Max Lucado Daily: THE WORD WAS OUT
From Acts 2 we read: “Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from Heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them where filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (vs. 2-4).
What a moment on the Day of Pentecost. Whatever could this mean? Peter responded to that question with a trio of God-given endorsements of Christ. He talked about when Jesus healed bodies and called life out of Lazarus’ dead body. Then he deemed Christ worthy to serve as a sacrifice for humankind. But, then came the Resurrection— to be the beginning of life and the end of the grave. The word was out that the Word was out!
Psalm 88
A Korah Prayer of Heman
God, you’re my last chance of the day.
I spend the night on my knees before you.
Put me on your salvation agenda;
take notes on the trouble I’m in.
I’ve had my fill of trouble;
I’m camped on the edge of hell.
I’m written off as a lost cause,
one more statistic, a hopeless case.
Abandoned as already dead,
one more body in a stack of corpses,
And not so much as a gravestone—
I’m a black hole in oblivion.
You’ve dropped me into a bottomless pit,
sunk me in a pitch-black abyss.
I’m battered senseless by your rage,
relentlessly pounded by your waves of anger.
You turned my friends against me,
made me horrible to them.
I’m caught in a maze and can’t find my way out,
blinded by tears of pain and frustration.
9-12 I call to you, God; all day I call.
I wring my hands, I plead for help.
Are the dead a live audience for your miracles?
Do ghosts ever join the choirs that praise you?
Does your love make any difference in a graveyard?
Is your faithful presence noticed in the corridors of hell?
Are your marvelous wonders ever seen in the dark,
your righteous ways noticed in the Land of No Memory?
13-18 I’m standing my ground, God, shouting for help,
at my prayers every morning, on my knees each daybreak.
Why, God, do you turn a deaf ear?
Why do you make yourself scarce?
For as long as I remember I’ve been hurting;
I’ve taken the worst you can hand out, and I’ve had it.
Your wildfire anger has blazed through my life;
I’m bleeding, black-and-blue.
You’ve attacked me fiercely from every side,
raining down blows till I’m nearly dead.
You made lover and neighbor alike dump me;
the only friend I have left is Darkness.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, January 09, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight: Matthew 7:24–27
The Wise and Foolish Builders
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practicei is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Insight
Jesus concluded His Sermon on the Mount with the story of the wise and foolish builders (Matthew 7:24–27) for good reason. He’s telling His hearers that regardless of how they try to live up to the instructions He’s just given them, their efforts are in vain if they build on the wrong foundation. The right foundation is Jesus Himself. This helps us greatly as we consider the entire sermon. Christ had just told the people some remarkable things: “Blessed are those who mourn” (5:4); “Blessed are you when people . . . persecute you” (v. 11); “Love your enemies” (v. 44); “Do not worry” (6:25). Now Jesus cautions the people against thinking they can achieve this by their own efforts. Jesus accomplished what we can’t. He fulfilled both the Law and the Old Testament prophecies about Himself (5:17). Anything we do must be constructed on the bedrock of faith in Him. By: Tim Gustafson
The Leaning Tower
Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Matthew 7:24
You’ve probably heard of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, but have you heard of the leaning tower of San Francisco? It’s called the Millennium Tower. Built in 2008, this fifty-eight-story skyscraper stands proudly—but slightly crookedly—in downtown San Francisco.
The problem? Its engineers didn’t dig a deep enough foundation. So now they’re being forced to retrofit the foundation with repairs that may cost more than the entire tower did when it was originally built—a fix that some believe is necessary to keep it from collapsing during an earthquake.
The painful lesson here? Foundations matter. When your foundation isn’t solid, catastrophe could ensue. Jesus taught something similar near the end of His Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:24–27, He contrasts two builders, one who built on a rock, another on sand. When a storm inevitably came, only the house with a solid foundation was left standing.
What does this mean for us? Jesus clearly states that our lives must be built through obedience and trust upon Him (v. 24). When we rest in Him, our lives can find solid ground through God’s power and unending grace.
Christ doesn’t promise us that we’ll never face storms. But He does say that when He’s our rock, those storms and torrents will never wash away our faith-fortified foundation in Him. By: Adam R. Holz
Reflect & Pray
How has your faith helped you to weather the worst storms you’ve faced? What are some practical ways you can strengthen your faith each day?
Father, storms are inevitable in life. Help us to choose to dwell daily in Scripture and strengthen our strong foundation in You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 09, 2020
Prayerful Inner-Searching
May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless… —1 Thessalonians 5:23
“Your whole spirit….” The great, mysterious work of the Holy Spirit is in the deep recesses of our being which we cannot reach. Read Psalm 139. The psalmist implies— “O Lord, You are the God of the early mornings, the God of the late nights, the God of the mountain peaks, and the God of the sea. But, my God, my soul has horizons further away than those of early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of earth, higher peaks than any mountain peaks, greater depths than any sea in nature. You who are the God of all these, be my God. I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot discover, dreams I cannot realize. My God, search me.”
Do we believe that God can fortify and protect our thought processes far beyond where we can go? “…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). If this verse means cleansing only on our conscious level, may God have mercy on us. The man who has been dulled by sin will say that he is not even conscious of it. But the cleansing from sin we experience will reach to the heights and depths of our spirit if we will “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7). The same Spirit that fed the life of Jesus Christ will feed the life of our spirit. It is only when we are protected by God with the miraculous sacredness of the Holy Spirit that our spirit, soul, and body can be preserved in pure uprightness until the coming of Jesus-no longer condemned in God’s sight.
We should more frequently allow our minds to meditate on these great, massive truths of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, January 09, 2020
Help With Your Baggage - #8609
On some of my trips I can travel pretty light, but there have been some where I felt like a mule carrying the things I had to take. One trip I had to pack for three different seasons; professional settings, youth settings. Well, you get the idea. I was going to be gone for quite a while, of course, I had to basically take my office with me too. I had a lot of baggage! When I arrived, someone from the area met me at the gate and they said those magic words, "Let me help you with your bags." I did.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Help With Your Baggage."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 11:28. It's a wonderful invitation from the lips of Jesus Christ. It's the first Bible verse I ever remember a Sunday School teacher having me memorize. Here's what Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." That invitation is echoed in another place in the Bible; it's in 1 Peter 5:7. "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."
Now, we all have baggage, the emotional kind. In fact, maybe you're carrying a lot of pain right now. Maybe you've got some crippling issues from your past. Or some bad news you got recently or just an overload of stress. It could be you carry baggage from a divorce - it could be your own or maybe your parents' divorce, or some form of abuse or a bad relationship. Some of us are trying to carry the weight of a serious medical condition, a financial crisis, maybe a family issue.
My friend John had some very heavy baggage. One day in a doctor's office, he heard one of those words we dread - cancer - a deadly cancer. After the diagnosis, well, he was supposed to have been gone three or four times. He had ten operations in eight years, but when you would talk to John you just can't believe what he'd gone through. He was like joyful. He was positive. He was interested in how you're doing.
It's just hard to believe he could be carrying such heavy weight, yet seem so light. He was an encouragement to other patients. That's what they told him. So his doctor called him in one day and said "Can you visit some of my other patients? They need what you have." What did he have? He made that clear. He told me about others that he knows who are falling under the weight of cancer.
Then he just made this simple observation. He said, "They're trying to handle it without a Savior." Woah! That's the difference for John - the Savior difference - the Jesus difference. He could be the difference for you. Let's look at the baggage you're carrying. I wonder if John's words describe you, trying to handle it without a Savior.
See you were never meant to carry that pain or that burden alone. Jesus says, "Come to me. I want to carry it." He's a burden bearer. He knows your pain. He understands it because He's been here. He's experienced everything from loneliness, to betrayal, to torture, to dying; and Jesus has dealt with the deadliest baggage of all that we carry; the sin in our lives. Because that will one day keep us out of heaven.
But the Bible says, "He carried our sins in His own body on the tree." That tree was His cross. And the day you tell Him that you're trusting Him to be your own Savior from your own sin, that's the last day you will ever carry your burden alone. The strong arms of Jesus are reaching out to you right now, and He says, "Let me help you with your baggage. I can handle it. I already bore the weight of all your sins on my cross. The rest is easy." The promise of Jesus: "I will give you rest." You ready for that?
You begin your relationship with Him when you say, "Jesus, I'm yours." I hope you'll do that today. Our website is there to help you have the information that will help you get this settled today, so you will never do another day face another challenge without a Savior.
If your soul's really tired today, would you let Jesus give you what only He can - rest and peace at last.
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Psalm 87, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: GET OUT OF YOUR SHELL
God loves all people groups and equips us to be his voice. He teaches us the vocabulary of distant lands, the dialect of the discouraged neighbor, the vernacular of the lonely heart, and the idiom of the young student. God outfits his followers to cross cultures and touch hearts. Pentecost makes this promise: if you are in Christ, God’s Spirit will speak through you.
Let God unshell you. Galatians 6:4 says, “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Discover your language. With whom do you feel most fluent? For whom do you feel most compassion? It’s amazing what happens when we get out of our shells.
Psalm 87
A Korah Psalm
He founded Zion on the Holy Mountain—
and oh, how God loves his home!
Loves it far better than all
the homes of Jacob put together!
God’s hometown—oh!
everyone there is talking about you!
4 I name them off, those among whom I’m famous:
Egypt and Babylon,
also Philistia,
even Tyre, along with Cush.
Word’s getting around; they point them out:
“This one was born again here!”
5 The word’s getting out on Zion:
“Men and women, right and left,
get born again in her!”
6 God registers their names in his book:
“This one, this one, and this one—
born again, right here.”
7 Singers and dancers give credit to Zion:
“All my springs are in you!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Job 19:21–27
“Have pity on me, my friends,z have pity,
for the hand of God has strucka me.
22 Why do you pursueb me as God does?c
Will you never get enough of my flesh?d
23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,e
24 that they were inscribed with an iron toolf onb lead,
or engraved in rock forever!g
25 I know that my redeemerc h lives,i
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.d
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yete inf my flesh I will see God;j
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyesk—I, and not another.
How my heart yearnsl within me!
Insight
Accused of secret sin that had caused his suffering, Job maintained his innocence. In Job 19:25, he speaks of a Redeemer who will one day vindicate him. The word used here for “Redeemer” frequently refers in the Old Testament to the kinsman-redeemer, the person who defended or avenged the cause of another, or who provided protection or legal aid for close relatives who could not do so for themselves (Leviticus 25:47–55; Ruth 3:9; Proverbs 23:10–11; Jeremiah 50:34). Some see a correlation between the Old Testament kinsman-redeemer and the redemptive ministry of Jesus.
A Hundred Years from Now
I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. Job 19:25
“I just want people to remember me a hundred years from now,” said screenwriter Rod Serling in 1975. Creator of the TV series The Twilight Zone, Serling wanted people to say of him, “He was a writer.” Most of us can identify with Serling’s desire to leave a legacy—something to give our lives a sense of meaning and permanence.
The story of Job shows us a man struggling with meaning amid life’s fleeting days. In a moment, not just his possessions but those most precious to him, his children, were taken. Then his friends accused him of deserving this fate. Job cried out: “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever!” (Job 19:23–24).
Job’s words have been “engraved in rock forever.” We have them in the Bible. Yet Job needed even more meaning in his life than the legacy he’d leave behind. He discovered it in the character of God. “I know that my redeemer lives,” Job declared, “and that in the end he will stand on the earth” (19:25). This knowledge gave him the right longing. “I myself will see him,” Job said. “How my heart yearns within me!” (v. 27).
In the end, Job didn’t find what he expected. He found much more—the Source of all meaning and permanence (42:1–6). By: Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
Why do you think Job wanted his words preserved forever? How do you want people to remember you one hundred years from now?
God, everything is fleeting except for You. We praise You for Your unshakable character. Show us what is truly important.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
Is My Sacrifice Living?
Abraham built an altar…; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar… —Genesis 22:9
This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. Not— “Lord, I am ready to go with You…to death” (Luke 22:33). But— “I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God.”
We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. Those bands are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.
It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a “living sacrifice”— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We all have the trick of saying—If only I were not where I am!—If only I had not got the kind of people I have to live with! If our faith or our religion does not help us in the conditions we are in, we have either a further struggle to go through, or we had better abandon that faith and religion. The Shadow of an Agony, 1178 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
How to Shape Up the Neighborhood - #8608
One of the cities that symbolizes the charm of the Old South for me is Charleston, South Carolina. When you go down to the harbor and hire a carriage ride to go to the old part of the city, you feel like you're suddenly back in like "Gone With the Wind" or something. These antebellum homes and mansions are classic. I thought it was great that this historic part of the city had been so well preserved over the years, until the carriage driver told me what really happened. These old buildings had actually deteriorated terribly over the years and the area had become pretty shabby until some people took an interest in financing a renewal.
According to our driver, they only had a limited amount of money, so they decided to invest in one building. Now the owner used those funds to convert this dilapidated old building into a historic masterpiece. "Well, that's only one building. What about the neighborhood?" Well, it's interesting. The fellow next door was so inspired by what had happened to the neighboring property, he decided to find somebody to restore his building. Then the next neighbor did the same thing, and then the next neighbor, until finally the entire neighborhood was finally transformed.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Shape Up the Neighborhood."
The recovery of historic Charleston demonstrates dramatically the renewing power of a model, and so does the story of the great Jewish leader Ezra at a time when God's people looked pretty dilapidated.
We read part of that story in Ezra 9. It's our word for today from the Word of God beginning at verse 3. He says, "When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice. Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God and I prayed: 'Oh my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.'"
Now, what have we got here? We've got a man so torn up over the sin of his people that he passionately repents - even publicly repents - and grieves over sin. And here's the result in chapter 10, verses 1 and 2. "While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites gathered around him. They, too, wept bitterly." Then they, too, went on to confess publicly.
It's like the renewal of Old Charleston. The revival of one man sparked the revival of the people around him. I remember, I think it was back in the spring of 1995, we began to hear some extraordinary spiritual renewal stories that were taking place on Christian college campuses. What began in one school spread to a lot of others, and in each case there were hundreds of students confessing their sins publicly, being surrounded by fellow students praying with them and for them. There was a public destruction of what I call "sin props": videos, magazines, books, and music. Broken relationships were restored, and suddenly the Holy Spirit exploded across entire student bodies.
In almost every case, it began the same way. Not with a sermon or a series of meetings. It began when one student spontaneously walked to the front of a meeting and asked if he or she could say something. And in each situation it was a student whose heart had been broken over its sin, like Ezra, who wanted to make it right with the accountability and support of their peers to solidify it.
In Ezra's day - in our day - revival conditions begin when one person becomes what Ezra embodied - a radical repenter - someone who's sick of their sin, sick of the wicked ways around them. Someone who's willing to repent of that sin even publicly, passionately. And that leads to your neighborhood, whether that's your church or your organization or your family, your circle of believers. Would you ask the Lord to help you see the immediate world around you through His eyes, and to see your sin and the sin around you? Would you dare look at it in light of Jesus dying on the cross for it?
And then maybe the Lord will ask you to be the one who makes it right in a public way. Who knows what might happen? If one person attacked what is decaying and began a renewing work, then God might use it to transform everyone around.
