Re-posted From Anne Cetas of Our Daily Bread

The Campaign

October 22, 2013 — by Anne Cetas

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Read: Romans 15:1-7

Let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. —Romans 14:19

Bible in a Year:
Isaiah 65-66; 1 Timothy 2

Each year young people in our community participate in a “Be Nice” campaign spearheaded by a mental health organization. In one of the events in 2012, 6,000 students spelled out the words BE NICE with their bodies on their schools’ sports fields. One principal said, “We want students to come to school and learn without the distraction of fear or sadness or uneasiness around their peers. We are working hard to make sure students are lifting each other up, rather than tearing each other down.”
Paul desired that the people in the church at Rome would have an even higher standard of love. Both the strong and weak in the faith were judging and showing contempt for each other (Rom. 14:1-12). They despised one another as they argued about what foods were permissible to eat (vv.2-3) and what holidays they should observe (vv.5-6). Paul challenged them: “Let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another” (v.19). He reminded them that their hearts should be concerned with pleasing others, not pleasing themselves. He said, “Even Christ did not please Himself” (15:3); He served.
Join the campaign that loves others despite our differences—you’ll bring praise to God (v.7).

Dear Lord, I want to be a person who is
kind and loving to others. Please help me
to use words that will build others up
and bring praise and glory to Your name.

Kindness is simply love flowing out in little gentlenesses.

A Re-post From Cindy Hess Kasper of Our Daily Bread

Stray Hearts

October 20, 2013 — by Cindy Hess Kasper

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Read: Exodus 32:21-35

These people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! —Exodus 32:31

Bible in a Year:
Isaiah 59-61; 2 Thessalonians 3

Last fall, an expressway in my city was shut down for several hours because a cattle truck had overturned. The cattle had escaped and were roaming across the highway. Seeing this news story about stray cattle made me think of something I had recently studied in Exodus 32 about the people of God who strayed from Him.
In the divided kingdom of ancient Israel, King Jeroboam erected two golden calves for the people to worship (1 Kings 12:25-32). But the idea of worshiping hunks of gold had not originated with him. Even after escaping brutal slavery and having seen the Lord’s power and glory mightily displayed, the Israelites had quickly allowed their hearts to stray from Him (Ex. 32). While Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the law from the Lord, his brother Aaron helped God’s people stray by constructing an idol in the shape of a golden calf. The writer of Hebrews reminds us of God’s anger over this idolatry and those who “go astray in their heart” (Heb. 3:10).
God knows that our hearts have a tendency to stray. His Word makes it clear that He is the Lord and that we are to worship “no other gods” (Ex. 20:2-6).
“The Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods” (Ps. 95:3). He is the one true God!

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above. —Robinson

As long as you want anything very much, especially more than you want God, it is an idol. —A. B. Simpson

A Re-post From Brent Hackett of Our Daily Bread

Seeds & Soils

October 14, 2013 — by Brent Hackett

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Read: Matthew 13:1-9

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. —2 Peter 3:18

Bible in a Year:
Isaiah 43-44; 1 Thessalonians 2

If you like growing pumpkins, you have probably heard of Dill’s Atlantic Giant variety of premium pumpkin seeds. Developed on a family farm in Atlantic Canada, the pumpkins grown from these seeds have set records around the world. In 2011, a pumpkin grown in Quebec set a new world record at 1,818.5 pounds (825 kg). That size of pumpkin could yield almost 1,000 pieces of pie!
When news reporters asked how this pumpkin could grow to such a size, the farmer replied that it had to do with the soil. The seeds were of a special large variety, but the soil still had to be right or the pumpkin wouldn’t grow properly.
The Lord Jesus used an illustration in which He compared different types of ground to a person’s response to God’s Word (Matt. 13). Some seeds were eaten by the birds, others started to grow but were choked by the weeds, and some grew up instantly but had no soil to further their growth. But the seeds that fell on the good soil “yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (v.8).
Each of us needs to ask, “What kind of soil am I?” The Lord wants to plant His Word in our hearts so we can grow in our knowledge of Him.

More about Jesus let me learn,
More of His holy will discern;
Spirit of God, my teacher be,
Showing the things of Christ to me. —Hewitt

The fruit of the Spirit grows in the soil of obedience.

A Re-post From David C. McCasland of Our Daily Bread

Facing Our Past

October 13, 2013 — by David C. McCasland

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Read: Acts 9:20-30

He tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. —Acts 9:26

Bible in a Year:
Isaiah 41-42; 1 Thessalonians 1

Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, spent 40 years helping people hear and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. When he died in April 2012, one newspaper article carried the headline, “Charles Colson, Nixon’s ‘dirty tricks’ man, dies at 80.” It seemed surprising that a man so transformed by faith should be identified with things he did as a politically ruthless presidential aide decades earlier before he knew the Savior.
The apostle Paul’s conversion and his early Christian witness were greeted with skepticism and fear. When he began preaching that Jesus is the Son of God, people said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose?” (Acts 9:21). Later when Paul went to Jerusalem and tried to join the disciples, they were afraid of him (v.26). In years to come, Paul never ignored his past, but spoke of it as evidence of the mercy of God (1 Tim. 1:13-14).
Like Paul, we don’t need to parade our failures or to pretend they didn’t happen. Instead, we can thank the Lord that through His grace and power, our past is forgiven, our present is changed, and our future is bright with hope for all He has prepared for us.

