The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.
She said, 'Hi handsome My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?'
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, 'Of course you may!' and she gave me a giant squeeze.
'Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?' I asked.
She jokingly replied, 'I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids...'
'No seriously,' I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
'I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!' she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.
We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this 'time machine' as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students.. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, 'I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.'
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, 'We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.
There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!
There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.
If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.
The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.'
She concluded her speech by courageously singing 'The Rose.'
She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year' s end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.
One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that
it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.
These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.
We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give.
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Good friends are like stars.........You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.'
This is so good Teresa,
I refuse to grow old.
Yes, I know most of us are accepting of our ages, what else are we going to do.
It does help to have a reason to get up and shoot for a goal
One thing about being older is most of us go on to a second (or third) child hood and we can blame most
of our senility on old age.....but, there are days when I think a lot of it is that there is nothing to look ahead for
so why bother to get up and get moving.
Good story and thank you for sharing
A little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it was 'too crowded.'
'I can't go to Sunday School,' she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by.
Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and, taking her by the hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class. The child was so happy that they found room for her, and she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus.
Some two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings. Her parents called for the kindhearted pastor who had befriended their daughter to handle the final arrangements.
As her poor little body was being moved, a worn and crumpled red purse was found which seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump.
Inside was found 57 cents and a note, scribbled in childish handwriting, which read: 'This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday School.'
For two years she had saved for this offering of love.
When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do. Carrying this note and the cracked, red pocketbook to the pulpit, he told the story of her unselfish love and devotion.
He challenged his deacons to get busy and raise enough money for the larger building.
But the story does not end there...
A newspaper learned of the story and published It. It was read by a wealthy realtor who offered them a parcel of land worth many thousands.
When told that the church could not pay so much, he offered to sell it to the little church for 57 cents.
Church members made large donations. Checks came from far and wide.
Within five years the little girl's gift had increased to $250,000.00--a huge sum for that time (near the turn of the century). Her unselfish love had paid large dividends.
When you are in the city of Philadelphia , look up Temple Baptist Church , with a seating capacity of 3,300. And be sure to visit TempleUniversity, where thousands of students are educated.
Have a look, too, at the Good Samaritan Hospital and at a Sunday School building which houses hundreds of beautiful children, built so that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside during Sunday school time.
In one of the rooms of this building may be seen the picture of the sweet face of the little girl whose 57 cents, so sacrificially saved, made such remarkable history. Alongside of it is a portrait of her kind pastor, Dr. Russell H. Conwell, author of the book, 'Acres of Diamonds'.
This is a true story, which goes to show WHAT GOD CAN DO WITH 57 CENTS.
St. Theresa Prayer
REMEMBER to make a wish before you read the prayer. That's all you have to do. There is nothing attached. This is a powerful novena.
Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of reward.
May today there be peace within.
May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into our bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing and dance. It is there for each and every one of you.
Week of September 19 He Wants to Comfort You
by Max Lucado
My child's feelings are hurt. I tell her she's special. My child is injured. I do whatever it takes to make her feel better.
My child is afraid. I won't go to sleep until she is secure.
I'm not a hero. I'm not a superstar. I'm not unusual. I'm a parent. When a child hurts, a parent does what comes naturally. He helps.
And after I help, I don't charge a fee. I don't ask for a favor in return. When my child cries, I don't tell her to buck up, act tough, and keep a stiff upper lip. Nor do I consult a list and ask her why she is still scraping the same elbow or waking me up again.
I'm not a prophet, nor the son of one, but something tells me that in the whole scheme of things the tender moments described above are infinitely more valuable than anything I do in front of a computer screen or congregation. Something tells me that the moments of comfort I give my child are a small price to pay for the joy of someday seeing my daughter do for her daughter what her dad did for her.
Moments of comfort from a parent. As a father, I can tell you they are the sweetest moments in my day. They come naturally. They come willingly. They come joyfully.
If all of that is true, if I know that one of the privileges of fatherhood is to comfort a child, then why am I so reluctant to let my heavenly Father comfort me?
Why do I think he wouldn't want to hear about my problems? ("They are puny compared to people starving in India.")
Why do I think he is too busy for me? ("He's got a whole universe to worry about.")
Why do I think he's tired of hearing the same old stuff?
Why do I think he groans when he sees me coming?
Why do I think he consults his list when I ask for forgiveness and asks, "Don't you think you're going to the well a few too many times on this one?"
Why do I think I have to speak a holy language around him that I don't speak with anyone else?
Why do I not take him seriously when he questions, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:11)
Why don't I let my Father do for me what I am more than willing to do for my own children?
I'm learning, though. Being a parent is better than a course on theology. Being a father is teaching me that when I am criticized, injured, or afraid, there is a Father who is ready to comfort me. There is a Father who will hold me until I'm better, help me until I can live with the hurt, and who won't go to sleep when I'm afraid of waking up and seeing the dark.
Ever. And that's enough.
From
The Applause of Heaven
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) Max Lucado
Am I A Fireman Yet??
In Phoenix , Arizona , a 26-year-old mother stared down at her 6 year
old son, who was dying of terminal leukemia.
Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination. Like any parent, she
wanted her son to grow up & fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible.
The leukemia would see to that. But she
still wanted her son's dream to come true.
She took her son's hand and asked,
'Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up?
Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?'
Mom my, 'I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up.'
Mom smiled back and said, 'Let's see if we can make your wish come true.'
Later that day she went to her
local fire Department in Phoenix , Arizona , where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix ..
She explained her son's final wish and
Asked if it might be possible
to give her 6 year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine.
Fireman Bob said, 'Look, we can do
better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make
him an honorary Fireman for the whole day.
He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards!
And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat - not a toy --
one-with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots.'
'They're all manufactured right here in
Phoenix , so we can get them fast.'
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his uniform and escorted him
from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck.
Billy got to sit on the back of the truck
and help steer it back to the fire station.
He was in heaven.
There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls.
He rode in the different fire engines,
the Paramedic's van, and even the fire chief's car.
He was also videotaped for the
local news program.
Having his dream come true,
with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, so deeply touched Billy,
that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.
One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed
in the hospice concept - that no one should die alone, began to call the family members to the hospital.
Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a Fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked
if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition.
The chief replied, 'We can do better than that. We'll be there in five minutes.
Will you please do me a favor?
When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA
system that there is not a fire?'
'It's the department coming to see one of its finest members one more time.
And will you open the window to his room?'
About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital and extended its
ladder up to Billy's third floor open window--------16 fire-fighters climbed up the ladder into Billy's room.
With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they LOVED him.
With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said, 'Chief, am I really a fireman now?'
'Billy, you are, and the Head Chief,
Jesus, is holding your hand,' the chief said.
With those words, Billy smiled and said,
'I know, He's been holding my hand all day, and the angels have been singing.. I can hear them. '
He closed his eyes one last time.
I cry everytime I read this story.
Thanks Teresa for a nice start to my day!
Judy
WOW, that is strong, I agree with Judy that brings a tear to this old Grandpa's eyes.
that really tugs at your heart strings. Folks, stop right now and hug your children and thank God for their health. If they are fighting health problems, hug them and thank God for the chance to hug them one more time. God Bless those firemen.
Week of September 26
He Can Do The Impossible
by Max Lucado
The kingdom of heaven. Its citizens are drunk on wonder.
Consider the case of Sarai. She is in her golden years, but God promises her a son. She gets excited. She visits the maternity shop and buys a few dresses. She plans her shower and remodels her tent ... but no son. She eats a few birthday cakes and blows out a lot of candles ... still no son. She goes through a decade of wall calendars ... still no son.
So Sarai decides to take matters into her own hands. ("Maybe God needs me to take care of this one.")
She convinces Abram that time is running out. ("Face it, Abe, you ain't getting any younger, either.") She commands her maid, Hagar, to go into Abram's tent and see if he needs anything. ("And I mean 'anything'!") Hagar goes in a maid. She comes out a mom. And the problems begin.
Hagar is haughty. Sarai is jealous. Abram is dizzy from the dilemma. And God calls the baby boy a "wild donkey"--an appropriate name for one born out of stubbornness and destined to kick his way into history.
It isn't the cozy family Sarai expected. And it isn't a topic Abram and Sarai bring up very often at dinner.
Finally, fourteen years later, when Abram is pushing a century of years and Sarai ninety ... when Abram has stopped listening to Sarai's advice, and Sarai has stopped giving it ... when the wallpaper in the nursery is faded and the baby furniture is several seasons out of date ... when the topic of the promised child brings sighs and tears and long looks into a silent sky ... God pays them a visit and tells them they had better select a name for their new son.
Abram and Sarai have the same response: laughter. They laugh partly because it is too good to happen and partly because it might. They laugh because they have given up hope, and hope born anew is always funny before it is real.
They laugh at the lunacy of it all.
They laugh because that is what you do when someone says he can do the impossible. They laugh a little at God, and a lot with God--for God is laughing, too. Then, with the smile still on his face, he gets busy doing what he does best--the unbelievable.
He changes a few things--beginning with their names. Abram, the father of one, will now be Abraham, the father of a multitude. Sarai, the barren one, will now be Sarah, the mother.
But their names aren't the only things God changes. He changes their minds. He changes their faith. He changes the number of their tax deductions. He changes the way they define the word impossible.
From
The Applause of Heaven
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) Max Lucado
Today's Verse For Saturday, September 27
And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: 'Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. Revelation 12:7-10 NIV
Week of October 3
He Can Heal the Hurt
by Max Lucado
Grudge is one of those words that defines itself. Its very sound betrays its meaning.
Say it slowly: "Grr-uuuud-ge."
It starts with a growl. "Grr ..." Like a bear with bad breath coming out of hibernation or a mangy mongrel defending his bone in an alley. "Grrr ..."
Remove a GR from the word grudge and replace it with SL and you have the junk that grudge bearers trudge through. Sludge. Black, thick, ankle-deep resentment that steals the bounce from the step. No joyful skips through the meadows. No healthy hikes up the mountain. Just day after day of walking into the storm, shoulders bent against the wind, and feet dragging through all the muck life has delivered.
Is this the way you are coping with your hurts? Are you allowing your hurts to turn into hates? If so, ask yourself: Is it working? Has your hatred done you any good? Has your resentment brought you any relief, any peace? Has it granted you any joy?
Let's say you get even. Let's say you get him back. Let's say she gets what she deserves. Let's say your fantasy of fury runs its ferocious course and you return all your pain with interest. Imagine yourself standing over the corpse of the one you have hated. Will you now be free?
The writer of the following letter thought she would be. She thought her revenge would bring release. But she learned otherwise.
I caught my husband making love to another woman. He swore it would never happen again. He begged me to forgive him, but I could not--would not. I was so bitter and so incapable of swallowing my pride that I could think of nothing but revenge. I was going to make him pay and pay dearly. I'd have my pound of flesh.
I filed for divorce, even though my children begged me not to.
Even after the divorce, my husband tried for two years to win me back. I refused to have anything to do with him. He had struck first; now I was striking back. All I wanted was to make him pay.
Finally he gave up and married a lovely young widow with a couple of small children. He began rebuilding his life--without me.
I see them occasionally, and he looks so happy. They all do. And here I am--a lonely, old, miserable woman who allowed her selfish pride and foolish stubbornness to ruin her life.
Unfaithfulness is wrong. Revenge is bad. But the worst part of all is that, without forgiveness, bitterness is all that is left.
The state of your heart dictates whether you harbor a grudge or give grace, seek self-pity or seek Christ, drink human misery or taste God's mercy.
No wonder, then, the wise man begs, "Above all else, guard your heart."
David's prayer should be ours: "Create in me a pure heart, O God."
From
The Applause of Heaven
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) Max Lucado
UpWords with Max Lucado
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Week of October 10
He is Waiting in the Midst of the Storm
by Max Lucado
Peter knows he is in trouble.
The winds roar down onto the Sea of Galilee like a hawk on a rat. Lightning zigzags across the black sky. The clouds vibrate with thunder. The rain taps, then pops, then slaps against the deck of the boat until everyone aboard is soaked and shaking. Ten-foot waves pick them up and slam them down again with bonejarring force.
These drenched men don't look like a team of apostles who are only a decade away from changing the world. And you can be sure of one thing. The one with the widest eyes is the one with the biggest biceps--Peter. He's seen these storms before. He's seen the wreckage and bloated bodies float to shore. He knows what the fury of wind and wave can do. And he knows that times like this are not times to make a name for yourself; they're times to get some help.
That is why, when he sees Jesus walking on the water toward the boat, he is the first to say, "Lord, if it's you ... tell me to come to you on the water." (Matthew 14:28)
He is aware of two facts: He's going down, and Jesus is staying up. And it doesn't take him too long to decide where he would rather be.
Perhaps a better interpretation of his request would be, "Jeeeeeeeesus. If that is you, then get me out of here!"
"Come on" is the invitation.
And Peter doesn't have to be told twice. It's not every day that you walk on water through waves that are taller than you are. But when faced with the alternative of sure death or possible life, Peter knows which one he wants.
The first few steps go well. But a few strides out onto the water, and he forgets to look to the One who got him there in the first place, and down he plunges.
Peter's response may lack class--it probably wouldn't get him on the cover of Gentleman's Quarterly or even Sports Illustrated--but it gets him out of some deep water:
"Help me!"
And since Peter would rather swallow pride than water, a hand comes through the rain and pulls him up.
The message is clear.
As long as Jesus is one of many options, he is no option. As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don't need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. And as long as you can take him or leave him, you might as well leave him, because he won't be taken half-heartedly.
But when you mourn, when you get to the point of sorrow for your sins, when you admit that you have no other option but to cast all your cares on him, and when there is truly no other name that you can call, then cast all your cares on him, for he is waiting in the midst of the storm.
From
The Applause of Heaven
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) Max Lucado
Week of October 17
Your Place in God's Band
by Max Lucado
Two of my teenage years were spent carrying a tuba in my high school marching band. My mom wanted me to learn to read music, and the choir was full while the band was a tuba-tooter short, so I signed up. Not necessarily what you would describe as a call from God, but it wasn't a wasted experience either.
I had a date with a twirler.
I learned to paint white shoe polish on school buses.
And I learned some facts about harmony that I'll pass on to you.
I marched next to the bass-drum player. What a great sound. Boom. Boom. Boom. Deep, cavernous, thundering.
And at the end of my flank marched the flute section. Oh, how their music soared. Whispering, lifting, rising into the clouds.
Ahead of me, at the front of my line, was our first-chair trumpet. He could raise the spirit. He could raise the flag. He could have raised the roof on the stadium if we'd had one.
The soft flute
needs
the brash trumpet
needs
the steady drum
needs
the soft flute
needs
the brash trumpet.
Get the idea? The operative word is need. They need each other.
By themselves they make music. But together, they make magic.
Now, what I saw two decades ago in the band, I see today in the church. We need each other. Not all of us play the same instrument. Some believers are lofty, and others are solid. Some keep the pace while others lead the band. Not all of us make the same sound. Some are soft, and others are loud. And not all of us have the same ability. But each of us has a place.
Some play the drums (like Martha).
Some play the flute (like Mary).
And others sound the trumpet (like Lazarus).
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were like family to Jesus. After the Lord raised Lazarus from the dead, they decided to give a dinner for Jesus. They decided to honor him by having a party on his behalf (see John 12:2).
They didn't argue over the best seat. They didn't resent each other's abilities. They didn't try to outdo each other. All three worked together with one purpose. But each one fulfilled that purpose in his or her unique manner. Martha served; she always kept everyone in step. Mary worshiped; she anointed her Lord with an extravagant gift, and its aroma filled the air. Lazarus had a story to tell, and he was ready to tell it.
Three people, each one with a different skill, a different ability. But each one of equal value.
From
Cast of Characters
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2008) Max Lucado
Week of October 24
Martha
by Max Lucado
Every church needs a Martha. Change that. Every church needs a hundred Marthas. Sleeves rolled and ready, they keep the pace for the church. Because of Marthas, the church budget gets balanced, the church babies get bounced, and the church building gets built. You don't appreciate Marthas until a Martha is missing, and then all the Marys and Lazaruses are scrambling around looking for the keys and the thermostats and the overhead projectors.
Marthas are the Energizer bunnies of the church. They keep going and going and going. They store strength like a camel stores water. Since they don't seek the spotlight, they don't live off the applause. That's not to say they don't need it. They just aren't addicted to it.
Marthas have a mission. In fact, if Marthas have a weakness, it is their tendency to elevate the mission over the Master. Remember when Martha did that? A younger Martha invites a younger Jesus to come for dinner. Jesus accepts and brings his disciples.
The scene Luke describes has Mary seated and Martha fuming. Martha is angry because Mary is, horror of horrors, sitting at the feet of Jesus. How impractical! How irrelevant! How unnecessary! I mean, who has time to sit and listen when there is bread to be baked, tables to be set, and souls to be saved? So Martha complained, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me alone to do all the work? Tell her to help me" (Luke 10:40).
All of a sudden Martha has gone from serving Jesus to making demands of Jesus. The room falls silent. The disciples duck their eyes. Mary flushes red. And Jesus speaks.
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things. Only one thing is important. Mary has chosen the better thing, and it will never be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41--42).
Apparently Martha got the point, for later we find her serving again.
"Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume" (John 12:2--3 NIV).
Is Mary in the kitchen? No she is worshiping, for that is what she loves to do. But this time Martha doesn't object. She has learned that there is a place for praise and worship, and that is what Mary is doing. And what is Mary's part in the dinner? She brings a pint of very expensive perfume and pours it on Jesus' feet, then wipes his feet with her hair. The smell of the perfume fills the house, just like the sound of praise can fill a church.
An earlier Martha would have objected. Such an act was too lavish, too extravagant, too generous. But this mature Martha has learned that just as there is a place in the kingdom of God for sacrificial service, there is also a place for extravagant praise.
From
Cast of Characters
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2008) Max Lucado
Week of October 31
Mary
by Max Lucado
Marys are gifted with praise. They don't just sing; they worship. They don't simply attend church; they go to offer praise. They don't just talk about Christ; they radiate Christ.
Marys have one foot in heaven and the other on a cloud. It's not easy for them to come to earth, but sometimes they need to. Sometimes they need to be reminded that there are bills to be paid and classes to be taught. But don't remind them too harshly. Flutes are fragile. Marys are precious souls with tender hearts. If they have found a place at the foot of Jesus, don't ask them to leave. Much better to ask them to pray for you.
That's what I do. When I find a Mary (or a Michael), I'm quick to ask, "How do I get on your prayer list?"
Every church desperately needs some Marys.
We need them to pray for our children.
We need them to put passion in our worship.
We need them to write songs of praise and sing songs of glory.
We need them to kneel and weep and lift their hands and pray.
We need them because we tend to forget how much God loves worship. Marys don't forget. They know that God wants to be known as a father. They know that a father likes nothing more than to have his children sit as his feet and spend time with him.
Marys are good at that.
They, too, must be careful. They must meditate often on Luke 6:46. "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' but do not do what I say?" Marys need to remember that service is also worship.
If God has called you to be a Mary, then worship! Remind the rest of us that we don't have to be busy to be holy. Urge us with your example to put down our clipboards and megaphones and be quiet in worship.
From
Cast of Characters
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2008) Max Lucado
Week of November 7
Lazarus
by Max Lucado
Marys need to remember that service is worship.
Marthas need to remember that worship is service.
And Lazarus? He needs to remember that not everyone can play the trumpet.
You see, as far as we know, Lazarus did nothing at the dinner. He saved his actions for outside the house. Read carefully John 12:9:
"A large crowd of Jews heard that Jesus was in Bethany. So they went there to see not only Jesus, but Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. So the leading priests made plans to kill Lazarus, too. Because of Lazarus many Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus."
Wow! Because of Lazarus many Jews were "believing in Jesus." Lazarus has been given a trumpet. He has a testimony to give--and what a testimony he has!
"I was always a good fellow," he would say. "I paid my bills. I loved my sisters. I even enjoyed being around Jesus. But I wasn't one of the followers. I didn't get as close as Peter and James and those guys. I kept my distance. Nothing personal. I just didn't want to get carried away.
"But then I got sick. And then I died. I mean, I died dead.
"Nothing left. Stone-cold. No life. No breath. Nothing. I died to everything. I saw life from the tomb. And then Jesus called me from the grave. When he spoke, my heart beat and my soul stirred, and I was alive again. And I want you to know he can do the same for you."
God gave Martha a bass drum of service. God gave Mary a flute for praise. And God gave Lazarus a trumpet. And he stood on center stage and played it.
God still gives trumpets. God still calls people from the pits. God still gives pinch-me-I'm-dreaming, too-good-to-be-true testimonies. But not everyone has a dramatic testimony. Who wants a band full of trumpets?
Some convert the lost. Some encourage the saved. And some keep the movement in step. All are needed.
If God has called you to be a Lazarus, then testify. Remind the rest of us that we, too, have a story to tell. We, too, have neighbors who are lost. We, too, have died and been resurrected.
From
Cast of Characters
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2008) Max Lucado
Week of November 14
Judas
by Max Lucado
If God has called you to be a Martha, then serve! Remind the rest of us that there is evangelism in feeding the poor and there is worship in nursing the sick.
If God has called you to be a Mary, then worship! Remind the rest of us that we don't have to be busy to be holy. Urge us with your example to put down our clipboards and megaphones and be quiet in worship.
If God has called you to be a Lazarus, then testify. Remind the rest of us that we, too, have a story to tell. We, too, have neighbors who are lost. We, too, have died and been resurrected.
Each of us has our place at the table.
Except one. There was one at Martha's house who didn't find his place. Though he had been near Jesus longer than any of the others, he was furthest in his faith. His name was Judas. He was a thief. When Mary poured the perfume he feigned spirituality. "The perfume could have been sold and given to the poor," he said. But Jesus knew Judas's heart, and Jesus defended Mary's worship. Years later, John, too, knew Judas's heart, and John explained that Judas was a thief (John 12:6). And all these years he had been dipping his hand in the treasury. The reason he wanted the perfume to be sold and the money put in the treasury was so that he could get his hands on it.
What a sad ending to a beautiful story. But what an appropriate ending. For in every church there are those like Martha who take time to serve. There are those like Mary who take time to worship. There are those like Lazarus who take time to testify.
And there are those like Judas who take, take, take, and never give in return. Are you a Judas? I ask the question carefully, yet honestly. Are you near Christ but far from his heart? Are you at the dinner with a sour soul? Are you always criticizing the gifts of others yet seldom, if ever, giving your own? Are you benefiting from the church while never giving to it? Do others give sacrificially while you give miserly? Are you a Judas?
Do you take, take, take, and never give? If so, you are the Judas in this story.
If you are a Martha, be strengthened. God sees your service.
If you are a Mary, be encouraged. God receives your worship.
If you are a Lazarus, be strong. God honors your conviction.
But if you are a Judas, be warned. God sees your selfishness.
From
Cast of Characters
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2008) Max Lucado
Week of November 21
A Forever Home
by Max Lucado
For the last twenty years, I've wanted a dog. A big dog. But there were always problems. The apartment was too small. The budget was too tight. The girls were too young. But most of all, Denalyn was unenthusiastic. Her logic? She'd already married one slobbering, shedding beast, why put up with a second? So we compromised and got a small dog.
I like Salty, but small dogs aren't really dogs. They don't bark; they yelp. They don't eat; they nibble. They don't lick you; they sniff you. I like Salty, but I wanted a real dog. A man's-best-friend type of dog. A fat-pawed, big-eating, slurp-you-on-the-face type of dog you could saddle or wrestle or both.
I was alone in my passion until Sara was born. She loves dogs. And the two of us were able to sway the household vote. Denalyn gave in, and Sara and I began the search. We discovered a woman in South Carolina who breeds golden retrievers in a Christian environment. From birth the dogs are surrounded by inspirational music and prayers. (No, I don't know if they tithe with dog biscuits.) When the trainer told me that she had read my books, I got on board. A woman with such good taste is bound to be a good breeder, right?
So we ordered a pup. We mailed the check, selected the name Molly, and cleared a corner for her dog pillow. The dog hadn't even been born, and she was named, claimed, and given a place in the house.
Can't the same be said about you? Long before your first whimper, your Master claimed you, named you, and hung a reserved sign on your room. You and Molly have more in common than odor and eating habits. (Just teasing.)
You're both being groomed for a trip. We prefer the terms maturation and sanctification to weaning and training, but it's all the same. You're being prepared for your Master's house. You don't know the departure date or flight number, but you can bet your puppy chow that you'll be seeing your Owner someday. Isn't this the concluding promise of David?
"And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Ps. 23:6 nkjv).
Where will you live forever? In the house of the Lord. If his house is your "forever house," what does that make this earthly house? You got it! Short-term housing. This is not our home. "Our homeland is in heaven" (Phil. 3:20).
We, like Molly, are being prepared for another house.
Don't quench, but rather, stir this longing for heaven.
God's home is a forever home. "And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Ps. 23:6 nkjv).
Week of November 28
Welcome Home
by Max Lucado
Homesickness is one of the burdens God doesn't mind if we carry. God has "set eternity in the hearts of men" (Eccles. 3:11 NIV). Down deep you know you are not home yet.
This is not our forever house. It will serve for the time being. But there is nothing like the moment we enter his door.
Molly can tell you. After a month in our house she ran away. I came home one night to find the place unusually quiet. Molly was gone.
She'd slipped out unnoticed. The search began immediately. Within an hour we knew that she was far, far from home. Now, if you don't like pets, what I'm about to say is going to sound strange. If you do like pets, you will understand.
You'll understand why we walked up and down the street, calling her name. You'll understand why I drove around the neighborhood at 10:30 P.M. You'll understand why I put up a poster in the convenience store and convened the family for a prayer. (Honestly, I did.) You'll understand why I sent e-mails to the staff, asking for prayers, and to her breeder, asking for advice. And you'll understand why we were ready to toss the confetti and party when she showed up.
Here is what happened. The next morning Denalyn was on her way home from taking the girls to school when she saw the trash truck. She asked the workers to keep an eye out for Molly and then hurried home to host a moms' prayer group. Soon after the ladies arrived, the trash truck pulled into our driveway, a worker opened the door, and out bounded our dog. She had been found.
When Denalyn called to tell me the news, I could barely hear her voice. It was Mardi Gras in the kitchen. The ladies were celebrating the return of Molly.
This story pops with symbolism. The master leaving his house, searching for the lost. Victories in the midst of prayer. Great things coming out of trash. But most of all: the celebration at the coming home. That's something else you have in common with Molly--a party at your homecoming.
Those you love will shout. Those you know will applaud. But all the noise will cease when the Father cups your chin and says, "Welcome home." And with scarred hand he'll wipe every tear from your eye. And you will dwell in the house of your Lord--forever.
From
Traveling Light
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado
Week of December 5
Learning to Trust the Master
by Max Lucado
A man and his dog are in the same car. The dog howls bright-moon-in-the-middle-of-the-night caterwauling howls. The man pleads, promising a daily delivery of dog biscuit bouquets if only the hound will hush. After all, it's only a car wash.
Never occurred to him--ahem, to me--that the car wash would scare my dog. But it did. Placing myself in her paws, I can see why. A huge, noisy machine presses toward us, pounding our window with water, banging against the door with brushes. Duck! We're under attack.
"Don't panic. The car wash was my idea." "I've done this before." "It's for our own good." Ever tried to explain a car wash to a canine? Dog dictionaries are minus the words brush and detail job. My words fell on fallen flaps. Nothing helped. She just did what dogs do; she wailed.
Actually, she did what we do. Don't we howl? Not at car washes perhaps but at hospital stays and job transfers. Let the economy go south or the kids move north, and we have a wail of a time. And when our Master explains what's happening, we react as if he's speaking Yalunka. We don't understand a word he says.
Is your world wet and wild?
God's greatest blessings often come costumed as disasters. Any doubters need to do nothing more than ascend the hill of Calvary.
Jerusalem's collective opinion that Friday was this: Jesus is finished.
Such is the view of the disciples, the opinion of the friends, and the outlook of the enemies. Label it the dog-in-the-passenger-seat view.
The Master who sits behind the wheel thinks differently. God is not surprised. His plan is right on schedule. Even in--especially in--death, Christ is still the king, the king over his own crucifixion.
Can't he do the same for you? Can't he turn your Friday into a Sunday?
Some of you doubt it. How can God use cancer or death or divorce? Simple.
He's smarter than we are. He is to you what I was to four-year-old Amy. I met her at a bookstore. She asked me if I would sign her children's book. When I asked her name, she watched as I began to write, "To Amy ..."
She stopped me right there. With wide eyes and open mouth, she asked, "How did you know how to spell my name?"
She was awed. You aren't. You know the difference between the knowledge of a child and an adult. Can you imagine the difference between the wisdom of a human and the wisdom of God? What is impossible to us is like spelling "Amy" to him. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa. 55:9).
I keep taking Molly to the car wash. She's howling less. I don't think she understands the machinery. She's just learning to trust her master. Maybe we'll learn the same.
From
Next Door Savior
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado
Week of December 12
Changing Our Nature
by Max Lucado
My dog Molly and I aren't getting along. The problem is not her personality. A sweeter mutt you will not find. She sees every person as a friend and every day as a holiday. I have no problem with Molly's attitude. I have a problem with her habits.
Eating scraps out of the trash. Licking dirty plates in the dishwasher. Dropping dead birds on our sidewalk and stealing bones from the neighbor's dog. Shameful! Molly rolls in the grass, chews on her paw, does her business in the wrong places, and, I'm embarrassed to admit, quenches her thirst in the toilet.
Now what kind of behavior is that?
Dog behavior, you reply.
You are right. So right. Molly's problem is not a Molly problem. Molly has a dog problem. It is a dog's nature to do such things. And it is her nature that I wish to change. Not just her behavior, mind you. A canine obedience school can change what she does; I want to go deeper. I want to change who she is.
Here is my idea: a me-to-her transfusion. The deposit of a Max seed in Molly. I want to give her a kernel of human character. As it grew, would she not change? Her human nature would develop, and her dog nature would diminish. We would witness, not just a change of habits, but a change of essence. In time Molly would be less like Molly and more like me, sharing my disgust for trash snacking, potty slurping, and dish licking. She would have a new nature. Why, Denalyn might even let her eat at the table.
You think the plan is crazy? Then take it up with God. The idea is his.
What I would like to do with Molly, God does with us. He changes our nature from the inside out! "I will put a new way of thinking inside you. I will take out the stubborn hearts of stone from your bodies, and I will give you obedient hearts of flesh. I will put my Spirit inside you and help you live by my rules and carefully obey my laws" (Ezek. 36:26--27 NCV.).
God doesn't send us to obedience school to learn new habits; he sends us to the hospital to be given a new heart. Forget training; he gives transplants.
Do you understand what God has done? He has deposited a Christ seed in you. As it grows, you will change. It's not that sin has no more presence in your life, but rather that sin has no more power over your life. Temptation will pester you, but temptation will not master you. What hope this brings!
It's not up to you! Within you abides a budding power. Trust him!
"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:6 NIV.). God will do with you what I only dream of doing with Molly. Change you from the inside out. When he is finished, he'll even let you sit at his table.
From
Next Door Savior
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado
Week of December 19
Leave Your Enemies in God's Hands
by Max Lucado
Some years ago a rottweiler attacked our golden retriever puppy at a kennel. The worthless animal climbed out of its run and into Molly's and nearly killed her. He left her with dozens of gashes and a dangling ear. I wrote a letter to the dog's owner, urging him to put the dog to sleep.
But when I showed the letter to the kennel owner, she begged me to reconsider. "What that dog did was horrible, but I'm still training him. I'm not finished with him yet."
God would say the same about the rottweiler who attacked you. "What he did was unthinkable, unacceptable, inexcusable, but I'm not finished yet."
Your enemies still figure into God's plan. Their pulse is proof: God hasn't given up on them. They may be out of God's will, but not out of his reach. You honor God when you see them, not as his failures, but as his projects.
God occupies the only seat on the supreme court of heaven. He wears the robe and refuses to share the gavel. For this reason Paul wrote, "Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. 'I'll do the judging,' says God. 'I'll take care of it' " (Rom. 12:19 MSG).