God loves all people groups and equips us to be his voice. He teaches us the vocabulary of distant lands, the dialect of the discouraged neighbor, the vernacular of the lonely heart, and the idiom of the young student. God outfits his followers to cross cultures and touch hearts. Pentecost makes this promise: if you are in Christ, God’s Spirit will speak through you.
Let God unshell you. Galatians 6:4 says, “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Discover your language. With whom do you feel most fluent? For whom do you feel most compassion? It’s amazing what happens when we get out of our shells.
Psalm 87
A Korah Psalm
He founded Zion on the Holy Mountain—
and oh, how God loves his home!
Loves it far better than all
the homes of Jacob put together!
God’s hometown—oh!
everyone there is talking about you!
4 I name them off, those among whom I’m famous:
Egypt and Babylon,
also Philistia,
even Tyre, along with Cush.
Word’s getting around; they point them out:
“This one was born again here!”
5 The word’s getting out on Zion:
“Men and women, right and left,
get born again in her!”
6 God registers their names in his book:
“This one, this one, and this one—
born again, right here.”
7 Singers and dancers give credit to Zion:
“All my springs are in you!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Job 19:21–27
“Have pity on me, my friends,z have pity,
for the hand of God has strucka me.
22 Why do you pursueb me as God does?c
Will you never get enough of my flesh?d
23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,e
24 that they were inscribed with an iron toolf onb lead,
or engraved in rock forever!g
25 I know that my redeemerc h lives,i
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.d
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yete inf my flesh I will see God;j
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyesk—I, and not another.
How my heart yearnsl within me!
Insight
Accused of secret sin that had caused his suffering, Job maintained his innocence. In Job 19:25, he speaks of a Redeemer who will one day vindicate him. The word used here for “Redeemer” frequently refers in the Old Testament to the kinsman-redeemer, the person who defended or avenged the cause of another, or who provided protection or legal aid for close relatives who could not do so for themselves (Leviticus 25:47–55; Ruth 3:9; Proverbs 23:10–11; Jeremiah 50:34). Some see a correlation between the Old Testament kinsman-redeemer and the redemptive ministry of Jesus.
A Hundred Years from Now
I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. Job 19:25
“I just want people to remember me a hundred years from now,” said screenwriter Rod Serling in 1975. Creator of the TV series The Twilight Zone, Serling wanted people to say of him, “He was a writer.” Most of us can identify with Serling’s desire to leave a legacy—something to give our lives a sense of meaning and permanence.
The story of Job shows us a man struggling with meaning amid life’s fleeting days. In a moment, not just his possessions but those most precious to him, his children, were taken. Then his friends accused him of deserving this fate. Job cried out: “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever!” (Job 19:23–24).
Job’s words have been “engraved in rock forever.” We have them in the Bible. Yet Job needed even more meaning in his life than the legacy he’d leave behind. He discovered it in the character of God. “I know that my redeemer lives,” Job declared, “and that in the end he will stand on the earth” (19:25). This knowledge gave him the right longing. “I myself will see him,” Job said. “How my heart yearns within me!” (v. 27).
In the end, Job didn’t find what he expected. He found much more—the Source of all meaning and permanence (42:1–6). By: Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
Why do you think Job wanted his words preserved forever? How do you want people to remember you one hundred years from now?
God, everything is fleeting except for You. We praise You for Your unshakable character. Show us what is truly important.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
Is My Sacrifice Living?
Abraham built an altar…; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar… —Genesis 22:9
This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. Not— “Lord, I am ready to go with You…to death” (Luke 22:33). But— “I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God.”
We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. Those bands are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.
It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a “living sacrifice”— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We all have the trick of saying—If only I were not where I am!—If only I had not got the kind of people I have to live with! If our faith or our religion does not help us in the conditions we are in, we have either a further struggle to go through, or we had better abandon that faith and religion. The Shadow of an Agony, 1178 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
How to Shape Up the Neighborhood - #8608
One of the cities that symbolizes the charm of the Old South for me is Charleston, South Carolina. When you go down to the harbor and hire a carriage ride to go to the old part of the city, you feel like you're suddenly back in like "Gone With the Wind" or something. These antebellum homes and mansions are classic. I thought it was great that this historic part of the city had been so well preserved over the years, until the carriage driver told me what really happened. These old buildings had actually deteriorated terribly over the years and the area had become pretty shabby until some people took an interest in financing a renewal.
According to our driver, they only had a limited amount of money, so they decided to invest in one building. Now the owner used those funds to convert this dilapidated old building into a historic masterpiece. "Well, that's only one building. What about the neighborhood?" Well, it's interesting. The fellow next door was so inspired by what had happened to the neighboring property, he decided to find somebody to restore his building. Then the next neighbor did the same thing, and then the next neighbor, until finally the entire neighborhood was finally transformed.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Shape Up the Neighborhood."
The recovery of historic Charleston demonstrates dramatically the renewing power of a model, and so does the story of the great Jewish leader Ezra at a time when God's people looked pretty dilapidated.
We read part of that story in Ezra 9. It's our word for today from the Word of God beginning at verse 3. He says, "When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice. Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God and I prayed: 'Oh my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.'"
Now, what have we got here? We've got a man so torn up over the sin of his people that he passionately repents - even publicly repents - and grieves over sin. And here's the result in chapter 10, verses 1 and 2. "While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites gathered around him. They, too, wept bitterly." Then they, too, went on to confess publicly.
It's like the renewal of Old Charleston. The revival of one man sparked the revival of the people around him. I remember, I think it was back in the spring of 1995, we began to hear some extraordinary spiritual renewal stories that were taking place on Christian college campuses. What began in one school spread to a lot of others, and in each case there were hundreds of students confessing their sins publicly, being surrounded by fellow students praying with them and for them. There was a public destruction of what I call "sin props": videos, magazines, books, and music. Broken relationships were restored, and suddenly the Holy Spirit exploded across entire student bodies.
In almost every case, it began the same way. Not with a sermon or a series of meetings. It began when one student spontaneously walked to the front of a meeting and asked if he or she could say something. And in each situation it was a student whose heart had been broken over its sin, like Ezra, who wanted to make it right with the accountability and support of their peers to solidify it.
In Ezra's day - in our day - revival conditions begin when one person becomes what Ezra embodied - a radical repenter - someone who's sick of their sin, sick of the wicked ways around them. Someone who's willing to repent of that sin even publicly, passionately. And that leads to your neighborhood, whether that's your church or your organization or your family, your circle of believers. Would you ask the Lord to help you see the immediate world around you through His eyes, and to see your sin and the sin around you? Would you dare look at it in light of Jesus dying on the cross for it?
And then maybe the Lord will ask you to be the one who makes it right in a public way. Who knows what might happen? If one person attacked what is decaying and began a renewing work, then God might use it to transform everyone around.
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
1 Corinthians 11:17-34, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: GOD LOVES THE NATIONS
Pentecost was the busiest day of the year in Jerusalem. And Jesus’ followers were gathered in prayer. They were not separated from society but smack-dab in the center of it. Once God had them where he needed them, the Holy Spirit came upon them suddenly; first as wind and then as individual tongues of fire (Acts 2:4 KJV). Individual flames hovered over each person and they began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
People from all over the world heard the wonderful works of God. Whatever could this miracle mean? It means at least this much: God loves the nations. He has a red-hot passion to reach every people group on the planet. He loves everybody. And that includes you, my friend.
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Regarding this next item, I’m not at all pleased. I am getting the picture that when you meet together it brings out your worst side instead of your best! First, I get this report on your divisiveness, competing with and criticizing each other. I’m reluctant to believe it, but there it is. The best that can be said for it is that the testing process will bring truth into the open and confirm it.
20-22 And then I find that you bring your divisions to worship—you come together, and instead of eating the Lord’s Supper, you bring in a lot of food from the outside and make pigs of yourselves. Some are left out, and go home hungry. Others have to be carried out, too drunk to walk. I can’t believe it! Don’t you have your own homes to eat and drink in? Why would you stoop to desecrating God’s church? Why would you actually shame God’s poor? I never would have believed you would stoop to this. And I’m not going to stand by and say nothing.
23-26 Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said,
This is my body, broken for you.
Do this to remember me.
After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:
This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
Each time you drink this cup, remember me.
What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.
27-28 Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of “remembrance” you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe.
29-32 If you give no thought (or worse, don’t care) about the broken body of the Master when you eat and drink, you’re running the risk of serious consequences. That’s why so many of you even now are listless and sick, and others have gone to an early grave. If we get this straight now, we won’t have to be straightened out later on. Better to be confronted by the Master now than to face a fiery confrontation later.
33-34 So, my friends, when you come together to the Lord’s Table, be reverent and courteous with one another. If you’re so hungry that you can’t wait to be served, go home and get a sandwich. But by no means risk turning this Meal into an eating and drinking binge or a family squabble. It is a spiritual meal—a love feast.
The other things you asked about, I’ll respond to in person when I make my next visit.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 6:1–4
Giving to the Needy
6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.g If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.h
Insight
Matthew 6 is part of Christ’s well-known Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3–7:27). In this chapter, He emphasizes three things believers should do in secret: give (vv. 1–4), pray (vv. 5–15), and fast (vv. 16–18). In explaining each of these actions Jesus starts with a prohibition, gives a command, and ends with a promise: “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (vv. 4, 6, 18).
In contrast, hypocrites make their acts known “to be honored by others” (v. 2). The word hypocrite comes from the Greek hypokrites and refers to actors in a play. It implies a lack of sincerity and genuineness. Jesus is emphasizing the importance of the motive behind our actions. By: Julie Schwab
Secret Delivery
When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Matthew 6:3
A clear, glass vase with bell-shaped lilies of the valley, pink tulips, and yellow daffodils greeted Kim at her front door. For seven months, an anonymous believer in Jesus sent Kim beautiful bouquets from a local flower shop. Each monthly gift arrived with a note filled with scriptural encouragement and signed: “Love, Jesus.”
Kim shared photos of these secret deliveries on Facebook. The flowers gave her opportunity to celebrate an individual’s kindness and to acknowledge the way God expressed His love to her through His people. As she trusted Him through her battle with a terminal disease, every colorful blossom and handwritten note affirmed God’s loving compassion for her.
The sender’s anonymity reflects the heart motive Jesus encourages His people to adopt when giving. He warns against practicing righteous acts “to be seen” by others (Matthew 6:1). Good deeds are intended to be expressions of worship overflowing from hearts grateful for all God’s done for us. Highlighting our own generosity with the hope or expectation of being honored can take the focus off the Giver of all good things—Jesus.
God knows when we give with good intentions (v. 4). He simply wants our generosity motivated by love as we give Him the glory, the honor, and the praise. By: Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
How can you place the spotlight on Jesus by giving to someone in secret this week? How can you give God credit while still accepting appreciation?
Jesus, thank You for reminding us that giving to others is a privilege and a wonderful way to thank You for all You’ve given us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
Intimate With Jesus
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?" —John 14:9
These words were not spoken as a rebuke, nor even with surprise; Jesus was encouraging Philip to draw closer. Yet the last person we get intimate with is Jesus. Before Pentecost the disciples knew Jesus as the One who gave them power to conquer demons and to bring about a revival (see Luke 10:18-20). It was a wonderful intimacy, but there was a much closer intimacy to come: “…I have called you friends…” (John 15:15). True friendship is rare on earth. It means identifying with someone in thought, heart, and spirit. The whole experience of life is designed to enable us to enter into this closest relationship with Jesus Christ. We receive His blessings and know His Word, but do we really know Him?
Jesus said, “It is to your advantage that I go away…” (John 16:7). He left that relationship to lead them even closer. It is a joy to Jesus when a disciple takes time to walk more intimately with Him. The bearing of fruit is always shown in Scripture to be the visible result of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ (see John 15:1-4).
Once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely and we never lack for understanding or compassion. We can continually pour out our hearts to Him without being perceived as overly emotional or pitiful. The Christian who is truly intimate with Jesus will never draw attention to himself but will only show the evidence of a life where Jesus is completely in control. This is the outcome of allowing Jesus to satisfy every area of life to its depth. The picture resulting from such a life is that of the strong, calm balance that our Lord gives to those who are intimate with Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, “Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much”? Disciples Indeed, 389 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
The Breathtaking Finish Line - #8607
The Lewis and Clark Expedition! They were that bold group of explorers that Thomas Jefferson sent to explore the largely uncharted Louisiana Purchase. The expedition was under the leadership of Captains Lewis and Clark, and it faced blazing heat and bone-chilling cold. They had some close calls with vicious animals, they were attacked by insects, they had the prospect of massacre by many Indian tribes whose land they were crossing, there were perilous passages, and even the death of one of their own. After a year and a half of paying a really high price, Captain William Clark stood one day in the bow of his boat, pointed west up the Columbia River, and shouted, "Ocean in view!" Later he wrote in his journal: "Ocean in view! O joy! Great joy in camp! For we are in view of the ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we had been so long anxious to see!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "That Breathtaking Finish Line."
When I saw that incredible moment dramatized in a movie recently, something happened in my heart, because I saw myself at the bow of my boat some day, pointing ahead and shouting, "Heaven in view! O the joy!" There it will be - the gates of heaven - the entrance into the personal presence of the King I have tried to serve for so long. The place and the person that I had been "so long anxious to see!" The ultimate, triumphant finish line!
I don't know what kind of struggle you've been through lately. I don't know what the hardships are, the hurts, the disappointments of your life. But I do know that when you see your great reward, you'll never think again about the great struggle to get there. The Apostle Paul was one of Jesus' all-time great warriors. And in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible he ever wrote, he reflects on his journey and looks just upriver to his glorious finish line. It's in 2 Timothy 4:6, our word for today from the Word of God.
Paul tells his young protégé Timothy to "discharge all the duties of your ministry." Why? "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord ... will award to me on that day." Okay, let me translate this into how we might say it today: "Yee-hah! It's worth it all!" Or something like that.
That isn't just about then. It's also about now. Because when Paul was in the middle of the hardships, he said, "We do not lose heart ... for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Today's crushing troubles weigh in much lighter when you put heaven on the other side of the scale.
Remembering your finish line really affects how you make today's values choices. You invest in what's going to matter in heaven, not what matters on earth. You'll spend on what will last forever. And with heaven in view, you realize you cannot let the people around you miss heaven because you didn't tell them about Jesus and how to get there.
Maybe you're not so sure you're going to heaven when you die. Did you know how you can be? The Bible plainly says, "He that has the Son (that's Jesus, the Son of God), has life." So if you've put your total trust for going to heaven in Jesus, the One who died to pay for the sin - the sin that would keep you out of heaven - then you "have the Son of God" and you have heaven.
If not, honestly, you are risking an awful eternity every day you live without Jesus. But this could be the day that you tell Him you're all His. When you give Him what He died for - your life. And this could be the day you change your eternal address from hell to heaven.
Our website is all about helping to get across that finish line. And if you go there today, I promise you, you will find some very helpful information. That's ANewStory.com.
Death has no fear for the person who knows, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that heaven is on the other side. That Jesus is on the other side. For one of these days, the long, hard journey will be over and I hope you'll be shouting, "Heaven in view!"
