does God care?
March 31, 2009 READ: Mark 14:32-42 [Jesus] began to be troubled and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.” —Mark 14:33-34 One dreadful year, three of my friends died in quick succession. My experience of the first two deaths did nothing to prepare me for the third. [...]
unclean? be cleansed!
March 30, 2009
READ: Mark 1:40-45
Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” —Mark 1:41
As I read Mark 1:40-45, I imagine the following scene:
They saw him coming toward them from across the way. He was waving his arms to warn them away. They recognized him by the bandanna covering his nose and mouth. His garments were torn and his skin peeled away from his body. He was a leper—unclean!
The crowd around Jesus scattered as the leper charged into their midst. Everyone was afraid of being touched by him because they themselves would then become unclean. Lepers were barred from the religious life of the community, isolated from society, and compelled to mourn their own death by tearing their clothes.
But this leper threw himself at Jesus’ feet, appealing to Him out of desperation and faith to restore him to wholeness: “If You are willing, You can make me clean” (v.40). Moved with compassion, Jesus touched the man and said, “I am willing; be cleansed” (v.41). Jesus healed the man of his leprosy and told him to show himself to the temple priest.
Jesus has the power to cleanse, forgive, and restore those who are hopelessly and helplessly caught up in their sin and can see no way out. Trust Him to say to you, “I am willing; be cleansed.” — Marvin Williams
Jesus specializes in restoration.
Source: Our Daily Bread
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Loading ...resolve
March 29, 2009
READ: Romans 14:1-13
Resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. —Romans 14:13
I once decorated a notebook with definitions of the words idea, thought, opinion, preference, belief, and conviction to remind myself that they do not mean the same thing. The temptation to elevate an opinion to the level of a conviction can be strong, but doing so is wrong, as we learn from Romans 14.
In the first century, religious traditions based on the law were so important to religious leaders that they failed to recognize the One who personified the law, Jesus. They were so focused on minor matters that they neglected the important ones (Matt. 23:23).
Scripture says that we need to subjugate even our beliefs and convictions to the law of love (Rom. 13:8,10; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8), for love fulfills the law and leads to peace and mutual edification.
When opinions and preferences become more important to us than what God says is valuable to Him, we have made idols out of our own beliefs. Idolatry is a serious offense because it violates the first and most important command: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3).
Let’s resolve not to elevate our own opinions above God’s, lest they become a stumbling block and keep others from knowing the love of Jesus. — Julie Ackerman Link
The greatest force on earth is not the compulsion of law but the compassion of love.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...have you left a tip?
March 28, 2009
READ: 2 Corinthians 8:1-9
Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor. —2 Corinthians 8:9
The practice of tipping is commonly accepted in many countries. But I wonder: Has this courtesy influenced our attitude toward giving money to the church?
Many Christians regard their financial giving as little more than a goodwill gesture to God for the service He has rendered us. They think that as long as they have given their tithe to God, the rest is theirs to handle as they please. But the Christian life is about so much more than money!
The Bible tells us that our Creator owns “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Ps. 50:10). “The world is Mine,” God says, “and all its fullness” (v.12). Everything comes from Him, and everything we have belongs to Him. God has not only given us every material thing we have, He has also given us His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who provides our very salvation.
Paul used the Macedonian Christians as an illustration of what our giving should look like in the light of God’s incredible generosity toward us. The Macedonians, who were in “deep poverty,” gave with “liberality” (2 Cor. 8:2). But “they first gave themselves to the Lord” (v.5).
God the Creator of the universe does not need anything from us. He doesn’t want a tip. He wants us! — C. P. Hia
No matter how much you give, you can’t outgive God.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...handling disappointments (2)
By Chloe Lee, Singapore Read: Luke 24:25-15 Jesus later rebuked the two men for being so focused on their disappointment: “‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets (e.g. Isaiah, as mentioned above) have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...handling disappointments (1)
By Chloe Lee, Singapore Two men were voicing their disappointment at how things had panned out while on the way to Emmaus. Jesus appeared to them and walked with them. “But their eyes were kept from recognising Him” (v. 16). Why was this so? They had expected something more from the coming of Jesus. For [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...i’m innocent!