Revenge removes God from the equation. Vigilantes displace and replace God. "I'm not sure you can handle this one, Lord. You may punish too little or too slowly. I'll take this matter into my hands, thank you."
Is this what you want to say? Jesus didn't. No one had a clearer sense of right and wrong than the perfect Son of God. Yet, "when he suffered, he didn't make any threats but left everything to the one who judges fairly" (1 Pet. 2:23 GOD'S WORD).
Only God assesses accurate judgments. We impose punishments too slight or severe. God dispenses perfect justice. Vengeance is his job. Leave your enemies in God's hands. You're not endorsing their misbehavior when you do. You can hate what someone did without letting hatred consume you. Forgiveness is not excusing.
Nor is forgiveness pretending. David didn't gloss over or sidestep Saul's sin. He addressed it directly. He didn't avoid the issue, but he did avoid Saul.
Do the same. Give grace, but, if need be, keep your distance. You can forgive the abusive husband without living with him. Be quick to give mercy to the immoral pastor, but be slow to give him a pulpit. Society can dispense grace and prison terms at the same time. Offer the child molester a second chance, but keep him off the playgrounds.
Forgiveness is not foolishness.
Forgiveness is, at its core, choosing to see your offender with different eyes. You don't excuse him, endorse her, or embrace them. You just route thoughts about them through heaven. You see your enemy as God's child and revenge as God's job.
By the way, how can we grace-recipients do anything less? Dare we ask God for grace when we refuse to give it? This is a huge issue in Scripture. Jesus was tough on sinners who refused to forgive other sinners. In the final sum, we give grace because we've been given grace.
From
Facing Your Giants
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado
Week of December 26
The Arrival
by Max Lucado
God had entered the world as a baby.
Yet, were someone to chance upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem that morning, what a peculiar scene they would behold.
The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor.
A more lowly place of birth could not exist.
Off to one side sit a group of shepherds. They sit silently on the floor; perhaps perplexed, perhaps in awe, no doubt in amazement. Their night watch had been interrupted by an explosion of light from heaven and a symphony of angels. God goes to those who have time to hear him--so on this cloudless night he went to simple shepherds.
Near the young mother sits the weary father. If anyone is dozing, he is. He can't remember the last time he sat down. And now that the excitement has subsided a bit, now that Mary and the baby are comfortable, he leans against the wall of the stable and feels his eyes grow heavy. He still hasn't figured it all out. The mystery of the event puzzles him. But he hasn't the energy to wrestle with the questions. What's important is that the baby is fine and that Mary is safe. As sleep comes he remembers the name the angel told him to use ... Jesus. "We will call him Jesus."
Wide awake is Mary. My, how young she looks! Her head rests on the soft leather of Joseph's saddle. The pain has been eclipsed by wonder. She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She can't take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel. "His kingdom will never end." (Luke 1:33)
He looks like anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And he is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being.
Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.
She touches the face of the infant-God. How long was your journey!
This baby had overlooked the universe. These rags keeping him warm were the robes of eternity. His golden throne room had been abandoned in favor of a dirty sheep pen. And worshiping angels had been replaced with kind but bewildered shepherds.
Meanwhile, the city hums. The merchants are unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God into the cold. And the people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility.
Those who missed His Majesty's arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren't looking.
Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?
From
God Came Near
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado
Week of December 2
Just a Moment
by Max Lucado
It all happened in a moment, a most remarkable moment.
As moments go, that one appeared no different than any other. If you could somehow pick it up off the timeline and examine it, it would look exactly like the ones that have passed while you have read these words. It came and it went. It was preceded and succeeded by others just like it. It was one of the countless moments that have marked time since eternity became measurable.
But in reality, that particular moment was like none other. For through that segment of time a spectacular thing occurred. God became a man. While the creatures of earth walked unaware, Divinity arrived. Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious one in a human womb.
The omnipotent, in one instant, made himself breakable. He who had been spirit became pierceable. He who was larger than the universe became an embryo. And he who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl.
God as a fetus. Holiness sleeping in a womb. The creator of life being created.
God was given eyebrows, elbows, two kidneys, and a spleen. He stretched against the walls and floated in the amniotic fluids of his mother.
God had come near.
He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant girl and a sleepy carpenter. The hands that first held him were unmanicured, calloused, and dirty.
For thirty-three years he would feel everything you and I have ever felt. He felt weak. He grew weary. He was afraid of failure. He was susceptible to wooing women. He got colds, burped, and had body odor. His feelings got hurt. His feet got tired. And his head ached.
To think of Jesus in such a light is--well, it seems almost irreverent, doesn't it? It's not something we like to do; it's uncomfortable. It is much easier to keep the humanity out of the incarnation. Clean the manure from around the manger. Wipe the sweat out of his eyes. Pretend he never snored or blew his nose or hit his thumb with a hammer.
He's easier to stomach that way. There is something about keeping him divine that keeps him distant, packaged, predictable.
But don't do it. For heaven's sake, don't. Let him be as human as he intended to be. Let him into the mire and muck of our world. For only if we let him in can he pull us out.
It all happened in a moment. In one moment ... a most remarkable moment. The Word became flesh.
There will be another. The world will see another instantaneous transformation. You see, in becoming man, God made it possible for man to see God. When Jesus went home he left the back door open. As a result, "we will all be changed--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." (1 Corinthians 15:51--52)
The first moment of transformation went unnoticed by the world. But you can bet your sweet September that the second one won't. The next time you use the phrase "just a moment, ... " remember that's all the time it will take to change this world.
From
God Came Near
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado
Week of January 9
Laws of the Lighthouse
by Max Lucado
The first of the year is known for three things: black-eyed peas, bowl games, and lists. Some don't eat black-eyed peas. Others hate football. But everybody likes lists.
The Bible certainly has its share of lists. Moses brought one down from the mountain.
There are lists of the gifts of the Spirit. Lists of good fruit and bad. Lists of salutations and greetings. Even the disciples' boat got into the action as it listed in the stormy Sea of Galilee. (If you smiled at that, then I've got a list of puns you'd enjoy.)
But the greatest day of lists is still New Year's Day. And the number one list is the list I call the Laws of the Lighthouse.
The Laws of the Lighthouse contain more than good ideas, personal preferences, and honest opinions. They are God-given, time-tested truths that define the way you should navigate your life. Observe them and enjoy secure passage. Ignore them and crash against the ragged rocks of reality.
Smart move. The wise captain shifts the direction of his craft according to the signal of the lighthouse. A wise person does the same.
Herewith, then, are the lights I look for and the signals I heed:
-- Love God more than you fear hell.
-- Once a week, let a child take you on a walk.
-- Make major decisions in a cemetery.
-- When no one is watching, live as if someone is.
-- Succeed at home first.
-- Don't spend tomorrow's money today.
-- Pray twice as much as you fret.
-- Listen twice as much as you speak.
-- Only harbor a grudge when God does.
-- Never outgrow your love of sunsets.
-- Treat people like angels; you will meet some and help make some.
-- 'Tis wiser to err on the side of generosity than on the side of scrutiny.
-- God has forgiven you; you'd be wise to do the same.
-- When you can't trace God's hand, trust his heart.
-- Toot your own horn and the notes will be flat.
-- Don't feel guilty for God's goodness.
-- The book of life is lived in chapters, so know your page number.
-- Never let the important be the victim of the trivial.
-- Live your liturgy.
To sum it all up:
Approach life like a voyage on a schooner. Enjoy the view. Explore the vessel. Make friends with the captain. Fish a little. And then get off when you get home.
From
In the Eye of the Storm
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado
Week of January 16
The Awaited One
by Max Lucado
We were a wreath of Light around the stable, a necklace of diamonds around the structure. Every angel had been called from his post for the coming, even Michael. None doubted God would, but none knew how He could, fulfill his promise.
I've heated the water!"
"No need to yell, Joseph I hear you fine."
Mary would have heard had Joseph whispered. The stable was even smaller than Joseph had imagined but the innkeeper was right- it was clean. I started to clear out the sheep and cow, but Michael stopped me. "The Father wants all of creation to witness the moment."
Mary cried out and gripped Joseph's arm with one hand and a feed trough with the other. The thrust in her abdomen lifted her back, and she leaned forward.
"Is it time?" Joseph asked.
She shot back a glance, and he had his answer.
Within moments the Awaited One was born. I was privileged to have a position close to the couple, only a step behind Michael. We both gazed into the wrinkled face of the infant. Joseph had placed hay in a feed trough, giving Jesus his first bed.
All of God was in the infant. Light encircled His face and radiated from His tiny hands. The very glory I had witnessed in His throne room now burst through His skin.
I felt we should sing but did not know what. We had no song. We had no verse. We had never seen the sight of God in a baby. When God had made a star, our words had roared. When He had delivered His servants, our tongues had flown with praise. Before His throne, our songs never ended. But what do you sing to God in a feed trough?
In that moment a wonderful thing happened. As we looked at the baby Jesus, the darkness lifted. Not the darkness of the night, but the darkness of the mystery. Heaven's enlightenment engulfed the legions.
Our minds were filled with the Truth we had never before known. We became aware for the first time of the Father's plan to rescue those who bear His name.
From An Angel's Story
(originally published as Cosmic Christmas)
Copyright (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2002, 2004) Max Lucado
Week of January 23
He Loves to Be with the Ones He Loves
by Max Lucado
Holiday travel. It isn't easy. Then why do we do it? Why cram the trunks and endure the airports? You know the answer. We love to be with the ones we love.
The four-year-old running up the sidewalk into the arms of Grandpa.
The cup of coffee with Mom before the rest of the house awakes.
That moment when, for a moment, everyone is quiet as we hold hands around the table and thank God for family and friends and pumpkin pie.
We love to be with the ones we love.
May I remind you? So does God. He loves to be with the ones he loves. How else do you explain what he did? Between him and us there was a distance--a great span. And he couldn't bear it. He couldn't stand it. So he did something about it.
Before coming to the earth, "Christ himself was like God in every-thing.... But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born to be a man and became like a servant" (Phil. 2:6--7 NCV).
Why? Why did Jesus travel so far?
I was asking myself that question when I spotted the squirrels outside my window. A family of black-tailed squirrels has made its home amid the roots of the tree north of my office. We've been neighbors for three years now. They watch me peck the keyboard. I watch them store their nuts and climb the trunk. We're mutually amused. I could watch them all day. Sometimes I do.
But I've never considered becoming one of them. The squirrel world holds no appeal to me. Who wants to sleep next to a hairy rodent with beady eyes? (No comments from you wives who feel you already do.) Give up the Rocky Mountains, bass fishing, weddings, and laughter for a hole in the ground and a diet of dirty nuts? Count me out.
But count Jesus in. What a world he left. Our classiest mansion would be a tree trunk to him. Earth's finest cuisine would be walnuts on heaven's table. And the idea of becoming a squirrel with claws and tiny teeth and a furry tail? It's nothing compared to God becoming a one-celled embryo and entering the womb of Mary.
But he did. The God of the universe kicked against the wall of a womb, was born into the poverty of a peasant, and spent his first night in the feed trough of a cow. "The Word became flesh and lived among us" (John 1:14 NRSV). The God of the universe left the glory of heaven and moved into the neighborhood. Our neighborhood! Who could have imagined he would do such a thing.
Why? He loves to be with the ones he loves.
From Next Door Savior
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A Woman's Walk
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Week of January 25, 2009
Miracles
"He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted." ~ Job 5:9
When US Airways flight 1549 went down in the Hudson River recently, I--like so many others--watched in awe to see everyone on board survive. A crash like no other, the image in which most of the people stood on the wings of the slow-sinking craft demonstrated a surefire miracle, God's hand of protection, to say nothing of the captain's glider skills. And strangely enough, the people looked as though they were standing on water.
The whole ordeal seemed surreal, almost textbook-like, right out of crew training: The impossible ditching where everyone survives.
In the days that followed, one "Today Show" broadcast featured a self-proclaimed born-again Christian woman who gave accounts of people praying, even the flight attendants. This touched my heart immensely because it was so personal. As a flight attendant with US Airways for 16 years, I prayed over many airplanes and passengers. And I know prayer works, even in the workplace. It touches the heart of God. It evokes lifelines of miracles.
I have been in four airplane emergencies myself, where I wasn't sure what the exact outcome would be. But I knew the Lord was with me no matter what. And in the instances where all I had was God and, as I looked before me, a whole lot of people whom I might have to save and rescue, God became my closest confidant, my most trusted friend and my strongest rock. I saw many miracles. And I knew others were praying, like those who watched on television, including my parents during one such occasion. And my cohorts who prayed in prayer groups, Bible studies and prayer chains in US Airways' offices and break rooms.
Awesome isn't it--the power and love of God in action!
Who's praying in your office? What prayer points has God given you? What miracles do you and those around you need? How about your company? God is surely big enough and knows just how to bring you in safely. Will you trust Him? Will you let Him guide you and direct your path? Is He your rock?
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Margaret D. Mitchell is the founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ. Check out the new God's Love at Work Businesswomen Select program and the Women's Fellowship gatherings.
Week of January 18, 2009
Truth
"Teach me your way, Oh Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." ~ Psalm 86:11
Recently, I drove to my local mall on a quest to find a bottle of Calvin Klein's Truth cologne for my husband. He had run out, and it was two days before Christmas. I managed to press through crowds of holiday shoppers at Macy's and up to the nearest cosmetic counter. Overwhelmed, I asked the nearest cosmetic girl, "Do you have any Truth?"
My heart pounded as she replied, "They discontinued it!"
"What!" I retorted. "I can't believe they discontinued Truth!"
The cosmetic girl then quickly reached for a gift box from underneath a pile on the countertop. "There's one box left," she said, handing it to me.
Just as this uncovered gift of Truth restored my peace of mind, I was reminded – in a most amusing way – that God's truth sets us free.
The Holy Spirit has a way of testing our hearts to reveal the untruths that keep us in bondage, the half-hearted commitments that lurk to derail our relationships, those little but important nuances that distance us from Him.
Consider Sapphira in Acts 5 who, along with her husband, fell dead before the church after lying to the Holy Spirit. Seem harsh? Maybe to us, but God knows just what He's doing—all the time. The NIV tells us that such dire consequences were necessary for God to demonstrate to the church at the outset that dishonesty is unprofitable and intolerable.
And Romans 6:23 warns us that "the wages of sin is death." We often don't think of this literally in modern society. But God has ways of stressing His point with great clarity. And often He will reveal matters of the heart publicly if they are not dealt with privately.
God has a timeline, and He's right on time. Anything in our hearts that cause us to interfere with His timing and will must go. God is all about moving forward, taking us from glory to glory, resetting our hearts and minds on higher things and helping us reach our destiny. He loves us too much to let us stay stuck.
What happened to Sapphira made a lasting impression to the onlookers that, no doubt, impacted their walk greatly. I believe that the God of truth's glory was so great in that church at that time that no one could have stood in His presence and lied and survived.
As we move through 2009, may we continually hearken to the truth of Deuteronomy 30:19, which advises us to "choose life," not only for the purpose of receiving God's finest blessings and profitability but to simply honor the God who loves us in wholehearted truth.
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Margaret D. Mitchell is the founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ. Check out the new God's Love at Work Businesswomen Select program and the Women's Fellowship gatherings.
Week of February 1, 2009
Humility
"For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them." ~ Matthew 13:15
Frequently, I receive prayer requests from people whose hearts have been 'worked over' by false accusations and persecution, often through bosses or family members. They feel they are at the end of their rope to help themselves, and they are right.
Since Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we do not fight against people but against dark spiritual forces, what artillery do we use in the face of persecutors?
Humility.
Humility is the number one power weapon against spirits of prideful arrogance and ungodly control tactics. And it is far from a copout. Just ask Jesus.
If we remain humble in the face of persecutors and take the situation to the Lord in prayer, He will intervene in our circumstances and guide us from there.
I have learned that fighting back through my own words and means—instead of turning to God for resolution—creates within the human heart pride, self-righteousness, bitterness and callousness, which in turn distances us from God so that we cannot hear Him.
Long term, operating in these sins can destroy every area of our lives, no matter how justified we feel we are. We can even get to a point where our soul grieves and becomes so downcast it enters into deep despair. To make matters worse, when we get to that state of spiritual heaviness, we may even blame God due to our lack of understanding, and we may find ourselves in such a wilderness that we feel cut off from Him.
2 Chronicles 13:12 tells us to "not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed."
If you want to halt all success in your life, just fight against God. He will let us remain in the wilderness for as long as we so choose. But if we humble ourselves and repent, He will restore us and return us to an abundant life. This can involve, however, a clean-up of the aftermath left by the very storm that we helped to create.
But remember this along the journey: Christ's glories follow suffering (1 Peter 1:11), and no one participated in more sufferings than Jesus Christ. Participating in the sufferings of Christ offers us a facet of intimacy with Him that we would not experience otherwise.
Remember, too, that God gives grace to the humble and opposes the proud (1 Peter 4:6). If we remain humble and continue to do good through suffering, He will exalt us in due time.
We can actually shorten our time in the wilderness by being carefully obedient. And we can stand on God's promise to restore us and make us strong, firm and steadfast (1 Peter 5:10).
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Margaret D. Mitchell is the founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ. Check out the new God's Love at Work Businesswomen Select program and the Women's Fellowship gatherings.
Week of February 6
When You Speak, God Hears
by Max Lucado
Those who pray keep alive the watch fires of faith. For the most part we don't even know their names. Such is the case of someone who prayed on a day long ago. His name is not important. He is important not because of who he was, but because of what he did.
He went to Jesus on behalf of a friend. His friend was sick, and Jesus could help, and someone needed to go to Jesus, so someone went. Others cared for the sick man in other ways. Some brought food; others provided treatment; still others comforted the family. Each role was crucial. Each person was helpful, but no one was more vital than the one who went to Jesus.
John writes: "So Mary and Martha sent someone to tell Jesus, 'Lord, the one you love is sick'" (John 11:3, emphasis mine).
Someone carried the request. Someone walked the trail. Someone went to Jesus on behalf of Lazarus. And because someone went, Jesus responded.
In the economy of heaven, the prayers of saints are a valued commodity. John the apostle would agree. He wrote the story of Lazarus and was careful to show the sequence: The healing began when the request was made.
The phrase the friend of Lazarus used is worth noting. When he told Jesus of the illness, he said, "The one you love is sick." The power of the prayer, in other words, does not depend on the one who makes the prayer but on the one who hears the prayer.
We can and must repeat the phrase in manifold ways. "The one you love is tired, sad, hungry, lonely, fearful, depressed." The words of the prayer vary, but the response never changes. The Savior hears the prayer. He silences heaven so he won't miss a word. The Master heard the request. Jesus stopped whatever he was doing and took note of the man's words. This anonymous courier was heard by God.
John's message is critical. You can talk to God because God listens. Your voice matters in heaven. He takes you very seriously. When you enter his presence, the attendants turn to you to hear your voice. No need to fear that you will be ignored. Even if you stammer or stumble, even if what you have to say impresses no one, it impresses God—and he listens.
Intently. Carefully. The prayers are honored as precious jewels. Purified and empowered, the words rise in a delightful fragrance to our Lord. "The smoke from the incense went up from the angel's hand to God" (Rev. 8:4). Incredible. Your words do not stop until they reach the very throne of God.
One call and heaven's fleet appears. Your prayer on earth activates God's power in heaven.
You are the someone of God's kingdom. Your prayers move God to change the world. You may not understand the mystery of prayer. You don't need to. But this much is clear: Actions in heaven begin when someone prays on earth. What an amazing thought!
When you speak, Jesus hears.
And when Jesus hears, the world is changed.
All because someone prayed.
From
For These Tough Times:
Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope and Healing
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado
Daily Devotionals February 7, 2009
University of Adversity
By Os Hillman
"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body" (2 Cor. 4:8-10).
It's hard to find anyone in Christian history who became a great leader without earning an advanced degree at the University of Adversity.
John Bunyan (1628-1688), the author of The Pilgrim's Progress, grew up in poverty and taught himself to read. As a young man, he struggled with feelings of not being forgiven by God and was tortured by visions of eternal punishment. His devout wife helped him to overcome his fear, but then, while she was still in her twenties, she died of a sudden illness. In his grief, Bunyan devoted himself to preaching. The English government, however, repeatedly imprisoned him for preaching without a license.
On one occasion, Bunyan was sentenced to three months in prison, but when he told the officials he intended to go on preaching, his sentence was extended to 12 years. John Bunyan experienced God's presence in a special way while he was in prison. In fact, it was in his cell that he penned his enduring classic, The Pilgrim's Progress. It's a book that could only have been written by a soul that was refined by the fires of adversity.
A. W. Tozer once wrote, "It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply." God has a mission for your life and mine. But before we can carry out that mission, we will often go through the boot camp of adversity. If this is where you find yourself today, ask God to give you His grace to walk through this time with you. He promised He would never leave or forsake us.
Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.
Who Can You Trust?
Who Can You Trust?
In Who Can You Trust?, Howard E. Butt, Jr. candidly shares his own real-life experience and expertise to help you recognize and resolve past trust issues that have shattered your faith and your spirit. And he shows you how to let your faith help you build stronger trust in the future for all your most important relationships.
Learn
Life is a Celebration
How you view your life will make a world of difference in how you live your life. If you live your life viewing it from a biblical perspective, it will have deeper meaning than if you see it through a pessimistic looking glass. In Ecclesiastes 11-12, we find Solomon's ultimate conclusion to his view on life, and the lessons he learned. Here are four key points from these two chapters:
1. Life is a stewardship; invest it wisely. Read Ecclesiastes 11:1-6. Everything in life-not only possessions, but also family, friends, relationships, everything you have-is a gift from God. He entrusted you to manage all of His bounties on His behalf. You don't own it, but He's giving it to you to manage it for Him. You see, the whole of life, Solomon said, is a stewardship, and so we must invest it wisely.
2. Life is a celebration; delight in it. Read Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:8. For us to enjoy life and to see it as a celebration, there are three things that we must do-rejoice (11:7-9), remove (11:10-11), and remember (12:1-8). Rejoice in each day. Anticipate every new day as a wrapped gift from the hand of God, and look forward to literally waking up and unwrapping that wonderful gift each day. Start your day with gratitude. Remove bitterness, false beliefs, bad habits, and unwholesome relationships from your life now before they endanger your future. Remember the constant presence of God. Wherever you go, He is with you and He is watching over you. Remember to obey His Word, to seek His righteousness and His kingdom first-for that is the secret to your success. Remember to place Him first in every decision you make.
3. Life is a school; grow in it. Read Ecclesiastes 12:9-12. How does God teach us in His school of life? Primarily, it is through His Word. Our textbook is the Bible, and our teacher is the Holy Spirit. There are always new lessons in God's school. There are always new examinations coming up and every time we think we've passed one exam, there is another one on the way. We always have opportunities to grow, progress, and advance.
4. Life is a responsibility; succeed in it. Read Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. Life is a gift from the hand of God. And like any gift, there is an obligation associated with it-an obligation to value it, to cherish it, and to gratefully use it. We need to fear God with a godly fear-an attitude of gratitude, reverence and awe. It is an attitude of love and respect for the power and the greatness of the giver of the gift.
You may feel that you have been heading in the wrong direction. This is the time; this is the moment for you to get back into the game of life. Begin to see life as a stewardship to be invested wisely. Begin to see it as a celebration to be delighted in. Begin to see it as a school in which you grow. Begin to see it as a responsibility in which to succeed. Just as the old hymn reminds us, life is worth the living simply because Christ lives.
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Spiritual Dejection
We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened -Luke 24:21
Every fact that the disciples stated was right, but the conclusions they drew from those facts were wrong. Anything that has even a hint of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If I am depressed or burdened, I am to blame, not God or anyone else. Dejection stems from one of two sources- I have either satisfied a lust or I have not had it satisfied. In either case, dejection is the result. Lust means "I must have it at once." Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer. What have I been hoping or trusting God would do? Is today "the third day" and He has still not done what I expected? Am I therefore justified in being dejected and in blaming God? Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer. It is impossible to be well physically and to be dejected, because dejection is a sign of sickness. This is also true spiritually. Dejection spiritually is wrong, and we are always to blame for it.
We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God's power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.
GOD BLESS
Rick Warren (REMEMBER HE WROTE 'PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE') also he did the debate with McCain and Obama. You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, ?Purpose Driven Life' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren , Rick said: People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body—but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into an other one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay , getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,' which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.
It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.
God's Blessings on you today.
"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a
hundred days of sorrow."
"Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy
than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our
misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us."
(Volataire)
Isaiah 65:24
This beautiful story was written by a doctor who worked in
Central Africa
One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward;
but in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature
baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the
baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator).
We also had no special feeding facilities.
Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with
treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies
and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up
the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell
me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical
climates).
'And it is our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As
in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it
might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow
on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.
'All right,' I said, 'put the baby as near the fire
as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from
drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.'
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers
with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the
youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the
tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough,
mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got
chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother
had died.
During prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the
usual blunt conciseness of our African children. 'Please, God' she
prayed, 'Send us a hot water bottle today. It'll be no good tomorrow,
God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.'
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she
added, 'And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the
little girl so she'll know You really love her?'
As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot.
Could I honestly say 'Amen'? I just did not believe that God could do
this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything; the Bible says so. But there
are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular
prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa
for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever, received a parcel
from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot
water bottle? I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the
nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front
door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the porch was a
large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the
parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the
string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to
tear it unduly... Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes
were focused on the large cardboard box.
From the top, I lifted out brightly-colored, knitted jerseys.
Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the
leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of
mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend.
Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the..... could it really
be?
I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot
water bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed
that He could.
Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward,
crying out, 'If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!
'Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the
small, beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted! Looking
up at me, she asked, 'Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that
little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?'
'Of course,' I replied!
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up
by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's
prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls
had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the
believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it 'that afternoon'.
"Before they call, I will answer." Isaiah 65:24
When you receive this, say the prayer. That's all you have
to do. No strings attached. Just send it on to whomever you want - but do send
it on.
Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no
cost, but a lot of rewards. Let's continue praying for one another. This
awesome prayer takes less than a minute.
Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading this. I
ask You to minister to their spirit. Where there is pain, give them Your peace
and mercy. Where there is self doubting, release a renewed confidence to work
through them. Where there is tiredness or exhaustion, I ask You to give them
understanding, guidance, and strength. Where there is fear, reveal Your love and
release to them Your courage. Bless their finances, give them greater vision,
and raise up leaders and friends to support and encourage them. Give each of
them discernment to recognize the evil forces around them and reveal to them the
power they have in You to defeat it. I ask You to do these things in Jesus'
name. Amen.
P.S.
Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you
both. Passing this on to one not considered a friend is something
Christ would do.
Week of February 13
It's Going to Be Okay
by Max Lucado
Bill Tucker was sixteen years old when his dad suffered a health crisis and consequently had to leave his business. Even after Mr. Tucker regained his health, the Tucker family struggled financially, barely getting by.
Mr. Tucker, an entrepreneurial sort, came up with an idea. He won the bid to reupholster the chairs at the local movie theater. This stunned his family. He had never stitched a seat. He didn't even own a sewing apparatus. Still, he found someone to teach him the skill and located an industrial-strength machine. The family scraped together every cent they had to buy it. They drained savings accounts and dug coins out of the sofa. Finally, they had enough.
It was a fine day when Bill road with his dad to pick up the equipment. Bill remembers a jovial, hour-long trip discussing the bright horizons this new opportunity afforded them. They loaded the machine in the back of their truck and secured it right behind the cab. Mr. Tucker then invited his son to drive home. I'll let Bill tell you what happened next:
"As we were driving along, we were excited, and I, like any sixteen-year-old driver, was probably not paying enough attention to my speed. Just as we were turning on the cloverleaf to get on the expressway, I will never ever, ever forget watching that sewing machine, which was already top-heavy, begin to tip. I slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. I saw it go over the side. I jumped out and ran around the back of the truck. As I rounded the corner, I saw our hope and our dream lying on its side in pieces. And then I saw my dad just looking. All of his risk and all of his endeavor and all of his struggling and all of his dream, all of his hope to take care of his family was lying there, shattered.
"You know what comes next don't you? 'Stupid, punk kid driving too fast, not paying attention, ruined the family by taking away our livelihood.' But that's not what he said. He looked right at me. 'Oh, Bill, I am so sorry.' And he walked over, put his arms around me, and said, 'Son, this is going to be okay.'
God is whispering the same to you. Those are his arms you feel. Trust him. That is his voice you hear. Believe him. Allow the only decision maker in the universe to comfort you. Life at times appears to fall to pieces, seem irreparable. But it's going to be okay. How can you know? Because God so loved the world. If God can make a billion galaxies, can't he make good out of our bad and sense out of our faltering lives? Of course he can. He is God.
From 3:16, The Numbers of Hope
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 2007) Max Lucado
Bible Pathways Devotional
Welcome to the Bible Pathways Devotional, a free devotional from Crosswalk.com, the world's largest Christian website.
February 15
Read Numbers 7
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Picture in your mind the awesome, overwhelming, massive, array of animals, tribal leaders, and offerings. Where were they all heading? Why were they bringing these huge offerings? Does God give attention to our individual offerings? Don't miss reading this chapter.
It is significant that all the details were given each day for each offering even though the offerings were exactly the same. The repetition may seem uninteresting and monotonous or unnecessary but it reveals the pleasure of God in each sacrifice from His people. God is always observant of the gifts presented to Him to bring Him honor and glory and maintain His ministers. Paul explained that such gifts bring fruit that may abound to your account (Phil. 4:15-17).
The giving of gifts and offerings may not seem important to us, but they are to God. In this one chapter, the word offering is mentioned more than 60 times. That reveals how very important our tithes and offerings are to God. Some may ignorantly neglect tithes, not realizing that it is the key that God had chosen: I will . . . open . . . the windows of heaven, and pour out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it (Mal. 3:10). God records every act of service, every gift given to encourage us to give more in order to receive His best blessings.
The princes of the tribes had already liberally sacrificed for the construction of the Tabernacle (Ex. 35:27-28); they had given the wagons and the oxen for moving it from place to place (Num. 1:1-9). Then they gave their gifts for the dedication of the altar.
It was after giving all these gifts that we read: Moses was gone into the Tabernacle of the Congregation to speak with Him (the Lord) . . . and He spake unto him (7:89). The Lord spoke to Moses: I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee . . . of all things which I will give thee in Commandment unto the children of Israel (Ex. 25:22).
Giving to God always results in further blessings. As Christians develop faith by giving to the Lord's work, both our desire to give and our ability to give are increased. Our desire to give is increased for we experience the joy of giving; and we increasingly prove the integrity of the Word of God, for God loveth a cheerful giver (II Cor. 9:7). Give and it shall be given to you full measure, pressed down and overflowing (Luke 6:38).
God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love. . . . And then He shall reward every man according to his works (Heb. 6:10; Matt. 16:27).
Thought for Today:
God gives each Christian varying spiritual opportunities and responsibilities (I Cor. 12:7-11). Everyone is equally important in the eyes of God.
Christ Revealed:
Through the voluntary offerings of the leaders which were sufficient to meet the needs (Num. 7). Jesus gave His life to meet our every need. My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19).
Word Studies:
7:13 charger =large dish; meat =grain, meal, cereal.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka International Shortwave Broadcasts for the week sponsored by Duane & Mary Ann Seaburg • Government Official: Rep. Terry Everett (AL) • Country: Belgium (10.2 million) in northwestern Europe • Major languages: Flemish and French • Religious freedom • 74% Catholic; 3% Muslim; 1% Protestant; .5% Orthodox; 20% Secular Humanism; 1.5% Other • Prayer Suggestion: Confess wrongs you have committed to the Lord and to those whom you have hurt; ask for forgiveness (Matt. 5:23-24).
Optional Reading: Luke 2
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:9
February 16
Read Numbers 8 -- 9
Highlights In Today's Reading:
The Lord reminds us how much time has passed since the Exodus (9:1). The nation celebrates its second Passover. It was of vital importance that they remember the One who freed them from slavery. The protection of the Lord was evident in the cloud by day and the awesome pillar of fire by night.
