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Monday, August 31, 2020
“My Joy…Your Joy” by Oswald Chambers
God Is Able by Charles Stanley
Jesus knew what it was like to live with limited resources, to have others question His actions (Mark 3:21), and to be rejected by those He sought to serve (John 6:66). Yet in spite of such opposition, He didn’t let circumstances affect His trust in the Father.
We’re called to follow Jesus’ example by believing that God is able to do what He’s promised. For instance, Hebrews 7:25 assures salvation for whoever requests forgiveness in the name of Jesus—His death on the cross satisfied the demands of divine justice for all our sins. God will pardon everybody who has genuine faith in His Son and will make each one a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). No matter what trouble someone may have caused, the Lord invites that person to draw near in faith and receive the gift of everlasting life.
God also promises to establish in truth everyone who trusts in Him (Rom. 16:25). Through His Spirit and the Word, we start to see things as our Father does, which helps us understand what pleases Him.
By believing God keeps His promises, we grow stronger in our faith and gain peace. Hardships that would once have thrown us off course lose their power. Hope replaces discouragement, and trust overcomes doubt. Next time trouble comes, focus on God’s promises and ability to care for you.
Can we completely understand God? by Adrian Rogers
Can we completely understand God?
For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heavens, to establish a weight for the wind, and apportion the waters by measure. Job 28:24-25
There are certain things God is not going to reveal. And that’s good news. Who wants to believe in a God they can put in a box and completely understand? Not me.
We can know God. Through Jesus Christ, His Son, we can know Him. And we can know Him through what He has revealed in His Word. You can take a bucket down to the ocean and dip out a bucket full of water. Everything in that bucket is ocean, but not all the ocean is in the bucket. And with our bucket-size minds, we are never going to know all there is about God. I’m not. You’re not. Nobody is.
Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
The Servant Hears by Glenn Packiam
The Servant Hears
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10
Had the wireless radio been on, they would have known the Titanic was sinking. Cyril Evans, the radio operator of another ship, had tried to relay a message to Jack Phillips, the radio operator on the Titanic—letting him know they had encountered an ice field. But Phillips was busy relaying passengers’ messages and rudely told Evans to be quiet. So Evans reluctantly turned off his radio and went to bed. Ten minutes later, the Titanic struck an iceberg. Their distress signals went unanswered because no one was listening.
In 1 Samuel we read that the priests of Israel were corrupt and had lost their spiritual sight and hearing as the nation drifted into danger. “The word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions” (1 Samuel 3:1). Yet God wouldn’t give up on His people. He began to speak to a young boy named Samuel who was being raised in the priest’s household. Samuel’s name means “the Lord hears”—a memorial to God’s answering his mother’s prayer. But Samuel would need to learn how to hear God.
“Speak, for your servant is listening” (v. 10). It’s the servant who hears. May we also choose to listen to and obey what God has revealed in the Scriptures. Let’s submit our lives to Him and take the posture of humble servants—those who have their “radios” turned on.
In 1 Samuel we read that the priests of Israel were corrupt and had lost their spiritual sight and hearing as the nation drifted into danger. “The word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions” (1 Samuel 3:1). Yet God wouldn’t give up on His people. He began to speak to a young boy named Samuel who was being raised in the priest’s household. Samuel’s name means “the Lord hears”—a memorial to God’s answering his mother’s prayer. But Samuel would need to learn how to hear God.
“Speak, for your servant is listening” (v. 10). It’s the servant who hears. May we also choose to listen to and obey what God has revealed in the Scriptures. Let’s submit our lives to Him and take the posture of humble servants—those who have their “radios” turned on.
Why is it vital for you to obey what God has revealed in Scripture? How can you stay “tuned in” to His voice?
Dear Jesus, thank You for being a speaking God. Thank You for the Scriptures that help me follow You in obedience. Speak, Your servant is listening.
Judge, but Don't Condemn by Greg Laurie
Judge, but Don't Condemn
“Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?” (1 Corinthians 6:2 nkjv).
When someone says that a Christian should never judge, that’s incorrect.
But didn’t Jesus say, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1 nkjv)?
