A Re-post From Dave Branon of Our Daily Bread

Unlikely Encouragement

December 6, 2012 — by Dave Branon

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Read: Psalm 19:7-11

More to be desired are [God’s laws] than gold. —Psalm 19:10

Bible in a Year:
Colossians 1-4

Are you looking for encouragement? Do you need a little boost today amid all the bad news coming your way? The psalmist David can lift your spirit in an unexpected way through some words we often think of as negative.
When we read Psalm 19, we discover a short listing of ways that the Lord’s clearly defined “law,” or standards for living, can bring positive results. This is unlikely encouragement, for some see God’s standards as restrictive and as robbing us of happiness.
Here are some words the psalmist used for God’s standards: “law of the Lord” (v.7), “testimony” (v.7), “statutes” (v.8), “commandments” (v.8), “fear of the Lord” (v.9), and “judgments” (v.9). These words have an ominous sound that causes many people to want to avoid or reject them.
But notice what these things bring to the believing, obedient heart: conversion of the soul, wisdom, rejoicing of the heart, purity of life, enlightenment of the eyes, endurance, truth, and righteousness (vv.7-9). That’s great encouragement! No wonder David said about God’s law that He’s given to us, “More to be desired are they than gold . . . sweeter also than honey” (v.10).

Lord, we love You and Your Word. We delight in
reading it, learning about You, and following what
You teach us. Thank You for all the blessings that come
from our relationship with You. Amen.

Obedience to God’s Word is the Christian’s greatest freedom.

A Re-post From Jennifer Benson Schuldt of Our Daily Bread

Open-Handed Help

December 4, 2012 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

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Read: Deuteronomy 15:7-11

You shall open your hand wide to [the poor]. —Deuteronomy 15:8

Bible in a Year:
Ephesians 4-6

A homeless man spends time in our local library. One afternoon, while I was writing there, I took a lunch break. After I finished the first half of a turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich, an image of the man’s face came to mind. A few minutes later, I offered him the untouched part of my lunch. He accepted.
This brief encounter made me realize that with all that God has given me, I needed to do more to help those who are less fortunate. Later, as I thought about this, I read Moses’ instructions on providing for the poor. He told the Israelites: Do not “shut your hand from your poor brother, but . . . open your hand wide to him” (Deut. 15:7-8). An open hand symbolizes the way God wanted His nation to provide for impoverished people—willingly and freely. No excuses, no holding back (v.9). God had given to them, and He wanted them to give generously enough to supply whatever was “sufficient” for the need (v.8).
When we offer open-handed help to the poor, God blesses us for our kindness (Ps. 41:1-3; Prov. 19:17). With His leading, consider how you might “extend your soul to the hungry” (Isa. 58:10) and freely give to help others in Jesus’ name.

Grant us, then, the grace for giving
With a spirit large and free,
That our life and all our living
We may consecrate to Thee. —Murray

You may give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.

A Re-post From Dennis Fisher of Our Daily Bread

The Spirit Of The Age

December 3, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher

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Read: Ephesians 2:1-10

You He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world. —Ephesians 2:1-2

Bible in a Year:
Ephesians 1-3

Every age has its own thoughts, ideas, and values that influence the culture, the “spirit of the age.” It is the kind of growing consensus that morally lulls us to sleep, gradually causing us to accept society’s latest values.
The apostle Paul called this corrupting atmosphere the “course of this world.” Describing the lives of the believers at Ephesus before they encountered Christ, he said that they were “dead in trespasses and sins” and “walked according to the course of this world” (Eph. 2:1-2). This is the world’s peer pressure—a satanically inspired system of values and ideas that cultivates a lifestyle that is independent of God.
Jesus intends for us to live in the world (John 17:15), so worldly influence is nearly impossible to escape. But He’s given us His Word to so permeate our thinking that we don’t have to become conformed to the world’s values (Rom. 12:1-2). Instead, God helps us walk in His light (Eph. 5:8), in the Spirit (Gal. 5:25), in love (Eph. 5:2), in truth (3 John 4), and in Christ (Col. 2:6).
As we walk in God’s power and spend time in His Word, He gives us the strength to live according to kingdom values and not the spirit of the age.

Father, You have made us alive in Christ and now we
have a new kind of thinking that differs from the world.
Teach us Your kingdom’s values that we might
learn to walk in love. Amen.

Although Christians live in this world,
their allegiance is to heaven.