March 27, 2009
READ: James 1:19-25
Be doers of the Word. —James 1:22
All of the students at a school in Florida—2,550 in total—were in trouble. A message system notified every parent that their child (or children) had detention that weekend for bad behavior. Many kids pleaded their innocence, yet some parents meted out punishment anyway. One mother, Amy, admitted that she yelled at her son and made sure he showed up for his detention on Saturday.
To the relief of 2,534 kids, and to the embarrassment of some parents, they discovered that the automated message was sent in error to the entire student body when only 16 kids actually deserved detention! Amy felt so bad about not listening to and believing her son that she took him out for breakfast that Saturday morning.
We all have stories to tell about circumstances that have shown us our need to listen before we speak. We’re naturally tempted to come to quick judgments and react angrily. The book of James gives us these three practical exhortations to deal with life’s stressful situations: “Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19).
In life’s stresses, let’s be “doers of the Word” (v.22), and take the time to listen and show restraint with our words and anger today. — Anne Cetas
Listen to understand, then speak with love.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...faithfulness in everything
March 26, 2009
READ: Colossians 3:12-17
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. —Colossians 3:17
In August 2007, a major bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people. In the weeks that followed, it was difficult for me not to think about that tragedy whenever crossing a bridge over a body of water.
Some time later, I was watching an episode of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel. Host Mike Rowe was talking to an industrial painter whose work he was trying to duplicate. “There’s really no glory in what you do,” he said. “No,” the painter agreed, “but it’s a job that needs to be done.”
You see, that man paints the inside of the Mackinac Bridge towers in Northern Michigan. His unnoticed job is done to ensure that the steel of the magnificent suspended structure won’t rust from the inside out, compromising the integrity of the bridge. Most of the 12,000 people who cross the Straits of Mackinac each day aren’t even aware that they are depending on workers like this painter to faithfully do their jobs well.
God also sees our faithfulness in the things we do. Though we may think our deeds—big and small—sometimes go un-noticed, they are being observed by the One who matters most. Whatever our task today, let’s “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17). — Cindy Hess Kasper
Daily work takes on eternal value when it is done for God.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...in all kinds of weather
March 25, 2009
READ: Acts 18:9-11
Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. —Matthew 28:20
When Jesus sent His disciples out, He gave them this promise: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Literally, the word always means “all the days,” according to Greek scholars Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown.
Jesus didn’t simply say, “always,” but “all the days.” That takes into account all our various activities, the good and bad circumstances surrounding us, the varied responsibilities we have through the course of our days, the storm clouds and the sunshine.
Our Lord is present with us no matter what each day brings. It may be a day of joy or of sadness, of sickness or of health, of success or of failure. No matter what happens to us today, our Lord is walking beside us, strengthening us, loving us, filling us with faith, hope, and love. As He envelops us with quiet serenity and security, our foes, fears, afflictions, and doubts begin to recede. We can bear up in any setting and circumstance because we know the Lord is at hand, just as He told Paul in Acts 18:10, “I am with you.”
Practice God’s presence, stopping in the midst of your busy day to say to yourself, “The Lord is here.” And pray that you will see Him who is invisible—and see Him everywhere. — David H. Roper
Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. —Isaiah 55:6
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ordinary days
March 24, 2009
READ: Luke 2:8-20
Behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. —Luke 2:9
Writer Anita Brechbill observed in God’s Revivalist magazine that “Most often the Word of the Lord comes to a soul in the ordinary duties of life.” She cites the examples of Zacharias performing his duties as a priest, and the shepherds watching their flocks. They were at work as usual with no idea that they were about to receive a message from God.
Luke describes the ordinary days when these men received their message from God: “While [Zacharias] was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, . . . an angel of the Lord appeared to him” (1:8,11). While the shepherds were “living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night . . . an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them” (2:8-9).
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest said: “Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical situations. The only way a worker can keep true to God is by being ready for the Lord’s surprise visits.”
On this ordinary day, the Lord may have a word of encouragement, guidance, or instruction for us, if we’re listening and ready to obey. — David C. McCasland
God speaks to those who are quiet before Him.
Source: Our Daily Bread
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