Pentecost was the busiest day of the year in Jerusalem. And Jesus’ followers were gathered in prayer. They were not separated from society but smack-dab in the center of it. Once God had them where he needed them, the Holy Spirit came upon them suddenly; first as wind and then as individual tongues of fire (Acts 2:4 KJV). Individual flames hovered over each person and they began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
People from all over the world heard the wonderful works of God. Whatever could this miracle mean? It means at least this much: God loves the nations. He has a red-hot passion to reach every people group on the planet. He loves everybody. And that includes you, my friend.
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Regarding this next item, I’m not at all pleased. I am getting the picture that when you meet together it brings out your worst side instead of your best! First, I get this report on your divisiveness, competing with and criticizing each other. I’m reluctant to believe it, but there it is. The best that can be said for it is that the testing process will bring truth into the open and confirm it.
20-22 And then I find that you bring your divisions to worship—you come together, and instead of eating the Lord’s Supper, you bring in a lot of food from the outside and make pigs of yourselves. Some are left out, and go home hungry. Others have to be carried out, too drunk to walk. I can’t believe it! Don’t you have your own homes to eat and drink in? Why would you stoop to desecrating God’s church? Why would you actually shame God’s poor? I never would have believed you would stoop to this. And I’m not going to stand by and say nothing.
23-26 Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said,
This is my body, broken for you.
Do this to remember me.
After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:
This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
Each time you drink this cup, remember me.
What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.
27-28 Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of “remembrance” you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe.
29-32 If you give no thought (or worse, don’t care) about the broken body of the Master when you eat and drink, you’re running the risk of serious consequences. That’s why so many of you even now are listless and sick, and others have gone to an early grave. If we get this straight now, we won’t have to be straightened out later on. Better to be confronted by the Master now than to face a fiery confrontation later.
33-34 So, my friends, when you come together to the Lord’s Table, be reverent and courteous with one another. If you’re so hungry that you can’t wait to be served, go home and get a sandwich. But by no means risk turning this Meal into an eating and drinking binge or a family squabble. It is a spiritual meal—a love feast.
The other things you asked about, I’ll respond to in person when I make my next visit.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 6:1–4
Giving to the Needy
6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.g If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.h
Insight
Matthew 6 is part of Christ’s well-known Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3–7:27). In this chapter, He emphasizes three things believers should do in secret: give (vv. 1–4), pray (vv. 5–15), and fast (vv. 16–18). In explaining each of these actions Jesus starts with a prohibition, gives a command, and ends with a promise: “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (vv. 4, 6, 18).
In contrast, hypocrites make their acts known “to be honored by others” (v. 2). The word hypocrite comes from the Greek hypokrites and refers to actors in a play. It implies a lack of sincerity and genuineness. Jesus is emphasizing the importance of the motive behind our actions. By: Julie Schwab
Secret Delivery
When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Matthew 6:3
A clear, glass vase with bell-shaped lilies of the valley, pink tulips, and yellow daffodils greeted Kim at her front door. For seven months, an anonymous believer in Jesus sent Kim beautiful bouquets from a local flower shop. Each monthly gift arrived with a note filled with scriptural encouragement and signed: “Love, Jesus.”
Kim shared photos of these secret deliveries on Facebook. The flowers gave her opportunity to celebrate an individual’s kindness and to acknowledge the way God expressed His love to her through His people. As she trusted Him through her battle with a terminal disease, every colorful blossom and handwritten note affirmed God’s loving compassion for her.
The sender’s anonymity reflects the heart motive Jesus encourages His people to adopt when giving. He warns against practicing righteous acts “to be seen” by others (Matthew 6:1). Good deeds are intended to be expressions of worship overflowing from hearts grateful for all God’s done for us. Highlighting our own generosity with the hope or expectation of being honored can take the focus off the Giver of all good things—Jesus.
God knows when we give with good intentions (v. 4). He simply wants our generosity motivated by love as we give Him the glory, the honor, and the praise. By: Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
How can you place the spotlight on Jesus by giving to someone in secret this week? How can you give God credit while still accepting appreciation?
Jesus, thank You for reminding us that giving to others is a privilege and a wonderful way to thank You for all You’ve given us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
Intimate With Jesus
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?" —John 14:9
These words were not spoken as a rebuke, nor even with surprise; Jesus was encouraging Philip to draw closer. Yet the last person we get intimate with is Jesus. Before Pentecost the disciples knew Jesus as the One who gave them power to conquer demons and to bring about a revival (see Luke 10:18-20). It was a wonderful intimacy, but there was a much closer intimacy to come: “…I have called you friends…” (John 15:15). True friendship is rare on earth. It means identifying with someone in thought, heart, and spirit. The whole experience of life is designed to enable us to enter into this closest relationship with Jesus Christ. We receive His blessings and know His Word, but do we really know Him?
Jesus said, “It is to your advantage that I go away…” (John 16:7). He left that relationship to lead them even closer. It is a joy to Jesus when a disciple takes time to walk more intimately with Him. The bearing of fruit is always shown in Scripture to be the visible result of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ (see John 15:1-4).
Once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely and we never lack for understanding or compassion. We can continually pour out our hearts to Him without being perceived as overly emotional or pitiful. The Christian who is truly intimate with Jesus will never draw attention to himself but will only show the evidence of a life where Jesus is completely in control. This is the outcome of allowing Jesus to satisfy every area of life to its depth. The picture resulting from such a life is that of the strong, calm balance that our Lord gives to those who are intimate with Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, “Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much”? Disciples Indeed, 389 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
The Breathtaking Finish Line - #8607
The Lewis and Clark Expedition! They were that bold group of explorers that Thomas Jefferson sent to explore the largely uncharted Louisiana Purchase. The expedition was under the leadership of Captains Lewis and Clark, and it faced blazing heat and bone-chilling cold. They had some close calls with vicious animals, they were attacked by insects, they had the prospect of massacre by many Indian tribes whose land they were crossing, there were perilous passages, and even the death of one of their own. After a year and a half of paying a really high price, Captain William Clark stood one day in the bow of his boat, pointed west up the Columbia River, and shouted, "Ocean in view!" Later he wrote in his journal: "Ocean in view! O joy! Great joy in camp! For we are in view of the ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we had been so long anxious to see!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "That Breathtaking Finish Line."
When I saw that incredible moment dramatized in a movie recently, something happened in my heart, because I saw myself at the bow of my boat some day, pointing ahead and shouting, "Heaven in view! O the joy!" There it will be - the gates of heaven - the entrance into the personal presence of the King I have tried to serve for so long. The place and the person that I had been "so long anxious to see!" The ultimate, triumphant finish line!
I don't know what kind of struggle you've been through lately. I don't know what the hardships are, the hurts, the disappointments of your life. But I do know that when you see your great reward, you'll never think again about the great struggle to get there. The Apostle Paul was one of Jesus' all-time great warriors. And in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible he ever wrote, he reflects on his journey and looks just upriver to his glorious finish line. It's in 2 Timothy 4:6, our word for today from the Word of God.
Paul tells his young protégé Timothy to "discharge all the duties of your ministry." Why? "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord ... will award to me on that day." Okay, let me translate this into how we might say it today: "Yee-hah! It's worth it all!" Or something like that.
That isn't just about then. It's also about now. Because when Paul was in the middle of the hardships, he said, "We do not lose heart ... for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Today's crushing troubles weigh in much lighter when you put heaven on the other side of the scale.
Remembering your finish line really affects how you make today's values choices. You invest in what's going to matter in heaven, not what matters on earth. You'll spend on what will last forever. And with heaven in view, you realize you cannot let the people around you miss heaven because you didn't tell them about Jesus and how to get there.
Maybe you're not so sure you're going to heaven when you die. Did you know how you can be? The Bible plainly says, "He that has the Son (that's Jesus, the Son of God), has life." So if you've put your total trust for going to heaven in Jesus, the One who died to pay for the sin - the sin that would keep you out of heaven - then you "have the Son of God" and you have heaven.
If not, honestly, you are risking an awful eternity every day you live without Jesus. But this could be the day that you tell Him you're all His. When you give Him what He died for - your life. And this could be the day you change your eternal address from hell to heaven.
Our website is all about helping to get across that finish line. And if you go there today, I promise you, you will find some very helpful information. That's ANewStory.com.
Death has no fear for the person who knows, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that heaven is on the other side. That Jesus is on the other side. For one of these days, the long, hard journey will be over and I hope you'll be shouting, "Heaven in view!"
Monday, January 6, 2020
Psalm 85 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: AN ORDINARY LIFE
1 Corinthians 1:27 says, “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.
I invite you to pray this prayer with me:
Loving Father, you made me, so you know very well that I am but dust. Yet you have called me into your kingdom to serve you at this specific place, at this specific time, for a very specific purpose. Despite my ordinariness, I belong to you—and you are anything but ordinary! Help me pour out your grace and compassion among others that they, too, may experience the richness of your love. Through me, my Father, show others how you can use an ordinary life to bring extraordinary blessing into the world. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Psalm 85
A Korah Psalm
God, you smiled on your good earth!
You brought good times back to Jacob!
You lifted the cloud of guilt from your people,
you put their sins far out of sight.
You took back your sin-provoked threats,
you cooled your hot, righteous anger.
4-7 Help us again, God of our help;
don’t hold a grudge against us forever.
You aren’t going to keep this up, are you?
scowling and angry, year after year?
Why not help us make a fresh start—a resurrection life?
Then your people will laugh and sing!
Show us how much you love us, God!
Give us the salvation we need!
8-9 I can’t wait to hear what he’ll say.
God’s about to pronounce his people well,
The holy people he loves so much,
so they’ll never again live like fools.
See how close his salvation is to those who fear him?
Our country is home base for Glory!
10-13 Love and Truth meet in the street,
Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss!
Truth sprouts green from the ground,
Right Living pours down from the skies!
Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty;
our land responds with Bounty and Blessing.
Right Living strides out before him,
and clears a path for his passage.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, January 06, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Hebrews 13:1–3
Concluding Exhortations
13 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.k 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,l for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.m 3 Continue to remember those in prisonn as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Insight
Scholars are uncertain of the author, date, and audience of the book of Hebrews, but it appears to be written for Jews (Hebrews) who are evaluating the claims of Jesus or struggling with their faith. Chapters 1–10 point to the superiority of Christ to the angels, Moses, and the high priests.
In chapter 13, the author concludes his letter with final exhortations. Verse 1 begins with a call to maintain brotherly love and then verse 2 encourages readers to go further by extending love to strangers (those outside the community) by offering meals and lodging. This command is reinforced by the observation that some people “have shown hospitality to angels” without knowing it, and points to Abraham, Gideon, and Manoah and his wife’s encounters (Genesis 18:2, 16; Judges 6:11; 13:2–11). Verse 3 calls readers to remember (and extend empathy) to prisoners and the mistreated. By Alyson Kieda
Mysterious Helpers
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2
Louise suffers from muscular dystrophy. While trying to exit a train station one day, she found herself facing a large flight of stairs without an elevator or escalator. On the verge of tears, Louise saw a man suddenly appear, pick up her bag, and gently help her up the stairs. When she turned to thank him, he was gone.
Michael was late for a meeting. Already stressed from a relationship breakdown, he started battling London’s traffic only to get a flat tire. As he stood helplessly in the rain, a man stepped out of the crowd, opened the boot (trunk), jacked up the car, and changed the wheel. When Michael turned to thank him, he was gone.
Who were these mysterious helpers? Kind strangers, or something more?
The popular image we have of angels as radiant or winged creatures is only half true. While some appear this way (Isaiah 6:2; Matthew 28:3), others come with dusty feet, ready for a meal (Genesis 18:1–5) and are easily mistaken for everyday people (Judges 13:16). The writer of Hebrews says that by showing hospitality to strangers, we can entertain angels without realizing it (13:2).
We don’t know if Louise and Michael’s helpers were angels. But according to Scripture, they could have been. Angels are at work right now, helping God’s people (Hebrews 1:14). And they can appear as ordinary as a person on the street. By: Sheridan Voysey
Reflect & Pray
What do you know about angels? Can you think of an instance when you may have encountered one without realizing it at the time?
Thank You, God, for the angels You send, meeting us in our time of need.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 06, 2020
Worship
He moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. —Genesis 12:8
Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love-gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard it for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded (see Exodus 16:20). God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others.
Bethel is the symbol of fellowship with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abram “pitched his tent” between the two. The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time— there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must “pitch our tents” where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life— worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God’s idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.
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
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, January 06, 2020
Singular Love - #8606
It was one of those primitive science experiments that a lot of boys try. OK, it's a sunny winter day. You lay out a board on the ground - this is what I did anyway. Now you can leave it there all day with the sun beating down on it. It won't even get warm. Oh, but now the exciting part of the experiment. Yep! You take a piece of glass and you focus the sun's rays on one spot on that board. Same sun, same board - very different result. Eventually, that board starts to get hot - and you've got smoke - maybe even a fire going there. Amazing, huh?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Singular Love."
It really makes a difference when you focus the warmth of the sun on one spot. It really makes a difference when you focus the warmth of your love on one person. Especially if that person is the life partner you have or one of the children God has entrusted to you. The question for today isn't whether you love your family - I'm sure you do. The question is does each member of your family feel loved by you. Well, that might depend on how much focused love they get from you.
As always, Jesus is a wonderful example for us in how we need to treat people. Like in our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 8:42, we have an example. "As Jesus was on His way, the crowds almost crushed Him." Okay, lots of people who need Him, lots of demands for His attention. That sound familiar at all? Sound like you? Well it goes on to say, "A woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind Him and touched the edge of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped."
"'Who touched Me,' Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, 'Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.'" Again, maybe a feeling you can relate to. "But Jesus said, 'Someone touched Me. I know that power has gone out from Me.' Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet. Then He said, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.'"
I love that story. It's so indicative of our Lord's heart - in the midst of great pressures and many needs, He is able to focus His love and attention on just one person. He's showing us how we ought to live. And right now, I'm thinking especially about how we live at home. For your spouse, for your son or daughter, to feel loved by you, they need your exclusive attention on a regular basis. Not just a general "I love all of you, family." Well, that's about as powerful as the unfocused sun on that board. It's when you focus your love on one person that the fire of love is kindled in their heart.
To make this practical, let me suggest a commitment to consider - "I will give each member of my family ALL of me at least once a day." Well, some days it might be for two minutes and others for two hours. But you consciously go to each one sometime during the day and you give them your total, undivided, undistracted love and attention. It's not the frantic, occasional bursts of love that make people feel loved. It's that regular, consistent, focused attention, making the person you're with feel like they're the only person on earth right now.
The people you love may have had you around them quite a bit, but not really with them - listening, working together, sharing feelings, laughing, hugging, encouraging. Why not commit yourself to consciously follow your Master's loving example - to warm the lives of those you love the most by, each day, aiming all your love just at them.
1 Corinthians 1:27 says, “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.
I invite you to pray this prayer with me:
Loving Father, you made me, so you know very well that I am but dust. Yet you have called me into your kingdom to serve you at this specific place, at this specific time, for a very specific purpose. Despite my ordinariness, I belong to you—and you are anything but ordinary! Help me pour out your grace and compassion among others that they, too, may experience the richness of your love. Through me, my Father, show others how you can use an ordinary life to bring extraordinary blessing into the world. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Psalm 85
A Korah Psalm
God, you smiled on your good earth!