Transformed by grace divine,
The glory shall be Thine;
To Thy most holy will, O Lord,
We now our all resign. —Burroughs

Only Jesus can transform our life.

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

God Provides, But How?

October 8, 2013 — by Julie Ackerman Link

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Read: Deuteronomy 24:19-22

He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread. —Proverbs 12:11

Bible in a Year:
Isaiah 30-31; Philippians 4

Outside my office window, the squirrels are in a race against winter to bury their acorns in a safe, accessible place. Their commotion amuses me. An entire herd of deer can go through our back yard and not make a sound, but one squirrel sounds like an invasion.
The two creatures are different in another way as well. Deer do not prepare for winter. When the snow comes they eat whatever they can find along the way (including ornamental shrubs in our yard). But squirrels would starve if they followed that example. They would be unable to find suitable food.
The deer and the squirrel represent ways that God cares for us. He enables us to work and save for the future, and He meets our need when resources are scarce. As the wisdom literature teaches, God gives us seasons of plenty so that we can prepare for seasons of need (Prov. 12:11). And as Psalm 23 says, the Lord leads us through perilous places to pleasant pastures.
Another way that God provides is by instructing those with plenty to share with those in need (Deut. 24:19). So when it comes to provision, the message of the Bible is this: Work while we can, save what we can, share what we can, and trust God to meet our needs.

Thank You, Lord, for the promise that You will
meet our needs. Help us not to fear or doubt.
We’re grateful that You’re watching over us
and that our cries for help reach Your ear.

Our needs will never exhaust God’s supply.

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

Who Am I?

September 28, 2013 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

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Read: Exodus 3:7-15

Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” —Exodus 3:11

Bible in a Year:
Isaiah 5-6; Ephesians 1

Years ago, world-famous evangelist Billy Graham was scheduled to speak at Cambridge University in England, but he did not feel qualified to address the sophisticated thinkers. He had no advanced degrees and he had never attended seminary. Billy confided in a close friend: “I do not know that I have ever felt more inadequate and totally unprepared for a mission.” He prayed for God’s help, and God used him to share the simple truth of the gospel and the cross of Christ.
Moses also felt inadequate when God recruited him for the task of telling Pharaoh to release the Israelites. Moses asked, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” (Ex. 3:11). Although Moses may have questioned his effectiveness because he was “slow of speech” (4:10), God said, “I will certainly be with you” (3:12). Knowing he would have to share God’s rescue plan and tell the Israelites who sent him, Moses asked God, “What shall I say to them?” God replied, “I AM has sent me to you” (vv.13-14). His name, “I AM,” revealed His eternal, self-existent, and all-sufficient character.
Even when we question our ability to do what God has asked us to do, He can be trusted. Our shortcomings are less important than God’s sufficiency. When we ask, “Who am I?” we can remember that God said, “I AM.”

Dear Lord, help me to remember that You are
with me, even when I’m unsure of my own
abilities. Give me the faith to believe that You
can help me to do anything You ask me to do.

You need not be afraid of where you’re going when you know God’s going with you.

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

Fire And Rain

September 27, 2013 — by Julie Ackerman Link

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Read: Isaiah 16:1-5

In mercy the throne will be established; and One will sit on it in truth . . .  judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness. —Isaiah 16:5

Bible in a Year:
Isaiah 3-4; Galatians 6

When a wildfire raged through the beautiful canyons near Colorado Springs, Colorado, it destroyed the habitat of all kinds of wildlife and hundreds of homes. People across the nation cried out to God, pleading with Him to send rain to douse the flames, put an end to the destruction, and give firefighters relief. Some people’s prayers had an interesting condition attached to them. They asked God to show mercy and send rain without lightning, which they feared would start even more fires.
This reminds me of how we live in tension between things that save us and kill us. With fire, we cook our food and keep warm, but in it we can be consumed. With water, we keep our bodies hydrated and our planet cooled, but in it we also can drown. Too much or too little of either is life-threatening.
We see the same principle at work spiritually. To thrive, civilizations need the seemingly opposite qualities of mercy and justice (Zech. 7:9). Jesus scolded the Pharisees for being sticklers about the law but neglecting these “weightier matters” (Matt. 23:23).
We may lean toward justice or mercy, but Jesus keeps them in perfect balance (Isa. 16:5; 42:1-4). His death satisfies God’s need for justice and our need for mercy.

Father, for personal reasons I sometimes lean toward
showing mercy, and sometimes I just want justice now.
Teach me the balance as I look at Your character and
give me the wisdom I need in specific situations.

God’s justice and mercy met at the cross.