Yes, and He went on to say, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (verse 15 nkjv).
Unless we make some kind of judgment, how will we determine who a false prophet is? There is a place for judgment. The Bible even says, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17 nkjv).
Also, 1 Corinthians 6:2 tells us, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?” (nkjv).
There are many verses that actually teach us as Christians to judge, make evaluations, and exercise discernment.
So yes, we are to make evaluations in judgment. It’s very important. But having said that, what did Jesus actually mean when He said, “Judge not, that you be not judged”?
A better way to translate this statement of Christ in Matthew 7:1 is, “Condemn not, that you be not condemned.” There’s a big difference between the two.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to make judgments, make evaluations, and use our discernment. However, we are not to condemn others. We judge for identification, not for condemnation.
We need to refrain from hypercritical, condemning judgment. As the late J. Vernon McGee pointed out, “The only exercise some Christians get is jumping to conclusions and running down others.”
While we should make evaluations in judgment, we should not condemn other people.
Copyright © 2020 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Hope Beyond Death by Billy Graham
Hope Beyond Death
We don’t like to talk about death; it’s the forbidden subject of our generation. Yet it’s real for all of us. Sometimes on television I see motion pictures featuring actors who are no longer living. They seem very much alive in the picture, but they are dead. Some of them were my personal friends. Death is real, and when we die, that is a battle we have to fight all alone. Nobody can be with us in that hour, but David said he had found an answer that would take the fear of death away. David said that there is an answer to death, there is a hope beyond death. That hope is centered in the risen Christ. Paul wrote that to be “absent from the body” is to be “present with the Lord.” So the fear of death is removed.
Daily Prayer
Lord Jesus, with complete trust I look toward that day when my soul will be with You for eternity.
“The wicked are crushed by disaster, but the godly have a refuge when they die.”
Proverbs 14:32 NLT
WHY? / Draw Near Bible App
WHY?
When a person loses a loved one by death, the question automatically comes, "Why?" Somehow we think that if we could see some sense to the tragedy, it would give us a certain consolation. Job sought the same answer during his time of trouble. Yet God chose to demonstrate through his life that a man can love God and find peace without knowing the source of his troubles. Tragic though his life was, the Bible says: In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong (Job 1:22).
After losing his wealth, his family, and everything he had worked for, Job was struck down with a form of leprosy and probably elephantiasis. For almost two years, these painful ailments gnawed at his nerves, making them bloody raw. Four friends came to "comfort" him and pointed out that obviously Job's trouble came because of some great secret sin in his life. Later, when Job was healed, these same four men were instructed by God to ask Job to pray for their forgiveness.
Three prominent lessons are learned in the book of Job: (1) Human suffering is not necessarily an evidence of God's displeasure with the suffering one; (2) God is with His people at all times, even though they cannot feel Him; (3) While suffering may be permitted by God, it is brought on by Satan. Satan would confuse these three principles. He would like us to think that God forgets His people and is the creator of sorrow. The true believer looks beyond the sorrow of the moment to the sunrise of God's love. He, like Job, can say: My Redeemer lives! Remember, after the cross, the resurrection always comes.
When a person loses a loved one by death, the question automatically comes, "Why?" Somehow we think that if we could see some sense to the tragedy, it would give us a certain consolation. Job sought the same answer during his time of trouble. Yet God chose to demonstrate through his life that a man can love God and find peace without knowing the source of his troubles. Tragic though his life was, the Bible says: In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong (Job 1:22).
After losing his wealth, his family, and everything he had worked for, Job was struck down with a form of leprosy and probably elephantiasis. For almost two years, these painful ailments gnawed at his nerves, making them bloody raw. Four friends came to "comfort" him and pointed out that obviously Job's trouble came because of some great secret sin in his life. Later, when Job was healed, these same four men were instructed by God to ask Job to pray for their forgiveness.
Three prominent lessons are learned in the book of Job: (1) Human suffering is not necessarily an evidence of God's displeasure with the suffering one; (2) God is with His people at all times, even though they cannot feel Him; (3) While suffering may be permitted by God, it is brought on by Satan. Satan would confuse these three principles. He would like us to think that God forgets His people and is the creator of sorrow. The true believer looks beyond the sorrow of the moment to the sunrise of God's love. He, like Job, can say: My Redeemer lives! Remember, after the cross, the resurrection always comes.