You brought good times back to Jacob!
You lifted the cloud of guilt from your people,
you put their sins far out of sight.
You took back your sin-provoked threats,
you cooled your hot, righteous anger.
4-7 Help us again, God of our help;
don’t hold a grudge against us forever.
You aren’t going to keep this up, are you?
scowling and angry, year after year?
Why not help us make a fresh start—a resurrection life?
Then your people will laugh and sing!
Show us how much you love us, God!
Give us the salvation we need!
8-9 I can’t wait to hear what he’ll say.
God’s about to pronounce his people well,
The holy people he loves so much,
so they’ll never again live like fools.
See how close his salvation is to those who fear him?
Our country is home base for Glory!
10-13 Love and Truth meet in the street,
Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss!
Truth sprouts green from the ground,
Right Living pours down from the skies!
Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty;
our land responds with Bounty and Blessing.
Right Living strides out before him,
and clears a path for his passage.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, January 06, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Hebrews 13:1–3
Concluding Exhortations
13 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.k 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,l for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.m 3 Continue to remember those in prisonn as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Insight
Scholars are uncertain of the author, date, and audience of the book of Hebrews, but it appears to be written for Jews (Hebrews) who are evaluating the claims of Jesus or struggling with their faith. Chapters 1–10 point to the superiority of Christ to the angels, Moses, and the high priests.
In chapter 13, the author concludes his letter with final exhortations. Verse 1 begins with a call to maintain brotherly love and then verse 2 encourages readers to go further by extending love to strangers (those outside the community) by offering meals and lodging. This command is reinforced by the observation that some people “have shown hospitality to angels” without knowing it, and points to Abraham, Gideon, and Manoah and his wife’s encounters (Genesis 18:2, 16; Judges 6:11; 13:2–11). Verse 3 calls readers to remember (and extend empathy) to prisoners and the mistreated. By Alyson Kieda
Mysterious Helpers
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2
Louise suffers from muscular dystrophy. While trying to exit a train station one day, she found herself facing a large flight of stairs without an elevator or escalator. On the verge of tears, Louise saw a man suddenly appear, pick up her bag, and gently help her up the stairs. When she turned to thank him, he was gone.
Michael was late for a meeting. Already stressed from a relationship breakdown, he started battling London’s traffic only to get a flat tire. As he stood helplessly in the rain, a man stepped out of the crowd, opened the boot (trunk), jacked up the car, and changed the wheel. When Michael turned to thank him, he was gone.
Who were these mysterious helpers? Kind strangers, or something more?
The popular image we have of angels as radiant or winged creatures is only half true. While some appear this way (Isaiah 6:2; Matthew 28:3), others come with dusty feet, ready for a meal (Genesis 18:1–5) and are easily mistaken for everyday people (Judges 13:16). The writer of Hebrews says that by showing hospitality to strangers, we can entertain angels without realizing it (13:2).
We don’t know if Louise and Michael’s helpers were angels. But according to Scripture, they could have been. Angels are at work right now, helping God’s people (Hebrews 1:14). And they can appear as ordinary as a person on the street. By: Sheridan Voysey
Reflect & Pray
What do you know about angels? Can you think of an instance when you may have encountered one without realizing it at the time?
Thank You, God, for the angels You send, meeting us in our time of need.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 06, 2020
Worship
He moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. —Genesis 12:8
Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love-gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard it for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded (see Exodus 16:20). God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others.
Bethel is the symbol of fellowship with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abram “pitched his tent” between the two. The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time— there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must “pitch our tents” where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life— worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God’s idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.
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
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, January 06, 2020
Singular Love - #8606
It was one of those primitive science experiments that a lot of boys try. OK, it's a sunny winter day. You lay out a board on the ground - this is what I did anyway. Now you can leave it there all day with the sun beating down on it. It won't even get warm. Oh, but now the exciting part of the experiment. Yep! You take a piece of glass and you focus the sun's rays on one spot on that board. Same sun, same board - very different result. Eventually, that board starts to get hot - and you've got smoke - maybe even a fire going there. Amazing, huh?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Singular Love."
It really makes a difference when you focus the warmth of the sun on one spot. It really makes a difference when you focus the warmth of your love on one person. Especially if that person is the life partner you have or one of the children God has entrusted to you. The question for today isn't whether you love your family - I'm sure you do. The question is does each member of your family feel loved by you. Well, that might depend on how much focused love they get from you.
As always, Jesus is a wonderful example for us in how we need to treat people. Like in our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 8:42, we have an example. "As Jesus was on His way, the crowds almost crushed Him." Okay, lots of people who need Him, lots of demands for His attention. That sound familiar at all? Sound like you? Well it goes on to say, "A woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind Him and touched the edge of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped."
"'Who touched Me,' Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, 'Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.'" Again, maybe a feeling you can relate to. "But Jesus said, 'Someone touched Me. I know that power has gone out from Me.' Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet. Then He said, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.'"
I love that story. It's so indicative of our Lord's heart - in the midst of great pressures and many needs, He is able to focus His love and attention on just one person. He's showing us how we ought to live. And right now, I'm thinking especially about how we live at home. For your spouse, for your son or daughter, to feel loved by you, they need your exclusive attention on a regular basis. Not just a general "I love all of you, family." Well, that's about as powerful as the unfocused sun on that board. It's when you focus your love on one person that the fire of love is kindled in their heart.
To make this practical, let me suggest a commitment to consider - "I will give each member of my family ALL of me at least once a day." Well, some days it might be for two minutes and others for two hours. But you consciously go to each one sometime during the day and you give them your total, undivided, undistracted love and attention. It's not the frantic, occasional bursts of love that make people feel loved. It's that regular, consistent, focused attention, making the person you're with feel like they're the only person on earth right now.
The people you love may have had you around them quite a bit, but not really with them - listening, working together, sharing feelings, laughing, hugging, encouraging. Why not commit yourself to consciously follow your Master's loving example - to warm the lives of those you love the most by, each day, aiming all your love just at them.
Sunday, January 5, 2020
Psalm 73 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: We're Not Good Enough
Simply put-we are not good enough to go to heaven. So what can we do? We could start doing good deeds. Perhaps if we do enough good deeds, they'll offset our bad deeds. The question then becomes how many good deeds? If I spend one year being greedy, how many years should I be generous?
No one knows the answer to that question. A rule sheet can't be found. A code has not been discovered. Why? Because God doesn't operate this way. God has been so kind to us. We have no way of balancing the scales. All we can do is ask for mercy. And God, because of his kindness, gives it.
God turned over our sins to his Son. Jesus Christ died for us. He did what we could not do so that we might become what we dare not dream-citizens of heaven!
From Max on Life
Psalm 73
An Asaph Psalm
No doubt about it! God is good—
good to good people, good to the good-hearted.
But I nearly missed it,
missed seeing his goodness.
I was looking the other way,
looking up to the people
At the top,
envying the wicked who have it made,
Who have nothing to worry about,
not a care in the whole wide world.
6-10 Pretentious with arrogance,
they wear the latest fashions in violence,
Pampered and overfed,
decked out in silk bows of silliness.
They jeer, using words to kill;
they bully their way with words.
They’re full of hot air,
loudmouths disturbing the peace.
People actually listen to them—can you believe it?
Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.
11-14 What’s going on here? Is God out to lunch?
Nobody’s tending the store.
The wicked get by with everything;
they have it made, piling up riches.
I’ve been stupid to play by the rules;
what has it gotten me?
A long run of bad luck, that’s what—
a slap in the face every time I walk out the door.
15-20 If I’d have given in and talked like this,
I would have betrayed your dear children.
Still, when I tried to figure it out,
all I got was a splitting headache . . .
Until I entered the sanctuary of God.
Then I saw the whole picture:
The slippery road you’ve put them on,
with a final crash in a ditch of delusions.
In the blink of an eye, disaster!
A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare!
We wake up and rub our eyes. . . . Nothing.
There’s nothing to them. And there never was.
21-24 When I was beleaguered and bitter,
totally consumed by envy,
I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox
in your very presence.
I’m still in your presence,
but you’ve taken my hand.
You wisely and tenderly lead me,
and then you bless me.
25-28 You’re all I want in heaven!
You’re all I want on earth!
When my skin sags and my bones get brittle,
God is rock-firm and faithful.
Look! Those who left you are falling apart!
Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again.
But I’m in the very presence of God—
oh, how refreshing it is!
I’ve made Lord God my home.
God, I’m telling the world what you do!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, January 05, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 5:14–16
“You are the light of the world.v A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.w 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others,x that they may see your good deedsy and glorifyz your Father in heaven.
Insight
At the time Jesus spoke these words, most homes used small oil lamps for lighting, which were most effective placed on a lampstand. Covering a small lamp under a bowl (Matthew 5:14–16) would extinguish it. In describing His disciples as the “light of the world” (v. 14), Jesus emphasizes that it’s impossible to genuinely be a disciple of His kingdom without living according to the kingdom values described in Matthew 5. To live in opposition to these values is as useless and illogical as being tasteless, ineffective salt or invisible light (vv. 13, 15). By: Monica Brands
Shining the Light
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14
Stephen told his parents that he needed to get to school early every day, but for some reason he never explained why it was so important. Yet they made sure he arrived at Northview High School by 7:15 each morning.
On a wintry day during his junior year, Stephen was in a car accident that sadly took his life. Later, his mom and dad found out why he’d been going to school so early. Each morning he and some friends had gathered at the school entrance to greet other students with a smile, a wave, and a kind word. It made all students—even those who weren’t popular—feel welcomed and accepted.
A believer in Jesus, Stephen wanted to share His joy with those who desperately needed it. His example lives on as a reminder that one of the best ways to shine the light of Christ’s love is by gestures of kindness and through a welcoming spirit.
In Matthew 5:14–16, Jesus reveals that in Him we’re “the light of the world” and “a town built on a hill” (v. 14). Ancient cities were often built of white limestone, truly standing out as they reflected the blazing sun. May we choose not to be hidden but to give light “to everyone in the house” (v. 15).
And as we “let [our] light shine before others” (v. 16), may they experience the welcoming love of Christ. By: Dave Branon
Reflect & Pray
What’s one way you could be more welcoming to the lonely and needy around you? How can the Holy Spirit help you be a city set on a hill for others to see?
Heavenly Father, thank You for Stephen’s example. Like him, help me to show kindness and a welcoming spirit to everyone I meet.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 05, 2020
The Life of Power to Follow
Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward." —John 13:36
“And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me’ ” (John 21:19). Three years earlier Jesus had said, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19), and Peter followed with no hesitation. The irresistible attraction of Jesus was upon him and he did not need the Holy Spirit to help him do it. Later he came to the place where he denied Jesus, and his heart broke. Then he received the Holy Spirit and Jesus said again, “Follow Me” (John 21:19). Now no one is in front of Peter except the Lord Jesus Christ. The first “Follow Me” was nothing mysterious; it was an external following. Jesus is now asking for an internal sacrifice and yielding (see John 21:18).
Between these two times Peter denied Jesus with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75). But then he came completely to the end of himself and all of his self-sufficiency. There was no part of himself he would ever rely on again. In his state of destitution, he was finally ready to receive all that the risen Lord had for him. “…He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ ” (John 20:22). No matter what changes God has performed in you, never rely on them. Build only on a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives.
All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them. When we come to the end of ourselves, not just mentally but completely, we are able to “receive the Holy Spirit.” “Receive the Holy Spirit” — the idea is that of invasion. There is now only One who directs the course of your life, the Lord 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
Simply put-we are not good enough to go to heaven. So what can we do? We could start doing good deeds. Perhaps if we do enough good deeds, they'll offset our bad deeds. The question then becomes how many good deeds? If I spend one year being greedy, how many years should I be generous?
No one knows the answer to that question. A rule sheet can't be found. A code has not been discovered. Why? Because God doesn't operate this way. God has been so kind to us. We have no way of balancing the scales. All we can do is ask for mercy. And God, because of his kindness, gives it.
God turned over our sins to his Son. Jesus Christ died for us. He did what we could not do so that we might become what we dare not dream-citizens of heaven!
From Max on Life
Psalm 73
An Asaph Psalm
No doubt about it! God is good—
good to good people, good to the good-hearted.
But I nearly missed it,
missed seeing his goodness.
I was looking the other way,
looking up to the people
At the top,
envying the wicked who have it made,
Who have nothing to worry about,
not a care in the whole wide world.
6-10 Pretentious with arrogance,
they wear the latest fashions in violence,
Pampered and overfed,
decked out in silk bows of silliness.
They jeer, using words to kill;
they bully their way with words.
They’re full of hot air,
loudmouths disturbing the peace.
People actually listen to them—can you believe it?
Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.
11-14 What’s going on here? Is God out to lunch?
Nobody’s tending the store.
The wicked get by with everything;
they have it made, piling up riches.
I’ve been stupid to play by the rules;
what has it gotten me?
A long run of bad luck, that’s what—
a slap in the face every time I walk out the door.
15-20 If I’d have given in and talked like this,
I would have betrayed your dear children.
Still, when I tried to figure it out,
all I got was a splitting headache . . .
Until I entered the sanctuary of God.
Then I saw the whole picture:
The slippery road you’ve put them on,
with a final crash in a ditch of delusions.
In the blink of an eye, disaster!
A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare!
We wake up and rub our eyes. . . . Nothing.
There’s nothing to them. And there never was.
21-24 When I was beleaguered and bitter,
totally consumed by envy,
I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox
in your very presence.
I’m still in your presence,
but you’ve taken my hand.
You wisely and tenderly lead me,
and then you bless me.
25-28 You’re all I want in heaven!
You’re all I want on earth!
When my skin sags and my bones get brittle,
God is rock-firm and faithful.
Look! Those who left you are falling apart!
Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again.
But I’m in the very presence of God—
oh, how refreshing it is!
I’ve made Lord God my home.
God, I’m telling the world what you do!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, January 05, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 5:14–16
“You are the light of the world.v A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.w 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others,x that they may see your good deedsy and glorifyz your Father in heaven.
Insight
At the time Jesus spoke these words, most homes used small oil lamps for lighting, which were most effective placed on a lampstand. Covering a small lamp under a bowl (Matthew 5:14–16) would extinguish it. In describing His disciples as the “light of the world” (v. 14), Jesus emphasizes that it’s impossible to genuinely be a disciple of His kingdom without living according to the kingdom values described in Matthew 5. To live in opposition to these values is as useless and illogical as being tasteless, ineffective salt or invisible light (vv. 13, 15). By: Monica Brands
Shining the Light
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14
Stephen told his parents that he needed to get to school early every day, but for some reason he never explained why it was so important. Yet they made sure he arrived at Northview High School by 7:15 each morning.
On a wintry day during his junior year, Stephen was in a car accident that sadly took his life. Later, his mom and dad found out why he’d been going to school so early. Each morning he and some friends had gathered at the school entrance to greet other students with a smile, a wave, and a kind word. It made all students—even those who weren’t popular—feel welcomed and accepted.
A believer in Jesus, Stephen wanted to share His joy with those who desperately needed it. His example lives on as a reminder that one of the best ways to shine the light of Christ’s love is by gestures of kindness and through a welcoming spirit.
