I know,” he said. “A sincere thank-you note will set me apart from all the other applicants.”
When the manager called to hire Xavier, he expressed gratitude for the first hand-written thank-you card he’d received in years.
Saying thanks makes a lasting impact. The psalmists’ heartfelt prayers and grateful worship were preserved in the book of Psalms. Though there are one hundred and fifty psalms, these two verses reflect a message of thankfulness: “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High” (Psalm 9:1–2).
We will never be able to finish expressing our gratitude for all God’s wonderful deeds. But we can start with a sincere thank you through our prayers. We can nurture a lifestyle of grateful worship, praising God and acknowledging all He’s done and all He promises He’ll do. By: Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
What would you like to thank God for on this day He’s made? How can writing down prayers of thanks help us cultivate a spirit of gratitude in all circumstances?
Generous and loving God, please help us acknowledge the countless and wonderful ways You work.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, November 28, 2019
The Riches of the Destitute
…being justified freely by His grace… —Romans 3:24
The gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service— I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are “rich,” particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was “beyond” us and places it “within” us. And immediately, once “the beyond” has come “within,” it rises up to “the above,” and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns (see John 3:5).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Awe is the condition of a man’s spirit realizing Who God is and what He has done for him personally. Our Lord emphasizes the attitude of a child; no attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child. Not Knowing Whither, 882 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, November 28, 2019
The Man Who Saved Thanksgiving - #8579
I think our granddaughter was about nine years old when she came home from school and said, "Mommy, Daddy, my favorite holiday, I know what it is. It's Thanksgiving." And they asked her why that is. Well, her daddy is our son and her mommy is Native American, so she came in with a unique perspective on Turkey Day. She said, "I love Thanksgiving because I'm a Pilgrim and an Indian!"
Actually, there were Pilgrims because there were Indians; one Indian in particular - Squanto. So many of our Pilgrim forefathers and mothers, you know, died that first winter; something like half of the Mayflower survivors. The survival of the Pilgrims was pretty much in serious doubt. And then came their brown-skinned miracle - a Native American who somehow spoke English.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Man Who Saved Thanksgiving."
Now, a few years earlier, young Squanto had been carried off to England by traders who worked the Massachusetts coast. He learned English and the Bible. And then, thanks to a compassionate benefactor, he made it back home on another English trading vessel, only to find that his entire village had been wiped out by disease.
But God had amazingly equipped him to save the lives of another people. Oh, he knew what the Pilgrims did not know - how to plant, and cultivate, and harvest and survive in this new land. And because of what Squanto taught them, they reaped the bountiful harvest that made the difference, and sparked the gratitude in their hearts that brought together the Pilgrims and their Native American neighbors for, you know, that first Thanksgiving.
In a sense, when we're talking about the Pilgrims, they're sort of my people. And the lives of "my people" were saved by some of the first Americans. And in a sense, now it's our turn. So many of the Native Americans are dying so young. All we've taken from them has left a harvest of pain and grief and brokenness.
Now, in our word for today from the Word of God, Matthew 25:35-45, you can see that Jesus takes very seriously how we respond to those who are wounded and hurting. He says, "'For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed Me. I was sick and you looked after Me. I was in prison; you came to visit Me.'
And then the righteous will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?' And the King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers, you did for Me.'" It's clear here that Jesus identifies with the wounded and the hurting.
Now, it isn't that Native Americans need non-Native people to come swooping in like white mini-saviors. No, they need for us to support them so they can fight for their own people. I've been privileged to be a part of watching that happen. Our ministry has seen the amazing potential of Native American young people whose lives have been radiated with hope by Jesus Christ - modern-day "Squantos." We've seen what happens when they go to reservations on our On Eagles' Wings teams and tell their Native brothers and sisters about a brown-skinned Savior named Jesus. Hope is born where hope has been needed for so long. I have been an eye-witness to thousands of Native Americans coming to Christ through them.
But those young spiritual warriors are enabled to go by non-Native Jesus-followers who stand behind them with their prayer and their giving. It's like a holy, life-saving partnership. And the "children of the Pilgrims" are helping to save the lives of the "children of the first Americans." It's long overdue, but, thank God, it's happening. For Jesus has said, "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners" (Isaiah 61:1b).