At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the Tabernacle they rested in their tents (9:18). It may have seemed strange when the cloud first began guiding the Israelites that it did not lead them into the wilderness far from their enemies (Ex. 13:20). But, when the cloud was taken up from the Tabernacle (Num. 9:17), it turned and led them to a place where they were surrounded by the sea and the mountains.
The whole congregation was afraid and murmured as they saw Pharoah and his armies advancing toward them (Ex. 14:10). This experience was designed to establish Israel's confidence in the presence of God to protect and direct them to the promised land. So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was taken up from the Tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and. . . . whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the Tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed (Num. 9:16-17,22).
Later, when Israel made the golden calf, the Commandments of the Lord were broken and the nation was defiled. Immediately Moses removed the tent of God a considerable distance from the unfaithful camp. Only then could the cloudy pillar descend to the tent door, and the Lord talked with Moses (Ex. 33:7-9). His presence could remain in Israel only as they faithfully trusted Him.
Once Christians have committed themselves to the Lord, God will arrange circumstances to test their faith in His presence, just as He did with Israel at the Red Sea.
When we are obedient to Him, His presence enlightens our minds, strengthens our lives and guides our steps. The presence of God with His disciples is the secret of their strength and victory (II Chr. 20:15,17).
As ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity . . . even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness (Rom. 6:19).
Thought for Today:
The prophet Isaiah called Jesus Immanuel or "God with us." To be able to walk with Jesus is to walk with God. Are you walking with God (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:23)?
Christ Revealed:
The Passover (Numbers 9:2) serves as a beautiful illustration of the redemption Christ accomplished at Calvary as the Lamb of God (John 1:29; I Cor. 5:7).
Word Studies:
8:2 over against =in front of; 8:4 beaten =hammered; 8:14 Mine =for the special purpose of God; 8:18 for =instead of; 9:7 kept back =prohibited from; 9:8 Stand still =wait; 9:10 posterity =descendents; 9:11 unleavened bread =bread without yeast, a symbol of Christ as the sinless offering; 9:12 ordinances =biblical laws; 9:13 forbeareth =neglects, fails; cut off =excommunicated; season =ime; 9:14 sojourn =live temporarily; 9:15 reared =erected; 9:17 abode =remained; 9:18 pitched =camped; 9:19 charge =order.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Arabic International Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by Ora Anderson • Staff: Benjamin Wallace • Country: Belize (236,000) on the eastern coast of Central America • Major languages: English and Spanish • Religious freedom • 64% Roman Catholic; 26% Protestant; 2% spiritist/animist; 1% Hindu; 1% Muslim; 1% Baha'i • Prayer Suggestion: Pray for those who have hurt you (Matt. 5:44).
Optional Reading: Luke 3
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:9
February 17
Read Numbers 10 -- 11
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Canaan is in sight! Hallelujah! Onward to victory! In this time of anticipation, all Israel has to do was trust God and move forward in conquest of Canaan. But, lusting for flesh to eat, then once again they murmur and failure is inevitable (11:4-34).
The full meaning for the word "manna" is as mysterious as the manna itself, for it can be interpreted as asking the question: "What is it?" -- or as "a gift" -- or "it is a portion," of what God has appointed. The manna was as coriander seed . . . and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil. And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it (11:7-9).
A remarkable thing about the manna was that this miraculous food had to be gathered daily (except on the Sabbath), for it could not be preserved from one day to the next. And there was a sufficient amount each day for the several million men, women, and children to eat and remain healthy.
The manna was symbolic of Christ Jesus -- the true Bread from Heaven. Jesus said: Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but My Father giveth you the true Bread from heaven. For the Bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world . . . I am the Bread of Life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. . . . For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. . . . And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up on the last day. . . . I am that Bread of Life. . . . which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the Bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. . . . This is that Bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this Bread shall live for ever (John 6:32-33,35,38-40,48-58).
The Word was with God, and the Word was God (1:1). We must read the Bible daily if we are to receive spiritual insight and strength for the day. Past blessings in reading the Word are not sufficient to satisfy today's spiritual needs.
Jesus revealed that He was not only the True Bread, but said: It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word tha proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4).
Thought for Today:
Past blessings are enjoyable to remember. But, just as the manna was new each day, so should the blessings and experiences that we have with God be.
Christ Revealed:
The two trumpets were made of silver (Num. 10:2). Silver in the Bible stands for truth and also for redemption (1/2 shekel paid to Tabernacle/Temple -- Ex. 38:25-26) -- Jesus was sold for 30 pieces of it (Matt. 26:15). Christ is The Way, The Truth, and The Life (John 14:6).
Word Studies:
10:10 solemn days =appointed feasts (festivals); 10:14 standard =banner; 10:21 against they came =in anticipation of their arrival; 10:25 rereward =rear guard; 11:4 fell a lusting =had greedy desires; 11:6 is dried away =is dissatisfied; 11:10 was kindled =exceedingly angry; 11:11 burden =responsibility; 11:13 flesh =meat; 11:15 out of hand =killing me at once; 11:18 sanctify =consecrate to God; 11:20 loathsome =offensive, detestable; 11:22 suffice =be enough; 11:30 gat =returned.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka International Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by William H. Lupton • Staff: Ilene Wallace • Government Officials: Rep. Randy Forbes (VA), Rep. Jim Jordan (OH), Rep. William (Bill) Sali (ID), and Sen. Craig Thomas (WY) • Country: Benin (6 million) in western Africa • Major languages: French and tribal languages • Some hostility toward Christians • 59% animism and voodoo; 17% Muslim; 16% Roman Catholic; 3% Protestant • Prayer Suggestion: Pray in secret before God, not seeking human praise (Matt. 6:6).
Optional Reading: Luke 4
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:9
February 18
Read Numbers 12 -- 13
Highlights In Today's Reading:
A valuable lesson in today's reading makes known the frightening dangers of disbelief so that the Lord is prevented from providing His blessings .
God had placed Moses' brother and sister in positions of great honor. Miriam was a prophetess and a leader among the women of Israel. Aaron had the privileged responsibility of being the first high priest. But, Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married. . . . And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath He not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) And the Lord. . . . said. . . . My servant Moses is . . . faithful in all Mine house (12:1-7).
On one point of disagreement with Moses' decision, Miriam went so far as to question Moses' right of leadership, suggesting that she and Aaron had an equal right in the administration of national affairs (12:1-2). But in judgment, God said: Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant Moses? And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them (Miriam and Aaron); and He departed. And the cloud departed from off the Tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous. . . . And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech Thee (12:8-10,13).
Miriam's sin of criticizing Moses was so great in the sight of God that He smote her with the most horrifying, incurable disease of leprosy. It was only through Moses' intercession that Miriam recovered from her hideous defilement.
Seeing what is considered a fault or disagreeing with the decisions of those in authority has led some Christians to criticize or oppose God-appointed leadership. One of the greatest assets anyone can have is available to everyone as Jesus revealed: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5).
The progress of a church can be greatly hindered because of jealousy over someone else receiving recognition when another thought that he was more qualified and more deserving. But we must not allow these things to cause us to sin by taking a stand against God-appointed authority. Those who do so are in danger of facing the anger of the Lord (12:9).
Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you (Heb. 13:17).
Thought for Today:
Because you were bought by the blood of Jesus, think how valuable you are to God (Acts 20:28; I Cor. 6:20)!
Christ Portrayed:
By Moses, who was very meek (humble), above all the men which were upon the face of the earth (Num. 12:3). Jesus said: I am meek (gentle, mild) and lowly in heart (Matt. 11:29).
Word Studies:
12:3 meek =humble, gentle, submissive to God; 12:8 apparently =clearly; in dark speeches =difficult to understand; similitude =likeness; 12:13 beseech =beg; 13:16 spy out =view; 13:20 fat or lean =fertile or barren; 13:23 brook =valley; 13:30 possess =conquer; 13:32 eateth up =destroys.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Arabic, English, & Spanish International Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. Rodney Heikkila • Staff: Al Joslyn • Government Officials: Rep. Eliot Engel (NY) and Sen. John Warner (VA) • Country: Bhutan (2 million) in the eastern Himalayas of central Asia • Major languages: Tibetan and Nepalese dialects • Public worship, evangelism, and proselytization are illegal • 50-70% Buddhist; 24-45% Hindu; 5% Muslim; <1% Protestant/Roman Catholic • Prayer Suggestion: Don't try to impress others with your prayers; pray about whatever is on your heart (Matt. 6:7-8).
Optional Reading: Luke 5
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:9
February 19
Read Numbers 14 -- 15
Highlights In Today's Reading:
The pivotal point of the book is revealed by the rebellion at Kadesh. Should the generation of the Exodus be remembered as the generation of conquest or as the key to a wasted life? We see the reward of the faithful and judgment of the faithless (14:22-23,34).
They rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised: for we have sinned. And Moses said . . . it shall not prosper. Go not up, for the Lord is not among you. . . . ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you (14:40-43).
The children of Israel were determined to decide for themselves what was best rather than look to the Lord. When God told them to go to the promised land and take possession of it, they refused, saying: Wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? . . . Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt (14:3-4). The Israelites then changed their minds; but the Lord forbade them to go into the land. Disregarding the Lord, the Israelites again rebelled, saying: Lo, we . . . will go up into the place which the Lord hath promised.
Although the Israelites admitted without repenting that they had sinned, they did not pray for guidance but they immediately decided to sin again. First they sinned by their unbelief that God would help them conquer the land. Then they sinned by their presumptious self-confidence in deciding to enter the promised land even after Moses had told them: Go not up, for the Lord is not among you.
Many people are self-sufficient, independent, and determined to guide their own lives. They feel they do not need God. They fail to see the futility of human reasoning: O Lord, I know that . . . it is not in man . . . to direct his steps (Jer. 10:23). Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall (I Cor. 10:12).
Consequently, they forfeit the many promises of the abundant provision of the Lord. It is not possible to go against the will of God and prosper.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. . . . Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil (Prov. 3:5,7).
Thought for Today:
The will of God for our lives may not always seem like the easiest way, but is always the best way. We will never regret living according to His Word.
Christ Revealed:
As God's glory (Num. 14:22). Jesus Christ is the brightness (manifestation) of His (God's) glory, and the express image of His person (Heb. 1:3).
Word Studies:
14:3 fall by the sword =die in war; 14:10 bade =said; 14:11 provoke =spurn, insult, treat with contempt, disrespect; 14:30 sware =promised; 14:31 know =appreciate; despised =spurned; 14:33 wander =be shepherds; whoredoms =unfaithlessness; 14:42 smitten =defeated; 14:45 discomfited =defeated; 15:3 sweet savour =pleasing fragrance; 15:13 born of the country =native born, native Israelite; 15:14 sojourn =live temporarily; 15:15 one ordinance =the same biblical law; 15:30 presumptuously =through pride, rebellion; cut off =excommunicated; 15:34 in ward =in custody; 15:39 go a whoring =unfaithful to God.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts in honor of Linda Kennon • Staff: George Kopchak • Government Officials: Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY) • Country: Bolivia (8 million) in South America • Major languages: Spanish and Quechua • Religious freedom • 92% Roman Catholic; 3% Protestant; 3% Baha'i • Prayer Suggestion: Pray that the will of God be done in every situation you face today (Matt. 6:10).
Optional Reading: Luke 6
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:9
February 20
Read Numbers 16 -- 18
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Today's reading is far more than incidental Hebrew history. It brings to light how envy, jealousy, and discontent destroy the usefulness of "good" people. Always remember, God will reveal His will to anyone who desires to follow it.
Korah and his followers assumed they were only opposing Moses and Aaron, but God viewed them as rebels against Himself. How far more serious sin is from what it often appears to be! Korah (a cousin of Moses) . . . took men: And . . . two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous (popular) in the congregation, men of renown: And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? (16:1-3).
Although Moses and Aaron had been severely criticized and opposed by this crowd of famous Israelites who wanted to "help" him, through Aaron, Moses expressed a spirit of godly love, and made an atonement for the people (16:47). Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred people (16:49).
Few are aware that sin, no matter what form it assumes, is in reality rebellion against God. In fact, all discontent with either husband, wife, home, or any other relationship is rebellion against God. Perhaps, if we could see our complaints as they will appear when the books of eternity are opened, there would be a change in most of our attitudes!
Not what I do, Lord, nor what I say, But what I am, Lord,
matters today. Busy with nothing we fill up the years,
Hurrying, worrying, gathering tears.
Why can't I learn, Lord, that power is within,
Why can't I see, Lord, the waste of my sin?
If I could be, Lord, growing in soul,
Seeing each day, Lord, more clearly the goal.
If I could live, Lord, discerning thy face,
Ever more strongly held by thy grace; So take and mold, Lord this heart of mine, Till it shall be,
Lord, like unto thine!
M.E.H.
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily . . . lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:12-13).
Thought for Today:
It may surprise many to find that God views bitterness and disobedience to be much the same as rebellion or as witchcraft (II Sam. 15:23).
Christ Portrayed:
By Aaron and his sons who were responsible for making proper atonement for all of the sins of Israel (Numbers 18:1). Jesus gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity (lawlessness) (Titus 2:14).
Word Studies:
16:6 censers =incense burners; 16:7 holy =set apart, dedicated to God; 16:31 clave asunder =split apart; 16:46 plague =fatal sickness; 16:48 stayed =stopped; 17:10 Testimony =Ark of the Covenant; take away =put an end to; 18:1 bear the iniquity of =be answerable for the sins against; 18:3 thy charge =your responsibilities; 18:5 wrath =further judgment; 18:9 oblation =offering; 18:11 statute =perpetual allowance; clean =cleansed from sin; 18:15 everything that openeth the matrix =very firstborn; matrix =womb; 18:17 firstling =firstborn; 18:19 covenant of salt =permanent contract; 18:21 an inheritance =their recompense; 18:27 corn =grain; 18:30 heaved =lifted up; 18:31 reward = wages.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts in memory of Henry Rogers • Staff: Gina Lesnefsky • Government Official: Sen. Mitch McConnell, Jr. (KY) • Country: Bosnia and Hercegovina (4 million) on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe • Major language: Serbo-Croatian • Little evangelism being done • 40% Muslim; 28% Serbian Orthodox; 14% Roman Catholic • Prayer Suggestion: Ask for your daily needs (Matt. 6:11).
Optional Reading: Luke 7
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:9
Week of February 20
"Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread."
by Max Lucado
What a statement of trust! Whatever you want me to have is all I want. Some days the plate runs over. God keeps bringing out more food and we keep loosening our belt. A promotion. A privilege. A friendship. A gift. A lifetime of grace. An eternity of joy. There are times when we literally push ourselves back from the table, amazed at God's kindness. "You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup fills with blessing" (Ps. 23:5 MSG).
And then there are those days when, well, when we have to eat our broccoli. Our daily bread could be tears or sorrow or discipline. Our portion may include adversity as well as opportunity.
This verse was on my mind last night during family devotions. I called my daughters to the table and set a plate in front of each. In the center of the table I placed a collection of food: some fruit, some raw vegetables and some Oreo cookies. "Every day," I explained, "God prepares for us a plate of experiences. What kind of plate do you most enjoy?"
The answer was easy. Sara put three cookies on her plate. Some days are like that, aren't they? Some days are "three cookie days." Many are not. Sometimes our plate has nothing but vegetables--twenty-four hours of celery, carrots, and squash. Apparently God knows we need some strength, and though the portion may be hard to swallow, isn't it for our own good? Most days, however, have a bit of it all. Vegetables, which are healthy but dull. Fruit, which tastes better and we enjoy. And even an Oreo, which does little for our nutrition, but a lot for our attitude.
All are important and all are from God.
The next time your plate has more broccoli than apple pie, remember who prepared the meal. And the next time your plate has a portion you find hard to swallow, talk to God about it. Jesus did. In the garden of Gethsemane his Father handed him a cup of suffering so sour, so vile, that Jesus handed it back to heaven. "My Father," he prayed, "if it is possible may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will" (Matt. 26:39).
Even Jesus was given a portion he found hard to swallow. But with God's help, he did. And with God's help, you can too.
From
The Great House of God
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001) Max Lucado
February 23
Read Numbers 23 -- 25
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Balaam prophesies blessings on Israel and yet thousands die. We learn why Phinehas is given the highest priestly honor recorded in the Old Testament.
After Israel's great victories, first over the Amorite King Sihon and then over King Og of Bashan, Balak, king of the Moabites, feared that he too would be defeated. Several times King Balak offered the prophet Balaam huge rewards if he would curse the Israelites. And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth. . . . God is not a man, that He should lie. . . . Behold, I have received a Commandment to bless: and He hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a (victorious) king is among them (23:6,19-21).
Balaam desired to live and die as a child of God and as a righteous man and openly confirmed it by saying: Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his (Jacob's) (23:10). Furthermore, he foretold the most amazing prophetic revelations from God thus far in the Bible concerning the coming of the Messiah (24:17). But Balaam's covetous desire for wealth soon caused him to compromise what he knew was God's will and provided a scheme that would lead Israel into sin. This would assure him of gaining his wealth from the Moabite king.
Balaam was one of the many people who know the right Scriptures and long to die the death of the righteous but who are unwilling to live the life of the righteous. Our natural tendency is to be drawn away from God. Even among Christians, the main topics of conversation are often centered around the things of the world. To test the true purpose of our interests, we need only to ask whether our desires lead us to God or away from Him
The Bible warns us of the dangers of worldly temptations and associations, chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled. . . . Having eyes full of adultery (evil desires), and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: which (for many) have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam . . . who loved the wages of unrighteousness (II Pet. 2:10,14-15; Jude 11; Rev. 2:14).
Thought for Today:
It is time to be encouraged and to stand strong for Jesus because we must not allow evil to stand in the way of the promises of God.
Christ Revealed:
As the prophesied Star and Sceptre (Num. 24:17). Christ is coming to reign in great glory (Rev. 19:15-16). Unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy Kingdom (Heb. 1:8).
Word Studies:
23:3 peradventure =perhaps; 23:10 dust =descendants; 24:14 advertise =let you know; 24:18 do valiantly =be triumphant; 25:1 commit whoredom =have intercourse; 25:3 kindled against =became angry against; 25:7 javelin =spear; 25:13 made an atonement =affected reconciliation; 25:17 vex =besiege; 25:18 wiles =treacherous deceit; beguiled =deceived.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka International Shortwave Broadcasts for the week in memory of Mr. & Mrs. C.O. Hicks • Staff: Jennifer Cunningham • Government Official: Rep. Kenny Marchant (TX) • Country: Brunei (400,000) on the northern coast of Borneo • Major languages: Malay and English • Limited religious freedom • 66% Muslim; 19% Chinese religions; 6% animist; 4% Protestant; 4% Roman Catholic • Prayer Suggestion: Ask the Lord to forgive you of all ill will, grudges, or hatred you may hold in your heart toward another person (Matt. 6:14-15).
Optional Reading: Luke 10
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:10
February 24
Read Numbers 26 -- 27
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Following one failure after another, the nation regroups and preparation of the new generation to enter the promised land begins. Much can be learned by us from the events disclosed in today's reading. A generation was lost -- ALL the adults except Caleb and Joshua. Moses prepares to die and Joshua becomes the new commander-in-chief.
Once again, the Lord reminded the great leader of Israel that he could not enter the promised land. God had commanded Moses (20:8) to take the rod and speak to the rock. But Moses smote the rock and spoke to the people: Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water (20:10). He did not fully acknowledge God in the miracle but included for himself equal honor and authority that belonged to God alone.
The rod symbolized the authority of God and Moses represented that authority before the nation but, on this one occasion, he represented the authority of Moses.
Moses is now given instructions concerning the apportionment of the land, which was to be divided among the tribes in proportion to their size: And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Unto these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names. To many thou shalt give the more inheritance . . . to every one shall his inheritance be given according to those that were numbered of him (26:52-54).
God is faithful to His Word and to His promises. He said that none of the earlier generation of Israel would enter into the promised land because of their sin and unbelief (26:64-65), except for Joshua and Caleb who had remained faithful to the Lord.
Only one sin kept Moses from the promised land, but Moses represented the Law that cannot allow even one exception. For whosoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all (James 2:10). The promised land was given to Israel through Abraham, the man of faith. The Law of God could never bring one man -- not even Moses -- into the promised land. There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face (Deut. 34:10). Yet, Moses had to die and Joshua, a type of Christ, had to take his place. Jesus' Name in Hebrew was also Joshua (Y'shua, meaning "God is salvation"). Only the sinless Christ can lead us into our inheritance.
The Law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith (Gal. 3:24).
Thought for Today:
Disobeying the Word of God brought tragic results in the past and still brings serious consequences.
Christ Portrayed:
By the man (Joshua) who would lead the people like a shepherd (Num. 27:17). Jesus said: I am the Good Shepherd. . . . My sheep . . . follow Me (John 10:11,27).
Word Studies:
26:2 the sum =a census; 26:9 strove against =rebelled against; 26:61 strange =unauthorized; 27:13 shall be gathered to =shall die; 27:14 sanctify Me =by strict obedience and submission; 27:18 lay thine hand =transfer authority; 27:19 give him a charge =commission him as your successor.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts in memory of Letha Hash • Staff: Barbara Jean Loyd • Government Official: Sen. Joe Lieberman (CT) • Country: Bulgaria (8.2 million) in southeastern Europe • Major languages: Bulgarian and ethnic languages • Newly opened to evangelism • 85% Eastern Orthodox; 12% Muslim Sunni; 1% Shi'a Muslim; .6% Catholic; .27% Protestant; .1% Armenian Gregorian; .03% Jewish; 1% Other • Prayer Suggestion: Pray and fast in secret so that only the Lord knows (Matt. 6:16-18).
Optional Reading: Luke 11
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:10
Bible Pathways Devotional
Welcome to the Bible Pathways Devotional, a free devotional from Crosswalk.com, the world's largest Christian website.
February 25
Read Numbers 28 -- 29
Highlights In Today's Reading:
You will be fascinated with the details of Israel's great Feasts (Festivals) since they reveal the sacrificial love of Christ and its many aspects. As all the offerings are precisely initiated, a second generation, after 40 years, prepares to enter the promised land.
The Feast of Trumpets summoned Israel to the presence of Jehovah who had blessed their labors. It was held on the first day of October, which began the Jewish civil New Year. By this time, the harvest was over and the silver trumpets called them from the busy cares and thoughts of earthly things that had occupied their time for many months. And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you (29:1).
Instead of blowing the trumpets at the time of offering the sacrifice, it was a day of blowing trumpets from morning to evening. In addition to the daily sacrifices, eleven animals were offered on the first of every month (28:11,15). They offered a young bullock, a ram, and seven lambs with the usual Meat (Meal) Offering, and an additional Sin Offering. Even in this scene of thanksgiving and worship, the sin offering was needed.
The longest period of time between any of the feasts was between the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) in the early part of Summer, our May or June, and the Feasts of the Trumpets in September or October. During the intervening months there was no fixed time appointed when God would meet with His people.
The long period of time between the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets is the design of God foretelling the long lapse of time from the arrival of the Holy Spirit as promised by our Savior on Pentecost to the return of Christ. Almost two thousand years have passed and we are reminded every time the sun sets that we are one day nearer to that great day:
When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound,
And time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
When the saved of the earth shall gather
Over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Hymn by James M. Black
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory (I Cor. 15:54)
Thought for Today:
When we consider the trumpets sounding the end of time as we know it, the Word of God becomes all the more meaningful when He said: Be ye therefore ready (Luke 12:40).
Christ Revealed:
By the tabernacles (booths, temporary dwellings) (Num. 29:12-39; Lev. 23:34,42-43). The Word (Logos, i.e. the sayings of God) was made (became) flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:14). The Greek word translated dwelt means to "tabernacle or live in a tent temporarily."
Word Studies:
28:2 sweet savour =pleasing fragrance; 28:3 spot =defect; 28:6 ordained =instituted by God; 28:13 several =separate; 28:18 holy convocation =sacred assembly; 29:2 sweet savour =pleasing fragrance; 29:6 month =new moon; 29:7 afflict your souls =b> have a day of solemn fasting, soul searching, prayer, and repentance of all known sin; 29:10 several =separate; 29:17 spot =defect; 29:35 solemn =sacred.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts in memory of Iva Ann McElroy • Staff: Mike Moore • Government Official: Rep. Jim Gerlach (PA) • Country: Burkina Faso (11 million) in western Africa • Major languages: French and Sudanic tribal languages • Religious freedom • 48% Muslim; 33% belief in false gods, idolatry, and heathenism; 14% Roman Catholic; 5% Protestant • Prayer Suggestion: Do not worry about your material needs (Matt. 6:25-30).
Optional Reading: Luke 12
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:10
February 26
Read Numbers 30 -- 31
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Note the godly principles in today's reading. Integrity -- If a man vow a vow (30:2). Vengeance -- The Lord is the only One qualified to take vengeance (Heb. 10:30).
The judgment of God upon sin is inevitable because His holiness requires it. Twenty-four thousand men died for the idolatrous and immoral sins which they committed with Midianite women at Baal-Peor. And the day came when the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites. . . . And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian. . . . And they slew . . . five kings of Midian . . . they slew with the sword (Num. 31:1-3,8).
Although Israel's army numbered more than six hundred thousand, only a small army of twelve thousand men were used to accomplish God's purpose (26:51; 31:5). Most prominent in this battle was Phinehas the priest with the silver trumpets. Israel's confidence rested in the promise of God: If ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies (10:9). God gave Israel an overwhelming victory without the loss of a single Israelite.
Among the thousands of Midianites that were slaughtered, it is more than coincidental that the Lord had recorded: Balaam also, the son of Beor, they slew with the sword (31:8). Yes, it was the same Balaam who once had said: I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God (22:18) and: Let me die the death of the righteous (23:10). But Balaam died as he had lived -- in fellowship with the heathen Moabites. He belonged to the great number of people who pray to die the death of the righteous but who are not living the life of the righteous. Jesus reminded us that not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdomof heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven (Matt. 7:21). There is a day of recompense awaiting both the saved and the lost, so let us live accordingly (Heb. 9:27; John 5:29).
When God's people suffer injustice and cruelty at the hands of the godless they are to remember the divine exhortation: Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine: I will repay, saith the Lord (Rom. 12:19).
Thought for Today:
Our past failures teach us the need to quickly turn from sin: Flee also youthful lusts (II Timothy 2:22).
Christ Portrayed:
By Moses who judged Israel's actions and passed sentence (Numbers 31:1-17). In righteousness He doth judge (Rev. 19:11; II Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 1:14-15).
Word Studies:
30:2 bind his soul =must not break his word; 30:3 bond =promises; 30:4 hold his peace at =say nothing to; 30:5 disallow =forbid; 30:7 hold his peace at =said nothing; 30:9 their souls =themselves; 30:13 void =invalid; 30:16 statutes =regulations; 31:2 be gathered unto your people =die; 31:11 spoil =plunder; 31:21 ordinance of the Law =Biblical Law; 31:23 purified =ceremonially purified; 31:26 prey =booty; 31:28 tribute =tax; 31:28 beeves =battle; 31:29 for an heave offering =to be presented as a sacrifice to the Lord, by the gesture of waving before the altar; 31:32 booty =spoils; 31:39 tribute =assessment, portion; 31:47 charge =duties; 31:49 sum =count, accounted for; 31:50 oblation = offering; 31:51 wrought =artfully designed; 31:53 had taken spoil =had taken valuables.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts in memory of Letha Hash • Staff: Dan Murton • Government Official: Gov. Tim Kaine (VA) • Country: Burundi (6 million) in east-central Africa • Major languages: Kirundi and French • Losing religious freedom • 51% Roman Catholic; 12% animist; 11% Protestant; 1% Muslim • Prayer Suggestion: Trust that God will provide your needs when you put His will first in your life (Matt. 6:31-33).
Optional Reading: Luke 13
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:10
February 27
Read Numbers 32 -- 33
Highlights In Today's Reading:
God had promised Abram: In the fourth generation they (the Israelites) shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full (Gen. 15:16). But now they and the rest of the Canaanites must be expelled before Israel can possess the promised land. What a sad summary of the wilderness journeys we read -- 38 years of wasted lives.
Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh were not the first to allow possessions to come between them and the will of the Lord. Like Lot, many have a desire for worldly gain, social advantages, or personal preeminence, while they are blinded to the precious values of spiritual treasures.
Canaan was first promised to Abraham and, down through the years, men of faith looked forward to the fulfillment of the Covenant God made with Abraham that his children would inherit the promised land. When the day finally arrived for the privileged people to claim the long-awaited promised land, Reuben, Gad and Manasseh made the shameful request: Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle. . . . If we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan. And Moses said. . . . wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord hath given them? (Num. 32:1,5-7). What a contrast to the prayer of Moses: O Lord God, I pray Thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan (Deut. 3:25).
For Reuben, such was the pattern of his life. He lived to gratify himself in the present. He brought dishonor to his father (Gen. 49:3-4) and his descendants brought dishonor to the Heavenly Father by saying bring us not over Jordan. Undoubtedly they rejoiced and felt privileged when their unwise request for material advantage was granted. Like the Reubenites, many among God's people today seek worldly possessions and advantages.
God's greatest gifts and most precious promises seldom look as attractive to the natural man as his own idea of what is best. From a natural point of view it looked far more promising to choose the land this side of Jordan. As Christians we have no options; we have a Divine calling to yield our lives to fulfill the will of God who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (II Tim. 1:9).
Thought for Today:
When we follow our own logic, we are settling for far less than the best of God.
Christ Revealed:
Through the promised land -- filled with abundance, as well as protection, for those who live in harmony with His Word (Num. 33:50-54). I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10).
Word Studies:
32:4 smote =conquered; 32:11 followed =obeyed; 32:14 augment =add to; 32:17 fenced =fortified, walled; 32:19 forward =beyond; 32:22 guiltless =free of obligation; 32:39 dispossessed =drove out; 33:2 goings out =starting places; 33:3 with a high hand =triumphantly; 33:52 pictures =objects of worship; quite pluck down =demolish; high places =places where shrines for idol worship were erected; 33:55 vex you =be a source of trouble.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by Dr. John A. Hash • Staff: Pam Pendergrast • Country: Cambodia (12 million) in Southeast Asia • Major languages: Khmer and French • Confused and unsettled at this time • 88% Buddhist; 3% animism and spirit worship; 2% Muslim; .6% Roman Catholic/Protestant • Prayer Suggestion: Thank the Lord that you have no need to fear. Trust Him one day at a time (Matt. 6:33-34).
Optional Reading: Luke 14
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:10
February 28
Read Numbers 34 -- 36
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Without hesitation, the "Master MapMaker" lays out the boundaries of the land that He gave His people after they fought to conquer it. Look how He provides for those who dedicate their lives to His service. It is of utmost importance to the Israelites to know how God expects them to deal with manslaughter and murder.
The new generation of Israelites was near Jericho but still on the east side of the Jordan River near what is now Amman, Jordan. They were about to invade the promised land to take possession. But before they did, Moses reviewed the happenings of the past 40 years in light of the Commandments of the Lord and commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the Lord commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe (34:13).
The territory was a very limited one. The promised land was not a continent, not even a considerable part of a continent. The Lord would teach Israel, and through them all His people, the difference between what the world has to offer and the blessing of God. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matt. 6:31-33). The territory that God thus mapped out was large enough to bring peace, prosperity, and happiness to all who were faithful to His Word. Outsiders, who did not know how blessed the nation of God was, might count the land insignificant compared to other nations in the world. In contrast, Paul, who had to work with his own hands and was no owner of land, was able to say: O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! (Rom. 11:33) and Peter said: Rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Pet. 1:8).
These are the Commandments and the judgments, which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho (Num. 36:13). The Commandments reveal the importance of being guided by the Lord and of obedience to the Word of God. Moses reminded them of the reasons their fathers had failed to enter Canaan. He emphasized the importance of having God guide them if they were to possess the promised land. The Israelites were to live a holy life pleasing to the Lord to whom they owed their very lives. Sadly, today many Christians are making the same mistake as the Israelites. They neglect to read His Word and then wonder why they fail to receive His blessings. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the Living God (Heb. 3:12).