In Matthew 5:14–16, Jesus reveals that in Him we’re “the light of the world” and “a town built on a hill” (v. 14). Ancient cities were often built of white limestone, truly standing out as they reflected the blazing sun. May we choose not to be hidden but to give light “to everyone in the house” (v. 15).
And as we “let [our] light shine before others” (v. 16), may they experience the welcoming love of Christ. By: Dave Branon
Reflect & Pray
What’s one way you could be more welcoming to the lonely and needy around you? How can the Holy Spirit help you be a city set on a hill for others to see?
Heavenly Father, thank You for Stephen’s example. Like him, help me to show kindness and a welcoming spirit to everyone I meet.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 05, 2020
The Life of Power to Follow
Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward." —John 13:36
“And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me’ ” (John 21:19). Three years earlier Jesus had said, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19), and Peter followed with no hesitation. The irresistible attraction of Jesus was upon him and he did not need the Holy Spirit to help him do it. Later he came to the place where he denied Jesus, and his heart broke. Then he received the Holy Spirit and Jesus said again, “Follow Me” (John 21:19). Now no one is in front of Peter except the Lord Jesus Christ. The first “Follow Me” was nothing mysterious; it was an external following. Jesus is now asking for an internal sacrifice and yielding (see John 21:18).
Between these two times Peter denied Jesus with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75). But then he came completely to the end of himself and all of his self-sufficiency. There was no part of himself he would ever rely on again. In his state of destitution, he was finally ready to receive all that the risen Lord had for him. “…He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ ” (John 20:22). No matter what changes God has performed in you, never rely on them. Build only on a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives.
All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them. When we come to the end of ourselves, not just mentally but completely, we are able to “receive the Holy Spirit.” “Receive the Holy Spirit” — the idea is that of invasion. There is now only One who directs the course of your life, the Lord 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
Saturday, January 4, 2020
1 Corinthians 11:1-16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado: God’s Best Idea
Grace is God’s best idea. Rather than tell us to change, he creates the change! Do we clean up so God can accept us? No, he accepts us and begins cleaning us up. His dream isn’t just to get you into heaven, but to get heaven into you. Can’t forgive your enemy? Can’t face tomorrow? Can’t forgive your past? Christ can. Forgiven people, forgive people. Deep sighs of relief happen when grace happens. We still stumble aplenty, but we despair seldom. Grace changes everything! To be saved by grace is to be saved by Christ—not by an idea, doctrine, or church membership, but by Jesus Himself. I have no tips on how to get grace. Truth is, we don’t get grace. But it sure can get us! If you wonder whether God can do something with the mess of your life, then grace is what you need.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20?
From GRACE
1 Corinthians 11:1-16
It pleases me that you continue to remember and honor me by keeping up the traditions of the faith I taught you. All actual authority stems from Christ.
3-9 In a marriage relationship, there is authority from Christ to husband, and from husband to wife. The authority of Christ is the authority of God. Any man who speaks with God or about God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of Christ, dishonors Christ. In the same way, a wife who speaks with God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of her husband, dishonors her husband. Worse, she dishonors herself—an ugly sight, like a woman with her head shaved. This is basically the origin of these customs we have of women wearing head coverings in worship, while men take their hats off. By these symbolic acts, men and women, who far too often butt heads with each other, submit their “heads” to the Head: God.
10-12 Don’t, by the way, read too much into the differences here between men and women. Neither man nor woman can go it alone or claim priority. Man was created first, as a beautiful shining reflection of God—that is true. But the head on a woman’s body clearly outshines in beauty the head of her “head,” her husband. The first woman came from man, true—but ever since then, every man comes from a woman! And since virtually everything comes from God anyway, let’s quit going through these “who’s first” routines.
13-16 Don’t you agree there is something naturally powerful in the symbolism—a woman, her beautiful hair reminiscent of angels, praying in adoration; a man, his head bared in reverence, praying in submission? I hope you’re not going to be argumentative about this. All God’s churches see it this way; I don’t want you standing out as an exception.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, January 04, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight: Job 38:4–11
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?b
Tell me, if you understand.c
5 Who marked off its dimensions?d Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring linee across it?
6 On what were its footings set,f
or who laid its cornerstoneg—
7 while the morning starsh sang togetheri
and all the angelsa j shouted for joy?k
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doorsl
when it burst forth from the womb,m
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,n
10 when I fixed limits for ito
and set its doors and bars in place,p
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;q
here is where your proud waves halt’?r
Insight
After more than thirty-five chapters of debate between Job and his accusers, a new conversation takes place—Job hears from God Himself! Throughout most of these chapters, as Job’s friends were accusing him, Job was accusing God. In fact, Job actually demands that He come and answer for His actions: “Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing” (Job 31:35). Now, at the end of Job’s story, the Creator comes to respond to the charges Job has raised against Him (chs. 38–41), centering His response in a series of questions. Job bows before God and acknowledges his own weakness, saying, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know” (42:3). A true encounter with the Almighty is a humbling experience.
To learn more about God in today’s culture, visit bit.ly/2L5fPoq. By: Bill Crowder
Perfectly Placed
Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Job 38:4
Scientists know our planet is precisely the right distance from the sun to benefit from its heat. A little closer and all the water would evaporate, as on Venus. Only a bit farther and everything would freeze like it does on Mars. Earth is also just the right size to generate the right amount of gravity. Less would make everything weightlessly sterile like our moon, while more gravity would trap poisonous gases that suffocate life as on Jupiter.
The intricate physical, chemical, and biological interactions that comprise our world bear the imprint of a sophisticated Designer. We catch a glimpse of this complex craftsmanship when God speaks to Job about things beyond our understanding. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” God asks. “Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone?” (Job 38:4–6).
This glimpse of creation’s magnitude causes us to wonder at Earth’s mighty oceans bowing before the One who “shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, . . . [who said] ‘This far you may come and no farther’ ” (vv. 8–11). In wonder may we sing with the morning stars and shout for joy with the angels (v. 7), for this elaborate world was made for us that we might know and trust God. By: Remi Oyedele
Reflect & Pray
How does God’s amazing creation cause you to praise Him today? What about its design reveals a Maker?
Thank You, Creator God, for this elaborate world You designed for us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 04, 2020
Why Can I Not Follow You Now?
Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?" —John 13:37
There are times when you can’t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait.
At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move.
Peter did not wait for God. He predicted in his own mind where the test would come, and it came where he did not expect it. “I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Peter’s statement was honest but ignorant. “Jesus answered him, ‘…the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times’ ” (John 13:38). This was said with a deeper knowledge of Peter than Peter had of himself. He could not follow Jesus because he did not know himself or his own capabilities well enough. Natural devotion may be enough to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel His irresistible charm, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will deny Jesus, always falling short of what it means to truly follow Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, “Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much”? Disciples Indeed, 389 L
Grace is God’s best idea. Rather than tell us to change, he creates the change! Do we clean up so God can accept us? No, he accepts us and begins cleaning us up. His dream isn’t just to get you into heaven, but to get heaven into you. Can’t forgive your enemy? Can’t face tomorrow? Can’t forgive your past? Christ can. Forgiven people, forgive people. Deep sighs of relief happen when grace happens. We still stumble aplenty, but we despair seldom. Grace changes everything! To be saved by grace is to be saved by Christ—not by an idea, doctrine, or church membership, but by Jesus Himself. I have no tips on how to get grace. Truth is, we don’t get grace. But it sure can get us! If you wonder whether God can do something with the mess of your life, then grace is what you need.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20?
From GRACE
1 Corinthians 11:1-16
It pleases me that you continue to remember and honor me by keeping up the traditions of the faith I taught you. All actual authority stems from Christ.
3-9 In a marriage relationship, there is authority from Christ to husband, and from husband to wife. The authority of Christ is the authority of God. Any man who speaks with God or about God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of Christ, dishonors Christ. In the same way, a wife who speaks with God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of her husband, dishonors her husband. Worse, she dishonors herself—an ugly sight, like a woman with her head shaved. This is basically the origin of these customs we have of women wearing head coverings in worship, while men take their hats off. By these symbolic acts, men and women, who far too often butt heads with each other, submit their “heads” to the Head: God.
10-12 Don’t, by the way, read too much into the differences here between men and women. Neither man nor woman can go it alone or claim priority. Man was created first, as a beautiful shining reflection of God—that is true. But the head on a woman’s body clearly outshines in beauty the head of her “head,” her husband. The first woman came from man, true—but ever since then, every man comes from a woman! And since virtually everything comes from God anyway, let’s quit going through these “who’s first” routines.
13-16 Don’t you agree there is something naturally powerful in the symbolism—a woman, her beautiful hair reminiscent of angels, praying in adoration; a man, his head bared in reverence, praying in submission? I hope you’re not going to be argumentative about this. All God’s churches see it this way; I don’t want you standing out as an exception.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, January 04, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight: Job 38:4–11
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?b
Tell me, if you understand.c
5 Who marked off its dimensions?d Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring linee across it?
6 On what were its footings set,f
or who laid its cornerstoneg—
7 while the morning starsh sang togetheri
and all the angelsa j shouted for joy?k
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doorsl
when it burst forth from the womb,m
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,n
10 when I fixed limits for ito
and set its doors and bars in place,p
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;q
here is where your proud waves halt’?r
Insight
After more than thirty-five chapters of debate between Job and his accusers, a new conversation takes place—Job hears from God Himself! Throughout most of these chapters, as Job’s friends were accusing him, Job was accusing God. In fact, Job actually demands that He come and answer for His actions: “Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing” (Job 31:35). Now, at the end of Job’s story, the Creator comes to respond to the charges Job has raised against Him (chs. 38–41), centering His response in a series of questions. Job bows before God and acknowledges his own weakness, saying, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know” (42:3). A true encounter with the Almighty is a humbling experience.
To learn more about God in today’s culture, visit bit.ly/2L5fPoq. By: Bill Crowder
Perfectly Placed
Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Job 38:4
Scientists know our planet is precisely the right distance from the sun to benefit from its heat. A little closer and all the water would evaporate, as on Venus. Only a bit farther and everything would freeze like it does on Mars. Earth is also just the right size to generate the right amount of gravity. Less would make everything weightlessly sterile like our moon, while more gravity would trap poisonous gases that suffocate life as on Jupiter.
The intricate physical, chemical, and biological interactions that comprise our world bear the imprint of a sophisticated Designer. We catch a glimpse of this complex craftsmanship when God speaks to Job about things beyond our understanding. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” God asks. “Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone?” (Job 38:4–6).
This glimpse of creation’s magnitude causes us to wonder at Earth’s mighty oceans bowing before the One who “shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, . . . [who said] ‘This far you may come and no farther’ ” (vv. 8–11). In wonder may we sing with the morning stars and shout for joy with the angels (v. 7), for this elaborate world was made for us that we might know and trust God. By: Remi Oyedele
Reflect & Pray
How does God’s amazing creation cause you to praise Him today? What about its design reveals a Maker?
Thank You, Creator God, for this elaborate world You designed for us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 04, 2020
Why Can I Not Follow You Now?
Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?" —John 13:37
There are times when you can’t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait.
At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move.
Peter did not wait for God. He predicted in his own mind where the test would come, and it came where he did not expect it. “I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Peter’s statement was honest but ignorant. “Jesus answered him, ‘…the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times’ ” (John 13:38). This was said with a deeper knowledge of Peter than Peter had of himself. He could not follow Jesus because he did not know himself or his own capabilities well enough. Natural devotion may be enough to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel His irresistible charm, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will deny Jesus, always falling short of what it means to truly follow Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, “Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much”? Disciples Indeed, 389 L
Friday, January 3, 2020
Psalm 50 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: COMMON FOLK
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NIV).
Does Jesus still use simple folks like us to change the world? You know, we suffer from such ordinariness. But God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called.
Don’t let Satan convince you otherwise. He will tell you that God has an IQ requirement or an entry fee. When Satan whispers such lies, dismiss him with this truth: God stampeded the first-century society with swaybacks, not thoroughbreds. There is no evidence that Jesus chose the disciples because they were smarter or nicer than the guy next door. The one thing they had going for them was a willingness to take a step when Jesus said, “Follow me.” God changes the world with folks like you.
Psalm 50
An Asaph Psalm
50 1-3 The God of gods—it’s God!—speaks out, shouts, “Earth!”
welcomes the sun in the east,
farewells the disappearing sun in the west.
From the dazzle of Zion,
God blazes into view.
Our God makes his entrance,
he’s not shy in his coming.
Starbursts of fireworks precede him.
4-5 He summons heaven and earth as a jury,
he’s taking his people to court:
“Round up my saints who swore
on the Bible their loyalty to me.”
6 The whole cosmos attests to the fairness of this court,
that here God is judge.
7-15 “Are you listening, dear people? I’m getting ready to speak;
Israel, I’m about ready to bring you to trial.
This is God, your God,
speaking to you.
I don’t find fault with your acts of worship,
the frequent burnt sacrifices you offer.
But why should I want your blue-ribbon bull,
or more and more goats from your herds?
Every creature in the forest is mine,
the wild animals on all the mountains.
I know every mountain bird by name;
the scampering field mice are my friends.
If I get hungry, do you think I’d tell you?
All creation and its bounty are mine.
Do you think I feast on venison?
or drink draughts of goats’ blood?
Spread for me a banquet of praise,
serve High God a feast of kept promises,
And call for help when you’re in trouble—
I’ll help you, and you’ll honor me.”
16-21 Next, God calls up the wicked:
“What are you up to, quoting my laws,
talking like we are good friends?
You never answer the door when I call;
you treat my words like garbage.
If you find a thief, you make him your buddy;
adulterers are your friends of choice.
Your mouth drools filth;
lying is a serious art form with you.
You stab your own brother in the back,
rip off your little sister.
I kept a quiet patience while you did these things;
you thought I went along with your game.
I’m calling you on the carpet, now,
laying your wickedness out in plain sight.
22-23 “Time’s up for playing fast and
loose with me.
I’m ready to pass sentence,
and there’s no help in sight!
It’s the praising life that honors me.
As soon as you set your foot on the Way,
I’ll show you my salvation.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, January 03, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 30:8–18
Go now, write it on a tablete for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,f
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.g
9 For these are rebellioush people, deceitfuli children,
children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.j
10 They say to the seers,k
“See no more visionsl!”
and to the prophets,
“Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,m
prophesy illusions.n
11 Leave this way,o
get off this path,
and stop confrontingp us
with the Holy Oneq of Israel!”
12 Therefore this is what the Holy Oner of Israel says:
“Because you have rejected this message,s
relied on oppressiont
and depended on deceit,
13 this sin will become for you
like a high wall,u cracked and bulging,
that collapsesv suddenly,w in an instant.
14 It will break in pieces like pottery,x
shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
for taking coals from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern.”
15 This is what the Sovereigny Lord, the Holy Onez of Israel, says:
“In repentance and resta is your salvation,
in quietness and trustb is your strength,
but you would have none of it.c
16 You said, ‘No, we will fleed on horses.’e
Therefore you will flee!
You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’
Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
17 A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of fivef
you will all fleeg away,
till you are lefth
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banneri on a hill.”