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

We Need Hope

December 2, 2012 — by Julie Ackerman Link

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Read: Colossians 1:3-14

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. —Jeremiah 17:7

Bible in a Year:
Galatians 4-6

Adam and Eve didn’t need hope because they didn’t lack anything they needed. And they had every reason to think that life would go on as pleasantly as it started—with every good thing that God had given them to enjoy. But they put it all at risk for the one thing the serpent said that God had withheld: the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17; 3:5). So when the serpent came with his offer, Eve was quick to indulge, and Adam quick to follow (3:6). They got what they wanted: knowledge. But they lost what they had: innocence. With the loss of innocence came the need for hope—hope that their guilt and shame could be removed and goodness restored.
Christmas is the season of hope. Children hope for the latest popular toy or game. Families hope that everyone can make it home for the holidays. But the hope that Christmas commemorates is much bigger than our holiday desires. Jesus, the “Desire of All Nations” (Hag. 2:7), has come! He has “delivered us from the power of darkness,” bought our redemption, and forgiven our sins (Col. 1:13-14). He even made it possible for us to be wise about what is good and innocent about evil (Rom. 16:19). Christ in us gives us the hope of glory.
Praise God for the hope of Christmas!

What are the prospects for this earth?
What hope is there for man?
A world restored through Jesus Christ
In whom we see God’s plan. —D. DeHaan

Hope for the Christian is a certainty—
because its basis is Christ.

A Re-post From Philip Yancey of Our Daily Bread

Do We Matter To God?

December 1, 2012 — by Philip Yancey

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Read: Isaiah 49:8-18

In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You. —Isaiah 49:8

Bible in a Year:
Galatians 1-3

When I consider Your heavens,” wrote the psalmist, “what is man that You are mindful of him?” (Ps. 8:3-4). The Old Testament circles around this question. Toiling in Egypt, the Hebrew slaves could hardly believe Moses’ assurances that God would concern Himself with them. The writer of Ecclesiastes phrased the question more cynically: Does anything matter?
I was entertaining that same doubt myself when I received an invitation to address a conference on the theme: “I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Isa. 49:16).
God made this stirring declaration to people suffering through a low point in their history as Isaiah prophesies that they would be taken away captive to Babylon. Hearing this, the people lamented, “The Lord has forsaken me, and . . . forgotten me” (Isa. 49:14). To this lamentation God gave a series of promises—the Servant Songs (Isa. 42–53)—in which He sets the stage of hope for deliverance from hostile enemies. He foretells of the incarnation and sacrificial death of the Servant.
Do we matter to God? Christmas memorializes God’s answer: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (7:14).

Love brought Him down from the glory,
Love made Him come from the sky;
Love in His heart for the sinner
Led Him to suffer and die. —Anon.

The fact of Jesus’ coming is the final and unanswerable proof that God cares. —Barclay

A Re-post From Dave Branon of Our Daily Bread

Our Prayer; God’s Will

November 30, 2012 — by Dave Branon

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Read: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

I pleaded with the Lord three times that [a thorn in the flesh] might depart from me. —2 Corinthians 12:8

Bible in a Year:
2 Corinthians 10-13

The handwritten prayer request was heartbreaking in its seeming impossibility: “Please pray—I have multiple sclerosis, weak muscles, trouble swallowing, increased pain, diminishing sight.” The woman’s body was breaking down, and I could sense despair in her plea for intercession.
But then came the hope—the strength that trumps the physical damage and degradation: “I know our blessed Savior is in full control. His will is of utmost importance to me.”
This person may have needed my prayers, but I needed something she had: unabated confidence in God. She seemed to present a perfect portrait of the truth God taught Paul when he asked for relief from his difficulty—what he called his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7). His quest for relief turned out to be not just a seeming impossibility; his request was turned down flat by his heavenly Father. Paul’s continual struggle, which was clearly God’s will, was a valuable lesson: Through his weakness, God’s grace could be displayed and God’s strength was “made perfect” (v.9).
As we pour out our hearts to God, let’s be even more concerned with seeking His will than we are with receiving the answer we want. That’s where the grace and the strength come from.

Dear heavenly Father, I bring to You my petitions,
but I give to You my heart. While I plead for You to
answer my prayers, I also submit to Your will so that
my heart may be strengthened and Your work be done.

We pray not to obtain our will in heaven,
but to effect God’s will on earth.

A Re-post From Dennis Fisher of Our Daily Bread

A Life Of Honor

November 29, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher

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Read: Psalm 112

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments. —Psalm 112:1

Bible in a Year:
2 Corinthians 7-9

In 2010, my brothers and I celebrated our dad’s 90th birthday. We hosted an open house with great food and fellowship. In the living room, family and friends took up banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, and Irish drum to play and sing all afternoon. A big cake was prepared with this written on it in frosting: “Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord—Psalm 112:1. Happy 90th birthday, Hal.”
When I later examined Psalm 112, I was impressed with how it seemed to describe my dad—who had walked with God for more than 50 years and is now at home with Him. Dad had his own share of heartaches and faults, but his steadfast faith resulted in much blessing. This psalm tells us that blessings will fall on the man who has a reverential fear of God and who delights in His commands. In response to this growing integrity and faith, God will extend blessing not only to the believer but also to his children (v.2).
This psalm challenges us to reflect an inner reverence for God and to make continual decisions to delight in following His commands. If we do that, then as we look back on our years—no matter how many or how few—we will know that God has helped us live a life of honor.

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey. —Sammis

If you honor God in your heart, He will be honored by your life.