““But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last.”
Job 19:25 NLT
August 31 / Streams in the Desert
Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed (John 20:29).
How strong is the snare of the things that are seen, and how necessary for God to keep us in the things that axe unseen! If Peter is to walk on the water he must walk; if he is going to swim, he must swim, but he cannot do both. If the bird is going to fly it must keep away from fences and the trees, and trust to its buoyant wings. But if it tries to keep within easy reach of the ground, it will make poor work of flying.
God had to bring Abraham to the end of his own strength, and to let him see that in his own body he could do nothing. He had to consider his own body as good as dead, and then take God for the whole work; and when he looked away from himself, and trusted God alone, then he became fully persuaded that what He had promised, He was able to perform.
That is what God is teaching us, and He has to keep away encouraging results until we learn to trust without them, and then He loves to make His Word real in fact as well as faith.
--A. B. Simpson
--A. B. Simpson
I do not ask that He must prove
His Word is true to me,
And that before I can believe
He first must let me see.
It is enough for me to know
'Tis true because He says 'tis so;
On His unchanging Word I'll stand
And trust till I can understand.
--E. M. Winter
His Word is true to me,
And that before I can believe
He first must let me see.
It is enough for me to know
'Tis true because He says 'tis so;
On His unchanging Word I'll stand
And trust till I can understand.
--E. M. Winter
Walking in Light by Alistair Begg
Walking in Light
If we walk in the light, as he is in the light . . .1 John 1:7
“As he is in the light”! Can we ever attain to this? Will we ever be able to walk as clearly in the light as He is whom we call “Our Father,” of whom it is written, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (verse 5)? Certainly this is the model that is set before us, for the Savior Himself said, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”;1 and although we may feel that we can never rival the perfection of God, yet we are to seek after it and not be satisfied until we attain to it. The youthful artist as he grasps his newly sharpened pencil can hardly hope to equal Raphael or Michelangelo; but still, if he did not have a noble ideal before his mind, he would only attain to something very mean and ordinary.
But what is meant by the expression that the Christian is to walk in light as God is in the light? We conceive it to convey likenessbut not degree. We are as truly in the light, we are as heartily in the light, we are as sincerely in the light, as honestly in the light, although we cannot be there in the same measure. I cannot dwell in the sun—it is too bright a place for my residence, but I can walk in the light of the sun; and so, though I cannot attain to that perfection of purity and truth that belongs to the Lord of hosts by nature as the infinitely good, yet I can set the Lord always before me and strive, by the help of the indwelling Spirit, to conform to His image.
The famous old commentator John Trapp says, “We may be in the light as God is in the light for quality, but not for equality.” We are to have the same light and are as truly to have it and walk in it as God does, though as for equality with God in His holiness and purity, that must be left until we cross the Jordan and enter into the perfection of the Most High. Notice how the blessings of sacred fellowship and perfect cleansing are bound up with walking in the light.
When You Are Low on Hope by Max Lucado
When You Are Low on Hope
by Max Lucado
by Max Lucado
Water. All Noah can see is water. The evening sun sinks into it. The clouds are reflected in it. His boat is surrounded by it. Water. Water to the north. Water to the south. Water to the east. Water to the west. Water.
He sent a raven on a scouting mission; it never returned. He sent a dove. It came back shivering and spent, having found no place to roost. Then, just this morning, he tried again. With a prayer he let it go and watched until the bird was no bigger than a speck on a window.
All day he looked for the dove’s return.
Now the sun is setting, and the sky is darkening, and he has come to look one final time, but all he sees is water. Water to the north. Water to the south. Water to the east. Water to the …
You know the feeling. You have stood where Noah stood. You’ve known your share of floods. Flooded by sorrow at the cemetery, stress at the office, anger at the disability in your body or the inability of your spouse. You’ve seen the floodwater rise, and you’ve likely seen the sun set on your hopes as well. You’ve been on Noah’s boat.