18 Yet the Lord longsj to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.k
For the Lord is a God of justice.l
Blessed are all who wait for him!m
Insight
In Isaiah 30:18, the words translated longs (“the Lord longs”) and wait (“all who wait for him”) are the same word in the original language. In one verse we see both the waiting of God and the waiting of man. Isaiah 8:17 also uses this word: “I will wait for the Lord.” Whether the subject of the waiting is God or humans, we’re the ones who benefit, and God is to be praised. By: Arthur Jackson
God Waited
The Lord longs to be gracious to you. Isaiah 30:18
When Denise Levertov was just twelve, long before she became a renowned poet, she had the gumption to mail a package of poetry to the great poet T. S. Eliot. She then waited for a reply. Surprisingly, Eliot sent two pages of handwritten encouragement. In the preface to her collection The Stream and the Sapphire, she explained how the poems “trace [her] own movement from agnosticism to Christian faith.” It’s powerful, then, to recognize how one of the later poems (“Annunciation”) narrates Mary’s surrender to God. Noting the Holy Spirit’s refusal to overwhelm Mary and His desire for Mary to freely receive the Christ child, these two words blaze at the poem’s center: “God waited.”
In Mary’s story, Levertov recognized her own. God waited, eager to love her. He would not force anything upon her. He waited. Isaiah described this same reality, how God stood ready, eager with anticipation, to shower Israel with tender love. “The Lord longs to be gracious to you . . . to show you compassion” (30:18). He was ready to flood His people with kindness, and yet God waited for them to willingly receive what He offered (v. 19).
It’s a wonder that our Creator, the Savior of the world, chooses to wait for us to welcome Him. The God who could so easily overpower us practices humble patience. The Holy One waits for us. By: Winn Collier
Reflect & Pray
In what areas of your life has God been waiting for you? How might you surrender to Him?
God, it boggles my mind that You wait for me. Wait? For me? This makes me trust You, desire You. Please come. Give me Your full self.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 03, 2020
Clouds and Darkness
Clouds and darkness surround Him… —Psalm 97:2
A person who has not been born again by the Spirit of God will tell you that the teachings of Jesus are simple. But when he is baptized by the Holy Spirit, he finds that “clouds and darkness surround Him….” When we come into close contact with the teachings of Jesus Christ we have our first realization of this. The only possible way to have full understanding of the teachings of Jesus is through the light of the Spirit of God shining inside us. If we have never had the experience of taking our casual, religious shoes off our casual, religious feet— getting rid of all the excessive informality with which we approach God— it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence. The people who are flippant and disrespectful in their approach to God are those who have never been introduced to Jesus Christ. Only after the amazing delight and liberty of realizing what Jesus Christ does, comes the impenetrable “darkness” of realizing who He is.
Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Once, the Bible was just so many words to us — “clouds and darkness”— then, suddenly, the words become spirit and life because Jesus re-speaks them to us when our circumstances make the words new. That is the way God speaks to us; not by visions and dreams, but by words. When a man gets to God, it is by the most simple way— words.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6). The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, January 03, 2020
The High Cost of Running - #8605
My son and I were waiting in front of a restaurant and we saw this dad desperately trying to keep his impatient two-year-old occupied. Good luck! What's that word we sometimes use to describe the "two-year-olds"? "Terrible twos"? Yeah, well, there's something in a little child that wants freedom, and will go for it at the first opportunity. This kid was no exception. As soon as his dad let go for a moment, he started chugging down the sidewalk. Dad started after him, of course, pretending he was having a hard time catching the little guy. Well, you knew he wasn't. My son just watched in amusement and he said to me, "It's so funny watching a kid trying to get away from his father. You know he's going to lose."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The High Cost of Running."
In our word for today from the Word of God, we're in Jonah 1. Speaking of running, it's about a child of God trying to run away from his Father. Jonah didn't like the assignment God had given him, so he tried to run away. It says, "Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord."
The Lord sends a violent storm that's about to destroy Jonah's getaway ship. Meanwhile, Jonah is sleeping down below. The captain rouses him and "Then the sailors said to each other, 'Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.' They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah." Well, now, the terrified sailors then find out Jonah belongs to Jehovah God and it says "...they asked, 'What have you done?' (They knew he was running away from the Lord because he had already told them so.)"
So God's child, Jonah, is running from God. And just like that little boy we saw trying to get away from his Dad, you know his Father is going to catch him. Could it be that God brought us together today and asked me to talk about this because He knows you're running; running from your family's faith, or running from letting Him be the Lord of your life, or from something you know He's calling you to do?
Consider the cost of running from God. It cost Jonah his money, his sleep, his prayer line to God, his testimony to the people he was with, and it cost him the welfare of those close to him. I'll tell you, when you're running from God, you are a destabilizing, destructive force on everything and everyone around you. People you care about are getting hurt by your rebellion. Not to mention how much you're being hurt, or you're going to be hurt.
But like the loving Father He is, God has just kept on pursuing you, right to this moment. It's a good thing that parents do catch the child who's running away, isn't it, or they would eventually run into disaster or death. That's the only possible outcome when you're a fugitive from God.
Isn't it time to stop running and turn and face your Father, to let Him have you and to hold you? You have nothing to fear from going with your Heavenly Father. You have everything to fear from going against Him, from resisting Almighty God.
It could be that God has come to you on numerous occasions, tugging on your heart, saying, "Give Me your life...give your soul to My Son." His Son who died in your place to pay for every wrong thing, every selfish thing, every angry thing, every hurting thing you've ever done, He is the one you were made for. And He's coming to you and He's saying, "Open your heart to My Son." It's time to stop running, because ultimately you're going to run into an awful eternity.
Today it's time to run into God's arms. If you're ready to open your heart to Jesus Christ, you've been running so long. He gave His life for you. Would you tell Him, "I want you now, Jesus. I need you. I'm pinning all my hopes on you to have my sin forgiven and to go to heaven someday."
Our website is for you at a moment like this. And I want to encourage you to run there today. It's ANewStory.com, because your new story could begin with the information there.
Please, stop running from your Heavenly Father today before you run into a lot more pain.
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NIV).
Does Jesus still use simple folks like us to change the world? You know, we suffer from such ordinariness. But God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called.
Don’t let Satan convince you otherwise. He will tell you that God has an IQ requirement or an entry fee. When Satan whispers such lies, dismiss him with this truth: God stampeded the first-century society with swaybacks, not thoroughbreds. There is no evidence that Jesus chose the disciples because they were smarter or nicer than the guy next door. The one thing they had going for them was a willingness to take a step when Jesus said, “Follow me.” God changes the world with folks like you.
Psalm 50
An Asaph Psalm
50 1-3 The God of gods—it’s God!—speaks out, shouts, “Earth!”
welcomes the sun in the east,
farewells the disappearing sun in the west.
From the dazzle of Zion,
God blazes into view.
Our God makes his entrance,
he’s not shy in his coming.
Starbursts of fireworks precede him.
4-5 He summons heaven and earth as a jury,
he’s taking his people to court:
“Round up my saints who swore
on the Bible their loyalty to me.”
6 The whole cosmos attests to the fairness of this court,
that here God is judge.
7-15 “Are you listening, dear people? I’m getting ready to speak;
Israel, I’m about ready to bring you to trial.
This is God, your God,
speaking to you.
I don’t find fault with your acts of worship,
the frequent burnt sacrifices you offer.
But why should I want your blue-ribbon bull,
or more and more goats from your herds?
Every creature in the forest is mine,
the wild animals on all the mountains.
I know every mountain bird by name;
the scampering field mice are my friends.
If I get hungry, do you think I’d tell you?
All creation and its bounty are mine.
Do you think I feast on venison?
or drink draughts of goats’ blood?
Spread for me a banquet of praise,
serve High God a feast of kept promises,
And call for help when you’re in trouble—
I’ll help you, and you’ll honor me.”
16-21 Next, God calls up the wicked:
“What are you up to, quoting my laws,
talking like we are good friends?
You never answer the door when I call;
you treat my words like garbage.
If you find a thief, you make him your buddy;
adulterers are your friends of choice.
Your mouth drools filth;
lying is a serious art form with you.
You stab your own brother in the back,
rip off your little sister.
I kept a quiet patience while you did these things;
you thought I went along with your game.
I’m calling you on the carpet, now,
laying your wickedness out in plain sight.
22-23 “Time’s up for playing fast and
loose with me.
I’m ready to pass sentence,
and there’s no help in sight!
It’s the praising life that honors me.
As soon as you set your foot on the Way,
I’ll show you my salvation.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, January 03, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 30:8–18
Go now, write it on a tablete for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,f
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.g
9 For these are rebellioush people, deceitfuli children,
children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.j
10 They say to the seers,k
“See no more visionsl!”
and to the prophets,
“Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,m
prophesy illusions.n
11 Leave this way,o
get off this path,
and stop confrontingp us
with the Holy Oneq of Israel!”
12 Therefore this is what the Holy Oner of Israel says:
“Because you have rejected this message,s
relied on oppressiont
and depended on deceit,
13 this sin will become for you
like a high wall,u cracked and bulging,
that collapsesv suddenly,w in an instant.
14 It will break in pieces like pottery,x
shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
for taking coals from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern.”
15 This is what the Sovereigny Lord, the Holy Onez of Israel, says:
“In repentance and resta is your salvation,
in quietness and trustb is your strength,
but you would have none of it.c
16 You said, ‘No, we will fleed on horses.’e
Therefore you will flee!
You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’
Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
17 A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of fivef
you will all fleeg away,
till you are lefth
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banneri on a hill.”
18 Yet the Lord longsj to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.k
For the Lord is a God of justice.l
Blessed are all who wait for him!m
Insight
In Isaiah 30:18, the words translated longs (“the Lord longs”) and wait (“all who wait for him”) are the same word in the original language. In one verse we see both the waiting of God and the waiting of man. Isaiah 8:17 also uses this word: “I will wait for the Lord.” Whether the subject of the waiting is God or humans, we’re the ones who benefit, and God is to be praised. By: Arthur Jackson
God Waited
The Lord longs to be gracious to you. Isaiah 30:18
When Denise Levertov was just twelve, long before she became a renowned poet, she had the gumption to mail a package of poetry to the great poet T. S. Eliot. She then waited for a reply. Surprisingly, Eliot sent two pages of handwritten encouragement. In the preface to her collection The Stream and the Sapphire, she explained how the poems “trace [her] own movement from agnosticism to Christian faith.” It’s powerful, then, to recognize how one of the later poems (“Annunciation”) narrates Mary’s surrender to God. Noting the Holy Spirit’s refusal to overwhelm Mary and His desire for Mary to freely receive the Christ child, these two words blaze at the poem’s center: “God waited.”
In Mary’s story, Levertov recognized her own. God waited, eager to love her. He would not force anything upon her. He waited. Isaiah described this same reality, how God stood ready, eager with anticipation, to shower Israel with tender love. “The Lord longs to be gracious to you . . . to show you compassion” (30:18). He was ready to flood His people with kindness, and yet God waited for them to willingly receive what He offered (v. 19).
It’s a wonder that our Creator, the Savior of the world, chooses to wait for us to welcome Him. The God who could so easily overpower us practices humble patience. The Holy One waits for us. By: Winn Collier
Reflect & Pray
In what areas of your life has God been waiting for you? How might you surrender to Him?
God, it boggles my mind that You wait for me. Wait? For me? This makes me trust You, desire You. Please come. Give me Your full self.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 03, 2020
Clouds and Darkness
Clouds and darkness surround Him… —Psalm 97:2
A person who has not been born again by the Spirit of God will tell you that the teachings of Jesus are simple. But when he is baptized by the Holy Spirit, he finds that “clouds and darkness surround Him….” When we come into close contact with the teachings of Jesus Christ we have our first realization of this. The only possible way to have full understanding of the teachings of Jesus is through the light of the Spirit of God shining inside us. If we have never had the experience of taking our casual, religious shoes off our casual, religious feet— getting rid of all the excessive informality with which we approach God— it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence. The people who are flippant and disrespectful in their approach to God are those who have never been introduced to Jesus Christ. Only after the amazing delight and liberty of realizing what Jesus Christ does, comes the impenetrable “darkness” of realizing who He is.
Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Once, the Bible was just so many words to us — “clouds and darkness”— then, suddenly, the words become spirit and life because Jesus re-speaks them to us when our circumstances make the words new. That is the way God speaks to us; not by visions and dreams, but by words. When a man gets to God, it is by the most simple way— words.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6). The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, January 03, 2020
The High Cost of Running - #8605
My son and I were waiting in front of a restaurant and we saw this dad desperately trying to keep his impatient two-year-old occupied. Good luck! What's that word we sometimes use to describe the "two-year-olds"? "Terrible twos"? Yeah, well, there's something in a little child that wants freedom, and will go for it at the first opportunity. This kid was no exception. As soon as his dad let go for a moment, he started chugging down the sidewalk. Dad started after him, of course, pretending he was having a hard time catching the little guy. Well, you knew he wasn't. My son just watched in amusement and he said to me, "It's so funny watching a kid trying to get away from his father. You know he's going to lose."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The High Cost of Running."
In our word for today from the Word of God, we're in Jonah 1. Speaking of running, it's about a child of God trying to run away from his Father. Jonah didn't like the assignment God had given him, so he tried to run away. It says, "Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord."
The Lord sends a violent storm that's about to destroy Jonah's getaway ship. Meanwhile, Jonah is sleeping down below. The captain rouses him and "Then the sailors said to each other, 'Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.' They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah." Well, now, the terrified sailors then find out Jonah belongs to Jehovah God and it says "...they asked, 'What have you done?' (They knew he was running away from the Lord because he had already told them so.)"
So God's child, Jonah, is running from God. And just like that little boy we saw trying to get away from his Dad, you know his Father is going to catch him. Could it be that God brought us together today and asked me to talk about this because He knows you're running; running from your family's faith, or running from letting Him be the Lord of your life, or from something you know He's calling you to do?
Consider the cost of running from God. It cost Jonah his money, his sleep, his prayer line to God, his testimony to the people he was with, and it cost him the welfare of those close to him. I'll tell you, when you're running from God, you are a destabilizing, destructive force on everything and everyone around you. People you care about are getting hurt by your rebellion. Not to mention how much you're being hurt, or you're going to be hurt.
But like the loving Father He is, God has just kept on pursuing you, right to this moment. It's a good thing that parents do catch the child who's running away, isn't it, or they would eventually run into disaster or death. That's the only possible outcome when you're a fugitive from God.
Isn't it time to stop running and turn and face your Father, to let Him have you and to hold you? You have nothing to fear from going with your Heavenly Father. You have everything to fear from going against Him, from resisting Almighty God.
It could be that God has come to you on numerous occasions, tugging on your heart, saying, "Give Me your life...give your soul to My Son." His Son who died in your place to pay for every wrong thing, every selfish thing, every angry thing, every hurting thing you've ever done, He is the one you were made for. And He's coming to you and He's saying, "Open your heart to My Son." It's time to stop running, because ultimately you're going to run into an awful eternity.
Today it's time to run into God's arms. If you're ready to open your heart to Jesus Christ, you've been running so long. He gave His life for you. Would you tell Him, "I want you now, Jesus. I need you. I'm pinning all my hopes on you to have my sin forgiven and to go to heaven someday."