Look, you may not have any Native Americans at your Thanksgiving table this week, but you can take a little time to talk to God on their behalf. For most Americans, they're just not on our radar. But they are surely on God's radar when He "determined the exact places every nation of man should live" (Acts 17:26), He made the people we call Indians the first Americans.
And just as my people battled to survive many years ago in Plymouth, so Native Americans are battling for survival today. We cannot be blind to their pain. This Thanksgiving, wouldn't this be a good time to ask, "Lord, is there something you'd like me to do?" At minimum, He'll want you to fight for them in prayer. Because there is a battle raging for their lives, and prayer is the most powerful weapon there is.
So, in a spiritual sense, you can have some Native Americans at your table this Thanksgiving as you bring them to the Throne Room of our Father in heaven, who sent His Son for their people and my people.
A person never runs out of reasons to say “thanks!” Just the word lifts the spirit! To say, “thanks” is to celebrate a gift. Something. Anything.
In Scripture the idea of giving thanks is not a suggestion or a recommendation; it’s a command. It carries the same weight as “love your neighbor” and “give to the poor.” More than a hundred times, either by imperative or example, the Bible commands us to be thankful. If quantity implies gravity, God takes thanksgiving seriously.
Ingratitude is the original sin. Adam and Eve had a million reasons to give thanks. They lived in a perfect world. Then Satan slithered into the garden and just like that, Eden wasn’t enough. Oh, the hissing we hear. “Don’t you want more?” So thank God. Moment by moment. Day by day. Thank him…for everything!
1 Corinthians 3
But for right now, friends, I’m completely frustrated by your unspiritual dealings with each other and with God. You’re acting like infants in relation to Christ, capable of nothing much more than nursing at the breast. Well, then, I’ll nurse you since you don’t seem capable of anything more. As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything’s going your way? When one of you says, “I’m on Paul’s side,” and another says, “I’m for Apollos,” aren’t you being totally infantile?
5-9 Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God’s field in which we are working.
9-15 Or, to put it another way, you are God’s house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely.
16-17 You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple.
18-20 Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God’s fool—that’s the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It’s written in Scripture,
He exposes the chicanery of the chic.
The Master sees through the smoke screens
of the know-it-alls.
21-23 I don’t want to hear any of you bragging about yourself or anyone else. Everything is already yours as a gift—Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, the future—all of it is yours, and you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 9:1–2, 7–10
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.
1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
Footnotes:
Psalm 9:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
Psalm 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1-20 is numbered 9:2-21.
The Lord reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
8 He rules the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Insight
Psalms 9 and 10 may have originally been a single acrostic poem in Hebrew in which alternating lines begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Unlike other laments (a prayer or poem of deep sorrow for the hardships and difficulties of life), these psalms begin with deep confidence and praise to God. Even in the midst of the trials, the author recognizes that God has done wonderful things and the proper response is to give thanks, spread the news of those deeds, and rejoice and sing praises to His name (9:1–2).
We see in Psalm 9 a lesson in perspective. Not only has God performed grand things like delivering His people from Egypt, sustaining them in the wilderness, and giving them the Promised Land, but His deeds are personal as well. God shows His goodness and unfolds His plan in both grand and personal ways.
A Sincere Thank You
I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1
In preparation for Xavier’s first job interview, my husband, Alan, handed our son a pack of thank-you cards for him to send out after he met with prospective employers. He then pretended to be a hiring interviewer, using his decades of experience as a manager to ask Xavier questions. After the role-playing, our son tucked several copies of his resume into a folder. He smiled when Alan reminded him about the cards. “I know,” he said. “A sincere thank-you note will set me apart from all the other applicants.”
When the manager called to hire Xavier, he expressed gratitude for the first hand-written thank-you card he’d received in years.
Saying thanks makes a lasting impact. The psalmists’ heartfelt prayers and grateful worship were preserved in the book of Psalms. Though there are one hundred and fifty psalms, these two verses reflect a message of thankfulness: “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High” (Psalm 9:1–2).
We will never be able to finish expressing our gratitude for all God’s wonderful deeds. But we can start with a sincere thank you through our prayers. We can nurture a lifestyle of grateful worship, praising God and acknowledging all He’s done and all He promises He’ll do. By: Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
What would you like to thank God for on this day He’s made? How can writing down prayers of thanks help us cultivate a spirit of gratitude in all circumstances?