Thought for Today:
The Lord told us how much better His blessings were than the things of this world when He told the psalmist to write: The Law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver (Ps. 119:72).
Christ Revealed:
By the cities of refuge (Num. 35:6). Christ is our Refuge from the judgment of God and the curse of the Law. We . . . have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us . . . even Jesus (Heb. 6:18-20).
Word Studies:
34:3 Salt Sea =ead Sea; 34:5 borders shall fetch a compass =oundary shall turn from; 34:5 goings out =nd; 34:6 Great Sea =editerranean Sea; 34:8 goings forth =oundary reach; 34:11 Chin'ne-reth =ea of Galilee; 35:2 suburbs =pen land; 35:11 unawares =nintentionally; 35:15 stranger =oreigner; sojourner =ne who lived temporarily; 35:20 thrust =aliciously shove; 35:26 come without =oes beyond; 35:31 satisfaction =ansom.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Government Officials: (28) Gov. Togiola Tulafono (American Samoa) and (29) Rep. Bart Stupak (MI) • Country: Cameroon (15 million) in west-central Africa • Major languages: English and French • Pressure on Christians from authorities and Muslims • 28% Roman Catholic; 23% Muslim; 18% animism, divination, and animal sacrifices; 14% Protestant • Prayer Suggestion: Ask, seek, and knock through prayer, knowing God promises to answer (Matt. 7:7-8).
Optional Reading: Luke 15
Memory Verse for the Week:
Matthew 5:10
March 1
Read Deuteronomy 1 -- 2
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Forty years after they left Egypt, the Israelites are once again at the border of the promised land. About 2 million Israelites (all the first generation) have now died, except for three men. Why? Can you name them? Moses reminds the second generation that God commanded their parents: Go in and possess the land. . . . but (they) rebelled against the Commandment of the Lord (1:8,43).
How different the history of Israel could have been if they had trusted the Word of God instead of believing the report of the ten spies. Moses reminded them of how God had blessed them in the wilderness even after they had been disobedient: The Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand . . . thou hast lacked nothing (2:7). But the first generation missed forever the blessings of Canaan (Num. 14:27-35).
To trust the Lord when we are faced with giants (13:33) and high walls (13:28) does not come naturally for anyone. These giants and high walls and are, among other things, symbolic of evil habits that attempt to control a Christian's life and are hard for Christians to overcome. They are intent on destroying our testimony as well as eventually destroying our lives. We are warned: If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. . . . Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived (I Cor. 5:11; 6:9). Yes, without a doubt your determination and faith in the power of God can overcome all the "giants" that seek to destroy your eternal destiny. Our faith in God is increased to the degree that we read, meditate upon, and obey the Word of God because faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God ( Rom. 10:17).
As we read the Bible and act upon it, the Holy Spirit's ministry is to make the Word quick (alive, active), and powerful (Heb. 4:12) so that Bible truths become an actual part of our lives. Satan is powerful but Christ and your prayers are far more powerful. Jesus said: Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name, He will give it you (John 16:23). Then, we need not fear the strength or number of our hindrances, for the shield of faith . . . shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (Eph. 6:16). We are called to be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit (5:18).
Jesus declared: Repent. . . . To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna (Rev. 2:16-17).
Thought for Today:
The "giants" of these turbulent economic days are fearsome and, only by reading and obeying the Word of God will the Holy Spirit guide and bring us through.
Christ Portrayed:
By Moses, who spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in Commandment unto them (Deut. 1:3). Jesus faithfully told others everything God told Him to say. I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things (John 8:28).
Word Studies:
1:12 bear =endure; cumbrance =disputes; 1:27 murmured =complained, criticized; 1:39 should be a prey =could be taken captive; 1:42 smitten =defeated; 2:1 compassed =went around; 2:14 wasted out from among the host =had died from this camp; 2:18 coast =border; 2:33 smote =defeated; 2:35 for a prey =as a prize of war; spoil =plunder.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for our Military worldwide • Arabic International Shortwave Broadcasts for the month of March sponsored by Mary Hoffmeyer • Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts for the week in memory of Aura Profera • Country: Canada (31 million) in North America • Major languages: English and French • Religious freedom • 47% Roman Catholic; 37% Protestant; 3% Eastern Orthodox; 2% cults; 1% Jewish • Prayer Suggestion: Seek the Lord in times of trouble (Matt. 8:24-25).
Optional Reading: Luke 16
NOTE: Bible Pathway covers the Old Testament with devotional and commentary insights over a nine-month period, January through September. Each day during these months, an optional reading of one chapter a day from the New Testament will also be listed. The October, November, and December issues will provide a daily commentary on the New Testament readings. Thus, the reader goes through the New Testament twice each year using the Bible Pathway plan.
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:11
March 2
Read Deuteronomy 3 -- 4
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Still on the east side of the Jordan River outside Canaan the Israelites defeat a giant king. Do you notice the size of his bed? Moses can't enter the promised land — emphasizing the importance of doing the will of God and not claiming credit to self for what God is doing. Catch the real reason God created the sun, moon, and stars — for regulations of seasons — not for worship or fortune-telling (4:19; Genesis 1:14).
The new generation of Israel that had grown up in the wilderness realized the reason their parents, who were delivered from Egyptian slavery, failed to enter the promised land. The desert wanderings ceased as they settled into the west side of the Jordan within the promised land. Houses replaced the tents and produce from the land replaced the manna; but, most precious of all, they experienced a new revelation of God — the revelation of His love! From creation in Genesis through the Book of Numbers, the love of God was never made known until it was revealed in Deuteronomy. For the first time during the hundreds of years of recorded history, the people heard: Because He loved thy fathers, therefore He chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in His sight with His mighty power out of Egypt . . . to give thee . . . an inheritance (4:37-38). Later we read: the Lord . . . set His love upon you . . . the Lord loved you (7:7-8). And still later: the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee (23:5).
Love is the holiest motive from which God or man can act. The supreme manifestation of the love of God is revealed when we read: God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16) that as many as received Him (Jesus) . . . gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (1:12-13).
Jesus further explained how and why we receive this new nature of God: Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God (3:5-7).
Believe and receive the love-gift of eternal life and let Jesus express His will through you. He said: He that hath My Commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him (John 14:21).
Thought for Today:
Our world is often confused as to the difference between love and lust. Real love gives but lust always takes. Remember that God so loved the world, that He gave (John 3:16).
Christ Portrayed:
By Joshua who led the Israelites into their inheritance (Deut. 3:28). Through Jesus we receive His promised inheritance among them which are sanctified (set apart) by faith that is in Me (Acts 26:18).
Word Studies:
3:5 fenced =fortified; 3:7 spoil =plunder; prey =prize of the war; 3:18 meet =fit; 3:28 charge =commission; 4:2 diminish ought =take away anything; 4:10 fear =have reverential heartfelt submission to; 4:13 covenant =binding agreement with qualifications given by God; 4:14 possess =give in; 4:19 divided =allotted; 4:27 heathen =gentile people; 4:30 tribulation =distress, suffering; 4:34 assayed =ever tried; 4:37 seed =descendants; in His sight =by His presence; 4:40 prolong thy days =live long; 4:41 severed =separated; 4:42 unawares =accidentally; hated . . . not =without malice.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for English International Shortwave Broadcasts to Middle East sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. Casmir A. Zuranski • English International Shortwave Broadcasts for the month to Africa sponsored by Thomas & Mary Beaghen • Staff: Dr. John A. Hash • Government Officials: Rep. Christopher Carney (PA), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT), Sen. Russell Feingold (WI), and Sen. Ken Salazar (CO) • Country: Cape Verde (405,000) 15 islands in the Atlantic Ocean, 390 miles off the coast of Africa • Major languages: Portuguese and Crioulo • Religious freedom • 91% Roman Catholic; 3% Protestant • Prayer Suggestion: Pray the Lord of the harvest to send workers to harvest for Him (Matt. 9:38).
Optional Reading: Luke 17
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:11
March 3
Read Deuteronomy 5 -- 7
Highlights In Today's Reading:
The Ten Commandments are of utmost importance. They are the foundation of all our laws today. The old enemy Satan desperately attempts to remove them from sight today, but consider, they are the only portion of our Bible written by the finger of God (Ex. 31:18).
Moses anticipated the pitfalls that prosperity would bring once the Israelites inherited the land of plenty: When the Lord . . . give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not . . . beware lest thou forget the Lord (6:10-12). The Lord knew they would be tempted to satisfy their worldly desires instead of keeping the Word of God.
Our Lord reveals that true wealth is spiritual and consists of what we are and not what we have. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit (Rom. 8:5). We are warned: Beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth (Luke 12:15). The 10th Commandment covers this temptation by saying: Neither shalt thou desire . . . any thing that is thy neighbour's (Deut. 5:21). Any desire to have what belongs to another is covetousness. We are to be content with what God has entrusted to us. It is easier to weep with those who weep than to rejoice with those who have gained more blessings than we have.
Moses warned the Israelites not to forget how God had miraculously delivered them from Egyptian slavery and provided for their every need during their wilderness journey.
Moses told the Israelites that the purpose of God for leading them into the wilderness was, among other things, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these Commandments before the Lord our God, as He hath commanded us (Deut. 6:24-25).
Heartfelt submission turns every trial into a blessing and it helps us guard against pride when we enjoy prosperity or avoid covetousness when we are in need.
Because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you . . . from . . . Pharaoh. . . . Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His Commandments (Deut. 7:8-9).
Thought for Today:
The Word of God teaches us not to trust in our own ability (flesh), but to lean on Him (Prov. 3:5-7). When all is going well, we tend to forget God.
Christ Revealed:
Through the land flowing with milk and honey (Deut. 6:3). This pictures Christ who bountifully provides for our needs. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matt. 6:33).
Word Studies:
5:1 judgments =laws; 5:2 covenant =binding agreement with qualifications given by God; 6:21 bondmen =slaves; 6:22 sore =terrible; 7:6 above =out of; 7:13 fruit =children; fruit =crops; 7:16 consume =destroy; 7:25 graven images =carved wooden idols; snared =trapped; abomination =detestable, hated thing; 7:26 a cursed thing =set apart for destruction.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for English International Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by Helayne Adams • Bible Pathway Media Producer: Rick Hash • Government Official: Rep. Jim Marshall (GA) • Country: Central African Republic (3 million) in the center of the African continent • Major languages: French and Sangho • Religious freedom • 47% Protestant; 34% Roman Catholic; 12% animist; 3% Muslim • Prayer Suggestion: Pray for the Lord to give you the right words to share Christ with others (Matt. 10:18-20).
Optional Reading: Luke 18
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:11
March 4
Read Deuteronomy 8 -- 10
Highlights In Today's Reading:
You'll find inspiring reading in these three chapters as we discover "gems" from our Heavenly Father: The purpose of God is given for all His laws for Israel (8:1); there's a Divine promise included (9:3); and more!
Moses reminded the new generation of the faithlessness of their parents (9:7-24). Forty years before, Israel had sworn allegiance to God and vowed to obey His commands (Ex. 24:3,7). Instead, they chose to worship a golden calf in Horeb (Deut. 9:8).
Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his Commandments. . . . Lest when thou hast eaten and art full . . . thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up (conceit, self-dependence) . . . And thou say in thine heart (not to others), My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth (accepting credit for achievements when God alone is responsible for all our abilities) (8:11-14,17). Jesus also said:Beware of covetousness (Luke 12:15) since it is extremely deceptive.
Now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thythy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul (not just on Saturday or Sunday), To keep the Commandments of the Lord . . . for thy good? (Deut. 10:12-13). Thou shalt fear the Lord thythy God; Him shalt thou serve, and to Him shalt thou cleave, and swear by His Name. He is thy praise, and He is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible (awe-inspiring) things, which thine eyes have seen (10:20-21). It is all summed up in fearing the Lord. The fear of God is reverential heartfelt submission to the greatness of God and His authority. Our Lord is the Creator of heaven and earth, so we owe Him our unconditional submission.
Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart (Deut. 10:16) means that all lusts must be subdued, of which selfishness is the center. When God becomes supreme in our hearts, all that interferes in any way with His purposes must be overcome, no matter how painful the process may be.
The Lord your God is . . . Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible (awesome, marvelous) (10:17).
Because of who God is, Christians are called to do no less today than Israel was commanded to do. Jesus said . . . Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (Matt. 22:37; Deut. 6:5).
Thought for Today:
The person who has a fear of God will have a wisdom that far exceeds anything this world has to offer (Ps. 111:10).
Christ Revealed:
Through the shittim (acacia wood) used to make the Ark of the Covenant (Deut. 10:3). Acacia wood, a desert growth, is symbolic of Christ in His human form. When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law (Gal. 4:4).
Word Studies:
8:2 prove =test; 8:12 full =satisfied; 8:14 thine heart be lifted =you become proud; 8:18 establish His covenant =confirm His agreement with His qualifications; 9:1 fenced =walled; 9:5 perform the word =accomplish His promise; 9:6 stiffnecked =stubborn; 9:26 a mighty hand =strength; 10:6 stead =place; 10:8 separated =set apart; 10:15 seed =descendants.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts in honor of Rick Hash • Staff: Barbara Bivens • Government Officials: Gov. Rick Perry (TX) and Rep. Christopher Smith (NJ) • Country: Chad (7 million) in north-central Africa • Major languages: French and Arabic • Limited religious freedom • 35% Muslim; 31% animist; 11% Protestant; 5% Roman Catholic • Prayer Suggestion: Unite with others in prayer; God will bring your request to pass (Matt. 18:19-20).
Optional Reading: Luke 19
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:11
March 5
Read Deuteronomy 11 -- 13
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Just think! We are to cleave (cling, adhere to) (11:22) unto the Lord! Today's reading makes you think! We're told to choose between conforming to the Word of God and enjoying His blessing or conforming to worldly standards inspired by Satan and cheating ourselves out of the blessings of God. Don't miss out (12:28).
Children never instinctively develop a godly character since we are all born with a sinful nature. Therefore, parents are required to take every opportunity to lay up these My words in your heart. . . . and teach them (to) your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. . . . ye shall diligently keep all these Commandments . . . to do them, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave unto Him. . . . Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the Commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the Commandments (11:18-19,22,26-28). This calls for diligent teaching of biblical truths day after day. We are living in the most secular age ever known.
Today, as never before, we have been caught up in the spirit of this age and unconciously have been conditioned by secular education and the prevailing materialistic philosophy of life. To withstand the modern onslaught of worldliness in our homes, we must faithfully teach our children the Word of God. We dare not let them just have their way.
"Dear Lord, I do not ask that thou shouldst give me some high work of Thine, some noble calling, or some wondrous task.
"Give me a little hand to hold in mine. Give me a little child to point the way over the strange sweet path that leads to Thee.
"Give me a little voice to teach to pray. Give me two shining eyes Thy face to see.
"The only crown I ask, dear Lord, to wear is this: That I may teach a little child. I do not ask that I may ever stand among the wise, the worthy, or the great.
"I only ask that, softly, hand in hand, a child and I may enter at the gate." (Author Unknown)
Moses . . . said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this Law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life (Deut. 32:45-47).
Thought for Today:
Most people would not think of abusing a child, but we truly abuse our children when we neglect to teach them the Word of God.
Christ Revealed:
Through the burnt offerings which were totally consumed. These typified Christ's total offering of Himself to death (Deuteronomy 12:6; see Heb. 10:5-7). The bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the Sanctuary (Holy Place) by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify (make holy) the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate (13:11-12).
Word Studies:
11:1 keep His charge =be true to all His requirements; 11:6 opened her mouth =split like a chasm; 11:10 thy foot =working a treadmill with your foot; 11:11 drinketh water =soaks up water; 11:17 wrath be kindled =anger flare up; 11:21 as the days of heaven upon the earth =forever; 11:22 cleave =hold fast; 11:25 stand before you =resist you; 11:29 goest to possess =about to occupy; 12:2 possess =conquer; 12:5 habitation =dwelling; 12:9 the rest =the resting place; inheritance =possessions; 12:15 lusteth after =covets, desires; 12:26 holy =consecrated; vows =pledges; 12:29 cut off =destroy; 12:30 snared =trapped; 13:3 proveth =tests; 13:13 Be'lial =worthlessness, evil; 13:15 smite =strike; 13:16 spoil =plunder; 13:17 multiply thee =increase your numbers; 13:18 hearken =listen and obey; eyes =sight
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Arabic, English, & Spanish International Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by Thursday Morning Prayer • Staff: Beth Carlton • Government Officials: Rep. Tim Holden (PA) and Rep. Todd Platts (PA) • Country: Chile (15 million) on the southwestern coast of South America • Major language: Spanish • Religious freedom • 73% Catholic; 20% Protestant; 1% Other; 6% None • Prayer Suggestion: Remember, what is impossible with men is possible with God (Matt. 19:26).
Optional Reading: Luke 20
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:11
March 6
Read Deuteronomy 14 -- 16
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Nutritionists say: We are what we eat. God makes a clear distinction between what is clean and unclean food. And what is this about charging interest on a loan to another Israelite? We see again in the month of Abib (March/April) the blessed Passover celebrated, foreshadowing Christ's redemptive work on the cross as the ultimate Sacrifical Lamb.
The principle of tithing was made known through Abraham (Gen. 14:18-20), the Father of the Faithful, over six hundred years before the laws of giving were revealed to Moses (Lev. 27:30-31). Jacob also tithed to acknowledge his gratitude to God, the Provider of all his blessings (Gen. 28:20-22). In the time of Moses, this principle was finally put into writing: Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year (Deut. 14:22).
The Law commanded the Israelites to present their tithes to God, but no legal penalty was stated for those who failed to do so. The giving of the tithe was a testimony of love for God and an acknowledgment that He is truly the owner of all things. This offering was to be a voluntary expression of love. But the blessings of God would be withheld from all who selfishly withheld their tithes, whether rich or the poor.
God asks the question: Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed Me. . . . Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse (Mal. 3:8-10). To Israel, their only place to bring their tithes and offerings was the Temple. For the Church, Christ's Body on earth, tithes should be given to support the ministry of the Word and where one receives spiritual nurturing through the Word of God.
However, the Israelites were warned that by failing to tithe, they would not only be robbing God, but it would result in financial losses, through crop failure (3:11).
Surely, the principle of love should cause Christians to give offerings even more than was required under the Old Law. Our gifts to the Lord are a means of expressing our love and faith to Him. At the same time, a giving spirit is a safeguard against covetousness, which is idolatry (Col. 3:5). Furthermore, it provides an opportunity for every Christian to have a part in the ministry of the Word of God throughout the world.
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful (prompt, willing) giver (II Cor. 9:7).
Thought for Today:
Giving to God should not be done just to receive a blessing, but it certainly is a blessing to be able to give to the Ministry of God.
Christ Revealed:
Through the year of release, which typifies Christ's forgiveness of our sins (Deut. 15:1). This should cause us to realize how important it is to forgive others, even as He has forgiven us (Matthew 6:14-15). Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you (Eph. 4:32).
Word Studies:
14:1 cut =disfigure; make any baldness =shave; 14:2 holy . . . peculiar people =treasured possession, dedicated; 14:7 cloven =split; 14:8 swine =pig; 14:23 fear =give reverential, heartfelt submission to; 14:25 turn =exchange; 14:26 bestow =spend for whatever you desire; 15:1 release =forgiveness of debts; 15:4 Save =except; 15:5 hearken =listen and obey; 15:9 be evil =hold grudge, be hostile; 15:10 not be grieved =have no regrets; 15:11 open thine hand wide =give freely; 15:14 floor =threshing floor; 15:15 bondman =slave; 16:3 leavened bread =bread that contains yeast; affliction =humiliation, distress; 16:13 corn =grain; 16:19 gift =bribe; 16:20 that which is just =that is right.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts in honor of Linda Kennon • Staff: Jennifer Cunningham • Government Official: Sen. Christopher Bond (MO) • Country: China, Mainland (1.242 billion) in eastern Asia • Major languages: Standard Chinese (Putonghua) or Mandarin (based on the Beijing dialect) • Renewed persecution of the Church • 16% Asian (including Fulun Gong); 8% Buddhist; 3% Muslim; number of Christians unknown but growing; 10% Atheist • Prayer Suggestion: Pray with great faith and the Lord will answer (Matt. 21:22).
Optional Reading: Luke 21
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:11
March 7
Read Deuteronomy 17 -- 20
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Even kings are not above the laws of God as revealed in His Word. Every Israelite king was commanded to read the Law of God (the Five Books of Moses) all the days of his life (17:19). See how to know if a prophet is true or false (18:22).
The Canaanites were idolaters who worshiped false gods inspired by Satan. They became involved in many sins that God hates. God warned the Israelites: When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one . . . that useth divination (fortunetellers), or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits (from the dead). . . . For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God (18:9-13).
The Israelites were not motivated by selfish aggression or greed to enter and possess Canaan. Judgment against the wicked Canaanites was already pronounced by God. The Israelites were just the instruments God used to execute His judgment upon them.
Christians are also in a warfare, but our spiritual battle is against a far greater enemy than the Canaanites. Satan, the enemy of our souls, seeks to defeat, defile, and destroy every true worshiper of the One True God (John 10:10; I Pet. 5:8).
Moses foretold of the coming Messiah Jesus: The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken. . . . And the Lord said. . . . I . . . will put My words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him. And . . . whosoever will not hearken unto My words . . . I will require it of him (meaning: "I will hold him responsible for his thoughts and actions) (Deut. 18:15,17-19). In order to fulfill the will of God during our spiritual warfare, we are commanded to put on the whole armour of God (not an option), that (we) may be able to stand against the wiles (deceptions) of the devil (Eph. 6:11).
If we hold up the shield of faith and use our defensive weapon of prayer and supplication in the Spirit while wielding our offensive weapon of the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (6:16-18) we have the promise of the Lord: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you (James 4:7-8).
Thought for Today:
God has provided us with spiritual weapons, but it takes practice to know how to use them. Just like using a sword, reading the Word of God only once is not enough.
Christ Revealed:
Through the Old Testament animal (without blemish) sacrifices which were made (Deut. 17:1). Christ was perfectly pure from all sin. Christ . . . without blemish and without spot (I Pet. 1:19).
Word Studies:
17:2 transgressing His covenant =sinful conduct; 17:4 wrought =done; 17:12 presumptuously =arrogantly, haughtily; hearken unto =listen to and obey; 17:15 stranger =foreigner; 18:3 due =right; 18:6 sojourned =has been residing; 18:8 like =equal; patrimony =father's estate; 18:10 maketh . . . to pass through the fire =burns his child alive as an offering to an idol; divination =enchantment; 18:11 familiar spirits, wizard, necromancer =various activities of fortunetelling, consulting the dead, etc.; 18:13 perfect =blameless; 19:4 ignorantly =inintentionally; 19:5 helve =handle; lighteth =strikes; 19:18 make diligent inquisition =investigate thoroughly; 20:11 tributaries =forced laborers
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Bible Pathway Printer: Ambrose Printing Staff, Nashville TN • Government Officials: Rep. Jason Altmire (PA), Rep. Brian Baird (WA), and Rep. Elton Gallegly (CA) • Country: Colombia (38.6 million) in northwestern South America • Major language: Spanish • New government has declared religious freedom • 93% Catholic; 4% Protestant; .5% Tibal; .2% Muslim; .1% Baha'i; .1% Jewish; 2.1% non-Religious/Other • Prayer Suggestion: Continually watch and pray so that you won't yield to temptation in a moment of weakness (Matt. 26:41).
Optional Reading: Luke 22
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:11
March 8
Read Deuteronomy 21 -- 23
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Read about laws, rules, regulations, and responsibilities to help the Israelites fulfill the purpose of God to preserve the cleanliness, integrity, and holiness of the promised land.
When an Israelite built a house, he was required to put a railing around the flat roof to protect anyone from accidentally falling off the roof, which was often used as a sunporch or a patio. This was not an option, but was required. God had said: When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence (22:8). This railing, called a battlement, is symbolic of our responsibility to be our brother's keeper (Gen. 4:9).
If the Lord is that concerned in the building of a mere house to ensure the physical well-being of its neighbors, surely Christians should be concerned about making certain that their opportunities to help others are not overlooked.
This same principle of being concerned for the welfare of others is taught in the New Testament: We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves (Rom. 15:1). This is also illustrated in the parable of our Lord concerning the rich man who ignored his responsibility to share his good things with Lazarus. Jesus said: There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame (Luke 16:19-24).
In addition to acts of charity, Christians will influence others by example in their conduct. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak (Rom. 14:21).
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17).
Thought for Today:
This world believes that it is "every man for himself." This selfish principle is never taught in the Word of God.
Christ Revealed:
Christ died on a cross in our place, submitting to the penalty of death imposed by the Law for our sins (Deut. 21:23). In the evening He was taken down from the cross, signifying the Law had been satisfied (John 19:31). Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us (Gal. 3:13).
Word Studies:
21:3 wrought =worked; 21:4 eared =ploughed; 21:5 stroke =assault; 21:12 pare =trim; 21:13 bewail =mourn; 21:15 hated =unloved; 22:3 hide thyself =avoid responsibility; 22:6 dam =mother; 22:8 battlement =guard rail; 22:9 divers =various kinds of; 22:14 maid =virgin; 22:15 damsel =young woman; 22:19 amerce =wine; 22:25 force =rape; 22:30 discover =uncover; 23:1 stones =testicles; 23:13 paddle =spade; 23:19 usury =interest.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Country: Comoros (563,000) in the Mozambique Channel of the Indian Ocean • Major languages: Shaafi Islam (Swahili dialect) and Malagasy • Limited religious freedom • 99.7% Muslim; .2% Roman Catholic/Protestant • Prayer Suggestion: Pray in faith and the Lord will answer (Mark 11:24).
Optional Reading: Luke 23
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:12
March 9
Read Deuteronomy 24 -- 27
Highlights In Today's Reading:
It may seem amazing how God arranges the blessings at Mount Gerizim with Jacob's six children by his two wives. The curses at Mount Ebal are predominantly pronounced by the children of his concubines. The blessings reveal the result of obedience and faithfulness. The curses are the result of disobeying the Word of God! Take note of the Law of the offering of firstfruits given here.
From the day of Moses to the reign of David, the Amalekites, descendants of Esau, were cruel enemies of Israel (Ps. 83:1-7). These perpetual enemies made a fierce attack on the Israelites at Rephidim near Mount Sinai soon after the exodus from Egypt (Ex. 17:8-16).
Many years later, God said to the new generation: Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt. . . . Therefore . . . when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies . . . in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance . . . thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven (25:17,19).
Love was to be Israel's guiding principle, but the love of God was not to be interpreted as sentimental weakness or indifference toward lawlessness.
The principle of justice is based on the unchangeable nature of God and should be the desire of every Christian. The righteousness of God requires justice. Evildoers are to be dealt with according to their crimes.
Israel illustrates how the people of God are guided by the Spirit of God and the Amalekites picture the old Adamic nature motivated by Satan that can often hinder Christians. Paul explains how our old sinful nature still exists and tempts us to fail in fulfilling the will of God: I delight in the Law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members (Rom. 7:22-23). Reckon . . . yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof (6:11-12).
Just as God commanded Moses to destroy the sinful Amalekites, we are to allow our sin nature to be destroyed. Our old man is crucified with Him (Christ), that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin (Rom. 6:6).
Thought for Today:
A person will not be a Christian long before he realizes that his old nature is a powerful enemy.
Christ Revealed:
Through the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and Pharaoh (Deut. 26:8). Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world (Gal. 1:3-4).
Word Studies:
24:3 hate =dislike; 24:4 abomination =detestable; 24:10 pledge = loan, security; 24:12 not sleep with his pledge =not keep it overnight; 24:15 hire =wages; 24:18 bondman =slave; 25:1 controversy =dispute; unto judgment =to court; 25:4 treadeth =brushes; corn =grain; 25:5 without unto a stranger =outside the family; 25:11 secrets =genitals; 25:13 divers =different; 26:5 sojourned =lived as a temporary immigrant; 26:6 evil entreated us =treated us harshly; bondage =cruel slavery; 26:10 set =offer; 26:14 mourning =distress, defilement; ought =any; hearkened =listened; 26:18 peculiar people =treasured possession; 26:19 make thee high =make you supreme; holy =consecrated; 27:11 charged =commanded; 27:15 an abomination = detestable thing; 27:16 setteth light by =disgraces, dishonors; 27:17 landmark =boundary marker; 27:18 maketh =misdirects; 27:19 perverteth =denies justice; 27:24 smiteth =strikes, kills; 27:25 taketh reward =accepts a bribe; 27:26 confirmeth =upholds the terms.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by Mr. Duane A. Estey • Staff: Tammy Davis • Government Official: Rep. Vito Fossella (NY) • Country: Congo, Republic of the (2 million) in west-central Africa • Major languages: French and Lingala • Limited religious freedom, but government hostility has lessened • 41% Roman Catholic; 20% fetishism and belief in ancestral spirits; 17% Protestant; 9% cults • Prayer Suggestion: Rejoice that our Savior was born (Luke 2:11).
Optional Reading: Luke 24
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:12
March 10
Read Deuteronomy 28
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Pay special attention to this powerful chapter that has been used by the Holy Spirit to bring many to receive Christ as their Savior as well as to warn of the destruction of those who ignore Him.
Moses' final appeal to the Israelite nation was to make them understand that their security in Canaan depended upon being submissive to God: Hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God . . . to do all His Commandments . . . And all these blessings shall come on thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God (28:1-2). Then he solemnly warned them of the consequences of sin: Because thou servedst not the Lord with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart . . . Therefore shall thou serve thine enemies . . . in hunger . . . and in want of all things. . . . And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other. . . . And among these nations shalt thou find no ease . . . but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and . . . sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life (28:47-48,64-66).
Many have never realized the relationship that obedience to God has to contentment and enjoyment of life. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding. . . . to fear the Lord our God, for our good always. . . . Therefore shall ye keep all the Commandments . . . that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land. . . . Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you . . . which ye shall command your children to observe to do. . . . because it is your life (4:6; 6:24; 11:8; 32:46-47).
Jesus declared: He that hath My Commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest (disclose) Myself to him (John 14:21).
A seed will sprout in low-quality soil, but will not grow into a healthy and useful plant unless the soil in which it grows has the necessary nutrients. The same thing is true spiritually. Just as plants need good soil to produce, we need spiritual nourishment from the Word of God. The person who lives a victorious Christian life sets aside time every day for reading the Bible, praying, and fellowshipping with God to receive this nourishment.
If ye know these things, happy (blessed) are ye if ye do them (John 13:17).
Thought for Today:
Many people feel that being submissive is a sign of weakness, but the children of God know that obedience to the Word of God is the source of their strength.
Christ Portrayed:
As the One from whom our blessings come (Deut. 28:1-2). Blessed be . . . God . . . who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings . . . in Christ (Eph. 1:3).
Word Studies:
28:4 fruit of thy body =children; fruit of thy ground=produce; fruit of thy cattle =offspring; 28:7 smitten =struck, defeated; 28:11 plenteous =abundant; 28:13 observe =obey; 28:14 go aside =turn aside, deviate; 28:20 vexation =confusion, frustration; 28:21 pestilence =disease; consumed =destroyed; 28:23 iron =unproductive; 28:26 fray them away =scare them off; 28:27 botch =possibly boils; emerods =possibly ulcers or tumors; 28:28 madness =insanity; astonishment of heart =bewilderment; 28:29 spoiled =robbed, exploited; 28:32 fail with longing =yearn for, suffer emotionally; 28:33 eat up =take away; 28:38 consume =devour; 28:40 coasts =territory, borders; cast =crop off before ripe; 28:41 go into captivity =be taken as slaves; 28:43 within thee =living among you; 28:44 head =chief, leader; 28:46 seed =descendants; 28:48 a yoke of iron =oppression; 28:49 tongue =language; 28:50 regard =respect; 28:52 fenced =fortified; 28:53 straitness =hardship; 28:55 distress =oppress; 28:56 tender =young; delicate =weak; evil =hostile; 28:58 fear => have reverential heartfelt submission to; fearful =awe-inspiring; 28:59 plagues =diseases; wonderful =great; 28:67 even =right; 28:68 bondmen =male slaves.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts to Bangladesh sponsored by Shirley Johnson Evangelist/Missionary • English International Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by Clarita Talbot • Staff: Rita Guerra • Country: Costa Rica (4 million) in Central America • Major languages: Spanish and English • Religious freedom is increasing • 90% Roman Catholic; 6% Protestant • Prayer Suggestion: Pray for (not against) your enemies (Luke 6:28).