And you’ve needed what Noah needed; you’ve needed some hope. You’re not asking for a helicopter rescue, but the sound of one would be nice. Hope doesn’t promise an instant solution but rather the possibility of an eventual one. Sometimes all we need is a little hope.
That’s all Noah needed. And that’s all Noah received.
Here is how the Bible describes the moment: “When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf!” (Genesis 8:11).
An olive leaf. Noah would have been happy to have the bird but to have the leaf! This leaf was more than foliage; this was promise. The bird brought more than a piece of a tree; it brought hope. For isn’t that what hope is? Hope is an olive leaf—evidence of dry land after a flood. Proof to the dreamer that dreaming is worth the risk.
To all the Noahs of the world, to all who search the horizon for a fleck of hope, Jesus proclaims, “Yes!” And he comes. He comes as a dove. He comes bearing fruit from a distant land, from our future home. He comes with a leaf of hope.
Have you received yours? Don’t think your ark is too isolated. Don’t think your flood is too wide. Receive his hope, won’t you? Receive it because you need it. Receive it so you can share it. Receive his hope, won’t you? Receive it because you need it. Receive it so you can share it.
What do you suppose Noah did with his? What do you think he did with the leaf? Did he throw it overboard and forget about it? Do you suppose he stuck it in his pocket and saved it for a scrapbook? Or do you think he let out a whoop and assembled the troops and passed it around like the Hope Diamond it was?
Certainly he whooped. That’s what you do with hope. What do you do with olive leaves? You pass them around. You don’t stick them in your pocket. You give them to the ones you love. Love always hopes. “Love … bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4–7 NKJV, emphasis mine).
Love has hope in you.
The aspiring young author was in need of hope. More than one person had told him to give up. “Getting published is impossible,” one mentor said. “Unless you are a national celebrity, publishers won’t talk to you.” Another warned, “Writing takes too much time. Besides, you don’t want all your thoughts on paper.”
Initially he listened. He agreed that writing was a waste of effort and turned his attention to other projects. But somehow the pen and pad were bourbon and Coke to the wordaholic. He’d rather write than read. So he wrote. How many nights did he pass on that couch in the corner of the apartment reshuffling his deck of verbs and nouns? And how many hours did his wife sit with him? He wordsmithing. She cross-stitching. Finally a manuscript was finished. Crude and laden with mistakes but finished.
She gave him the shove. “Send it out. What’s the harm?”
So out it went. Mailed to fifteen different publishers. While the couple waited, he wrote. While he wrote, she stitched. Neither expecting much, both hoping everything. Responses began to fill the mailbox. “I’m sorry, but we don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts.” “We must return your work. Best of luck.” “Our catalog doesn’t have room for unpublished authors.”
I still have those letters. Somewhere in a file. Finding them would take some time. Finding Denalyn’s cross-stitch, however, would take none. To see it, all I do is lift my eyes from this monitor and look on the wall. “Of all those arts in which the wise excel, nature’s chief masterpiece is writing well.”
She gave it to me about the time the fifteenth letter arrived. A publisher had said yes. That letter is also framed. Which of the two is more meaningful? The gift from my wife or the letter from the publisher? The gift, hands down. For in giving the gift, Denalyn gave hope.
Love does that. Love extends an olive leaf to the loved one and says, “I have hope in you.”
Love is just as quick to say, “I have hope foryou.”
You can say those words. You are a flood survivor. By God’s grace you have found your way to dry land. You know what it’s like to see the waters subside. And since you do, since you passed through a flood and lived to tell about it, you are qualified to give hope to someone else.
From A Love Worth Giving: Living in the Overflow of God’s Love
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2002) Max Lucado
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2002) Max Lucado
Are You Hoping or Wishing? / Senior Living
Are You Hoping or Wishing?
“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” - Psalm 39:7
Eugene Peterson, who translated The MessageBible, points out that what a lot of people call “hope” is really something different. It's wishing, not hoping: and wishing and hoping are not the same thing.
