A Re-post From Julie Ackerman Link of Our Daily Bread

Eyes To See

August 11, 2012 — by Julie Ackerman Link

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Joshua 3:1-11

I spread out my hands to You; my soul longs for You like a thirsty land. —Psalm 143:6

Bible in a Year:
Isaiah 46-48

My first glimpse of the Promised Land from the hills of Moab was disappointing. “Did this look a lot different when the Israelites got here?” I asked our guide as we looked toward Jericho. I was expecting a dramatic contrast from the east side of the Jordan. “No,” she answered. “It has looked the same for thousands of years.”
I rephrased the question. “What did the Israelites see when they got here?” “The biggest oasis on the face of the whole earth,” she replied.
Then I understood. I had ridden across the barren desert in the luxury of an air-conditioned bus stocked with cold bottled water. To me, an oasis was nothing spectacular. The Israelites had spent years wandering in a hot, dry desert. To them, the sprawling patch of pale green in the hazy distance meant refreshing, life-sustaining water. They were parched; I was refreshed. They were exhausted; I was rested. They had spent 40 years getting there; I had spent 4 hours.
Like an oasis, God’s goodness is found in dry and difficult places. How often, I wonder, do we fail to see His goodness because our spiritual senses have been dulled by comfort. Sometimes God’s gifts are seen more clearly when we are tired and thirsty. May we always thirst for Him (Ps. 143:6).

Dear Lord, may our desire for You be like that of
a deer panting for cold, refreshing water. Please
don’t allow comfort or worldly success to keep us
from seeing You in every detail of our lives.

Jesus is the only fountain who can satisfy the thirsty soul.

A Re-post From Marvin Williams of Our Daily Bread

Seek And Save

August 10, 2012 — by Marvin Williams

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Luke 19:1-10

The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. —Luke 19:10

Bible in a Year:
Isaiah 43-45

Lachlan Macquarie, governor of New South Wales from 1810–1821, had a way of making everyone feel included in the new colony. When the “exclusives” (free settlers, civil servants, and military officers) shunned the society of the “emancipists” (transported convicts given conditional or absolute pardon), Governor Macquarie insisted that they be treated as social equals.
Jesus showed interest in Zacchaeus, a shunned tax collector in Jericho, and included him in the recipients of His salvation plan (Luke 19:1-10). A marginalized and hated man because of his profession, Zacchaeus was desperate to see Jesus and climbed a tree to get a glimpse of Him. When Jesus passed by, He saw Zacchaeus’ desire and told him to come down because he had a divine appointment at his house. Some complained that Jesus was spending time with a sinner. His loving attention changed Zacchaeus’ life. He repented and offered restitution for those he had defrauded. Salvation had come to his house.
Jesus’ mission was simple: Diligently search for lost people, whatever their social standing, and offer them God’s salvation plan. As followers of Christ, we too have that as our mission.

Lord, help us show compassion
To a world that’s lost in sin,
So when we share the gospel,
Hungry souls for Christ we’ll win. —Sper

Christ’s mission is our mission.

A Re-post From Bill Crowder Our Daily Bread

Totally Clean

August 5, 2012 — by Bill Crowder

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Read: 1 John 1:1-10

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. —1 John 1:9

Bible in a Year:
Isaiah 28-30

A friend was updating me on his past year—a year in which he had been receiving ongoing medical treatment for cancer. The smile on his face was a powerful testimony to the good news he had just received. He said that at his one-year checkup the doctor announced that the test results all pointed to one thing: “You are totally clean!” What a difference two words can make! To my friend, totally clean meant every trace of the disease that had threatened his life only months before had been wiped from his body. We rejoiced to hear that he was totally clean!
King David, after his moral failure with Bathsheba, longed for a similar thing to happen in his heart. Hoping for the stains of his sin to be washed away, he cried out, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10). The good news for him and for us is that our sins can be taken care of. When we need cleansing, John’s familiar words bring hope: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
We can’t cleanse our own hearts; only God can do that. If we confess our sins to Him, He promises to make us totally clean!

Search me, O God, and know my heart today
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray.
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin and set me free. —Orr

Confession to God always brings cleansing from God.