Optional Reading: John 1
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:12
March 11
Read Deuteronomy 29 -- 31
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Moses begins his last words to the Israelite nation. He reviews their past, one more time clearly emphasizing the blessings of obedience and warning of the consequences of disobedience. He pleads with them: Choose life (30:19).
Joshua had been a faithful servant of Moses, and God prepared him to take Moses' place of leadership. God always uses people whom He can trust to be loyal even under difficult situations to join with those who choose to be obedient to the will of God. Joshua is particularly remembered as one of the two spies who declared his faith in the power of God to conquer Canaan when the majority were ready to stone him (Num. 14:6-10).
In the face of strong opposition to entering the promised land by the Israelites who were delivered from Egypt, Joshua and Caleb remained faithful as Moses' most trusted and valiant generals. In this first battle after their freedom from Pharaoh, the Israelites were confronted with the Amalekites and Joshua (the victorious military general) discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword (Ex. 17:8-16). And now, after many years of loyalty, Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it (Deut. 31:7).
In the midst of a people who grumbled and found fault with the things and people God brought into their lives, Joshua's remarkable faithfulness was not marred by a single act of unbelief, criticism of Moses, or faultfinding with those around him; along with Caleb, he wholly followed the Lord (Num. 32:12). It is no surprise that the Lord told Moses: Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hand (and your blessings) upon him (27:18).
Many Christians, in order to receive personal gain, have compromised their convictions and proved to be disloyal. But loyalty is a distinguishing characteristic of people who are faithful to God.
Moses did as the Lord commanded him. . . . The Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a . . . friend (Lev. 8:4; Num. 27:22; Ex. 33:11). Of Abraham, the Friend of God (James 2:23), the Lord said: I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him (Gen. 18:19).
Thought for Today:
A faithful person can be trusted to handle things of value correctly. Often God cannot trust us with His blessings because of our lack of faithfulness to Him.
Christ Revealed:
As life (Deut. 30:15). Jesus is the Resurrection, and the Life (John 11:25).
Word Studies:
29:4 perceive =know; 29:17 abominations =detestable things; 29:20 smoke =ablaze; 29:29 secret =hidden; 30:1 call them to mind =remember them; 30:3 turn thy captivity =restore you from captivity; 30:4 unto the outmost parts =to the ends of earth; 30:9 plenteous =prosperous; 30:18 denounce =announce; 30:19 record =witness; 31:3 possess =take possession of; 31:10 solemnity =appointed time; 31:12 stranger =alien; 31:14 charge =commission; 31:16 go a whoring after the gods of the strangers =be unfaithful to the One True God; 31:17 devoured =consumed, destroyed; 31:18 wrought =done; 31:21 sware = promised; 31:27 stiff neck =stubbornness.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts to India sponsored by Shirley Johnson Evangelist/Missionary • Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by Paul & Linda Stalter • Executive Director of the IBRA in our Washington DC Branch: Reverend Michael Hall • Government Officials: Sen. Tom Coburn (OK), Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL), and Justice Antonin Scalia • Country: Cote d'Ivoire (16 million) in western Africa • Major languages: French and over 60 native dialects • Religious freedom • 40% animist; 25% Muslim; 10% Roman Catholic; 5% Protestant • Prayer Suggestion: Seek the Lord's teaching; grow and mature in your prayer life (Luke 11:1).
Optional Reading: John 2
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:12
March 12
Read Deuteronomy 32 -- 34
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Rather prophetic, the Song of Moses (32:1-43) begins by scolding Israel and warns against provoking God. Don't miss "The Words of Life" and how to prolong your days (32:46-47)! Think about the strange end of the great lawgiver of the Hebrew people. He is not allowed to enter the promised land nor to be honored with 40 or more days of mourning as were Jacob and Joseph (Gen. 50:2-4,10,26).
The heat of the sun and the dew of night may seem far apart and opposed to each other but, unaided by human hands, they work together to produce a harvest. Who hears the dew fall or waits to see this spectacular event? In dry seasons and in darkness it comes unobserved and refreshes the grass. It does not come in sweeping torrential showers but descends gently and softly during the dark of night when we are not aware that it is falling. However, in the morning, everything is refreshed and prepared for the heat of the day.
To illustrate an important truth, God has chosen the insignificant but very important dew. Moses began his song: Hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew (Deut. 32:1-2). Then Moses blessed the tribes. And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew. . . . Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also His heavens shall drop down dew (33:13,28).
The purpose of the dew is to maintain life during dry seasons. Only living things benefit from the dew. It does nothing for stones nor dead leaves but is spontaneously absorbed by wilted plants. Dryness of spirit is always a cause for alarm; darkness is not, for you need not see what tomorrow will bring. Days of meditation in the Word of God will refresh and influence very gently and as unnoticed as the dew in the darkest night, it will bring life back to a dry soul.
Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this Law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life (32:46-47).
Whoso looketh into the perfect law of Liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (James 1:25).
Thought for Today:
Never worry nor fear; God knows how to prepare us for the tests and trials that come each day. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself (Matt. 6:34).
Christ Revealed:
As our Rock (Deut. 32:31). Christ was that spiritual Rock (Petra) that followed (accompanied) them (I Cor. 10:4).
Word Studies:
32:3 publish =proclaim; 32:19 abhorred =despised; 32:20 froward =disloyal; 32:41 whet =sharpen; 32:44 Hoshe'a =Joshua; 33:9 covenant =agreement; 33:15 lasting =everlasting; 33:28 corn =grain; 33:29 tread upon their high places =trample down their heathen altars; 34:2 utmost sea =Mediterranean; 34:6 sepulchre =grave; 34:7 abated =lessened; 34:12 great terror =marvelous deeds.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts to Malaysia sponsored by Paul & Linda Stalter • Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by Mrs. Virginia Gardenhire • Assistant to the Executive Director of the IBRA in our Washington DC Branch: Terry Hall • Government Officials: Sen. Kent Conrad (ND) and Gov. Mitt Romney (MA) • Country: Croatia (5 million) in southeastern Europe • Major language: Serbo-Croatian • Religious freedom • 73% Roman Catholic; 15% Serbian Orthodox; 5% Muslim • Prayer Suggestion: Ask for your daily needs (Luke 11:3).
Optional Reading: John 3
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:12
March 13
Read Joshua 1 -- 3
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Moses is dead! Who will God choose to lead this great multitude? Want to know how to have a prosperous and successful life? The key is clearly stated in Chapter One. God can use all who decide to put Him first in their lives. Rahab the harlot decides to be loyal to the One True God, protects the spies, and eventually has the honor of being in the Messianic line! See the miracle as the feet of the priests touch the water. At last, after 40 years, the two million people who were the children of the adults who were delivered from Egypt enter their promised land!
While the Hebrew word "sakal" is translated elsewhere in the King James Bible as wise, wisdom, or prosper, God allowed it to be translated as success only once in the King James Version. Nothing -- no other object, purpose, or plan -- can compare with the Scriptures or share equal recognition with the Word of God in expressing success as He did to Joshua, saying: Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the Law, which Moses My servant commanded thee: turn not from it . . . that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success (in conquering Canaan) (1:7-8).
The key to Joshua's greatness was his obedience to all the Word of God in this unfolding of success. It is no surprise that we read: As the Lord commanded Moses His servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses (11:15). Forty years earlier Joshua and Caleb were the only two of the twelve spies who believed that God would give them success.
Joshua's battles were physical while ours are primarily spiritual. Yet, the same principle of success holds true. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against . . . spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12). Our battle is not with men, though Satan may use people at times to discourage our efforts to please the Lord.
Just as Joshua was strengthened to be successful by meditating upon the Word of God day and night, so our faith is strengthened and our victory assured as we read and live according to the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (6:17).
Jesus declared: If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed (John 8:31).
Thought for Today:
Success by the world's standard is vastly different from that of God. The world says: "Gain all you can"; but the Word of God says: Godliness . . . is great gain (I Tim. 6:6).
Christ Revealed:
Through the scarlet line in the window that saved Rahab and her household -- symbolic of the blood of Christ (Josh. 2:21; Heb. 11:31; James 2:25). The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin (I John 1:7).
Word Studies:
1:1 minister =assistant; 1:4 coast =territory, boundary; 1:15 rest =peace; sunrising =East; 1:17 hearkened unto =obeyed; 2:17 blameless =free; swear =promise under oath; 2:19 on our head =our responsibility; 2:20 quit =free; 3:16 Salt Sea =Dead Sea; against =opposite
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts to Bangladesh sponsored by Paul & Linda Stalter • Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by Mrs. Gwen Hensley and Mr. & Mrs. Melvin Morris • Staff: Karen Hawkins • Government Official: Gov. John Hoeven (ND) • Country: Cuba (11.2 million) on the northern rim of the Caribbean • Major language: Spanish • Strict government surveillance of all true Christian activities • 40% Catholic; 10% Protestant; 2-10% Santeria; 1% Other; 40% None • Prayer Suggestion: Realize that your life is in God's hands, and ask Him to deliver you from all evil (Luke 11:4).
Optional Reading: John 4
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:12
March 14
Read Joshua 4 -- 6
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Twelve stones are a testimony that the hand of the Lord . . . is mighty (4:20-24). The Israelites enter a new chapter in their lives by celebrating Passover and eating something besides manna (5:9-15). Then the walls come tumbling down (chapter 6)!
Jericho was the first city inside the promised land and God said: The city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent (6:17). The word accursed here means devoted to destruction. God gave Israel the city in order that they might burn it as an offering to Him, so all things dedicated to God for sacrifice must be utterly destroyed. It is important for us to learn that only that which comes from God can satisfy Him.
Just as God required the firstborn and the firstfruits of Israel's harvest, so He required that their first city to be defeated should be dedicated to Him. Therefore, until Jericho was totally devoted to God, the people could not claim the rest of the cities for themselves. That is why Achan's sin of taking some of the loot was of such serious consequence. He took something that belonged to God.
After the accursed thing (6:18; 7:1,11,13,15; 22:20) was settled, Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal (8:30).
Following the burnt offerings (8:31), Joshua read all the words of the Law. . . . There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel (8:34-35).
First, the sacrifice is made -- symbolic of giving ourselves to God. Then we receive further revelation from His Word.
Just as Israel found that obedience was required to be in right relationship with the Lord, Christians hear Jesus say: If any man come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow Me (Luke 9:23). If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples (John 8:31).
Thought for Today:
It is amazing to see the blessings of God when we give our all to Him, but it is devastating to see the results when we take back what we gave.
Christ Portrayed:
As the Captain of the host of the Lord (Josh. 5:14). Christ is the Captain of our salvation (Heb. 2:10).
Word Studies:
4:6 sign =memorial monument; 4:10 hasted =hurried; 4:11 clean passed =finished crossing; 4:14 magnified =exalted; 4:20 pitch =set up; 5:1 their heart melted =they lost their courage; 5:8 whole =healed; 5:11 old corn =produce from previous harvest; unleavened =yeast-free; parched =toasted; 6:1 straitly shut up =carefully barricaded; 6:3 compass =march around; 6:9 rereward =rear guard; 6:19 consecrated =sacred, set apart; 6:23 kindred =relatives; 6:26 adjured them =required an oath of them; 6:27 noised =spread abroad.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Staff: Ken Sharp • Government Official: Rep. William Jefferson (LA) • Country: Cyprus (754,000) in the Middle East • Major languages: Greek and Turkish • No open evangelism or conversions to Christ • 75% Greek Orthodox; 19% Muslim; 1% Protestant; 1% Roman Catholic • Prayer Suggestion: Pray persistently; you will receive an answer (Luke 11:9-10).
Optional Reading: John 5
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:12 - Rejoice , and be exceeding glad : for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
March 15
Read Joshua 7 -- 8
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Sin is severely reprimanded. Israel victoriously enters Canaan under Joshua. Cunning military maneuvers taught to the armies today began here. An altar to the Lord God of Israel is built at which mount? What was read to Israel is very important for us to know.
The Israelites had seen the Lord roll back the waters of the Jordan River and overthrow the mighty walled city of Jericho. But we are saddened to read of their subsequent sin and the humiliation and defeat they suffered in their battle at the smaller city of Ai. The children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan . . . took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel. And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai (7:1-4).
Joshua had not sought counsel from the Lord before going to battle with Ai; instead, he accepted the advice of his spies and made his own decision. But the Lord Himself was their Captain; He alone can issue orders that guarantee success (5:13-15). This truth is confirmed nine times in the first six chapters of the Book of Joshua as the Bible records how the Lord directed Joshua (Note: 1:1; 3:7; 4:1,8,10,15; 5:2,15; 6:2). Then in Joshua 7:2-5, Joshua and his committee (not the Lord) unanimously decided what action was to be taken, and it resulted in failure.
Instructions had been given as to where Joshua was to get direction from God: He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him . . . before the Lord (Num. 27:21). It is true that Joshua was not aware of the sin of Achan which brought defeat at Ai. But Joshua should have asked counsel of the Lord before going to battle instead of after the defeat and death of thirty-six people (Josh. 7:5-11).
The people of God are never in greater danger of assuming they no longer need to pray for guidance than when the Lord has just answered prayer or greatly blessed them.
Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Phil. 4:6).
Thought for Today:
It is always a mistake to think that we can hide sin and still have the presence of God. God will not allow us to have victory with unconfessed sin in our lives.
Christ Revealed:
Through the uncut stones at the altar (Josh. 8:31). Daniel saw Christ as a Stone which was not cut by human hands (Dan. 2:34,45). Jesus is our Chief Corner Stone (1 Pet. 2:6-8; Matt. 21:42).
Word Studies:
7:1 anger of the Lord was kindled =fierceness of His anger (7:26); 7:2 view =explore; 7:6 rent =tore; put dust upon their heads = expressed intense sorrow by defiling their heads; 7:9 environ us =surround us; 7:11 dissembled =received; 7:13 sanctify =consecrate, cleanse; 7:18 taken =chosen; 7:26 Achor =trouble; 8:11 pitched =camped; 8:13 liers in wait =concealed ambushers.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Government Official: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Country: Czech Republic (10 million) in central Europe • Major languages: Czech and Slovak • Religious freedom • 63% Catholic; 7% Protestant; 4% Eastern Orthodox • Prayer Suggestion: Be specific in your prayers (Luke 18:41-43).
Optional Reading: John 6
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:16
March 16
Read Joshua 9 -- 10
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Just as all of us tend to be rather gullible when we don't seek the Lord's guidance, the Israelites are deceived by a heathen nation (9:3-5). Years later their past comes back to haunt them (II Sam. 21:1-9). Joshua battles five kings and their armies. He prays for a miracle and receives it (Josh. 10:12-13).
The primary key to all victories of Joshua against the Canaanites is recorded in tomorrow's reading: As the Lord commanded Moses His servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses (11:15). Joshua's swift and victorious battles against Jericho and Ai caused all the kings . . . in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon . . . (to gather) themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord (9:1-2). And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand (10:8).
The secondary key to Joshua's victories is that he and his army didn't relax in their tents expecting the Lord to win their battles, but exercised their faith in the Word of God. Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal ALL NIGHT (10:9). After a twenty-mile march to Gibeon (10:5-7), Joshua led a surprise attack against the kings of the south at daybreak.
It is clear that the Lord discomfited them (the Canaanites) before Israel (Josh. 10:10) and the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died; they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword (10:11).
Joshua, once again, led Israel to victory because God intervened and destroyed a great number of enemies with hailstones. The effort of all the kings in Canaan to oppose and defeat Joshua is an example of the continual conflict between the people of God and the people of the world influenced by Satan.
Such victories in spiritual warfare are won as we, like Joshua, accept by faith, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him . . . the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power (in and through us) (Eph. 1:17-19).
Thought for Today:
When we obey the Word of God, He will give us strength for the battle and grant us victory over the evil that wants to control our lives.
Christ Revealed:
As the One through whom we have victory (Josh. 10:25). Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (I Cor. 15:57).
Word Studies:
9:1 great sea =Mediterranean Sea; 9:4 wilily =craftily; wine bottles =wineskins; rent =torn; 9:5 clouted =watched; 9:6 league =treaty; 9:9 Name =awesome reputation; 9:15 sware =ratified it with an oath in the Name of God; 9:21 hewers of wood =woodcutters; 9:22 beguiled =deceived; 10:4 smite =conquer; 10:6 Slack not thy hand from =do not abandon; 10:10 discomfited =defeated in battle; 10:13 book of Ja'sher =book of heroes; hasted not =delayed; 10:18 keep =guard; 10:20 fenced =fortified, walled; 10:21 moved his tongue =uttered a word; 10:24 your feet upon the necks = symbol of mastery; 10:26 smote =struck; 10:28 souls =people; 10:40 vale =valley.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. William H. Somers • Staff: Al Joslyn • Government Officials: Rep. Joseph Crowley (NY) and Rep. Ron Kind (WI) • Country: Denmark (5 million) in northern Europe • Major languages: Danish and Faroese • Religious freedom • 92% Protestant; 1% Muslim; .5% Roman Catholic; .5% cults; .1% Jewish • Prayer Suggestion: Watch and pray that you may be worthy to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 21:36).
Optional Reading: John 7
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:16
March 17
Read Joshua 11 -- 13
Highlights In Today's Reading:
In 1:3 the Lord says to Joshua: Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. Now, all the Canaanite kings mobilize their armies and unite to defeat Israel. Although God had promised to give them the land, the Israelites had to fight for every foot of it. God makes it possible for us to fulfill His will but our effort is required. Read how Joshua and the Israelites are victorious and win every battle. The key to their victory is the same for us.
Joshua defeated all the Canaanites and executed their kings, but the people within each tribal territory still had to be subdued as God commanded. Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the Lord said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. . . . All the inhabitants . . . will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance (13:1,6).
The word lot occurs about twenty-five times in Joshua. This was not coincidental, for the lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord (Prov. 16:33).
God allotted the Israelites the territory that would best meet their physical and spiritual needs. Although the land had been allotted to them, they had to exercise faith and trust the guidance from the Lord to possess the land.
Sadly, some of the tribes failed to drive out their enemies because of their lack of faith (Josh. 15:63; 17:12). Other tribes were overconfident of their ability to control the enemy. Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against Me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee (Ex. 23:32-33).
God had said the idol-worshiping Canaanites were an abomination and were to be destroyed (Deut. 7:1-2). Instead, they put the Canaanites to tribute (made them pay heavy taxes); but did not utterly drive them out (Josh. 17:13).
We are to be controlled by God, obedient to His Word, and, by faith, determined that all evil "giants" of hate, lust, and selfishness within us must be destroyed. Christ will then be in control of our lives.
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (II Cor. 10:5).
Thought for Today:
The promises of God are more certain than the sun rising in the morning, but we often frustrate His purpose by clouds of doubt and by being disobedient to His Word.
Christ Portrayed:
By Moses the servant of the Lord (Josh. 12:6). Jesus was the Servant of God. Behold My Servant, whom I have chosen (Matt. 12:18).
Word Studies:
11:4 hosts =army; 11:5 were met together =joined forces; 11:6 hough =hamstring; 12:3 Sea of Chinneroth =Sea of Galilee; Sea of the plain, even Salt Sea =Dead Sea; 13:22 soothsayer =diviner, fortune teller.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by Mrs. Len Smith • Staff: George Kopchak • Country: Djibouti (447,000) in eastern Africa • Major languages: French and Arabic • Limited religious freedom • 91% Muslim; 7% Roman Catholic; .75% Eastern Orthodox; about 300 Protestants • Prayer Suggestion: Intercede in prayer for others by name (Luke 22:31-32).
Optional Reading: John 8
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:16
March 18
Read Joshua 14 -- 16
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Caleb gets his mountain (14:6-12). Note his age! As the tribes receive their inheritance notice how precise the boundries are laid out. Can you believe the enemies of God are still determined to force them out of their promised land?
Because of Caleb's faithfulness, God granted him his request for the city and suburbs of Hebron. Although he had to wait 45 years (14:10) before he could inherit his promised territory (Num. 14:24), we find no record that he found fault with God or the people.
At the age of 85 (Josh. 14:10), in childlike faith, Caleb said: Give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day . . . if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said (14:12).
Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel (14:14). How obvious was the secret of his greatness!
About 38 years before this, the children of Israel were at the border of Canaan two years after their miraculous deliverance from Egypt. At that time Moses sent 12 men to spy out the land where they all saw giants. Ten of the spies compared the giants to their own weakness, saying: We saw the giants . . . and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers. . . . And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness (Num. 13:33; 14:2). But Caleb and Joshua compared the giants to the power of God: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying. . . . He will bring us into this land, And give it to us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land . . . their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not (14:7-9).
Great men of God seldom possess great talents but, in faith in God and His Word, they do all they can. Some today, like the unbelieving spies, complain and give up when their circumstances look difficult. But God always honors the faith of those who believe in Him and His all-sufficient power.
God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work (II Cor. 9:8).
Thought for Today:
A person is successful when he learns to rely on the Word of God and not on his own abilities.
Christ Portrayed:
By Caleb, who wholly followed the Lord (Josh. 14:8,14). Our Savior said: Lo, I come . . . to do Thy will, O God (Heb. 10:7,9).
Word Studies:
14:4 save =except; suburbs =pasture lands; 14:7 espy out =make a search; 14:8 wholly followed =obeyed wholeheartedly; 14:9 sware =promised under oath; 14:12 fenced =fortified; 14:15 rest =enjoyed peace; 15:6 stone =boundary marker; 15:10 compassed =curved; 15:19 nether =lower; 16:1 fell =went; 16:3 goings out thereof =borders reach to; 16:10 under tribute =as forced laborers.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts to Afghanistan sponsored by Karen J. Staege • Staff: Gina Lesnefsky • Government Official: Rep. Howard Coble (NC) • Country: Dominica (65,000) in the British West Indies • Major languages: English and French patois • Religious freedom • 75% Roman Catholic; 12% Protestant • Prayer Suggestion: Ask that God's will be done in your life (Luke 22:42).
Optional Reading: John 9
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:16
March 19
Read Joshua 17 -- 19
Highlights In Today's Reading:
At last, most of Canaan is under the control of the Israelites and the Tabernacle is set up in a central location at Shiloh. Today's reading will tell you where and why. As they reap the rewards of the promise given on the other side of the Jordan River the land is divided by lot. But some tribes never claimed all their territory. Why?
Once all the tribes received their inheritance, Joshua, in true humility, asked for a small portion of rough territory within the tribe of Ephraim, the proud and arrogant descendants of Joseph. It was not until they had made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts (borders), the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them: According to the Word of the Lord they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnath-serah (meaning "remaining portion") in Mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt therein (19:49-50). Joshua had accepted a small obscure territory for his inheritance, but it was close to the Tabernacle located at Shiloh. His inheritance was located about 25 miles north of Jerusalem in the mountains of Ephraim and was the least given to anyone. In contrast, proud people often insist on special rights as seen in the Ephraimites as they asked Joshua for a better and greater territory.
The earthly inheritance of this great leader was unimportant to him. His heart and his life were on far, far more important things. His earthly inheritance was so insignificant that the only other reference made to it in the Bible is as the place of Joshua's grave (24:30; Judg. 2:9). Although Joshua was the greatest among them, he asked for the least. His real reward was the satisfaction of knowing he had obeyed and pleased the Lord.
Perhaps one of the greatest hindrances to a Christian's life is things -- even good things -- that crowd out Christ. But the more our hearts are set on things of eternal value, the less important material possessions become. The fact is, they will soon be left in the hands of others and, eventually, shall pass away (Luke 21:33).
In this Book, there are two spiritual giants: One asked for one of the best and one for the least. Both had their prayers answered and both were great men of faith. More than 40 years before, Caleb said they would conquer the land if the Lord delight in us (Num. 14:8). At that time, the majority chose to say: Let us return into Egypt (14:4). Both Joshua and Caleb were mightily used of God because, like Abraham before them, they were fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform (Rom. 4:20-21).
Thought for Today:
When a person understands that this life is a vapor, material possessions lose their luster.
Christ Revealed:
Through Shiloh. The children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the Tabernacle (Joshua 18:1). The Tabernacle was located at Shiloh, meaning "peace"; the Tabernacle was where the presence of God dwelt and both the place and the Tabernacle were prophetic of Jesus. These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace (John 16:33).
Word Studies:
17:1 man of war =great soldier; 17:13 waxen strong =grown stronger; 18:4 describe =draw a descriptive map; 18:10 divisions =family groups; 18:12 the goings out thereof =its outer limits; 18:14 west quarter =western side; 18:17 was drawn =extended; the going up =the ascent; stone =marker; 19:14 compasseth =goes around; outgoings =limits; 19:34 sunrising =east.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts in memory of Reverend J.W. & Nancy Enfinger • Bible Pathway Accountant: Joe Sarsfield • Country: Dominican Republic (8 million) in the West Indies, occupying the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola • Major language: Spanish • Religious freedom • 96% Roman Catholic (many are spiritists); 2% Protestant; 1% Afro-American spiritist • Prayer Suggestion: Pray for a spirit of humility and submission before the Lord (John 3:30-31).
Optional Reading: John 10
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:16
March 20
Read Joshua 20 -- 21
Highlights In Today's Reading:
The six cities appointed as places of refuge are assigned. The command to support those in the service of the Lord is obeyed by all the tribes (21:44-45).
The Covenant promise of God to Abraham (Deut. 1:8; Lev. 26:42) was certain to be fulfilled. God had given His Word.
When faith in the Word of Almighty God led Abraham to the promised land, this promise was partially fulfilled (Heb. 11:9). However, the real inheritance that God promised Abraham was more than a great Israelite nation in Canaan, but a spiritual nation through Christ (Gen. 12:2-3,7; 13:15-16; 22:18; Gal. 3:16).
The call of God to Abraham meant separation from all earthly ties and securities. The key is revealed by the Apostle Paul, who said: This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before (Phil. 3:13). Sooner or later the majority will say: Let us return into Egypt (to the things of the world) (Num. 14:4). The fulfillment of the promise was dependent upon Abraham's unconditional obedience, for he went out, not knowing whither he went (Heb 11:8). Abraham did more than just believe in the ability of God to provide a country -- he forsook his security in Haran in obedience to God (Gen. 12:5).
Now that the Israelite tribes had possession of their territories, the Lord also spake unto Joshua, saying . . . Appoint . . . cities of refuge . . . That the slayer that killeth any person unawares (unintentionally) . . . may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. . . . he . . . shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city. If the elders declare him innocent, they shall give him a place, that he may dwell among them (Josh. 20:2-4). There were six cities of refuge (Num. 35:9-34; Deut. 19:1-13). One who unintentionally killed someone was not to be given to the avenger of blood for execution. Even though innocent, he must remain in the city of refuge for protection from the avenger.
After the death of the high priest, the refugee could return home. The cities and the high priest were a type of Christ for sinners who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an High Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. . . . We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heavens (Heb. 6:18-20; 8:1).
Thought for Today:
Since all have sinned (Rom. 3:23), aren't you glad God made a way for us to have our sins forgiven through Jesus Christ, our refuge and strength (Ps. 46:1).
Christ Portrayed:
By Eleazar, the chief priest (Josh. 21:1; Num. 3:32). Jesus Christ is our High Priest. The . . . High Priest of our profession (confession), Christ Jesus (Heb. 3:1).
Word Studies:
20:2 Appoint out =choose; 20:3 unwittingly =without premeditation; 20:4 declare his cause =state his case; 20:5 hated him not = was without malice; 20:9 stranger =alien resident; sojourneth =temporarily dwells among them; at unawares =by accident; 21:1 heads =leaders; 21:4 lot =share.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by Olga Salinas • International Shortwave Broadcasts in memory of Clarence Madison • Staff: Mike Moore • Country: Ecuador (13 million) in South America, on the equator • Major language: Spanish • Religious freedom • 91% Roman Catholic; 3% Protestant • Prayer Suggestion: Your prayers must be offered to God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:22-24).
Optional Reading: John 11
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:16
March 21
Read Joshua 22 -- 24
Highlights In Today's Reading:
The 2-1/2 tribes build an altar as a memorial and witness (Chapter 22). Joshua and Caleb wholly follow the Lord and, at the end of his days, Joshua exhorts the Israelites to live holy lives and not be friends with the Canaanites. Joshua proclaims that failure to live in holiness can and will have inevitable consequences (23:15-16).
Joshua led the way and, the twelve tribes followed him. He believed God who said: Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you (1:3).
Joshua experienced about seven years of wars, during which time he won every battle. Then God allowed His faithful servant to have a period of rest. And the Lord gave them rest . . . the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand (21:44). The rest which Joshua experienced was symbolic of the believer's rest in Christ. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God (Heb. 4:9).
To the sinner, peace with God brings rest: Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1). To the Christian, it is the peace of God: Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:6-7)..
The writer of Hebrews warns: Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief (of the Israelites) (Heb. 4:11).
And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age. . . . Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day (Josh. 23:2,6-8).
Christians are also warned: Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them (Eph. 5:11) and: Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (II Cor. 7:1).
Thought for Today:
Although the world does not understand it, to be separate from this world (worldly values) brings spiritual peace to the believer: Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (II Cor. 6:17-18).
Christ Revealed:
Through the peace offering (Josh. 22:27). Our Lord offered Himself to God as our means of peace with the Father. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1);
Word Studies: 22:9 were possessed =had acquired; 22:10 to see to =for all to see; 22:19 unclean =unfit; 22:20 accursed =banned; 22:23 require it =call us to account; 22:25 fearing =having reverential heartfelt submission to; 22:27 part =share; 22:34 Ed =witness; 23:1 waxed =grew; 23:4 cut off =destroyed; 23:7 swear =promise, make a vow; 23:9 stand before =withstand; 23:12 go in to =associate with; 23:13 shall be snares . . . unto you =shall catch you unawares; scourges in =whip lashes on; 23:14 am going the way of =will die like; 24:2 flood =Euphrates River; 24:5 plagued =afflicted; 24:7 covered =crowned; 24:17 wherein =in which; 24:20 strange =foreign; do you hurt =bring disaster on you; consume =destroy; 24:23 incline =yield; 24:33 pertained =belonged.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Staff: Mary Kay Wagner • Government Officials: Rep. Paul Hodes (NH) and Rep. James Matheson (UT) • Country: Egypt (66 million) in northeastern Africa • Major languages: Arabic and English • Christians are not permitted to evangelize Muslims • 87.5% Muslim; 12% Christian; .5% Other • Prayer Suggestion: Have faith in the Word of God (John 4:49-53).
Optional Reading: John 12
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:16
March 23
Read Judges 3 -- 5
Highlights In Today's Reading:
This is the beginning of the Lord using other nations to test Israel's loyalty (3:1,4). Notice the sequence. First servitude -- Mesopotamia -- 1st Judge Othniel. Second servitude -- Moab -- 2nd Judge Ehud. Third servitude -- Philistia -- 3rd Judge Shamgar (3:8-31). Fourth servitude -- Canaan -- 4th Judge Deborah (Barak). Climax = song of praise.
Although Joshua had executed all the Canaanite kings, the Canaanite people still occupied the promised land. They were to prove (test) Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the Commandments of the LORD, which He commanded their fathers (3:4).
The first major mistake in the downfall of the Israelites was their disregard for the Commandments of the Lord. They then decided to become friendly neighbors and dwelt among the Canaanites (3:5). They took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons (3:6).
Next, they served their (the Canaanites') gods (3:6). This was inevitable. The Israelites' heathen wives who worshiped idols did not teach their children to worship the One True God.
Sadly, the final step was that the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served (worshiped) Baalim and the groves (idols) (3:7). The outcome was certain. Sin separated the sinners from the protective love of God, and they were soon under the control of an enemy nation: The anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of the Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight years (3:8). When the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them (3:9,15).