He says, “Wishing is something all of us do. It projects what we want or think we need into the future. Just because we wish for something good or holy we think it qualifies as hope. It does not. Wishing extends our egos into the future; hope grows out of our faith. Hope is oriented toward what God is doing; wishing is oriented toward what we are doing.”
“Hope,” he continues, “means being surprised, because we don't know what is best for us or how our lives are going to be completed. To cultivate hope is to suppress wishing – to refuse to fantasize about what we want, but live in anticipation of what God is going to do next.”
He says, “Wishing is something all of us do. It projects what we want or think we need into the future. Just because we wish for something good or holy we think it qualifies as hope. It does not. Wishing extends our egos into the future; hope grows out of our faith. Hope is oriented toward what God is doing; wishing is oriented toward what we are doing.”
“Hope,” he continues, “means being surprised, because we don't know what is best for us or how our lives are going to be completed. To cultivate hope is to suppress wishing – to refuse to fantasize about what we want, but live in anticipation of what God is going to do next.”
When Christ came into the world, He was the Messiah people hoped for, but not the one many wished for. If most people had their way, Christ would have been born in a grand palace – a place fit for a king. But God had other plans – plans that included Christ being made low, born in a humble stable.
But isn’t that so much better? We don’t have a Savior who looks down on us from high. He became like us so that He could save us. What a wonderful blessing that Christ fulfilled hope, not a wish!
Prayer Challenge:
Thank God that Christ came exactly as He planned – not in splendor but in humility.
Questions for Thought:
Why do you think Jesus was born and lived much of His life in such humble circumstances?
What does Christ’s humility teach you about putting aside selfish ambition?
Time and Eternity by David Jeremiah
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August 31 / Wisdom from the Psalms
The old man loved to sit in the park. He had come to the same bench each day for over fifteen years. In that time he had spent many hours talking with children, teaching them games, and telling them stories. In simpler times, they had adored the old man. Now it seemed they treated him with contempt and made fun of him. They no longer flocked to sit at his feet, and he was lonely for bygone times. Each time a young boy or girl hurled an insult, he closed his eyes and asked God to forgive them. No matter how they chose to treat him, he would always love the children.
There are many kind and loving people in our world who are treated terribly. They offer nothing but goodness, and they receive evil in return. Our elderly population has much to offer us, and we need to reach out to receive the treasures they hold. To ignore them is the worst kind of cruelty. To a group who has worked long and hard to provide what is good and lasting, we need to extend the hand of fellowship and love . God rejoices when we repay good for good and love with love.
Prayer: If I have hurt anyone this day, Lord, help me to make amends and to do better in the future. Let me repay no one evil for good, or evil for evil, either. Let my response always be one of love. Amen.
Sunday, August 30, 2020
Usefulness or Relationship? by Oswald Chambers
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Sunday Reflection: Trusting God to Lead Us by Charles Stanley
To get the most out of this devotion, set aside time to read the Scripture referenced throughout.
To be called children of God means that we earnestly seek His redemption—not just for ourselves but for the whole world. So when Jesus says, “For they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9), He isn’t prescribing a formula for how to become a child of God. He’s defining what a peacemaker is—someone who believes and trusts the Father to lead us.
Thinking of God as “Father” is reassuring and affirming for many believers. But there are others of us who have a complicated relationship with our earthly father, and this can affect the way we think of and relate to God. To better understand who He is, we need only look at Scripture to see a few of His attributes: He is holy (Isa. 6:3; Revelation 4:8), gracious and compassionate (Psalm 103:8), unchanging (James 1:17), and a faithful Creator (1 Peter 4:19).
Think about it
• How do you relate to the idea of God as “heavenly Father”?
•If knowing God intimately is crucial to walking in our calling as peacemakers, it means we must be committed to spending time with Him. What’s standing in the way of your relationship with the Father right now? Confess it and ask for His help.
•If knowing God intimately is crucial to walking in our calling as peacemakers, it means we must be committed to spending time with Him. What’s standing in the way of your relationship with the Father right now? Confess it and ask for His help.