Generous and loving God, please help us acknowledge the countless and wonderful ways You work.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, November 28, 2019
The Riches of the Destitute
…being justified freely by His grace… —Romans 3:24
The gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service— I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are “rich,” particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was “beyond” us and places it “within” us. And immediately, once “the beyond” has come “within,” it rises up to “the above,” and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns (see John 3:5).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Awe is the condition of a man’s spirit realizing Who God is and what He has done for him personally. Our Lord emphasizes the attitude of a child; no attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child. Not Knowing Whither, 882 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, November 28, 2019
The Man Who Saved Thanksgiving - #8579
I think our granddaughter was about nine years old when she came home from school and said, "Mommy, Daddy, my favorite holiday, I know what it is. It's Thanksgiving." And they asked her why that is. Well, her daddy is our son and her mommy is Native American, so she came in with a unique perspective on Turkey Day. She said, "I love Thanksgiving because I'm a Pilgrim and an Indian!"
Actually, there were Pilgrims because there were Indians; one Indian in particular - Squanto. So many of our Pilgrim forefathers and mothers, you know, died that first winter; something like half of the Mayflower survivors. The survival of the Pilgrims was pretty much in serious doubt. And then came their brown-skinned miracle - a Native American who somehow spoke English.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Man Who Saved Thanksgiving."
Now, a few years earlier, young Squanto had been carried off to England by traders who worked the Massachusetts coast. He learned English and the Bible. And then, thanks to a compassionate benefactor, he made it back home on another English trading vessel, only to find that his entire village had been wiped out by disease.
But God had amazingly equipped him to save the lives of another people. Oh, he knew what the Pilgrims did not know - how to plant, and cultivate, and harvest and survive in this new land. And because of what Squanto taught them, they reaped the bountiful harvest that made the difference, and sparked the gratitude in their hearts that brought together the Pilgrims and their Native American neighbors for, you know, that first Thanksgiving.
In a sense, when we're talking about the Pilgrims, they're sort of my people. And the lives of "my people" were saved by some of the first Americans. And in a sense, now it's our turn. So many of the Native Americans are dying so young. All we've taken from them has left a harvest of pain and grief and brokenness.
Now, in our word for today from the Word of God, Matthew 25:35-45, you can see that Jesus takes very seriously how we respond to those who are wounded and hurting. He says, "'For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed Me. I was sick and you looked after Me. I was in prison; you came to visit Me.'
And then the righteous will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?' And the King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers, you did for Me.'" It's clear here that Jesus identifies with the wounded and the hurting.
Now, it isn't that Native Americans need non-Native people to come swooping in like white mini-saviors. No, they need for us to support them so they can fight for their own people. I've been privileged to be a part of watching that happen. Our ministry has seen the amazing potential of Native American young people whose lives have been radiated with hope by Jesus Christ - modern-day "Squantos." We've seen what happens when they go to reservations on our On Eagles' Wings teams and tell their Native brothers and sisters about a brown-skinned Savior named Jesus. Hope is born where hope has been needed for so long. I have been an eye-witness to thousands of Native Americans coming to Christ through them.
But those young spiritual warriors are enabled to go by non-Native Jesus-followers who stand behind them with their prayer and their giving. It's like a holy, life-saving partnership. And the "children of the Pilgrims" are helping to save the lives of the "children of the first Americans." It's long overdue, but, thank God, it's happening. For Jesus has said, "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners" (Isaiah 61:1b).
Look, you may not have any Native Americans at your Thanksgiving table this week, but you can take a little time to talk to God on their behalf. For most Americans, they're just not on our radar. But they are surely on God's radar when He "determined the exact places every nation of man should live" (Acts 17:26), He made the people we call Indians the first Americans.
And just as my people battled to survive many years ago in Plymouth, so Native Americans are battling for survival today. We cannot be blind to their pain. This Thanksgiving, wouldn't this be a good time to ask, "Lord, is there something you'd like me to do?" At minimum, He'll want you to fight for them in prayer. Because there is a battle raging for their lives, and prayer is the most powerful weapon there is.
So, in a spiritual sense, you can have some Native Americans at your table this Thanksgiving as you bring them to the Throne Room of our Father in heaven, who sent His Son for their people and my people.
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