Israel's history confirms that, regardless of how far we have backslidden and sinned, our merciful God always hears the prayers of those who confess their sins and commit their lives to Him. Often we are so taken up with condemning ourselves and others when we fall short of being what our heart tells us is right, that we forget that God does love us as a Father pitieth his children (Ps. 103:13). So don't give up. We need to recognize that God loves to forgive even seventy times seven (Matt. 18:22). But, wasted years of opportunity can never be relived.
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us (Rom. 8:34).
Thought for Today:
It may be easier to compromise with the world, but such actions only serve to withhold the blessings of God in our lives and bring about our eventual destruction.
Christ Portrayed:
By Othniel, a deliverer upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rested (Judg. 3:9-11). The Spirit of God was also upon Christ, our Deliverer (Matt. 3:16). There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob (Rom. 11:26). Jesus declared: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me . . . to preach deliverance to the captives (Luke 4:18).
Word Studies:
3:1 prove =test; known =experienced; 3:2 know =understand; 3:7 groves =for idolatry; 3:13 gathered =recruited; 3:16 gird =fasten; raiment =cloak; 3:18 made an end to offer the present =finished giving the tribute; bare =married; 3:19 by =at; Keep silence =leave us alone; 3:22 dirt =excrement; 3:24 covereth his feet =is relieving himself; 3:27 before =led; 3:29 lusty =robust; 3:30 subdued =defeated; 4:7 draw unto =lure; 4:11 severed =separated; 4:13 Gentiles =nations; 4:15 discomfited =stark terror; 4:16 host =army; fell upon the edge of the sword =were killed; 4:21 nail =leg; smote =drove; 5:2 the avenging of =bringing victory to; 5:10 ride on white asses =hold public office; 5:11 go down to the gates =defend themselves; 5:14 root =new; 5:15 princes =rulers; 5:18 jeoparded =risked; 5:30 sped =wound; divers =various.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts in honor of Bonnie Wilhite • Staff: Dan Murton • Government Official: Gov. Michael Easley (NC) • Country: Equatorial Guinea (466,000) in western Africa • Major language: Spanish • Freedom for churches at this time • 71% Roman Catholic; 19% ancestral spirit worship and medicine men; 6% Protestant • Prayer Suggestion: When discouraged over material or financial loss, praise the Lord for preparing and providing an eternal home (John 14:1-3).
Optional Reading: John 14
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:44
March 24
Read Judges 6 -- 7
Highlights In Today's Reading:
The nation's repetitious disobedience results in another defeat and domination of the Israelites. Gideon must take a stand against his own father's Baal worship. They battle the Midianites. How did the Lord have Gideon pick his army (7:2-6)?
Gideon, a God-fearing man from the half-tribe of Manasseh where Baal worship was popular, was called of God to go in this thy might (6:14) against a vast invading army of about 135,000 enemy soldiers. Just what was this thy might? Surely God was not speaking of Gideon, who said: I am the least in my father's house (6:15). Gideon's strength -- this thy might -- rested in one thing, the Lord's promise: I will be with thee (6:16).
But before he could deliver Israel from the Midianites, the altar of Baal had to be destroyed and the worship of Jehovah restored. And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom. . . . the same night . . . the Lord said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock . . . and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath . . . And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night (6:23-27).
Gideon accomplished all that God commanded him. He then issued a call to other tribes of Israel to defend their country. Many thousands volunteered to go to war. The Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many . . . lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me (7:2). The Lord instructed Gideon to reduce his forces. The fearful were sent home; then those who were less alert were disqualified (7:3-6). And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men (that were left) . . . will I save you (7:7); thus, God alone would receive the honor.
Like Gideon's 300, the number of men and women who are dedicated enough to accomplish the will of God at any cost is surprisingly small. But the believer's strength to win the battle comes from the Lord, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (subject to human weakness), but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds (II Cor. 10:4).
Thought for Today:
God specializes in using the small or insignificant to do mighty things for His glory. He will even use "the least" when we obey Him (I Sam. 17:47).
Christ Revealed:
As the Sword of the Lord (Judg. 7:20). In the Apostle John's revelation of Jesus, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword (Rev. 1:16). We know that the sword is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17) and that Jesus is the Word of God made flesh (John 1:14).
Word Studies:
6:1 into the hand =under the control; 6:3 came up against them =invaded the country; 6:4 increase =produce; sustenance =living thing; 6:11 angel =messenger; 6:13 befallen =happened to; 6:16 smite =strike down; 6:19 unleavened =yeast-free; 6:20 flesh =meat; 6:28 grove =for idols; 6:36 by my hand =through me; 7:3 in the ears =within the hearing.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts in memory of Iva Ann McElroy • Staff: Pam Pendergrast • Government Officials: Gov. Christine Gregoire (WA) and Rep. Don Manzullo (IL) • Country: Eritrea (4 million) in eastern Africa • Major languages: English and Tigrinya • Religious freedom • 51% Muslim; 40% Eritrean Orthodox; 4% Catholic; 1.5% Protestant • Prayer Suggestion: Ask in the Name of Jesus and for His glory, and your request will be granted (John 14:13-14).
Optional Reading: John 15
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:44
March 25
Read Judges 8 -- 9
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Jealousy rises up. Which tribe was offended and why (8:1)? After Gideon's death one son conspires against all his other brothers and has them assassinated. How many of Gideon's sons survive? Vengeance is the Lord's and after three years (9:22) did you notice who God used to remove the wicked son?
Gideon's great faith shines as a star on the pages of Scripture (Heb. 11:32). At the angel's command he destroyed the altar of Baal at his own father's house. With implicit obedience he reduced his army to three hundred men to fight the vast armies of Midian without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude (7:12). Furthermore, when Gideon was urged by all to rule thou over us (8:22), he immediately rejected the tempting proposal saying, the Lord shall rule over you (8:23). Yet Gideon made an ephod (priestly garment) (8:27; Ex. 28:6-12).
The ark, containing the Commandments -- the dwelling place of God -- was in Shiloh, the only God-appointed center for Israel's worship, and the high priest alone was commissioned to wear the ephod. Although Gideon lived nearby, Shiloh was located in the tribe of Ephraim whose leaders had shown themselves hostile to Gideon. Jacob had placed Ephraim before his elder brother Manasseh. Since Gideon was of the tribe of Manasseh, they were jealous of him as well as of Jephthah. The Ephraimites were known to be arrogant and claimed their "rights." On another occasion the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire (12:1).
Perhaps Gideon, this godly man of faith, thought that since there existed so much hypocrisy in Shiloh, he was justified to make the ephod and establish his own worship center. Though his intentions to worship were good, the act was wrong. He attempted to accomplish a right thing in a wrong way. Not even a godly Gideon -- no, not even Moses -- was permitted to alter the Word of God.
Concerning the Israelites, in his day, the Lord led Paul to write: Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God (Rom. 10:1-3).
Thought for Today:
Some of our actions may seem like good ideas, but good ideas often do not align with what God says in His Word. Always follow the Word of God (ideas) and be right.
Christ Portrayed:
By Gideon, who delivered the Israelites from Midian (Judg. 8:22-23). The Lord Jesus has delivered us out of the hands of our spiritual enemies, and it is fitting that He should rule over us. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world (Gal. 1:3-4; II Pet. 2:9; Rom. 11:26).
Word Studies:
8:1 chide =contend; 8:3 was abated =subsided; 8:7 tear your flesh =thrash your bodies; 8:9 peace =triumph; 8:12 discomfited =routed, defeated; 8:26 collars =pendants; 8:27 ephod =priestly garment; whoring =worshiping; snare =noose-like trap; house =family; 8:28 lifted up their heads =were a force; 8:32 sepulchre =tomb; 9:2 your bone and your flesh =your relative; 9:4 vain and light =worthless and reckless; 9:9 to be promoted =having; 9:14 bramble =thorn bush; 9:17 adventured =risked; 9:20 fire =fiery destruction; 9:25 liers in wait =men in ambush; 9:27 made merry =celebrated; 9:30 was kindled =burned; 9:32 up =arise; 9:35 lying in wait =preparing for ambush; 9:38 mouth =boasting; 9:41 thrust =drove; 9:42 morrow =next day; 9:45 sowed =scattered; 9:49 hold =chamber; 9:50 encamped against =besieged; 9:52 went hard unto =approached; 9:56 rendered =returned.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts in memory of Henry Rogers • Staff: Barbara Jean Loyd • Government Official: Sen. John Ensign (NV) • Country: Estonia (1.47 million) northeastern Europe • Major languages: Estonian and Russian • Religious freedom • 38.4% Protestant; 20.3% Orthodox; 1% Roman Catholic; 1% Muslim; .3% Jewish; 39% non-Religious/Other • Prayer Suggestion: If the words of God abide in you, whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive (John 15:7).
Optional Reading: John 16
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:44
March 26
Read Judges 10 -- 11
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Two judges rose up after the wicked Abimelech. Do you know their names? The Israelites sinned again but repented (10:10). Don't miss Jephthah. He had quite a history. Read about his vow and victory and note what happened to his only child. Read how God could be so proud of Jephthah.
Jephthah was forced to leave his home in Israel because he was an illegitimate child: Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob (his mother's country) (11:1-3).
Tob was a small Syrian state (II Samuel 10:6,8). It was a land of idols; yet Jephthah had lived long enough in the promised land to acquire a deep and lasting faith in Israel's God. In exile, Jephthah remained faithful to God while surrounded by idolators for about eighteen years.
It looked as though all of the people of God were against him because he had been excommunicated from Israel. But this man of faith had gained a reputation for vindicating the cause of Jehovah as well as being a valiant warrior. Therefore, all Israel turned to him in the day of their distress. He was the only man in all Israel who was qualified to respond to the Ammonites' threat to attack the Israelites and the people made him head (judge) and captain over them (11:11).
He did not allow self-pity or bitterness to rob him of the honor of remaining faithful to God. Of all the thousands in Israel, Jephthah, who had been rejected, was chosen to lead the armed forces and be judge of Israel. His name is included among the great heroes of faith along with Samuel and David (Heb. 11:32).
All who are used of God will experience many testings. This is the way of God in preparing us for the work He has called us to do. By the grace of God, accept with gratitude all the sorrows that come into your life -- through friend or enemy, failures or humiliations -- as the way of God in developing your faith and usefulness, and of drawing you closer to Himself.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you (I Pet. 5:10).
Thought for Today:
By remaining faithful to God and His Word, we will have a good testimony and be in a position to help others when the Lord calls us to serve.
Christ Portrayed:
By Jephthah's only child as she wholly submitted to her father's will even as Jesus wholly submitted to His Father's will (Judg. 11:34-40). On the night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed: Not as I will, but as Thou wilt (Matt. 26:39).
Word Studies:
10:8 vexed =afflicted; 10:14 cry =call; 11:2 strange =foreign; 11:3 vain =renegade; 11:23 dispossessed =driven out; 11:34 timbrels =tambourines; 11:35 opened thy mouth =spoke; 11:37 bewail =mourn that I will remain a virgin.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts sponsored by the Family who loves Jesus • Staff: Clarence Rathbone • Government Officials: Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr (UT) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA) • Country: Ethiopia (60 million) in eastern Africa • Major languages: Amharic and Tigrinya • Unsettled after overthrow of communist regime • 41% Eastern Orthodox; 35% Muslim; 10% Protestant; 10% animist; .7% Roman Catholic • Prayer Suggestion: Thank God for sending the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-8).
Optional Reading: John 17
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:44
March 27
Read Judges 12 -- 14
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Ephraim quarrels with Jephthah and then there are six years of peace with him as a judge. Three more judges appear in the 10th, 11th, and 12th chapters. There is a very important reason that we should recognize how their lives and decisions apply to us. The 7th servitude is to the Philistines and the Lord raises up Samson.
The Israelites were oppressed by the Philistines for 40 years. The reason is given: The children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years (13:1). During that time, Samson was born. Unlike Jephthah, Samson had a godly mother and father who desired that their son be fully dedicated to the Lord (13:3-21). The Angel of the Lord said unto the woman (Samson's mother). . . . No rasor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite (one who is dedicated) unto God from the womb (13:3-5).
The Spirit of God came upon Samson and began to move (stir) him (13:25). Eventually, Samson ruled as a judge. As a Nazarite and the judge of Israel, Samson was meant to be an example of loyal commitment to God before all Israel such as Samuel. However, nothing is said about Samson seeking to lead the people to turn to the Lord and worship Him only. Early in life, we see his disregard for his holy calling. His first recorded act of unfaithfulness was "friendship" with the Philistine woman, an enemy of God.
Samson fell far short of fulfilling his calling to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines (13:5). His life was filled with failure because of his self-centered desires that ruled his life from the time he was a young man. He . . . told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife (14:2). For, at that time, the Philistines had dominion over Israel (14:4). The life of Samson is typical of many who become distracted by worldly pleasures and fail to carry out the will of God. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Eph. 5:15-16).
Christ alone gives our lives value and meaning as He makes us a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (II Cor. 5:17). Only in the measure in which we allow Christ to guide our lives daily shall we be able to truly fulfill His will. This is possible because our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin (Rom. 6:6).
Thought for Today:
Let us allow the same Spirit that stirred many in the past stir us to fulfill the will of God in our lives. Only by knowing the Word of God can we know the will of God.
Christ Portrayed:
By Samson, who, as a Nazarite, was to be consecrated to God from the womb (birth) to the day of his death (Judg. 13:7). Jesus was also set apart and consecrated to God from the womb to the day of His death on the cross. Unlike Samson, who failed God, Jesus totally fulfilled the plan of God as He said He would do when He left heaven saying: Lo, I come . . . to do Thy will, O God (Heb. 10:7).
Word Studies:
12:5 took the passages of Jordan =seized the fiords; 12:6 frame =enunciate, pronounce; 13:6 very terrible =very awesome; 13:18 secret =wonderful beyond understanding; 14:4 occasion against =opportunity to destroy, but once again Samson became sidetracked; 14:12 sheets =linen robes, shawls; 14:13 declare =solve; 14:16 hate =have no love; 14:17 lay sore upon =persisted; 14:19 expounded =solved.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts in memory of Letha Hash • Staff: Bernice Rathbone • Country: Fiji (813,000) in the southwestern Pacific • Major languages: English and Fijian • Religious freedom • 41% Hindu; 40% Protestant; 9% Roman Catholic; 8% Muslim • Prayer Suggestion: Ask according to the will of God in the Name of Jesus and you will receive (John 16:24).
Optional Reading: John 18
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 5:44
From His Heart
Welcome to From His Heart, a free devotional from Crosswalk, the world's largest Christian website.
Faithful Wounds
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
Proverbs 27:6
Have you ever had the unpleasant experience of having something in your teeth from lunch that you did not know was there? I mean you have a lettuce patch between your teeth. and you are walking around like the Jolly Green Buffoon. and no one even bothers to tell you about it? It is surely embarrassing when you happen to look in the mirror at the end of the day and discover the problem.
I remember very vividly when two of my friends talked to me about some lettuce in my teeth - a blind spot in my life that I could not see was there. At first I did not want to believe there was a problem. But the longer I thought about it and prayed about it, the more I could see the issue. As God revealed the truth to me, I confessed the problem and began to make necessary adjustments to grow in that deficient area of my life.
I praise God for friends who love me enough to inflict faithful wounds. My desire is to be all God wants me to be. And although I have a long way to go, I surely will delay my progress if I am not aware of the blind spots and am not open to correction.
WHAT IS IN YOUR TEETH?
Do you have some really good friends who will love you enough to tell you the truth? Would you be willing to ask those friends to check your teeth so to speak for something that may need to be extracted from your life?
If you and I really want to walk with God, we must be open to reproof. even if it hurts. even if it is something we would rather not hear. The Bible says, "Stripes that wound scour away evil" (Prov. 20:30). It is virtually impossible to go to the next level without the faithful wounds of a true friend who loves you enough to hold you accountable, point out a blind spot and help you pick out the unseen lettuce of sin.
Here are some things to consider that we often do not see in ourselves:
1. Gossip. Do you LOVE to give or receive a juicy piece of news about someone. even though you have no knowledge if the news is true or not. God hates gossip and the spreading of strife among brothers (Prov. 6:19). It's funny but true: gossip tends to be like bad breath, we notice it in others but do not notice it in ourselves.
2. Unforgiveness. Is there someone who has hurt you. and you have not forgiven that person? When we harbor unforgiveness it comes out in the form of cynicism, negativity, sourness, anger and constant criticism.
3. Pride. Do you secretly feel like "it's all about me. what I like, what I want, the way I think it ought to be done?" Pride is really just the big "I". When I put myself above others and above God's will, I am walking in pride. God's word is clear: He hates pride and is opposed to the proud, yet He "gives grace to the humble" (Prov. 16:6-7, Jas. 4:6).
4. Jealousy. Do you find yourself comparing with others on a fairly consistent basis? If you find someone smarter, better, richer, or more talented and blessed than you, do you start to resent that person and secretly long for his/her demise? The Bible says we are not to compare but be content with what we have (Heb. 13:5). Remember, as believers, we have Jesus!! Who could ask for anything more?
Let me encourage you as I encourage myself, be open to correction - "He who hates reproof is stupid" (Prov. 12:1). Give your closest friends the green light in your life. Allow them the freedom to point out blind spots in you that you need to address. And be a friend who speaks the truth in love. Faithful wounds lead to faithfulness.
May God bless us as we obey His Word and do His will.
Love,
Jeff Schreve
Pastor
www.fromhisheart.org
jeff@fromhisheart.org
1-888-811-8203
Jeff Schreve is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas. He and his wife Debbie have been married for over 20 years and are blessed with three wonderful girls. Jeff began From His Heart Ministries, a radio and television ministry, in January of 2005. This ministry is completely listener/viewer supported. It continues only through the faithful and generous gifts of people like you. Pastor Jeff takes no salary from this ministry. All gifts go to further the broadcast.
March 29
Read Judges 18 -- 19
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Without godly leadership, many of the Israelites led unrestrained lives guided by their own lusts and self-interest rather than the Word of God.
Unlike his godly parents, Samson's moral and spiritual conduct were probably much more like that of his tribe during the period of the judges. Samson, a Danite, violated his calling as a Nazarite and Judge by his immoral and unspiritual conduct.
The tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel. . . . when they (the five spies) came to Mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there. When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite. . . . And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest. And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous (18:1-5).
Although the tribe of Dan was powerful and had more than 64,000 soldiers, they did not succeed in driving the Amorites from their God-given territory. The spiritual condition of the Danites had deteriorated to immorality and idolatry. In fact, they had lost part of their inheritance to the Philistines and part to the Amorites (1:34) who forced the Danites into the mountains.
The faith in and devotion to the Lord, by which Joshua, Caleb, and others achieved their victories, was missing. One of the reasons the Danites failed in battle was that they were dissatisfied with the territory God had allotted to them. Some of them decided to move north of the other tribes to Laish (18:1,7).
On their way, the five spies went into Micah's house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod . . . teraphim, and the molten image (18:18). The Danites forced Micah's apostate Levite to be their priest and stole his pagan idols to worship. They proceded on to Laish and murdered all the people and renamed the place Dan (18:29).
The deplorable depravity of these Danites resulted from failure to listen to and obey the Word of God. If they had remained in the territory God had given them, they would not have entered the house of Micah and become involved in idol worship.
Paul warned: Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed (Gal. 1:8).
Thought for Today:
Following our own fleshly desires always leads us away from God, but obedience to His Word will always lead us into His perfect will for our lives.
Christ Revealed:
In those days there was no King in Israel (Judg. 18:1). Christ was the rejected King of Israel. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar (John 19:15).
Word Studies:
18:2 coasts =territory; 18:9 still =when are you still here; 18:15 saluted =greeted; 18:19 lay thine hand upon thy mouth =stop complaining or suffer the consequences; 18:21 carriage =goods; 19:4 retained him =pressed him to stay; 19:6 let your heart be merry =enjoy yourself; 19:10 Je'bus =Jerusalem; 19:17 wayfaring =traveling; 19:21 provender =fodder; 19:22 know him =have sex with him; 19:25 spring =at daybreak; 19:29 coasts =territory.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Radio Sri Lanka Shortwave Broadcasts for the week sponsored by Mrs. Elsie Racer • Country: France (59.1 million) in western Europe • Major language: French • Religious freedom • 80% Roman Catholic; 7% Islam; 1.22% Protestant; 1.18% Jewish; 1% Buddhist; .2% Orthodox; .2% Eastern Catholic; .2% Jehovah's Witness; 9% Other/None • Prayer Suggestion: Pray that you would be sanctified through the truth of the Word of God (John 17:17).
Optional Reading: John 20
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 6:1
April 1
Read I Samuel 1 -- 3
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Wow!! We learn three powerful truths. 1. Hannah (perhaps wiser than most of us) prays over her desire. 2. God rewards love and obedience. Her son, Samuel, is mightily used of God in leading the nation and is the first prominent prophet after Moses and the last judge of Israel (3:19-21; 7:15). 3. God requires parents to discipline their children in love as He does us (2:12-17,23-25; 3:12-13).
Eli was priest and judge of Israel for 40 years (4:18). This was at the house of the Lord (3:15) which Joshua had placed in ancient Shiloh centuries earlier (Josh. 18:1; Judg. 18:31).
The sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord. . . . Wherefore the sin(s) of the young men was very great before the Lord: for (these) men abhorred the offering of the Lord (I Sam. 2:12,17).
In striking contrast, Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod (2:18). The child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the Word of the Lord was precious (rare) in those days; there was no open vision. . . . Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground (3:1,19). This means that Samuel was obedient to everything that God had spoken. Some believed that God perfomed everything He said through Samuel. Both are true.
In contrast, the conduct of Eli's two evil sons, Hophni and Phinehas, flagrantly disregarded all that God had spoken as if it was unimportant. Eli's failure to remove them from priestly responsibilities was in direct disobedience to the Law of God.
In later years, God spoke through Samuel saying: To obey is better than sacrifice (15:22). Therefore God said to Eli: Wherefore . . . honourest thy sons above Me . . . them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. . . . I will judge his (Eli's) house . . . for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not (2:29-30; 3:13).
Pity the parents who consistently neglect to discipline their children. If we expect our children to please God, we must patiently instruct and supervise them in all His ways, as well as set an example for them to follow.
All who fail to discipline their children will miss the blessings that come from obeying God. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Prov. 22:6).
Thought for Today:
If our children are to learn to obey God, they must learn from their parents. If we, as parents, don't obey God, they won't either.
Christ Portrayed:
By Samuel who grew in favor with God and men (I Sam. 2:26). Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke 2:52).
Word Studies:
1:6 sore => without mercy; 1:12 marked her mouth =b> noticed her mouth moving; 1:16 daughter of Belial =b> a sinful woman; 2:1 horn =b> strength; 2:8 is enlarged over rejoices greatly over; pillars of the earth are the Lord's =b> God alone sustains and upholds the earth; 2:10 His King . . . His Anointed =b> Messiah, this is the first reference to Jesus' coming by the title Messiah; 2:13 in seething =b> being cooked; 2:15 sodden =b> boiled; 2:29 Wherefore kick ye =b> Why do you rebel?; 2:31 cut off thine arm =b> break your strength; 3:18 every whit =b> everything.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for our Military worldwide • Arabic International Shortwave Broadcasts for the month of April sponsored by Mary Hoffmeyer • English International Shortwave Broadcasts to all of Africa for the month of April sponsored by Thomas & Marrianne Beaghen • Staff: Dr. John A. Hash • Government Officials: Justice Samuel Alito and Rep. Chris Lee (NY) • Country: Gambia (1 million) in West Africa • Major languages: English and Mandinka • Religious freedom • 87% Muslim; 10% animism and ancestral spirit worship; 2% Roman Catholic; .7% Protestant • Prayer Suggestion: Pray in one accord and praise God as the Creator (Acts 4:24).
Optional Reading: Acts 2
NOTE: Bible Pathway covers the Old Testament with devotional and commentary insights over a nine-month period, January through September. Each day during these months, an optional reading of one chapter a day from the New Testament will also be listed. The October, November, and December issues will provide a daily commentary on the New Testament readings. Thus, the reader goes through the New Testament twice each year using the Bible Pathway plan.
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 6:1
April 2
Come to Athens and live
For reading & meditation: John 7:25-39
"' Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?" (v.35)
We ended yesterday by suggesting that the issue which the Greeks might have wanted to talk over with Jesus was that of taking His message to Athens - the centre of philosophy and learning. Were they intent on saying to Him: "Put Your marvellous message of the kingdom of God into the medium of Greek thought, and in no time it will spread throughout the world. Don't stay in Jerusalem and die; come to Athens and live"? We have no way, of course, of knowing for sure that this was the situation, and I am simply suggesting that this is what may have been in their minds. The idea is not as far-fetched as you might imagine when placed against the verse that is before us today: `"Does he intend to go to the Dispersion ' and teach the Greeks?" (v.35, RSV). Had other nations beyond Israel's boundaries showed interest in His revolutionary approach to life? Tradition says that the king of Edessa once sent a message to Jesus inviting Him to come to his country and present His message concerning the kingdom of God. Whether or not this was so, one thing is certain - the coming of the Greeks precipitated a crisis in Jesus' soul: "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? ' Father, glorify your name!" (John 12:27-28). He would not rationalise or compromise; He would face the issue to which He had always been committed. It was not to be a philosopher's chair in Athens, but a grisly cross in Jerusalem. He would fall into the ground and die, and bear a harvest richer than anything the world could offer.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to catch something of Your spirit as I face the challenges that lie ahead of me in the coming days. I want to make my life count for the utmost - show me how we can work things out together. Amen.
For further study:
John 19:17
1. What does the cross signify?
2. What does it mean to "take up your cross"?
Bible Pathways Devotional
Welcome to the Bible Pathways Devotional, a free devotional from Crosswalk.com, the world's largest Christian website.
April 2
Read I Samuel 4 -- 7
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Talk about being shocked! 98-year-old Eli the priest finds out his two sons are dead and the Ark of God is taken (4:17,22). A reminder of God's promised judgment on Eli (2:27-34). Talk about the fear of the Lord (11:7), read what God does to the Philistines (5:1-12). Check out their plan to get rid of the Ark (6:2-9).
The Israelites had declared war against the Philistines without seeking direction from God. When they were defeated, they asked: Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord . . . unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies (4:3).
After their first defeat, they remembered that the presence of the Ark of the Covenant meant victory. Therefore, they brought it from Shiloh to the battlefield. When the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again (4:5).
But, instead of victory, there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen (4:10). Israel assumed that, since the Ark was now in their camp, God would give them victory over the Philistines. And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day. . . . And . . . Israel is fled before the Philistines . . . and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the Ark of God is taken. . . . He (Eli) fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died (4:16-18).
They had taken the Ark to the battlefield, but they had not repented of their sins nor considered how they had rejected the Lord's Commandments. Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods . . . and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve Him only (7:3).
Some Christians suffer defeat because they are more concerned with outward things appearing right than they are with desiring the Lord to control their lives. Just as the Ark in itself could not save Israel, neither could sacrifice or mere formality in worship take the place of returning unto the Lord with all your hearts.
A vital question was asked by Jesus: Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (Luke 6:46).
Thought for Today:
The instructions of God for our lives are not burdensome, but will keep us from spiritual defeat.
Christ Revealed:
Through the rock called Ebenezer, which means the stone of help (I Sam. 7:12). Jesus is our Rock of salvation; our help comes from Him (Pss. 18:2; 121:2). I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Phil. 4:13).
Word Studies:
4:1 pitched =b> encamped; 4:9 quit yourselves like men =b> be courageous and exercise all the strength you have; 4:12 his clothes rent . . . earth upon his head =b> signs of great sorrow; 4:13 trembled =b> deeply stirred; 4:18 judged =b> governed; 4:19 travailed =b> gave birth; 5:6 emerods =b> tumors, boils; 6:2 diviners =b> fortune-tellers; 6:5 images =b> likenesses; 6:6 had wrought wonderfully =b> did mighty things; 6:7 milch kine =b> heifers, milk cows; 6:8 coffer =b> chest; 6:14 clave =b> split; 7:3 strange =b> foreign, false; 7:10 discomfited them =b> confused them in a panic.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts to the Middle East sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. Casmir A. Zuranski • Bible Pathway Media Producer: Rick Hash • Government Officials: Rep. Paul Kanjorski (PA), Rep. Chellie Pingree (ME), and Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (GA) • Country: Georgia (5.38 million) west and central Transcaucasia between Asia and Europe • Major languages: Georgian and Russian • Religious opposition to Christianity • 57% Georgian (and Russian) Orthodox; 21.2% Muslim; 5% Armenian Apostolic; .8% Catholic (Greek-Catholic); .5% Protestant (mainly Baptist); .5% Jewish; 15% Atheist/Agnostic • Prayer Suggestion: Pray for boldness to tell others about the Lord (Acts 4:29).
Optional Reading: Acts 3
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 6:1
THE (SCIENTIFIC) DEATH OF JESUS
At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned to the death penalty.
That was the 'worst' death then. Only the worst criminals could die like Jesus.
And with Jesus things were worse, because not all the criminals condemned to death
could receive nails on their hands and feet.
Of course, nails... Big nails! Each was 15 x 20 cm long, (about 6 x 8 inches)
with a point of 6 cm (2.5 inches). Another point was sharp.
The nails were carved into the pulses, and not into the palms, as we are used to hearing.
In the pulse, there's a tendon which extends to the shoulder,
and when the nails were being hammered, that tendon broke,
obliging Jesus to reinforce all the muscles of his back,
so that he could breathe as He was losing all the air from his lungs.
In this way, He was forced to support Himself onto the nail carved into his feet,
which was bigger than those carved into his pulses, for both feet were carved together.
And, as his feet could not endure for a long time without tearing,
Jesus was forced to alternate that 'cycle' so that He could breathe.
Jesus endured that reality over 3 hours. Three hours is a long time, isn't it?
A few minutes before He died, Jesus was not bleeding anymore.
He was simply pouring water from his cuts and holes.
When we imagine Him injured, we only picture Him with injuries,
but it is not enough; His wounds were true holes, made into his body.
He had no more blood to bleed, He only poured water.
The adult human body is composed of nearly 3.5 liters of blood (a little over 3.5 quarts).
Jesus poured out all 3.5 liters of his blood;
He had three nails hammered into his members;
a crown of thorns on his head and, beyond that,
a Roman soldier shoved a spear into his side.
All this without mentioning the humiliation He endured
carrying his own cross for almost 2 km, (1.2 miles)
while the crowd spat on his face and threw stones
(the cross was almost 30 kg of weight (over 66 lbs),
only for its higher part, where his hands were nailed).
Jesus had to pass all this experience, so that you can have free access to God.
So that your sins could be 'washed' away. All of them, with no exception!
Don't ignore this situation. HE DIED FOR YOU!
For you, who now read this e-mail.
Do not believe that He only died for others
(those who go to the church or for pastors, bishops, etc).
He died for you!
May God bless your life!
Accept the true reality: JESUS IS THE ONLY SALVATION FOR THE WORLD.
All you have to do is believe it, accept it, and ask God to save you and you shall be saved!
God has plans for you. Now think on this!
Show your friends what He experienced to save you.
]
60 seconds with God...
During 60 seconds, leave whatsoever you're doing and seize this opportunity!
Yes, I love God. He is my source of life and my saviour.
He keeps me alive day and night.
Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him
'I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me.'
(Philippians 4:13)
The Honor Of Your Friendship
READ: John 15:9-17
I have called you friends. -John 15:15
During the marriage ceremony of a British couple, the best man remained motionless. Even after vows were exchanged, he didn't move.
The still figure was a racecar driver who was trying to be in two places at one time. Because of contractual commitments, Andy Priaulx, three-time world touring-car champion, had to break his promise to participate in his friend's wedding. So he sent a life-size cardboard cutout of himself, as well as a prerecorded speech. The bride said she was moved by his effort to honor their marriage.
Priaulx's gesture was certainly creative, and we shouldn't second-guess his actions. But Jesus gave us another standard by which to gauge friendship.