Self-Checking by Dave Branon
Self-Checking
Recently I read through a stack of World War II-era letters my dad sent to my mother. He was in North Africa and she was in West Virginia. Dad, a second lieutenant in the US Army, was tasked with censoring soldiers’ letters—keeping sensitive information from enemy eyes. So it was rather humorous to see—on the outside of his letters to his wife—a stamp that said, “Censored by 2nd Lt. John Branon.” Indeed, he had cut out lines from his own letters!
Self-censoring is really a good idea for all of us. Several times in Scripture, the writers mention the importance of taking a good long look at ourselves to find what’s not right—not God-honoring. The psalmist, for example, prayed, “Search me, God, and know my heart . . . . See if there is any offensive way in me” (Psalm 139:23–24). Jeremiah put it like this: “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:40). And Paul, speaking of our heart condition at the time of communion, said, “Everyone ought to examine themselves” (1 Corinthians 11:28).
The Holy Spirit can help us turn from any attitudes or actions that don’t please God. So before we head out into the world today, let’s stop and seek the Spirit’s help in doing some self-checking so we can “return to the Lord” in fellowship with Him.
Self-censoring is really a good idea for all of us. Several times in Scripture, the writers mention the importance of taking a good long look at ourselves to find what’s not right—not God-honoring. The psalmist, for example, prayed, “Search me, God, and know my heart . . . . See if there is any offensive way in me” (Psalm 139:23–24). Jeremiah put it like this: “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:40). And Paul, speaking of our heart condition at the time of communion, said, “Everyone ought to examine themselves” (1 Corinthians 11:28).
The Holy Spirit can help us turn from any attitudes or actions that don’t please God. So before we head out into the world today, let’s stop and seek the Spirit’s help in doing some self-checking so we can “return to the Lord” in fellowship with Him.
How will you pursue healthy spiritual self-examination today? What are two things that come to mind that you could remove to improve your fellowship with God?
Search me, O God, and know my heart. See if there are any changes I need to make today as I seek to know You more and serve You better.
WHERE IS GOD? / Draw Near Bible App
WHERE IS GOD?
The book of Esther does not once mention the name of God, nor is there a reference to God or a mention of prayer. Yet, the whole book is charged through with His Presence and protection. This dramatic story is told so masterfully that it is impossible to miss the meaning. The story is allowed to speak for itself without any preachments and thus makes an even deeper impression on the reader.
Esther's real name was Hadassah. In Persia, she was known as "Esther" which meant "Ishtar" or "Venus." No doubt the name was given her because of her great beauty. The Israelites' survival was being threatened by a rabid Jew-hater. Haman determined to kill all the Jews and promised a large booty to secure the king's support. His plan backfired because, unbeknownst to him, God had given the king a Jewish wife. Haman was hanged on his own gallows. The message rings out clearly that God protects His people.
Mordecai, Esther's uncle, is a dynamic spiritual force in the story. In the hour of deepest crisis, he calls on Esther to rise to the occasion even at the risk of her life. He reminds her that she was called to the kingdom for just such a crisis as this. In the overview, it is easy to see that Mordecai was right. His stirring words ring in our ears today. In a strife-ridden world, we, too, are called to the Kingdom for such a time as this. May we respond as Esther did, in selfless dedication to our Christ.
The book of Esther does not once mention the name of God, nor is there a reference to God or a mention of prayer. Yet, the whole book is charged through with His Presence and protection. This dramatic story is told so masterfully that it is impossible to miss the meaning. The story is allowed to speak for itself without any preachments and thus makes an even deeper impression on the reader.
Esther's real name was Hadassah. In Persia, she was known as "Esther" which meant "Ishtar" or "Venus." No doubt the name was given her because of her great beauty. The Israelites' survival was being threatened by a rabid Jew-hater. Haman determined to kill all the Jews and promised a large booty to secure the king's support. His plan backfired because, unbeknownst to him, God had given the king a Jewish wife. Haman was hanged on his own gallows. The message rings out clearly that God protects His people.
Mordecai, Esther's uncle, is a dynamic spiritual force in the story. In the hour of deepest crisis, he calls on Esther to rise to the occasion even at the risk of her life. He reminds her that she was called to the kingdom for just such a crisis as this. In the overview, it is easy to see that Mordecai was right. His stirring words ring in our ears today. In a strife-ridden world, we, too, are called to the Kingdom for such a time as this. May we respond as Esther did, in selfless dedication to our Christ.