Our website is for you at a moment like this. And I want to encourage you to run there today. It's ANewStory.com, because your new story could begin with the information there.
Please, stop running from your Heavenly Father today before you run into a lot more pain.
Thursday, January 2, 2020
Psalm 49, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
A few years back, three questions came from different people in the span of a month.
Question 1: Had you been a German Christian during World War II, would you have taken a stand against Hitler?
Question 2: Had you lived in the South during the civil rights conflict, would you have taken a stand against racism?
Question 3: When your grandchildren discover you lived during a day in which 1.75 billion people were poor and 1 billion were hungry, how will they judge your response?
I didn’t mind the first two questions. Those choices were not mine. But the third question has kept me awake at night. We are given an opportunity to make a big difference during a difficult time. We are created by a God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven but here on earth.
Psalm 49
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah
49 1-2 Listen, everyone, listen—
earth-dwellers, don’t miss this.
All you haves
and have-nots,
All together now: listen.
3-4 I set plainspoken wisdom before you,
my heart-seasoned understandings of life.
I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise,
I solve life’s riddle with the help of a harp.
5-6 So why should I fear in bad times,
hemmed in by enemy malice,
Shoved around by bullies,
demeaned by the arrogant rich?
7-9 Really! There’s no such thing as self-rescue,
pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
The cost of rescue is beyond our means,
and even then it doesn’t guarantee
Life forever, or insurance
against the Black Hole.
10-11 Anyone can see that the brightest and best die,
wiped out right along with fools and dunces.
They leave all their prowess behind,
move into their new home, The Coffin,
The cemetery their permanent address.
And to think they named counties after themselves!
12 We aren’t immortal. We don’t last long.
Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.
13-15 This is what happens to those who live for the moment,
who only look out for themselves:
Death herds them like sheep straight to hell;
they disappear down the gullet of the grave;
They waste away to nothing—
nothing left but a marker in a cemetery.
But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death,
he reaches down and grabs me.
16-19 So don’t be impressed with those who get rich
and pile up fame and fortune.
They can’t take it with them;
fame and fortune all get left behind.
Just when they think they’ve arrived
and folks praise them because they’ve made good,
They enter the family burial plot
where they’ll never see sunshine again.
20 We aren’t immortal. We don’t last long.
Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, January 02, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Proverbs 24:13–14
Saying 26
13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
14 Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:
If you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.i
Insight
The book of Proverbs helps us theologically, practically, and ethically. It helps us theologically by describing the nature of wisdom as centered in God, practically by guiding us toward skillful living, and ethically by showing us how to live both individually and in community.
Some of the many practical topics that guide us toward wise living include: family relationships (6:20), sexual ethics (6:23–29), taking care of the poor (14:21; 19:17; 28:27), listening to advice (9:7–9), work ethics (10:4–5), business ethics (11:1, 26), life-planning (16:1–3, 9, 33), dealing with authority (23:1–3), relationships with friends/neighbors (24:28–29; 27:14), conflict (26:17, 20–21), anger (27:3), and the danger of pride (29:23).
Adapted from Understanding the Bible: The Wisdom Books by Tremper Longman. To read more, visit discoveryseries.org/q0422.
Good for You
Wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope. Proverbs 24:14
People the world over spent an estimated $98.2 billion on chocolate in 2016. The number is staggering, yet at the same time not all that surprising. Chocolate, after all, tastes delicious and we enjoy consuming it. So the world rejoiced collectively when the sweet treat was found to have significant health benefits as well. Chocolate contains flavonoids that help safeguard the body against aging and heart disease. Never has a prescription for health been so well received or heeded (in moderation, of course!).
Solomon suggested there’s another “sweet” worthy of our investment: wisdom. He recommended his son eat honey “for it is good” (Proverbs 24:13) and compared its sweetness to wisdom. The person who feeds on God’s wisdom in Scripture finds it not only sweet to the soul but beneficial for teaching and training, equipping us for “every good work” we’ll need to accomplish in life (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
Wisdom is what allows us to make smart choices and understand the world around us. And it’s worth investing in and sharing with those we love—as Solomon wished to do for his son. We can feel good about feasting on God’s wisdom in the Bible. It’s a sweet treat that we can enjoy without limit—in fact, we’re encouraged to! God, thank You for the sweetness of Your Scriptures! By: Kirsten Holmberg
Reflect & Pray
What wisdom do you need to consume today? How has God’s wisdom been sweet to you?
God, please nourish us with Your wisdom.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 02, 2020
Will You Go Out Without Knowing?
He went out, not knowing where he was going. —Hebrews 11:8
Have you ever “gone out” in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?” You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in constant wonder, because you don’t know what God is going to do next. Each morning as you wake, there is a new opportunity to “go out,” building your confidence in God. “…do not worry about your life…nor about the body…” (Luke 12:22). In other words, don’t worry about the things that concerned you before you did “go out.”
Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is. Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you “go out” in complete surrender to Him until you are not surprised one iota by anything He does?
Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to “go out” in dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus. You must learn to “go out” through your convictions, creeds, or experiences until you come to the point in your faith where there is nothing between yourself and God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, light comes through them. The Place of Help, 1032 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, January 02, 2020
A Look At the Label - #8604
Now when you go food shopping it isn't as simple as it used to be. But that's a good thing, because you have to take time to read the labels. You don't just grab and run. Now, you think about it, we can find out now what's really in that cereal or those cookies or whatever. We're starting to realize more that what we eat has a lot to do with how healthy we are. And maybe how long we live. There's a lot of damaging ingredients hidden in some of that food, like for example, fat grams! Before we buy something, we've got to know about the fat grams in it and a whole lot of other things. I mean, who needs that stuff keeping your blood from your heart? Now, we smart shoppers, who want to live a little longer, realize the damage that those ingredients can do; some of that stuff that's hiding in the food, so we don't just buy the good-looking food because it looks good. Uh! Uh! First, we check for what's in that product that could do damage!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Look at the Label."
Now, we've gotten more and more vigilant about what we put in our body, huh? Things that can hurt it. We don't want to do that. But what about what we put in our soul? Our word for today from the Word of God, comes from 1 Peter 2, beginning at verse 9. It tells us what we are. We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people belonging to God!
Then in verse 11 it says, "I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul." Wow! I mean there are desires and temptations that literally attack your soul, and your soul is the 'command center' of your choices and your imagination, your dreams and your lifestyle. If it gets poisoned, your life gets poisoned. So like a health conscious shopper, we need to "Look At the Label."
We've got to check what damaging ingredients there might be and what we're allowing to feed our soul. Now our soul feeds on the books and magazines we read, the websites we visit, the videos we watch, the music we listen to, the movies we go to, the jokes we listen to. It feeds on the conversations we're in, the relationships we spend a lot of time on, and God's command is without compromise. "Abstain from sinful desires!" Don't touch, don't watch, don't listen to, don't be around any input that Satan can use later to attack your soul.
Maybe you've become kind of careless about what you're letting into your soul. It's easy to do, especially in times when you just want to relax or be entertained, times when you want to sort of hang a "closed" sign out on your brain. Those times where your guard is down are the most dangerous of all for your soul. Why is it so important, as the Bible says, to guard your heart? Because every sinful image is an opening for Satan to come into your soul and poison it, and "erode" you.
Sinful images last much longer than the moment you see or hear them. You know that. For example: dirty jokes and dirty pictures, they live on in your soul don't they? Often for many years. Every portrayal of something dark wears down your spiritual resistance and you need all of that you can muster.
Sinful input dulls your heart to Jesus' voice and it weakens your soul. Here's the bottom line: you can't afford, any longer, to let that poison into your soul! It just isn't worth the damage it can do. I've decided that about what I let into my body. So, that food may look good and taste good, but the pleasure isn't worth the damage to my heart. No matter how attractive that sin-selling input is, don't let it in. It is not worth the damage it will do to your heart.
A few years back, three questions came from different people in the span of a month.
Question 1: Had you been a German Christian during World War II, would you have taken a stand against Hitler?
Question 2: Had you lived in the South during the civil rights conflict, would you have taken a stand against racism?
Question 3: When your grandchildren discover you lived during a day in which 1.75 billion people were poor and 1 billion were hungry, how will they judge your response?
I didn’t mind the first two questions. Those choices were not mine. But the third question has kept me awake at night. We are given an opportunity to make a big difference during a difficult time. We are created by a God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven but here on earth.
Psalm 49
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah
49 1-2 Listen, everyone, listen—
earth-dwellers, don’t miss this.
All you haves
and have-nots,
All together now: listen.
3-4 I set plainspoken wisdom before you,
my heart-seasoned understandings of life.
I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise,
I solve life’s riddle with the help of a harp.
5-6 So why should I fear in bad times,
hemmed in by enemy malice,
Shoved around by bullies,
demeaned by the arrogant rich?
7-9 Really! There’s no such thing as self-rescue,
pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
The cost of rescue is beyond our means,
and even then it doesn’t guarantee
Life forever, or insurance
against the Black Hole.
10-11 Anyone can see that the brightest and best die,
wiped out right along with fools and dunces.
They leave all their prowess behind,
move into their new home, The Coffin,
The cemetery their permanent address.
And to think they named counties after themselves!
12 We aren’t immortal. We don’t last long.
Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.
13-15 This is what happens to those who live for the moment,
who only look out for themselves:
Death herds them like sheep straight to hell;
they disappear down the gullet of the grave;
They waste away to nothing—
nothing left but a marker in a cemetery.
But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death,
he reaches down and grabs me.
16-19 So don’t be impressed with those who get rich
and pile up fame and fortune.
They can’t take it with them;
fame and fortune all get left behind.
Just when they think they’ve arrived
and folks praise them because they’ve made good,
They enter the family burial plot
where they’ll never see sunshine again.
20 We aren’t immortal. We don’t last long.
Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, January 02, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Proverbs 24:13–14
Saying 26
13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
14 Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:
If you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.i
Insight
The book of Proverbs helps us theologically, practically, and ethically. It helps us theologically by describing the nature of wisdom as centered in God, practically by guiding us toward skillful living, and ethically by showing us how to live both individually and in community.
Some of the many practical topics that guide us toward wise living include: family relationships (6:20), sexual ethics (6:23–29), taking care of the poor (14:21; 19:17; 28:27), listening to advice (9:7–9), work ethics (10:4–5), business ethics (11:1, 26), life-planning (16:1–3, 9, 33), dealing with authority (23:1–3), relationships with friends/neighbors (24:28–29; 27:14), conflict (26:17, 20–21), anger (27:3), and the danger of pride (29:23).
Adapted from Understanding the Bible: The Wisdom Books by Tremper Longman. To read more, visit discoveryseries.org/q0422.
Good for You
Wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope. Proverbs 24:14
People the world over spent an estimated $98.2 billion on chocolate in 2016. The number is staggering, yet at the same time not all that surprising. Chocolate, after all, tastes delicious and we enjoy consuming it. So the world rejoiced collectively when the sweet treat was found to have significant health benefits as well. Chocolate contains flavonoids that help safeguard the body against aging and heart disease. Never has a prescription for health been so well received or heeded (in moderation, of course!).
Solomon suggested there’s another “sweet” worthy of our investment: wisdom. He recommended his son eat honey “for it is good” (Proverbs 24:13) and compared its sweetness to wisdom. The person who feeds on God’s wisdom in Scripture finds it not only sweet to the soul but beneficial for teaching and training, equipping us for “every good work” we’ll need to accomplish in life (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
Wisdom is what allows us to make smart choices and understand the world around us. And it’s worth investing in and sharing with those we love—as Solomon wished to do for his son. We can feel good about feasting on God’s wisdom in the Bible. It’s a sweet treat that we can enjoy without limit—in fact, we’re encouraged to! God, thank You for the sweetness of Your Scriptures! By: Kirsten Holmberg
Reflect & Pray
What wisdom do you need to consume today? How has God’s wisdom been sweet to you?
God, please nourish us with Your wisdom.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 02, 2020
Will You Go Out Without Knowing?
He went out, not knowing where he was going. —Hebrews 11:8
Have you ever “gone out” in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?” You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in constant wonder, because you don’t know what God is going to do next. Each morning as you wake, there is a new opportunity to “go out,” building your confidence in God. “…do not worry about your life…nor about the body…” (Luke 12:22). In other words, don’t worry about the things that concerned you before you did “go out.”
Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is. Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you “go out” in complete surrender to Him until you are not surprised one iota by anything He does?
Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to “go out” in dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus. You must learn to “go out” through your convictions, creeds, or experiences until you come to the point in your faith where there is nothing between yourself and God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, light comes through them. The Place of Help, 1032 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, January 02, 2020
A Look At the Label - #8604
Now when you go food shopping it isn't as simple as it used to be. But that's a good thing, because you have to take time to read the labels. You don't just grab and run. Now, you think about it, we can find out now what's really in that cereal or those cookies or whatever. We're starting to realize more that what we eat has a lot to do with how healthy we are. And maybe how long we live. There's a lot of damaging ingredients hidden in some of that food, like for example, fat grams! Before we buy something, we've got to know about the fat grams in it and a whole lot of other things. I mean, who needs that stuff keeping your blood from your heart? Now, we smart shoppers, who want to live a little longer, realize the damage that those ingredients can do; some of that stuff that's hiding in the food, so we don't just buy the good-looking food because it looks good. Uh! Uh! First, we check for what's in that product that could do damage!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Look at the Label."
Now, we've gotten more and more vigilant about what we put in our body, huh? Things that can hurt it. We don't want to do that. But what about what we put in our soul? Our word for today from the Word of God, comes from 1 Peter 2, beginning at verse 9. It tells us what we are. We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people belonging to God!
Then in verse 11 it says, "I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul." Wow! I mean there are desires and temptations that literally attack your soul, and your soul is the 'command center' of your choices and your imagination, your dreams and your lifestyle. If it gets poisoned, your life gets poisoned. So like a health conscious shopper, we need to "Look At the Label."
We've got to check what damaging ingredients there might be and what we're allowing to feed our soul. Now our soul feeds on the books and magazines we read, the websites we visit, the videos we watch, the music we listen to, the movies we go to, the jokes we listen to. It feeds on the conversations we're in, the relationships we spend a lot of time on, and God's command is without compromise. "Abstain from sinful desires!" Don't touch, don't watch, don't listen to, don't be around any input that Satan can use later to attack your soul.
Maybe you've become kind of careless about what you're letting into your soul. It's easy to do, especially in times when you just want to relax or be entertained, times when you want to sort of hang a "closed" sign out on your brain. Those times where your guard is down are the most dangerous of all for your soul. Why is it so important, as the Bible says, to guard your heart? Because every sinful image is an opening for Satan to come into your soul and poison it, and "erode" you.
Sinful images last much longer than the moment you see or hear them. You know that. For example: dirty jokes and dirty pictures, they live on in your soul don't they? Often for many years. Every portrayal of something dark wears down your spiritual resistance and you need all of that you can muster.
Sinful input dulls your heart to Jesus' voice and it weakens your soul. Here's the bottom line: you can't afford, any longer, to let that poison into your soul! It just isn't worth the damage it can do. I've decided that about what I let into my body. So, that food may look good and taste good, but the pleasure isn't worth the damage to my heart. No matter how attractive that sin-selling input is, don't let it in. It is not worth the damage it will do to your heart.