Jesus asked His disciples to show their friendship to Him by loving one another as He had loved them. Then, He raised the bar. In anticipation of His death on the cross, He said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13).
This depth of friendship isn't merely about doing the right thing. It's about sacrifice, and it springs out of a relationship with the One who truly did lay down His life for us.
Are we showing others that we have been loved by Jesus as He is loved by His Father? (v.9). - Mart De Haan
For Further Study
The Bible describes what real love looks like (1 Cor. 13).
Check online for What Is Real Love? at http://www.discoveryseries.org/q0714 to study this passage.
Love is more than a sentiment, it's putting another's needs ahead of your own.
Sour, Angry, and Negative
We are looking at how we make the gospel unattractive. I believe one of the main ways this occurs is when Christians are sour, angry and negative.
Some people live right but they always look like they have spent the night in a bottle of lemon juice.
If you struggle in this area, you need to listen carefully. Your salvation should be the source of great joy, and that joy and happiness should be expressed in your life in a dynamic way.
For example, Jesus said this in John 15:11,
"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."
And in John 16:22, He said,
"Your joy no one will take from you."
In Romans 14:17, Paul said,
For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Finally, James 1:2 says,
Count it all joy when you fall into various trials.
Joy is one of the hallmarks of the Kingdom of God. Even when we are going through a rough patch, the Bible says we are to be full of joy.
Joy makes the gospel attractive. If you put on a sour face all the time and you have a negative disposition, you will scare people away from church. You make the gospel seem like something people would never want.
Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.
FEATURED RESOURCE
Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage
Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!
Balance the Natural and the Spiritual
By Os Hillman
"No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save" (Psalm 33:16-17).
The Bible tells us not to put our confidence in things the world considers to be our protection, defense, or strength. However, the man or woman who does not perform well on the job is left behind in today's competitive world. Not only is this typical of the world at large, but even many Christians promote the importance of identifying our strengths and encourage us to move in them to accomplish God's will. Yet, throughout the Bible, we are discouraged from depending upon our own strengths. Instead, we are urged to rely totally upon the Lord.
God wants us to depend upon Him, and He demonstrates this throughout Scripture. For example, in Judges 7, God wouldn't let Gideon fight against another army until he reduced his own from 22,000 soldiers to a mere 300, so that Gideon could not boast about his army's strength. In Joshua 6, God told Joshua to walk around Jericho seven times and blow trumpets instead of relying upon his mighty army to overpower his enemy. In 2 Samuel 24, God judged David when he counted his troops to determine the size of his army's strength, apparently because David took the census out of pride or overconfidence in the strength of his army.
On the other hand, Jesus instructed the disciples in due diligence through the parable of the builder, who is cautioned to consider the cost before beginning to build. "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish'" (Luke 14:28-30).
Today, bring every project and endeavor before the Lord as you ask for His power and grace to accomplish it using both your natural gifts and the Spirit of God working together.
Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.
Making Godly Decisions
Making Godly Decisions
Through Scriptural teaching and his own years of many life and work experiences, Os Hillman provides a thorough look into Biblical principles of decision-making from a practical standpoint. This book is a priceless resource that will help you understand how to make Godly decisions
Have You Seen Jesus?
After that, He appeared in another form to two of them . . . -Mark 16:12
Being saved and seeing Jesus are not the same thing. Many people who have never seen Jesus have received and share in God's grace. But once you have seen Him, you can never be the same. Other things will not have the appeal they did before.
You should always recognize the difference between what you see Jesus to be and what He has done for you. If you see only what He has done for you, your God is not big enough. But if you have had a vision, seeing Jesus as He really is, experiences can come and go, yet you will endure "as seeing Him who is invisible" ( Hebrews 11:27 ). The man who was blind from birth did not know who Jesus was until Christ appeared and revealed Himself to him (see John 9 ). Jesus appears to those for whom He has done something, but we cannot order or predict when He will come. He may appear suddenly, at any turn. Then you can exclaim, "Now I see Him!" (see John 9:25 ).
Jesus must appear to you and to your friend individually; no one can see Jesus with your eyes. And division takes place when one has seen Him and the other has not. You cannot bring your friend to the point of seeing; God must do it. Have you seen Jesus? If so, you will want others to see Him too. "And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either" ( Mark 16:13 ). When you see Him, you must tell, even if they don't believe.
O could I tell, you surely would believe it!
O could I only say what I have seen!
How should I tell or how can you receive it,
How, till He bringeth you where I have been
GOD BLESS
Daily Devotionals April 10, 2009
Who Crucified Jesus?
READ: Luke 23:33-38
When they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him. -Luke 23:33
When looking at Rembrandt's painting of The Three Crosses, your attention is drawn first to the cross on which Jesus died. Then as you look at the crowd gathered around the foot of that cross, you are impressed by the various facial expressions and actions of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God. Finally, your eyes drift to the edge of the painting to catch sight of another figure, almost hidden in the shadows. Some art critics say this is a representation of Rembrandt himself, for he recognized that by his sins he helped nail Jesus to the cross.
Someone has said, "It is a simple thing to say that Christ died for the sins of the world. It is quite another thing to say that Christ died for my sins. . . . It is a shocking thought that we can be as indifferent as Pilate, as scheming as Caiaphas, as callous as the soldiers, as ruthless as the mob, or as cowardly as the disciples. It wasn't just what they did-it was I who nailed Him to the tree. I crucified the Christ of God. I joined the mockery."
Place yourself in the shadows with Rembrandt. You too are standing there. But then recall what Jesus said as He hung on that cross, "Father, forgive them." Thank God, that includes you and me. - Henry G. Bosch
Behold the Savior of mankind
Nailed to the shameful tree!
How vast the love that Him inclined
To bleed and die for thee! -Wesley
The cross of Christ reveals the love of God at its best and the sin of the world at its worst.
Remember
Titus 3:1-7 says,
Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Paul tells us to remember where we have come from. Notice he said to show humility to all men and speak evil of no one. Why? Because we also used to be foolish and deceived and disobedient.
I thank God I am a new creation in Christ, but I still blush when I think about some of the stuff I got involved in before I was saved! Disobedient? Been there. Serving various lusts and pleasures? Up to my eyeballs! Plus all the other things Paul mentions in this passage and a few more!
It is amazing how people in the church forget what they were like before the grace of God came into their life. When that happens they tend to get very haughty and judgmental towards those still lost in their sin. A harsh, judgmental church that lacks humility while verbally lashing out at sinners is one of the ugliest garments you can dress the beautiful gospel in.
Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.
FEATURED RESOURCE
Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage
Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!
The Fertile Pasture
By Os Hillman
"Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands" (Mic 7:14).
"I've called you to pastor the bank," said the Lord to my friend Chuck. "Pastor the bank? How does one pastor a bank, Lord?" "The things I taught you I want you to teach others," came the reply.
There is a people who live isolated in fertile pasturelands. They long for a shepherd who will help them discover their own inheritance. They are the lost majority in the marketplace who are living lives as though they are a child lost and aimless in a deep, dark forest.
Though most do not know it, they long for a pastor who will reveal to them their destinies. Your staff, which represents your vocation, is the means by which God is going to use you to pastor those in your sphere of influence in the workplace.
A fertile pastureland means there is a great harvest that can come if only there is someone to do what is necessary to bring a harvest from it. This is where you will derive your inheritance. The people you serve will be the spiritual inheritance God has allotted to you.
This forest is more fertile than all other potential fields because the power and authority represented by this forest has the potential to impact far greater fields. This forest has CEOs, presidents of nations, entertainment moguls, media tycoons, and educators to name just a few. They are the shapers of society who have yet to meet their Maker.
Are you willing to use your staff to be a shepherd to those in the fertile pasturelands?
Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.
Making Godly Decisions
Making Godly Decisions
Through Scriptural teaching and his own years of many life and work experiences, Os Hillman provides a thorough look into Biblical principles of decision-making from a practical standpoint. This book is a priceless resource that will help you understand how to make Godly decisions
Complete and Effective Decision About Sin
. . . our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin -Romans 6:6
Co-Crucifixion. Have you made the following decision about sin- that it must be completely killed in you? It takes a long time to come to the point of making this complete and effective decision about sin. It is, however, the greatest moment in your life once you decide that sin must die in you-not simply be restrained, suppressed, or counteracted, but crucified- just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world. No one can bring anyone else to this decision. We may be mentally and spiritually convinced, but what we need to do is actually make the decision that Paul urged us to do in this passage.
Pull yourself up, take some time alone with God, and make this important decision, saying, "Lord, identify me with Your death until I know that sin is dead in me." Make the moral decision that sin in you must be put to death.
This was not some divine future expectation on the part of Paul, but was a very radical and definite experience in his life. Are you prepared to let the Spirit of God search you until you know what the level and nature of sin is in your life- to see the very things that struggle against God's Spirit in you? If so, will you then agree with God's verdict on the nature of sin- that it should be identified with the death of Jesus? You cannot "reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin" ( Romans 6:11 ) unless you have radically dealt with the issue of your will before God.
Have you entered into the glorious privilege of being crucified with Christ, until all that remains in your flesh and blood is His life? "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me . . ." ( Galatians 2:20 ).
GOD BLESS
HomeWord - Apr. 10, 2009
What Will You Do with Jesus?
This devotional was written by Jim Burns
Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. "Are you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate. "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. —Mark 15:1-2
Today I want to introduce you to Barabbas. Strange name... pretty questionable character: murderer, thief, perhaps walked away from his family, evil, filthy, scum!
Sitting in a dark, dark dungeon waiting to die. Smelly, vile, no one, absolutely no one was going to miss Barabbas. The next day Barabbas was going to hang on a cross and literally no one would care. Most people would say "Finally, he's getting what he deserved." He deserves every bit of pain and humiliation on the cross.
Unbeknownst to him, while he sat in prison waiting to die, something else was about to happen to him. Now it was a custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate, knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. "What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them. "Crucify him!" they shouted. "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. Mark 15:6-15
The crowd chose Barabbas! Jesus... kind, miracle worker, wonder man, provider of numerous healings, lover of children and the poor, humble, forgiving, genuine, had hurt no one. And the crowd chose Barabbas.
Pilate asked a key question to the crowd who had just a few days before honored Jesus on what we call Palm Sunday. "What will you do with Jesus... the one you call the King of the Jews?"
And the crowd yelled "Crucify him!"
Even Pilate was totally confused and asked, "Why, what crime has he committed?" But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him." Jesus was whipped, spit on, mocked and turned over to be crucified.
I've always wondered what was going on in the mind of Barabbas when he was set free and Jesus hung on a tree. He probably heard Pilate's words, "What will you do with Jesus?"
I wonder what decision he made. His very destiny, life eternal and abundant life on this earth, depended on his response to the single phrase of a Roman leader who in confusion asked a single question: "What will you do with Jesus?"
How about you? What is your response today? What will you do with Jesus?
GOING DEEPER:
What do you think you might have done if you were in the crowd who was yelling for Barabbas?
What do you think should have been Barabbas' response?
FURTHER READING:
Psalm 72:18-19
Daily Devotionals April 12, 2009
Much More!
READ: Romans 5:12-21
Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. -Romans 5:20
A statement I heard at an Easter service stays with me: "More has been gained in the resurrection of Jesus than was lost in the fall." More gained than lost? Can it be true?
Each day we experience the damage caused by sin entering our world. Greed, injustice, and cruelty all trace their origins back to Adam and Eve's decision to follow their own path rather than God's (Gen. 3). The legacy of their disobedience is passed down to every generation. Without God's intervention, we would be in a hopeless situation. But Jesus overpowered sin through His cross and conquered death through His resurrection.
The victory of Christ is celebrated in Romans 5, often called the "much more" chapter of the New Testament, where Paul contrasts the devastation caused by sin with the restoring power of God's grace. In every case, grace overpowers the consequences of sin. In a grand conclusion, Paul says: "Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (5:20-21).
No matter how much we have personally lost because of sin, we have gained far more through the resurrection victory of Christ. - David C. McCasland
Sin and despair, like the sea-waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater-yes, grace untold-
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross. -Johnston
© Renewal 1939 Hope Publishing.
Our sin is great - God's grace is greater.
Overcoming Barrenness
I Samuel 1:10-11 says,
And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."
These words are written about Hannah, who was barren. But God answered her prayer by giving her a son, and he became one of the most prominent figures in Biblical history-Samuel.
Perhaps there is a "barrenness" in some area of your life, and like Hannah, who was tormented by her adversary-so it is with you. Prayer can change things. It did in Hannah's life, and it can in yours. But there are several things about Hannah's prayer that we need to consider:
1. Hannah's prayer was not casual. It was heartfelt and deep. Too much of our praying is "skin deep." Only prayers that originate from deep within us get God's attention. James 5:16 declares that the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
2. Hannah's prayer was specific. She asked for a male child. Too much of our praying is too general. Don't be afraid to be specific in your requests.
3. Hannah wanted the answer to her prayer to glorify God. Her boy would be dedicated to God's service. When our prayers take on the purpose of glorifying God, we have moved into a higher realm.
If you are experiencing a barrenness in any arena of life, pray. And let your prayers be heartfelt, specific, and for the glory of God.
Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.
FEATURED RESOURCE
Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage
Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!
New Paradigms
By Os Hillman
"Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage" (1 Sam. 10:22).
If you want to experience something you've never done, you must do something you've never done. In his book Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing His Will, Henry Blackaby writes, "You cannot go with God and stay where you are."
God often has to radically change us if we are going to fulfill His purposes in our lives. Saul was about to be anointed by Samuel as the first king of Israel. Samuel said to Saul, "The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person" (1 Sam. 10:6). Up to this point, Saul had never prophesied or led a group of people. He had also never had to be accountable to a prophet and to God for his every action.
Saul took a big step of faith right away and prophesied with the prophets just as Samuel said he would. How exciting that must have been. Yet, when Samuel called the entire nation of Israel together to announce him as Israel's first king in history, Saul was nowhere to be found. This part of the story is humorous. Excitement is in the air, but when they call Saul's name, he doesn't even come forward. So the people "inquired further of the Lord, 'Has the man come here yet?' And the Lord said, 'Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage'" (1 Sam. 10:22).
I recall when God began moving me from a career in advertising to a new ministry to men and women in the workplace that involved writing and public speaking. Neither of these were my particular forté. I was forced to do something I had never done.
The story of King Saul should be an encouragement to us all. God continues to pick the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. Your greatest setback can be thinking that there's no way that God can use "little me." However, the reality is that He can and will, if we respond to the new places He takes us.
Henry T. Blackaby, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing His Will (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1998), p. 132.
Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.
Faith in the Halls of Power
Faith in the Halls of Power
How are key influencers living out their faith within the seven mountains of cultural influence? Within the pages of this book is an interesting and in-depth look into the lives of evangelical business leaders, politicians, industry leaders, and others who are in places of tremendous influence within our culture. This resource is helpful for understanding where God has placed his people in positions of influence, documenting their steps for how they are living out their faith in culture, and also a resource for reclaiming our culture for God at the highest levels.
Click Here To Learn More or Order
Complete and Effective Dominion
Death no longer has dominion over Him. . . . the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God . . . -Romans 6:9-11
Co-Eternal Life. Eternal life is the life which Jesus Christ exhibited on the human level. And it is this same life, not simply a copy of it, which is made evident in our mortal flesh when we are born again. Eternal life is not a gift from God; eternal life is the gift of God. The energy and the power which was so very evident in Jesus will be exhibited in us by an act of the absolute sovereign grace of God, once we have made that complete and effective decision about sin.
"You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . ." (Acts 1:8)- not power as a gift from the Holy Spirit; the power is the Holy Spirit, not something that He gives us. The life that was in Jesus becomes ours because of His Cross, once we make the decision to be identified with Him. If it is difficult to get right with God, it is because we refuse to make this moral decision about sin. But once we do decide, the full life of God comes in immediately. Jesus came to give us an endless supply of life- ". . . that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" ( Ephesians 3:19 ). Eternal life has nothing to do with time. It is the life which Jesus lived when He was down here, and the only Source of life is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even the weakest saint can experience the power of the deity of the Son of God, when he is willing to "let go." But any effort to "hang on" to the least bit of our own power will only diminish the life of Jesus in us. We have to keep letting go, and slowly, but surely, the great full life of God will invade us, penetrating every part. Then Jesus will have complete and effective dominion in us, and people will take notice that we have been with Him.
GOD BLESS!
April 13, 2009
Oh Come Let Us Adore Him
by Sarah Jennings, Crosswalk.com Family Editor
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
Matthew 26: 40-41 NIV
There is a little chapel I frequent once a week to spend time with the Lord. It consists of a small, modest room attached to a monastery, tucked away on sprawling land in a neighboring county. Every Thursday, my boyfriend and I travel to spend one hour of silence before the Lord.
One full hour. With no breaks, no comforts of home. Just a cheap chair and a beat up old kneeler.
When we first made the one hour commitment, I expected a struggle.10 minutes here or 15 there in the tiny chapel seemed much more reasonable. It's times like this that I empathize with the disciples in the passage above. Indeed, the spirit is more willing than the flesh.
Over time, I am beginning to realize how little an hour per week really is -- and how beneficial this hour is to my relationship with God. It often takes a solid half hour before my soul is even still enough to cease my rambling at the Lord and allow Him to speak. And both of us recently noted that on the weeks we don't make it to Adoration, there is a distinct hole in our lives.
St. John of the Cross once said, "Those who are very active and think they can embrace the world with their preaching and external activities, should remember that they would be more useful to the Church and more pleasing to God, not to mention the good example they would set, were they to spend half as much time with him in prayer."
It's hard to imagine such a stationary activity could be so valuable -- even more so than preaching. Yet, ultimately, all the doing in the world, all those other interesting things that hold our attention, could be rendered meaningless if our relationship with the Lord is weak.
I often imagine the Lord waiting for us each week for that appointment in that chapel. There may be hours where it is completely empty, and yet He waits. As you begin your week, know that time spent with the Lord is time He desires with you. It is never wasted time and may bring Him more pleasure than anything else you accomplish this week
Intersecting Faith & Life: Are your quiet times still and peaceful? Or are they distracted and rushed? What can you do to improve your quiet times? Do you have a special place set aside where you spend time with the Lord?
Further Reading
Jeremiah 29:12-13
Psalm 95: 6-7
Matthew 6:5-8
How to Have a Meaningful Quiet Time, by Adrian Rogers
Crosswalk.com - The Devotional
April 14, 2009
Is Suffering Inevitable?
by Shawn McEvoy, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor
For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.
1 Peter 3:17, NAS
Suffering. It's not standard daily devotional fare, because let's face it, usually we want to begin or end our day being uplifted, or even better, lifting up God, rather than focusing on our pains and problems.
But there's the rub... we all have pains and problems. Christian and non-Christian. Lifelong disciple and baby believer. Red and yellow, black and white. Everyone, from the moment he or she was born, has struggled, tried, failed, hurt, sinned, misunderstood, and reacted. Humanity shares a true brotherhood over suffering, one that we might understand a lot better if suffering weren't also so relative. By which I mean, one person's issues may sound simple, easy-to-solve, even petty to another. "That's nothing compared to what I've had to endure!"
But the fact is, your sorrows and difficulties are real to you. It's one reason why I'm no fan of when people say a certain place or time in their lives isn't "the real world," as if the spot they are currently tucked away at is immune from any degree of difficulty.
Suffering is very real, and there's certainly no reason any Christian would expect life to be otherwise. We purport to follow a "Suffering Savior." His stripes have healed us, and wow do we seem to feel them sometimes, which is as it should be, as we deserved them instead of Him. If we agree that no person but one - no matter where they lived or how easy or hard they had it - has escaped sin's corruption, then how much more must we agree that truly NO person has escaped suffering?
Look at what Peter suggests in today's verse: you can suffer for doing good, or you can suffer for doing bad. By extension, some of the problems in your life may be a result of your own rebellion, while other hurts may naturally result from walking so closely with Christ that you ache at the injustice and hardship around you, with the world despising and persecuting you.
In the classic allegory Hinds' Feet on High Places, Much-Afraid journeys with companions named Sorrow and Suffering, and these two assist her in her climb up the Injury Precipice, which is a part of her transformation into "Grace and Glory."
The same is true for you. Your sufferings have informed you, educated you, helped you along in your journey. You may despise them, but they are yours. And they will be with you whether you are doing right, or not. Of course, the nature of them will be quite different.
There may be one way, though, to avoid suffering. There's a third option, left out here by Peter, but not left out by John in the Revelation. It's the lukewarm response to life, the do-nothing approach. This is the approach that cocoons itself off from life and all of its pain. And make no mistake, "Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something," says that famous theologian the Man in Black in The Princess Bride.
You may not feel anything from inside a cocoon; in fact, it may be an abundance of pain and suffering that forced you in there. But remember, no creature that cocoons itself is intended to stay locked up forever. The point is to be rested, healed, matured, transformed. To become more beautiful, useful. Even the emerging process itself carries a degree of struggle, but one that, if the insect did not go through itself, would leave it too weak to fly.
So be lifted up in your suffering today.
It is a companion.
It is designed to transform you.
It gives you a share in the inheritance of Christ and the brotherhood of humanity.
And it gives you empathy, which gives you every excuse for ministry.
Intersecting Faith & Life: Make it your goal to partake, as much as possible, only of the brand of suffering that comes from doing what is right according to God's Word.
Further Reading
God's Undeserved Gift to the World: Christian Sufferers
Trusting God in the Darkness
Crosswalk.com - The Devotional
April 15, 2009
More than Forgiveness
by Katherine Britton, Crosswalk.com News & Culture Editor
"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." -- 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Which is easier: forgiveness or reconciliation? As I come away from Easter, I find myself trying to discern between the two actions.
One -- forgiveness -- has become Americanized into the simple "forgive and forget" phrase. Not that the saying is entirely inaccurate. Every Christian treasures the promise of the Psalms, that "as far as the East is from the West, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12) But somewhere along the way, I started scrambling the concepts. Forgiving and forgetting just seems so simple, and I beat myself up when we can't "forget" how someone wronged us. I take "forgive and forget" and think it means "forgiving equals forgetting." So if I can't forgive... I can just forget about it, right? Or maybe just forget about the person if that's easier. And quickly, forgiving becomes forgetting... becomes ignoring.
As I started writing this devotional, I kept thinking of stories I've read about the Rwandan genocide. Take the book "As We Forgive," the war stories of several individuals who lived through the massacres and into the new government. Dealing with grief, anger, loss, and the desire for revenge, each survivor's life eventually intersects with someone from "the other side." Even more traumatizing, these people are directly connected with the survivors' friends', families', and even spouses' deaths.
Imagine such a meeting. Face to face with the person who destroyed the other's life. Forgive and forget completely falls apart, doesn't it? It's not humanly possible to forget death of those you love, not without losing yourself in the process.
"God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."
Rwanda's hurts have only begun to heal, just as the people portrayed in "As We Forgive" must travel a long road before they find peace. But slowly, each victim in the book finds himself offering a hand of forgiveness to the perpetrators, the killers. The handshakes are more than symbolic -- these people, Tutsi and Hutu, must now work alongside each other, meet in the streets... and always bear the absence of the hundreds of thousands of lives lost in 1994. There is no forgetting.
But there is reconciliation.
Easter unleashes God's offer of reconciliation to those who killed him. The Resurrection doesn't make God forget our sins -- it allows us back into a relationship with him in spite of our sins. Reconciliation takes forgiveness a step further, and cultivates a new bond based on overwhelming love, not past actions. That's the "ministry of reconciliation" -- and that's what I'm called to accomplish.
Intersecting Faith & Life: Are you practicing the old "forgive and forget" with someone? Or are you seeking opportunities to spread the "ministry of reconciliation"?
Further Reading:
As We Forgive: Rwanda 15 Years Later
Ephesians 1:7
April 16, 2009
Crosswalk.com - The Devotional
Considering Enemies of Christ--Even With Tears
Mike Pohlman, Editor, Christianity.com
For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Philippians 3:18 (ESV)
I arrived at the Lucky's Market in Woodlake, Virginia about 6:30 p.m. last night. I had driven the eighteen or so miles from my office in downtown Richmond looking forward to being home with my family. But first I needed to stop at the market and get my ailing wife some Sprite. Julia, battling flu-like symptoms, thought this would sit relatively well with her queasy stomach.
I quickly found what I was looking for, paid the clerk, and proceeded out the door. As I approached my car a few young men--probably in their late teens--bounded out of their truck and began shouting obscenities to another young man at the pizza place next door. (Words I won't even abbreviate here.) While it was clear they were joking, I was shocked at the lack of restraint these men used in public. I was glad my four young children were not with me--I would not have enjoyed fielding questions on the way home like, "Dad, what does ________ mean?"
The men were not only spewing obscenities, but were dressed in dark, Goth-like attire. It did not seem like a logical leap to assume these young adults were not professing Christians. They presented themselves more like "enemies of the cross of Christ" rather than followers of Christ.
What alarmed me more than their conduct and attire, however, was the way I responded.
I was angry at these men. I despised them in my heart. I wanted judgment poured out on them right then and there. I felt like James and John who were furious over the Samaritan village that rejected Jesus in Luke 9:54, "And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, 'Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?'"
But then I remembered our Lord's response to his immature disciples.
He rebuked them.
Of course he did. Jesus is the one who said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). Nothing had changed since the Sermon on the Mount.
The Apostle Paul took Jesus' command to heart. Writing to the Philippians we get a window into how Paul viewed people who were utterly opposed to Christ.
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things (Philippians 3:17-19).
Even as Paul exhorted his readers to imitate his godly example, he wept over the "enemies of the cross of Christ." Why? Because unless things radically change for these people, "their end is destruction" (v. 19). Paul's eternal perspective would not allow him to despise God's enemies. He wrote of them "even with tears."
It took me about three minutes to get home from Lucky's. Once in the driveway I stopped the car and, under deep conviction, prayed for the men at the market. I prayed that their end would not be destruction; that their God would not be their belly; that they would not glory in their shame or set their mind on mere earthly things. I prayed that they would come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. But I also prayed for myself--that my heart would soften and tears more easily flow for the enemies of the cross of Christ.
Further Reading
Matthew 5-7
Romans 12
Philippians 3
Crosswalk.com - The Devotional
April 17, 2009
Prepare to Be Shot
Laura MacCorkle, Senior Editor, Crosswalk.com
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Romans 10:14-15, NIV
If you're old enough to read this, then you've probably heard someone say "Don't shoot the messenger" before.
This caveat has always sounded good in theory. But it doesn't always work, does it? How many times have you had to deliver some news that you knew would not be received with open arms? It might have been bad or controversial or news that could hurt feelings, and you knew going in that you could be caught in retaliatory crossfire.
But then, you also knew that the message you were carrying was of such great importance that it didn't matter to you. You knew in your heart that you were doing the right thing and that the recipient would ultimately be better off hearing whatever news you had.
Perhaps this is how you've felt when you've shared the Gospel with someone before. You were compelled. You were convicted. And as the messenger, you knew you might get "shot" if someone was hostile toward anything to do with Christianity. But still, you shared the Good News no matter what "bullets" might hit you in return.
It's what Jesus must have felt like when he came to earth. He was the messenger by which the message of the Good News was delivered. And you either loved him or hated him (Isaiah 53:3). He already knew what his outcome was going to be, but he was obedient--even to death.
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near," Jesus preached (Matthew 4:17). Those who really understand our condition and how much we need a Savior to save us from our sin know that this is unbelievably good news (Romans 8:1-3a). It's a lifesaving gift that only requires our belief for acceptance (John 3:16).
Jesus not only carried the Good News, he was the Good News. He embodied his message, and the glory of the Father was revealed through the Son. Those of us who have chosen to love Jesus and give our lives to him are challenged to become messengers, too. "To go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15-16).
Earlier this week, as we celebrated a risen Lord and victory over death, I challenged myself to step up my messenger game and be willing to be "shot" when it comes to delivering this Good News with others.
As I remember the message Christ delivered for me, may I be bold and do whatever is necessary to share the Gospel with others, so that the Father might say of me, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Intersecting Faith & Life
How long has it been since you've shared the plan of salvation with someone else? Whether through words or actions, ask God to equip you and display himself in your life today so that you will reflect his glory to others. Remember, this world is a life or death situation. You are the messenger. And your message can save lives!
Further Reading
Matthew 5:16
2 Corinthians 3:18
April 22, 2009
A Little Forgiveness
by Katherine Britton, Crosswalk.com News & Culture Editor
"Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven -- for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." -- Luke 7:47, ESV
How do you explain to a child that's never been to the ocean what waves are like? You might fill a bathtub with water and splash it back and forth. That could teach action of waves -- but what about the look? You might take the child to a nearby river with a few rapids, and show them how the foam collects at the bottom of a fall "like on top of a wave." You might show them a 4x6 inch photograph. You might try to show them what waves sound like with a conch shell. But what about their vast dimensions along the shore? What about their unending nature? What about the undercurrent of a wave going back to sea?
No substitute can convey the scale and true nature of waves continually breaking on the shore. No analogies or to-scale models prepare children for their first trip to the beach. They can't grasp the greatness until they've seen it for themselves.
Have you seen the greatness of God's forgiveness yet?
No measure of teaching, preaching, and analogizing can make us really grasp what God's forgiveness means. Even after we reach adulthood, we're still creatures of experience. It takes a firsthand experience -- recognition of how vast our sins really are -- before we can appreciate how vast God's mercy is to cover them.
Jesus gave Simon the Pharisee the example of two men who owed another money -- one owed him five hundred days' wages, one owing him fifty. The moneylender forgives both debts, but, as Simon empathizes, the one forgiven the larger sum has a greater reason to love the one who cancelled his debt. But all Simon heard were the Jesus's words. He failed to realize what a vast stretch of sand he stood on, and what a great tide it would take to overtake all of those grains of sand. As a result, it's the woman Jesus recognizes for her great love of her Savior.
Intersecting Faith & Life: Is it possible that we can extend love and forgiveness if we don't understand how much Christ has shown us? Take your own "beach trip" and survey the vastness of God's incredible forgiveness that covers incredible sin.
Further Reading:
Luke 7:40-50
Celebrate Forgiveness
25 Affirmations about Forgiveness
April 23, 2009
Bursting the Bubble
by Meghan Kleppinger
"...We are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."
2 Peter 2:3
Washington D.C. is a politically powerful city and it's easy for young professionals working there to get carried away by all of its bells and whistles. As a recent college graduate who experienced this firsthand, I found that it doesn't take long to adapt to the culture. It's an exciting place to be, but the problem with becoming a full-blown Washingtonian is that too often, people forget why they are there to begin with.
Most people move to Washington to support a cause or to work for a politician representing a state. I, for example, worked for a non-profit that worked to preserve family values, and many of my peers worked for their state senators or representatives.
To help pop the D.C. bubble we were living in, several of us developed the discipline of reading our hometown papers online each morning. By reading the Richmond Times-Dispatch every day, I was reminded of my roots, culture, where I was from, and for whom I was really working. This practice, along with repeating our mantra, "this isn't the real world," enabled many of us to start each day in Washington as Virginians, Pennsylvanians, Texans, etc., representing the states we called home.
Sometimes life gets tough, circumstances cause confusion and doubt, purpose becomes unclear, and faith seems irrelevant and far removed from everyday struggles. It doesn't take much for the line between the world we currently live in, and the promise of our eternal home, to become blurry -- it's those times when "home" with Christ sometimes seems so far away.
For me, these bleak moments almost always coincide with periods of times that I've stepped away from praying and spending time in God's Word each day.
It's not that prayer and study act like a magic formula changing my circumstances, though sometimes God does change them; usually, it is simply this set aside time causes me to regroup and change my perspective of the circumstances.
God is greater than man. He's our creator, sustainer, and He's in control of everything. He loves us, gives us purpose, and promises us a future with Him. This life is temporal and is nothing in comparison to spending eternity with Christ. How do I know these things? It's all in God's Word.
Revisiting scripture and praying on a daily basis acts as a needle bursting the bubble I live in. Like reading my hometown paper each day, scripture reminds me that this world doesn't own me. No matter how long I'm on earth, it's not my home and I'm not here to represent it -- instead, I need to be an ambassador for my Father until it's time to go home to Him.