“If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?””
Esther 4:14 NLT
Make Room In Your Heart by Billy Graham
Make Room In Your Heart
When H. G. Wells summed up the influence of Jesus in history, he said, “Is it any wonder that this Galilean is too much for our small hearts?” And yet the heart of man, though small, is big enough for Christ to live in, if man will only make room for Him. Christ instilled the spirit of Christian love in His followers, so that they lived without malice and died without rancor. The love that Christ talked about can only be given to us by God. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit. When you come to Jesus Christ, He transforms you. Your past is forgiven. You receive a power to love men, beyond your natural ability to love.
Daily Prayer
Instill in me, dear Father, Your same Spirit of love which enabled the disciples to live with true charity.
““You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.”
Matthew 5:43-45 NLT
Do you love anything more than Jesus? by Adrian Rogers
Do you love anything more than Jesus?
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John 3:16
The rich young man in Mark 10:17 asked Jesus, “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Then Jesus asked him if he had kept the law. He said yes. With compassion for him, Jesus responded, “There’s one more thing you lack. Go and sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. And take up the cross and follow Me.” But the rich young man was “sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:22).
NOTE: Jesus let him go. Jesus didn’t run after him. And there’s another thing I want you to notice: Jesus didn’t lower His standards.
Is there anything you love more than Jesus? You must willingly lay it down to be saved.
August 30 / Streams in the Desert
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep (Ps. 107:23-24).
He is but an apprentice and no master in the art, who has not learned that every wind that blows is fair for Heaven. The only thing that helps nobody, is a dead calm. North or south, cast or west, it matters not, every wind may help towards that blessed port. Seek one thing only: keep well out to sea, and then have no fear of stormy winds. Let our prayer be that of an old Cornishman: "O Lord, send us out to sea--out in the deep water. Here we are so close to the rocks that the first bit of breeze with the devil, we are all knocked to pieces. Lord, send us out to sea--out in the deep water, where we shall have room enough to get a glorious victory."
--Mark Guy Pearse
--Mark Guy Pearse
Remember that we have no more faith at any time than we have in the hour of trial. All that will not bear to be tested is mere carnal confidence. Fair-weather faith is no faith.
--C. H. Spurgeon
--C. H. Spurgeon
Spiritual Doctor by Alistair Begg
Spiritual Doctor
Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed.Jeremiah 17:14I have seen his ways, but I will heal him.Isaiah 57:18
It is the sole prerogative of God to remove spiritual disease. Natural disease may be instrumentally healed by men, but even then the honor is to be given to God who grants wisdom to doctors and bestows power to enable the human frame to cast off disease. As for spiritual sicknesses, these remain with the Great Physician alone; He claims it as His prerogative: “I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal”;1 and one of the Lord's choice titles is Jehovah-Rophi, “the Lord who heals you.” “I will heal your wounds” is a promise that could not come from the lips of man but only from the mouth of the eternal God.
On this account the psalmist cried unto the Lord, “Heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled,”2 and again, “Heal me, for I have sinned against you!”3 For this also the godly praise the name of the Lord, saying, “[He] heals all your diseases.”4 He who made man can restore man; He who was at first the creator of our nature can re-create it. What a transcendent comfort it is that in the person of Jesus “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”5
My soul, whatever your disease may be, this Great Physician can heal you. If He is God, there can be no limit to His power. Come then with the blind eye of darkened understanding; come with the limping foot of wasted energy; come with the disabled hand of weak faith, the fever of an angry temper, or the fit of shivering despondency; come just as you are, for He who is God can certainly restore you. No one can restrain the healing power that proceeds from Jesus our Lord. Legions of devils have attempted to overcome the power of the beloved Physician, and never once has He been hindered. All His patients have been cured in the past and shall be in the future, and you may be counted among them, my friend, if you will but rest yourself in Him tonight.
The Guest of the Maestro by Max Lucado
The Guest of the Maestro
by Max Lucado
by Max Lucado
What happens when a dog interrupts a concert? To answer that, come with me to a spring night in Lawrence, Kansas.