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Psalm 48 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A FIRE TO CHANGE THE WORLD
Can God use us? I have one hundred and twenty answers to that question— the 120 charter members of the Jerusalem church. They had nothing more going for them than a fire in the belly to change the world. Luke recorded their stories in the book of Acts. It cracks with the sounds of God’s ever-expanding work.
Would God do with us what he did with his first followers? You know ours is the wealthiest generation of Christians ever. We have enough food to feed the hungry. And we have enough bedrooms to house the orphans. I don’t mean to oversimplify these terribly complicated questions. But this much is clear: God has given this generation, our generation, everything we need to alter the course of human suffering. Let’s live in such a way, that the world will be glad we did.
Psalm 48
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah
God majestic,
praise abounds in our God-city!
His sacred mountain,
breathtaking in its heights—earth’s joy.
Zion Mountain looms in the North,
city of the world-King.
God in his citadel peaks
impregnable.
4-6 The kings got together,
they united and came.
They took one look and shook their heads,
they scattered and ran away.
They doubled up in pain
like a woman having a baby.
7-8 You smashed the ships of Tarshish
with a storm out of the East.
We heard about it, then we saw it
with our eyes—
In God’s city of Angel Armies,
in the city our God
Set on firm foundations,
firm forever.
9-10 We pondered your love-in-action, God,
waiting in your temple:
Your name, God, evokes a train
of Hallelujahs wherever
It is spoken, near and far;
your arms are heaped with goodness-in-action.
11 Be glad, Zion Mountain;
Dance, Judah’s daughters!
He does what he said he’d do!
12-14 Circle Zion, take her measure,
count her fortress peaks,
Gaze long at her sloping bulwark,
climb her citadel heights—
Then you can tell the next generation
detail by detail the story of God,
Our God forever,
who guides us till the end of time.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 01, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Timothy 2:1–8
Instructions on Worship
2 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers,w intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—2 for kings and all those in authority,x that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godlinessy and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleasesz God our Savior,a 4 who wantsb all peoplec to be savedd and to come to a knowledge of the truth.e 5 For there is one Godf and one mediatorg between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,h 6 who gave himself as a ransomi for all people. This has now been witnessed toj at the proper time.k 7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lyingl—and a true and faithful teacherm of the Gentiles.n
8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy handso without anger or disputing.
Insight
One of the ways we pray for all people is by praying for authorities (1 Timothy 2:1–2). Such praying contributes to “all people” being able to “live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” under leaders who take their responsibilities seriously. Notice the two pairs of ideas Paul is presenting as the goal of these prayers. The first pair, “peaceful and quiet,” refers to a dual focus of calm. Vincent’s Word Studies tells us that “peaceful” speaks of a lack of outward disturbance and “quiet” refers to “tranquility arising from within.” The second pair of ideas, “godliness and holiness,” speak to how we live out our faith. “Godliness” refers to a life that flows out of a right belief in God, while “holiness” speaks of respectful behavior. To pray for “all those in authority” (v. 2) would have been difficult for Timothy, given the political upheaval and generally anti-Christian sentiment in the Roman Empire at that time. By: Bill Crowder
Prompted to Pray
I constantly remember you in my prayers. 2 Timothy 1:3
“Several years ago I was prompted to pray for you often, and I wonder why.”
That text message from an old friend came with a photo of a note she’d kept in her Bible: “Pray for James. Cover mind, thoughts, words.” Beside my name she’d recorded three separate years.
I looked at the years and caught my breath. I wrote back and asked what month she began to pray. She responded, “Sometime around July.”
That was the month I was preparing to leave home for extended study abroad. I would be facing an unfamiliar culture and language and have my faith challenged like never before. As I looked at the note, I realized I’d received the precious gift of generous prayer.
My friend’s kindness reminded me of another “prompting” to pray, Paul’s instruction to his young missionary friend Timothy: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people” (1 Timothy 2:1). The phrase “first of all” indicates highest priority. Our prayers matter, Paul explains, because God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” about Jesus (v. 4).
God moves through faithful prayer in countless ways to encourage others and draw them near to Himself. We may not know someone’s circumstances when they come to mind, but God does. And He’ll help that person as we pray! By: James Banks
Reflect & Pray
Who comes to mind that needs your prayers in this new year? How can you remind yourself to pray for them often?
Loving God, please help me to pray often and to make a lasting difference in others’ lives through my intercession for them.
To learn more about prayer, visit https://bit.ly/2kTeSVt.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 01, 2020
Let Us Keep to the Point
"…my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." —Philippians 1:20
My Utmost for His Highest. “…my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed….” We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point— He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.
My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness. “Whether it means life or death-it makes no difference!” (see Philippians 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide— for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed. So Send I You, 1330 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 01, 2020
When Daddy's On Deck - #8603
I've never been in a storm at sea and that's fine! I've heard the stories. You remember the ship, some years ago, that was making this transatlantic voyage from Liverpool to New York. One night, at a time when most of the passengers were asleep, the ship was hit by this "mega" Atlantic storm. The wind and the waves were so violent at one point they actually tipped the ship almost on its side, and down below, the passengers were thrown out of their beds. They're freaking out! I mean, this is a rude awakening! Now in this one cabin, a little girl was thrown out of her bed like everybody else and her mother was already awake from the intensity of the storm. But there was one thing different about this particular passenger. See, her daddy was the captain! While she was all bleary eyed, she asked her mom the only thing she really wanted to know about the situation, "Is daddy on deck?" Her mom said, "Well yes he is, honey." The little girl's response was right to the point, "Then I'm going back to bed."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Daddy's On Deck."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 8, beginning in verse 5. "When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him asking for help. 'Lord, he said, my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.' Jesus said to him, 'I will go and heal him.' The centurion replied, 'Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed, for I, myself, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, "Go!", and he goes, and that one, "Come!", and he comes. I say to my servant, "Do this", and he does it.' When Jesus heard this He was astonished, and said to those following Him, 'I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.'"
Verse 13 tells us the conclusion of it all: "Then Jesus said to the centurion, 'Go! It will be done just as you believed it would,' and his servant was healed at that very hour." Now in this story there is a powerful insight into the kind of faith that Jesus loves - and it gets things done! It says He was astonished. I mean, this is the faith that amazes Jesus! He calls it great faith.
Now further on in the chapter, He says to the men who are with Him constantly, "You of little faith!" During the storm when they were freaking out, just before He "Got up and rebuked the wind and the waves, and it was completely calm." Astonished! Why? Because he finally found a man who understood the connection between faith and authority. The centurion said, "I say something to my servants and they do it. I have total authority over them. But Jesus, someone I care about is in a crisis I can't handle but you have total authority over this illness. Whatever You say to this illness, it will do." Wow!
You see, faith is acknowledging the total authority of Jesus over this situation. That's what the disciples could not do in their storm. They acted as if Jesus didn't have authority over the storm, but He did! He spoke to it like a parent would speak to a child ... and "it was calm."
So the faith issue for you right now may very well be "who or what you believe" has the final authority in your situation. Will the company decide it? The economy? Is this disease going to have the final word? Your mate? Your kids? Your feelings? Or is everything in this situation totally under the authority of your Savior, Jesus Christ? Yes or no!
If it is, then you can make that your bottom line and the panic is over. The peace that defies logic is kicking in. There's an unexplainable sense of well-being and calm that comes when you settle where the final authority is in your situation. And the shield of faith will extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, because Satan cannot touch something that you've completely given to Jesus.
Like that little girl blown around by a dangerous storm, all you need to know is if your "Father's On Deck." Because there's nothing He can't handle, so you might as well go back to bed. Your Lord is in charge!
Can God use us? I have one hundred and twenty answers to that question— the 120 charter members of the Jerusalem church. They had nothing more going for them than a fire in the belly to change the world. Luke recorded their stories in the book of Acts. It cracks with the sounds of God’s ever-expanding work.
Would God do with us what he did with his first followers? You know ours is the wealthiest generation of Christians ever. We have enough food to feed the hungry. And we have enough bedrooms to house the orphans. I don’t mean to oversimplify these terribly complicated questions. But this much is clear: God has given this generation, our generation, everything we need to alter the course of human suffering. Let’s live in such a way, that the world will be glad we did.
Psalm 48
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah
God majestic,
praise abounds in our God-city!
His sacred mountain,
breathtaking in its heights—earth’s joy.
Zion Mountain looms in the North,
city of the world-King.
God in his citadel peaks
impregnable.
4-6 The kings got together,
they united and came.
They took one look and shook their heads,
they scattered and ran away.
They doubled up in pain
like a woman having a baby.
7-8 You smashed the ships of Tarshish
with a storm out of the East.
We heard about it, then we saw it
with our eyes—
In God’s city of Angel Armies,
in the city our God
Set on firm foundations,
firm forever.
9-10 We pondered your love-in-action, God,
waiting in your temple:
Your name, God, evokes a train
of Hallelujahs wherever
It is spoken, near and far;
your arms are heaped with goodness-in-action.
11 Be glad, Zion Mountain;
Dance, Judah’s daughters!
He does what he said he’d do!
12-14 Circle Zion, take her measure,
count her fortress peaks,
Gaze long at her sloping bulwark,
climb her citadel heights—
Then you can tell the next generation
detail by detail the story of God,
Our God forever,
who guides us till the end of time.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 01, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Timothy 2:1–8
Instructions on Worship
2 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers,w intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—2 for kings and all those in authority,x that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godlinessy and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleasesz God our Savior,a 4 who wantsb all peoplec to be savedd and to come to a knowledge of the truth.e 5 For there is one Godf and one mediatorg between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,h 6 who gave himself as a ransomi for all people. This has now been witnessed toj at the proper time.k 7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lyingl—and a true and faithful teacherm of the Gentiles.n
8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy handso without anger or disputing.
Insight
One of the ways we pray for all people is by praying for authorities (1 Timothy 2:1–2). Such praying contributes to “all people” being able to “live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” under leaders who take their responsibilities seriously. Notice the two pairs of ideas Paul is presenting as the goal of these prayers. The first pair, “peaceful and quiet,” refers to a dual focus of calm. Vincent’s Word Studies tells us that “peaceful” speaks of a lack of outward disturbance and “quiet” refers to “tranquility arising from within.” The second pair of ideas, “godliness and holiness,” speak to how we live out our faith. “Godliness” refers to a life that flows out of a right belief in God, while “holiness” speaks of respectful behavior. To pray for “all those in authority” (v. 2) would have been difficult for Timothy, given the political upheaval and generally anti-Christian sentiment in the Roman Empire at that time. By: Bill Crowder
Prompted to Pray
I constantly remember you in my prayers. 2 Timothy 1:3
“Several years ago I was prompted to pray for you often, and I wonder why.”
That text message from an old friend came with a photo of a note she’d kept in her Bible: “Pray for James. Cover mind, thoughts, words.” Beside my name she’d recorded three separate years.
I looked at the years and caught my breath. I wrote back and asked what month she began to pray. She responded, “Sometime around July.”
That was the month I was preparing to leave home for extended study abroad. I would be facing an unfamiliar culture and language and have my faith challenged like never before. As I looked at the note, I realized I’d received the precious gift of generous prayer.
My friend’s kindness reminded me of another “prompting” to pray, Paul’s instruction to his young missionary friend Timothy: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people” (1 Timothy 2:1). The phrase “first of all” indicates highest priority. Our prayers matter, Paul explains, because God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” about Jesus (v. 4).
God moves through faithful prayer in countless ways to encourage others and draw them near to Himself. We may not know someone’s circumstances when they come to mind, but God does. And He’ll help that person as we pray! By: James Banks
Reflect & Pray
Who comes to mind that needs your prayers in this new year? How can you remind yourself to pray for them often?
Loving God, please help me to pray often and to make a lasting difference in others’ lives through my intercession for them.
To learn more about prayer, visit https://bit.ly/2kTeSVt.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 01, 2020
Let Us Keep to the Point
"…my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." —Philippians 1:20
My Utmost for His Highest. “…my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed….” We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point— He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.
My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness. “Whether it means life or death-it makes no difference!” (see Philippians 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide— for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed. So Send I You, 1330 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 01, 2020
When Daddy's On Deck - #8603
I've never been in a storm at sea and that's fine! I've heard the stories. You remember the ship, some years ago, that was making this transatlantic voyage from Liverpool to New York. One night, at a time when most of the passengers were asleep, the ship was hit by this "mega" Atlantic storm. The wind and the waves were so violent at one point they actually tipped the ship almost on its side, and down below, the passengers were thrown out of their beds. They're freaking out! I mean, this is a rude awakening! Now in this one cabin, a little girl was thrown out of her bed like everybody else and her mother was already awake from the intensity of the storm. But there was one thing different about this particular passenger. See, her daddy was the captain! While she was all bleary eyed, she asked her mom the only thing she really wanted to know about the situation, "Is daddy on deck?" Her mom said, "Well yes he is, honey." The little girl's response was right to the point, "Then I'm going back to bed."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Daddy's On Deck."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 8, beginning in verse 5. "When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him asking for help. 'Lord, he said, my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.' Jesus said to him, 'I will go and heal him.' The centurion replied, 'Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed, for I, myself, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, "Go!", and he goes, and that one, "Come!", and he comes. I say to my servant, "Do this", and he does it.' When Jesus heard this He was astonished, and said to those following Him, 'I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.'"
Verse 13 tells us the conclusion of it all: "Then Jesus said to the centurion, 'Go! It will be done just as you believed it would,' and his servant was healed at that very hour." Now in this story there is a powerful insight into the kind of faith that Jesus loves - and it gets things done! It says He was astonished. I mean, this is the faith that amazes Jesus! He calls it great faith.
Now further on in the chapter, He says to the men who are with Him constantly, "You of little faith!" During the storm when they were freaking out, just before He "Got up and rebuked the wind and the waves, and it was completely calm." Astonished! Why? Because he finally found a man who understood the connection between faith and authority. The centurion said, "I say something to my servants and they do it. I have total authority over them. But Jesus, someone I care about is in a crisis I can't handle but you have total authority over this illness. Whatever You say to this illness, it will do." Wow!
You see, faith is acknowledging the total authority of Jesus over this situation. That's what the disciples could not do in their storm. They acted as if Jesus didn't have authority over the storm, but He did! He spoke to it like a parent would speak to a child ... and "it was calm."
So the faith issue for you right now may very well be "who or what you believe" has the final authority in your situation. Will the company decide it? The economy? Is this disease going to have the final word? Your mate? Your kids? Your feelings? Or is everything in this situation totally under the authority of your Savior, Jesus Christ? Yes or no!
If it is, then you can make that your bottom line and the panic is over. The peace that defies logic is kicking in. There's an unexplainable sense of well-being and calm that comes when you settle where the final authority is in your situation. And the shield of faith will extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, because Satan cannot touch something that you've completely given to Jesus.
Like that little girl blown around by a dangerous storm, all you need to know is if your "Father's On Deck." Because there's nothing He can't handle, so you might as well go back to bed. Your Lord is in charge!
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