Intersecting Faith & Life: Go to God's Word to rediscover who you are in Christ, your purpose, and most importantly, to remember where home really is.
Further Reading
Think about Heaven Now
April 24, 2009
Are You Glowing?
by Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Entertainment Editor
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:14-16, NIV
You have to love Facebook, right? What was once meant for social networking amongst college students is now sweeping across the generations. Even my mother is using it!
Well, thanks to this new way of connecting, this past weekend a single female friend of mine uploaded a new photo that featured herself alongside a smiling young man.
My friend was beaming. Glowing! And I just knew something was different about her. Her whole countenance radiated good news. So I was compelled and had to know the backstory. I then contacted her and made plans to meet for dinner next week. I can't wait to hear what is happening in her life!
Meanwhile, and speaking of "radiation" ... in my Bible study group we have been reading in the book of Revelation, and we're on the home stretch in chapters 21 and 22. What has stood out to me is the fact that there will be no sun and no moon in heaven. The light sources we have needed on earth since Creation will no longer be necessary in The Holy City, the New Jerusalem:
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp (Rev. 21:23).
There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light (Rev. 22:5)
We will be in the presence of God and will "see his face" (Rev. 22:4). That's just incomprehensible to me. We will experience God's glory with no veil. No mediator. No separation. Amazing!
Moses is one of the few who has experienced God's glory in person, when they communed on Mount Sinai (Exod. 34). In my Bible, the verses that describe his countenance are titled "The Radiant Face of Moses" ...
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai (Exod. 34:29-32).
Granted, in these times we're not afraid of people when their faces are glowing. (Well, unless they're extraterrestrial. But you get my point. ...) When we see someone who is beaming, we know that there is a reason. And we are a curious people and want to find out what is behind this change in countenance.
In our lives, we will radiate whatever it is that is consuming our hearts and minds - despite our circumstances and whether they be good or bad. And the closer we walk with our Father each day and seek fellowship with him, the more we will bask in his glow and reflect his irresistible light to others around us (1 John 1:7).
Is that your aim today? Like my friend, I hope that others can see a glow about me, so that they will ask what is different in my life. Let us purpose to make the most of our time here on earth and to seek the Father's face, so that he may shine through us.
Intersecting Faith & Life: Look in the mirror. Are you glowing? Would someone know there's something different about you just by your countenance? Take inventory of how you spend your day. Set aside a specific time in your schedule to ensure you are walking "in the light." Hopefully by your example and by your "glow" as someone who has spent time with the Lord, you will encourage others to do the same.
Further Reading
Psalm 27
Isaiah 60
Crosswalk.com - The Devotional
April 27, 2009
Seeking God for the Right Reasons
by Sarah Jennings, Crosswalk.com Family Editor
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1: 21
I ran across an article a couple years ago that really touched me. In her piece "A Change of Plans," Lindsy Pike details the excruciating decision to call off her wedding to a man she loved dearly. Reflecting on the mix of pain and peace that comes with any situation where we must give up something precious, Pike rewinds a few centuries to Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac:
"God promised to give Abraham a son and finally, after years of waiting, God came through, with Isaac. Why in the world would God ask Abraham to give up that gift? In my opinion, it is for the same reason He asked me to call off my wedding. God wants us to love Him more than we love His promises. The minute we get those out of order, He readjusts us."
While we don't really know the mind of God in Abraham's situation, Pike's simple thought sheds light on a struggle I think all of us encounter at some time in our lives -- the struggle to love God above everything else, even His blessings. God wants us to love Him because of who He is, not what He can give us. Yet, how often do we confuse our love of God's promises with love of Him? How often do we see Him as the divine blessing machine, ready to dole out happiness on our terms? The popularity of "prosperity theology" reveals how easy it is for believers to twist love of God into the pursuit of earthly happiness.
To be honest, it's not just greed that gets in the way of loving God. It's also a limited understanding of who God is. I used to wonder how some Christians could sit for over an hour praying. Is God really that interesting? I'd wonder. This type of thinking reveals a fundamental flaw in how I perceived God, and I think that flaw is what keeps many from coming to Christ in the first place. It's easy to see Him as limited like we are limited. It's easy to forget that God is truly our all in all. As C.S. Lewis once said, "God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
Still, had I not gone through a similar situation, I might not have believed Pike's sincerity when she says: "I am thankful for His grace that saved me from ruining my life by pursuing my dream."
In a "reach for the stars, be anything you can be" culture, the idea that pursuing any dream could ruin my life seems foreign. The more I think about it, though, the more I see that living outside God's will -- even if it is for a "good reason" -- is a recipe for failure.
Yet, when we give up our dreams for something greater - for Someone greater than ourselves - we begin to see we can trust God no matter what. We find solace in the incredible peace that comes with knowing that even if life here includes sorrow or dreams unfulfilled -- which it very well could -- there is a God that transcends not only all that's missing in this life, but also all the good this life has to offer.
Intersecting Faith & Life: This week, do something for God without expecting any reward or blessing in return.
Further Reading
John 16: 33
Author Debunks Prosperity Gospel Myth
Crosswalk.com - The Devotional
April 28, 2009
How I Came to Enjoy Raisins
by Shawn McEvoy, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor
Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.
1 John 2:10
Worst advertising slogan ever: "Two scoops of raisins in Kellogg's Raisin Bran." Blech. But apparently it worked on my mother, who bought the stuff like it was going out of style, while referring to delicious breakfast desserts such as Lucky Charms and Crunchberries as "cardboard." So unfair. So there I sat, choking down my raisin bran, or even oatmeal cookies with raisins in them, always suffering the same horrible fate: the bran or cookie part would be chewed and swallowed before the gooey chewy raisins, leaving me a mouthful of not-nearly-as-tasty goop.
I despised raisins. Thought about writing Kellogg's and telling them that backing off to one scoop would be plenty (nothing like getting to the bottom of the bowl and finding no flakes, only 10 little black things. Ew).
Flash-forward a quarter century. I'm having a similar issue to the raisin problem with people. Specifically, I'm loathe to admit, some Christian people. No, I haven't been eating them, but sometimes, I do find us hard to swallow. Part of the problem, ironically, is my job! Here at Crosswalk we often receive angry emails from fellow Christians who don't like the movie we reviewed, the way we said something, the ad we ran, or the author we allowed to appear on the site. Criticism's fine, even justified; I just have a hard time when it comes with a "You call yourself Christian?" or a "Have you even read the Bible?" punch to the gut.
Sometimes it feels as if we Christians are concerned more with hammering home universal truth no matter how bluntly, or railing against _(fill in the blank)_ than genuinely loving people and meeting needs. Of course, the obvious irony here is that I then, looking in the mirror, find myself in short supply on genuine love myself. Which is not where Christ wants any of us to be. In fact, in Revelation 12:10, the title "Accuser of the Brethren" is given to our enemy Satan at his judgment. Yikes. Do I really want to claim that monicker for myself?
So what does this have to do with raisins? Well, recently I discovered I kinda like the shriveled little things! I pack 'em for snacks, and eat them with the kids. I like the nutritional value, the fiber, the chewiness. What's changed? My tastes? No. The raisins? No. Not the packaging, not the flavor, not even my effort (I'm not choking them down because they're good for me, I genuinely like them). I realized that what has changed is my perspective. It didn't happen overnight, but about the time "Craisins" (dried Cranberries) came on the scene, I began enjoying all sorts of dried fruits. And here's what I noticed: I like cranberries, ergo I like dried cranberries. I like apricots, therefore I like dried apricots. I love grapes, so obviously I... hate raisins? That didn't seem to make logical sense. Maybe it was time to give raisins another try. Maybe I shouldn't even think of them as raisins. Maybe I should just think of them as "dried grapes!"
That may sound extremely silly... but it worked! I felt like I had come into the light. The texture was suddenly different. The way I savored them changed... everything. And a fun new world of food possibilities has re-opened to me, simply thanks to a different way of looking at something.
1 John Chapter 2 talks about Light, who it comes from, what it helps us do, and what it shows about us when we walk in it. Light is a perspective-changer. It reveals the true nature of hidden or darkened things. It doesn't change them, but it can and does change how they appear, how they are perceived, and the details we notice. Our verse today says, "Whoever loves his brother lives in the light," and I think it also works backwards: "Whoever lives in the light loves his brother." It's not going to be easy for me to see fellow redeemed sinners - especially the angry ones - as Jesus does, but it's clearly possible, and commanded, and in the raisin example it wasn't about my efforts anyway - just turning on a light.
Intersecting Faith & Life: Who's got your goat? Have you ever tried seeing that individual, group, or faceless internet personage in a different light, from a different perspective, or even as God sees them? Have you considered how you might look different to others in a new light? Try filling these blanks in for yourself: "I like ____(x)_____, therefore I like even __________ _____(x)_____."
Further Reading
John 1: 4-11
Light and the Nature of God, by Regis Nicoll
How to Deal with Angry People, by Gary Chapman
April 28, 2009
Don't Bother Me with Details!
by Katherine Britton, Crosswalk.com News & Culture
So Joshua took the entire land, just as the LORD had directed Moses, and he gave it as an
inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.
-- Joshua 11:23
Every so often I take out my old "Dear Diary" from when I was eight years old, and thumb through it for the sake of hilarity. Most entries go something like this:
"Today I woke up at 7:47 a.m. Then I ate pancakes for breakfast! I love pancakes! Then I did school, and I brought my magnifying glass with binoculars with me to co-op. Then we played outside in the afternoon. I scraped my knee when I fell off my bike, but I rode all the way around the house on the grass!"
Riveting, no?
Amusement carries me through about three "Dear Diary" entries, and then the skimming begins. After I've read through a week of what I had for breakfast, I'm usually done observing my former status as a "cute kid." Every little detail that I thought was so important when I was eight just doesn't thrill me now.
Unfortunately, I've have a tendency to take the same approach to certain portions of Scripture. You know the ones I'm talking about -- "This is what Moses had given the tribe of Gad... from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory of Debir." All the territories and distances and kings of what city etc. are very much like those breakfast entries. That's nice, God, but frankly, I don't really care anymore.
I didn't think it was possible to make a sermon out of such details, but a pastor proved me wrong on Sunday. In fact, he made a sermon out of all nine chapters detailing which tribes and clans got what land when the Israelites finally took Canaan. And -- unbelievably -- I found myself reveling in the "inane" details.
Consider that this doling out of territory was 600 years in making. A promise made to Abraham 600 years before this moment, before Egypt happened, before Abraham even had an heir of his own kin. Six hundred years later, God's promise that Israel would possess the land of Canaan finally comes through -- and in all that time, God has not lost sight of the details. In the midst of this plan that span more than half a millennium, the Lord of Israel comes from the span of heaven and picks out every plot of earth that every clan will inherit.
We serve a God who controls both the universe and the finest breath of wind, who orchestrates all of history and the little details for our lives. Nine chapters about plots of land? Apparently, he cares enough about the details to include them in divine revelation. And yet how often do we pass over these same details tucked away in Scripture -- even when we're searching for assurance of God's hand in our life!
As Abraham Piper writes, "It's true that knowing Michmethah is east of Shechem ranks very low in the list of facts that are important to know from the Bible. But it matters, because the sum of all the dull details that God has accomplished proves that whatever he promises, he will do."
Further Reading:
When the Bible Is Boring
the-ol-o-gy
Joshua 21:45
Joshua 23:14
April 30, 2009
Against Church Shopping
Mike Pohlman, Editor, Christianity.com
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV
A new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life details just how fluid religious commitment is among Americans. The survey, however, only confirms what the casual observer of religon in the U.S. already knows: we are a fickle people when it comes to religious affiliation. Here's how the survey opens:
Americans change religious affiliation early and often. In total, about half of American adults have changed religious affiliation at least once during their lives. Most people who change their religion leave their childhood faith before age 24, and many of those who change religion do so more than once. These are among the key findings of a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life. The survey documents the fluidity of religious affiliation in the U.S. and describes in detail the patterns and reasons for change.
Responding to the survey Time magazine's Amy Sullivan summarizes why some people switch religious homes:
With all those options, choosing a church (or mosque or synagogue or temple) isn't just a matter of theology for many Americans. They might decide where to worship because they adhere to a broad tradition -- like Protestantism -- or because they are drawn to a particular denomination, subdenomination or even an individual congregation. Or they might choose based on location or children's activities or the quality of preaching or music or potluck offerings. The concept of church-shopping itself is uniquely American.
Our consumer-oriented culture has trained us to think choosing a church is like picking a cell phone plan: find the one that meets all my needs while offering me the best "deal." But choosing a church is not like picking a cell phone plan or restaurant or movie or television show.
It is one thing to switch from Coke to Pepsi because one of the two happens to be on sale, but quite another when we leave a church simply because one down the street has a better coffee bar in the foyer. In other words, choosing a church should be primarily "a matter of theology." This requires a whole new way of thinking. A consumer oriented mind-set by definition holds weak loyalities to any one thing. The consumer mind must be ready to move quickly to the latest best deal or new thing. The theologically-oriented mindset is strongly tied to foundational doctrines and is not easily moved. The former is fickle and mobile; the latter is committed and grounded.
So how do we begin to treat church unlike the way we determine what coffee to buy at Starbucks?
1. Recognize the consumer orientation of American culture. See it for what it is and don't pretend we're not living within it. Instead, we must learn to not be conformed to this world (cf. Romans 12:1-2). The best way to do this is to "set our minds on things above" (cf. Colossians 3:1-4) through consistent Bible study, prayer and fellowship with other believers. But it also requires shunning many of the fallen habits of the world. Discernment is needed.
2. Resolve to find a church based on matters of first rather than secondary importance. For example, what does the church believe about the gospel? The Bible? God? Christ? The Holy Spirit? Church leadership? How these questions are answered should be what drives us to a particular local church not how good the potlucks are on Wednesday night (as important as that is!).
3. Persevere in your local church. The consumer will not endure faulty products. But the Christian is not called to a product, but to Christ and His church. And churches are flawed. Why? Because they're full of people like us--people being sanctified. As the apostle said, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect..." (Philippians 3:12). Indeed, we are a work in progress so love, gentleness, forebearance, forgiveness, patience, kindness, etc. must be what marks us as we learn to live together in local fellowship.
More could be said, but I am convinced that we have a tremendous opportunity to get the attention of our market-driven, consumer-oriented culture by modeling the very opposite behavior when it comes to church. When fickleness is the norm deep commitment will stand out like a shining star at night. When those people close to us see this devotion they may even ask why--with all its flaws--we stay committed to our local church. And when that question comes I pray we will have a reason far more powerful than, "We like the music on Sunday mornings." No, let us say, "The gospel is preached and lived out there. Why would I go anywhere else?"
Further Reading/Viewing
Ministering in a Church-Hopping Society, Josh Harris (video sermon from The Gospel Coalition 2009 National Conference)
I Love the Church, Brian Borgman
Your Christianity and Your Church, Mark Dever
Crosswalk.com - The Devotional
May 1, 2009
That Skip-Over Verse
by Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Entertainment Editor
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV
Today's verse is one that I like to skip over in my Bible, even though it's highlighted. And underlined. And on a page that's dog-earred.
You see, whenever I read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, I can't help but think: Really? Be joyful ALWAYS? And how am I supposed to pray CONTINUALLY? And give thanks in ALL circumstances? Who can do all of THAT?
I'm sure you probably have a verse or two that you really don't like to read or mull over either. But, conveniently, God has ordained it so that I've had many opportunities to put my skip-over verse into action just this past week ...
* When I said "hello ... how are you doing?" in passing to an acquaintance and was greeted with a cold "hello" and a sharp "I'm fine" in response. Ouch. Where's the joy here? What did I do to deserve that kind of treatment? Why doesn't this person like me?
* When funny, but certainly unkind, words flew out of my mouth at the expense of someone else and his feelings. Why, oh WHY, did I do that just so I could make fun of them? And feel better about myself? Obviously, I was not praying while saying.
* When a friend's van, in which she had just pumped a couple thousand dollars for repairs a few weeks earlier was pronounced "dead" by mechanics. How could anyone be joyful in this type of circumstance? I want to greet these mechanics with a "holy punch" on her behalf. Argh!
* When people are difficult just to be difficult and disagree with every factoid or opinion you might share. You say black. They say white. You say gray. They say plaid. Ugh! Am I supposed to be thankful for this? Isn't there some other way I can learn humility? 'Cause I'd be ever so grateful if it was a different circumstance, Lord.
What also stands out to me about 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, is that each thought gets its own verse. I think that this week is the first time that that has registered with me. It's almost as if Paul wanted to give specific emphasis to each way of living:
* Be joyful always
* Pray continually
* Give thanks in all circumstances
These three directives were part of the "Final Instructions" section in Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians. He was reminding the church in Thessalonica of how God's people are to live and how our attitudes should not be affected by (or a result of) our circumstances.
This is a hard pill to swallow, folks. At least for me it is. Sure, it's easy to be joyful, praying continually and giving thanks in all things when life is going great, when everyone is your best friend and when the blessings (usually material) are just raining on down.
But what about when you've had a week like I just did? How are you supposed to live like this?
I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Phil. 4:13).
That's the key. God, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is the one who powers me and helps me to live in this way. And this is the kind of living that God wants for his children. It is his will for us, not our own. And it is that which is pleasing to him.
Intersecting Faith & Life: Please don't skip over 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 like I have a habit of doing. Let it cause you to pause and take some time to assess your current attitude. What is it-or who is it-that's got you not joyful, not praying and not giving thanks? Ask the Lord to soften your heart and change your attitude. He doesn't want to skip over you. And if you are willing, through YOU he can work wonders!
Further Reading
Ephesians 5:20
Romans 8:28
Crosswalk.com- The Devotional
May 4, 2009
Love is a Decision
by Sarah Jennings, Crosswalk.com Family Editor
Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. Matthew 7: 24-25
The month of May marks the beginning of wedding season. I've attended many weddings among my friends in past years.
These weddings have been the kind of weddings girls dream of throughout childhood. They've been full of sunlight, laughter, dancing, friends, family, flowers, flowing dresses, historic landscapes, and handsome men in tuxes.
In the midst of these fairy tale weddings, though, I've found myself absorbed in the vows more than the frills of the celebration. Watching these young couples pledge their lives to one another somehow transcends the romance of the wedding day. The joining of two lives until death is so sublime many have questioned if such love can truly last or if the idea of finding one's soul mate is just as much a fairy tale as the wedding day itself.
But many a seasoned couple will tell the cynics that while feelings of passion may have initially fueled their decision to marry, much of the success of married life depends not on the whims of feelings or the circumstances of life, but on the free will choice to be together and stay together. To quote the pastor's words during a traditional wedding ceremony, these couples "come freely and without reservation" to each other not just on the first day, but every day of life. And while this daily decision to love the other does not always come easily, combined with God's grace, it allows two people to experience intimacy that surpasses all other human relationships.
You've seen them -- older couples who have twinkles in their eyes and cherish their years together.
As I watched these newly married couples begin their journeys, I couldn't help but ponder how God's design for earthly marriage mirrors our faith walk. Marriage, after all, is one of the most profound symbols found throughout the Old and New Testaments.
Just as couples must enter freely into marriage, Christ freely suffered and died for us, and in turn, our faith journey begins with a free will decision to accept His gift. And just as the initial commitment on the altar requires daily decisions to love for the marriage to thrive, our initial acceptance of Christ leads to a series of decisions to love God and continue to walk in the faith.
Our deacon, reflecting on the verses above, pointed out the emphasis Christ puts on our actions, our will. Even when the storms of life beat us down, our decision to remain committed to Christ and the Christian life will keep us connected to God, helping us navigate the unknowns. And ultimately, the decision to love will allow each one of us to know divine love that surpasses all human relationships.
You've seen them -- individuals facing death or old age with twinkles in their eyes and peace in their hearts.
Perhaps you're going through a dark time where God feels distant. In a culture that increasingly sees divorce as no big deal, you may be finding the decision to stay on the narrow path of faith, to daily choose virtue over vice, exhausting and even foreign.
The good news is that no matter how weather-beaten we get on our journey, God is the perfect Spouse, forever faithful and forever walking beside us even when we stray from the original path. His unwavering grace and love are always available to us, and He welcomes us with open arms when we come home.
Intersecting Faith & Life: Just as God gives spouses the gift of each other in marriage, I've found God often works through others to encourage us in our faith. Think about the people He's placed in your life right now. Is there someone who needs you to walk along side them for support? Or perhaps you're struggling. Take comfort in knowing that storms are normal, and God especially treasures our decision to remain faithful when the decision is made during tough times.
Further Reading
Ex 6: 7
Ps 36: 5
May 5, 2009
My Conversation with a Hedge
by Shawn McEvoy, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor
He who neglects discipline despises himself, But he who listens to reproof acquires understanding.
The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.
Proverbs 15:32-33
Every summer, my wife and kids leave me for three weeks to visit all of her relatives in Texas while I stay home and work. For the first day or two that they're gone, I enjoy my freedom from some of my responsibilities. After that, though, I tend to go a little crazy. Find myself wandering around the house, or doing "improvement" projects I have no business tackling. Making up song lyrics. Or having conversations with inanimate objects.
Last summer, in the middle of their trip, I was trimming the bushes beneath our front windows. The three on the right side of the stoop grow more uniformly than the three on the left. On the left, the one closest to the stairs is healthiest, while the other two, thanks to heavier afternoon shade, don't do as well. Oh, it's hard to tell, because I keep them pruned so that they "grow together" in the middle and stay squared off on the tops and corners. But obviously, the two weaker bushes suffer the pruning less frequently, because I let them grow out to fill in the gaps.
As I was working, their healthier sibling, I imagined, began to speak to me. Or to whine is more like it...
Hey! What gives?
Nothing, my good man. Just time for your monthly trimming.
But why? I'm not doing anything wrong. Just sitting here minding my own business. Doing good, doing what I'm supposed to do. And here you come...
Well, just sit still, please. Trust me, I have a purpose here.
Really? Well forgive me for asking, but why doesn't that purpose seem to apply to my lazy, stunted brethren here? All this time and barely a scratch. Maybe a nip, a cut. Nothing lost, no pain.
You're not happy with how your look? Where you're situated?
I'm fine. But that's just it. I don't deserve this cutting and trimming.
You think you planted yourself in this primo spot?
Never really thought about it. I just want to know why you're taking so much away from me and nothing from them.
I told you I have a purpose. You can't see what I can see. In fact, you can't see much at all. You're completely rooted in place. But I've seen all around you and through you, and have since you were planted.
But it hurts. I don't like losing things.
Never having them in the first place, and never really growing, that's not much good either. I have to give extra care and attention to those others. I hope it brings them up to the same level of maturity as you.
Hmmph.
I finished trimming up the hedges, and went my way, unsure I had gotten through. But when I stood back, I beheld something beautiful. I could only hope those under my care understood, had not despised their discipline, and opted to forsake impractical comparison.
Intersecting Faith & Life: The next time you feel like others aren't being as challenged as you are, or like the Lord is picking on you unfairly, consider that you can't see all the perspectives or purposes of the Lord, in your life and especially not in the lives of others. The Lord loves you enough to discipline you, and he knows you're healthy and with enough green growth to handle His pruning.
Further Reading
John 15
Pruning Your Vineyard
May 6, 2009
Don't Look Too Closely
by Katherine Britton, Crosswalk.com News & Culture Editor
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
-- Exodus 3:14
If you look too closely at the world outside the church windows, you're going to be discouraged. I don't need to point out the myriad ways in which the culture has slipped out of the Christian sphere and capitalized on more "diverse" philosophies. You've seen it yourself. It's all wrapped up in the term "post-Christian" -- the culture has decided we're irrelevant.
As Newsweek's editor Jon Meacham put it, "This is not to say that the Christian God is dead, but that he is less of a force in American politics and culture than at any other time in recent memory. To the surprise of liberals who fear the advent of an evangelical theocracy and to the dismay of religious conservatives who long to see their faith more fully expressed in public life, Christians are now making up a declining percentage of the American population."
Compared to a few years ago, the statistics show that American Christianity at large is decidedly smaller.
Does that discourage you like it does me?
As I've been pondering these sentiments over the last few weeks, I haven't discovered anything that will "save" American Christianity, and I haven't seen much evidence of widespread revival in Hollywood or elsewhere, try as I might to find it. But then, that's the one thing I have concluded.
Maybe we're looking too closely.
Surveys and statistics may be diagnostic of the church as a whole, but they also have the ability to distract. In zooming in on the visible church in the present day, we're subject to a cultural myopia that can distort biblical standards. We are, after all, American -- we're driven by results, and we like to see the results now. The idea of Christians as a "declining percentage of the American population" strikes us as a failure. And maybe it is. But tell me -- where does God enter the picture in that attitude?
We forget the eternity behind the name the Lord told to Moses. "I AM" indicates the self-sufficiency of a God who is "eternal and unchangeable, and always the same, yesterday, today, and for ever; he will be what he will be and what he is." (Matthew Henry) Meanwhile, we can focus in on this piece of culture around us, fret about our role in it, and forget that I AM holds it all in the palm of his hand. I AM cannot fail, even though those of us down in U.S.A. may see the appearance of defeat. But it's only that -- an appearance.
The hymn "How Firm a Foundation" brings me back to the comforting truth that the Lord is still the great I AM, unshakable in spite of whatever the statistics say.
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he hath said,
to you that for refuge to Jesus have fled?
"Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed!
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell shall endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake."
Intersecting Faith & Life: Let's keep the perspective. We know that Christ has already won the eternal battles as well as the cultural ones through his death and defeat of death. And that was 2,000 years ago. We are called to bring light into the culture, but we are not responsible for the end result. Let's focus less on the statistics and more on I AM. We know the rest will follow.
Further Reading:
Hebrews 6:17-18
Revelation 1:8
Always Losing, Never Lost: Christianity in America
May 7, 2009
Are Young Americans "Losing Their Religion"?
Mike Pohlman, Editor, Christianity.com
Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
Psalm 85:6, ESV
Was R.E.M's 1991 single "Losing My Religion" a harbinger of today's religious landscape?
The ABC News headline reads, "Young Americans Losing Their Religion." But the article, based on research done by Harvard professor Robert Putnam (author of Bowling Alone), misses the more important point of Putnam's research. And by doing so buries the real lede.
First, here's how the article opens--full of doom and gloom for the future of religion in America:
New research shows young Americans are dramatically less likely to go to church -- or to participate in any form of organized religion -- than their parents and grandparents.
"It's a huge change," says Harvard University professor Robert Putnam, who conducted the research.
Historically, the percentage of Americans who said they had no religious affiliation (pollsters refer to this group as the "nones") has been very small -- hovering between 5 percent and 10 percent. However, Putnam says the percentage of "nones" has now skyrocketed to between 30 percent and 40 percent among younger Americans.
Putnam calls this a "stunning development." He gave reporters a first glimpse of his data Tuesday at a conference on religion organized by the Pew Forum on Faith in Public Life.
The numbers look daunting and leave little hope that the church will be anything but a ghost town in the not-so-distant future.
But beyond the opening paragraphs the reader sees that all is not lost for the American church. In fact, there is a tremendous opportunity to "convert" these "nones" from non-church members to vital participants in organized religion. Notice the article's conclusion:
Given that today's young "nones" probably would be in church if they didn't associate religion with far-right political views, he says, new faith groups may evolve to serve them.
"Jesus said, 'Be fishers of men,'" says Putnam, "and there's this pool with a lot of fish in it and no fishermen right now."
In the end, he says, this "stunning" trend of young people becoming less religious could lead to America's next great burst of religious innovation.
Apparently Putnam's research (the basis of his forthcoming book, American Grace) demonstrates that what turns today's young people away from the church is the association of organized religion with politics. In other words, it's not God young people reject, but a political gospel. And in America today there is good evidence to believe that the church is awakening to this important reality.
Evangelical groups are sprouting up to help return the church to a gospel-centered focus. Theology, not politics, is what's driving growing ministries like Together for the Gospel, The Gospel Coalition and 9Marks Ministries, to name a few. Christian publishers are heeding the message as well. Book houses like Crossway, Multnomah, Moody and IVP are churning out solid books on theology, doctrine, church history and ministry methods centered on the gospel. Indeed, a popular topic in books today--started by David Wells in the 1990s--is the necessity of the church to foresake worldliness and move toward a God-centered, counter-cultural lifestyle (see, for example, Tullian Tchividjian's Unfashionable, G.K. Beale's We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry and Michael Horton's Christless Christianity and forthcoming The Gospel Driven Life). Add to this the fact that some of America's fastest growing churches are robustly theological and gospel-centered (see, for example, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Redeemer Presbyterian, Mars Hill Church, The Village Church and CrossWay Community Church).
In other words, it appears that "America's next great burst of religious innovation" is already happening. And, refreshingly, this "innovation"--while using new methods and means--is taking us back to theological first things.
So, may I suggest a new headline. Something like, "With Return to the Gospel, American Church Ready for Revival."
Intersecting Faith & Life:
What signs of revival do you see as you survey America's religious landscape? What steps can you take at home and in your church to help ensure that the gospel is central?
Further Reading
Two complimentary books that have me thinking about this issue, and leaving me hopeful, are God is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith is Changing the World and Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies.
May 8, 2009
Mom's the Word
by Laura MacCorkle, Senior Entertainment Editor
Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:9-10, NIV
Spelled forwards or backwards, there's no mistaking the word mom. We all know what it stands for.
Turned upside down, it also reads wow. And that's something I wholeheartedly agree with-especially now that I'm old enough to understand everything that my mom did and has done for me over the years. All I can say is "Wow!"
I also think of the word instruction when I think of my mom - or any maternal figure who was influential in my life. I probably didn't like it at the time. Okay, I know I didn't like it at the time, as I always seemed to have my own agenda. But years later, I greatly appreciate the words of instruction that were given to me. My mom's words included, but were not limited to:
If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.
When in doubt, don't.
Chew with your mouth closed.
Because I said so.
So? Sew a hole in the ground. (Not really sure what that was for.)
Do your best.
Did you wash your hands? Let me smell them.
Try it. You might like it.
Hide God's Word in your heart that you might not sin against him.
Now what did Mommy say?
I continue to hear these words of instruction in my head as an adult. They're part of my mom's imprint on my life. They impart lessons of kindness, perspective, right and wrong, responsibility, attentiveness and obedience. And if I show any signs of the beginning of wisdom, I'll continue to heed these words and hopefully someday impart them to my future children.
The Bible speaks of the great value and importance of instruction and how we should perceive such words and their meaning in our lives:
"Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life" (Proverbs 4:13).
"He who scorns instruction will pay for it, but he who respects a command is rewarded" (Proverbs 13:13).
"Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD" (Proverbs 16:20).
"Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise" (Proverbs 19:20).
"Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge" (Proverbs 23:12).
You may not have always agreed with the instruction imparted to you over the years. But, as I now am, I hope that you are cherishing the treasures given to you by your mother or anyone who has filled this role in your upbringing.
My mother sowed seeds into my life. She consistently worked my strong-willed soil. And the lack of an instant bumper crop didn't discourage her. Undeterred, she kept coming back and doing her part to ensure that good things were planted into my life. She added to my heart and to my mind, so that these instructions would hopefully take root and one day bring forth spiritual fruit.
I've not become a mother yet, but I've done my fair share of babysitting and taking care of children of all ages. So I have a tiny glimpse of what is involved in this process.
To "train up a child in the way he should go" takes patience. Sacrifice. And most of all, a great love. Your mother is an earthly example of how our heavenly Father takes care of you and provides life-giving-and life-saving-instruction through his Word.
Thank God for your mother today. And take time to honor her this Mother's Day for all that she means to you as your mom.
Intersecting Faith & Life: I don't know what your relationship is like with your mother. She may not be here any longer. Or you may not have had a strong or healthy connection. This Mother's Day, however, think of someone (your mom, a relative, a teacher or any another godly woman you see as a mentor) who has given you valuable instruction. Let her know how much she has meant to you and what an impact she has made in your life.
Further Reading
Ephesians 6:1-3
Proverbs 31:30-31