Take your seat in Hoch Auditorium and behold the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra—the oldest continually operating orchestra in the world. The greatest composers and conductors in history have directed this orchestra. It was playing in the days of Beethoven (some of the musicians have been replaced).
You watch as stately dressed Europeans take their seats on the stage. You listen as professionals carefully tune their instruments. The percussionist puts her ear to the kettle drum. A violinist plucks the nylon sting. A clarinet player tightens the reed. And you sit a bit straighter as the lights dim and the tuning stops. The music is about to begin.
The conductor, dressed in tails, strides onto the stage, springs onto the podium, and gestures for the orchestra to rise. You and two thousand others applaud. The musicians take their seats, the maestro takes his position, and the audience holds its breath.
There is a second of silence between lightning and thunder. And there is a second of silence between the raising of the baton and the explosion of the music. But when it falls the heavens open and you are delightfully drenched in the downpour of Beethoven's Third Symphony.
Such was the power of that spring night in Lawrence, Kansas. That hot, spring night in Lawrence, Kansas. I mention the temperature so you'll understand why the doors were open. It was hot. Hoch Auditorium, a historic building, was not air-conditioned. Combine bright stage lights with formal dress and furious music, and the result is a heated orchestra. Outside doors on each side of the stage were left open in case of a breeze.
Enter, stage right, the dog. A brown, generic, Kansas dog. Not a mean dog. Not a mad dog. Just a curious dog. He passes between the double basses and makes his way through the second violins and into the cellos. His tail wags in beat with the music. As the dog passes between the players, they look at him, look at each other, and continue with the next measure.
The dog takes a liking to a certain cello. Perhaps it was the lateral passing of the bow. Maybe it was the eye-level view of the strings. Whatever it was, it caught the dog's attention and he stopped and watched. The cellist wasn't sure what to do. He'd never played before a canine audience. And music schools don't teach you what dog slobber might do to the lacquer of a sixteenth-century Guarneri cello. But the dog did nothing but watch for a moment and then move on.
Had he passed on through the orchestra, the music might have continued. Had he made his way across the stage into the motioning hands of the stagehand, the audience might have never noticed. But he didn't leave. He stayed. At home in the splendor. Roaming through the meadow of music.
He visited the woodwinds, turned his head at the trumpets, stepped between the flutists, and stopped by the side of the conductor. And Beethoven's Third Symphony came undone.
The musicians laughed. The audience laughed. The dog looked up at the conductor and panted. And the conductor lowered his baton.
The most historic orchestra in the world. One of the most moving pieces ever written. A night wrapped in glory, all brought to a stop by a wayward dog.
The chuckles ceased as the conductor turned. What fury might erupt? The audience grew quiet as the maestro faced them. What fuse had been lit? The polished, German director looked at the crowd, looked down at the dog, then looked back at the people, raised his hands in a universal gesture and . . . shrugged.
Everyone roared.
He stepped off the podium and scratched the dog behind the ears. The tail wagged again. The maestro spoke to the dog. He spoke in German, but the dog seemed to understand. The two visited for a few seconds before the maestro took his new friend by the collar and led him off the stage. You'd have thought the dog was Pavarotti the way the people applauded. The conductor returned and the music began and Beethoven seemed none the worse for the whole experience.
Can you find you and me in this picture?
I can. Just call us Fido. And consider God the Maestro.
And envision the moment when we will walk onto his stage. We won't deserve it. We will not have earned it. We may even surprise the musicians with our presence.
The music will be like none we've ever heard. We'll stroll among the angels and listen as they sing. We'll gaze at heaven's lights and gasp as they shine. And we'll walk next to the Maestro, stand by his side, and worship as he leads.
These final chapters remind us of that moment. They challenge us to see the unseen and live for that event. They invite us to tune our ears to the song of the skies and long—long for the moment when we'll be at the Maestro's side.
He, too, will welcome. And he, too, will speak. But he will not lead us away. He will invite us to remain, forever his guests on his stage.
From When God Whispers Your Name
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1999) Max Lucado
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1999) Max Lucado
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