MORNING, NOON, NIGHT
Read: In May 2003, a powerful earthquake struck
Psalm 55:16-23 northern Algeria. TV news images showed dis-
_____________________ traught people searching the rubble for survi-
Evening and morning vors, while others numbly visited hospitals and
and at noon I will pray morgues to see if their loved ones were alive
and cry aloud, and He or dead. Families stood together weeping and
shall hear my voice. crying out for help. Their burden of uncertain- --Psalm 55:17 ty and grief could be seen, heard, and felt.
If you've experienced an intense feeling of loss, you'll appreciate the words of David in Psalm 55, penned during a pain-ful time in his life. Oppressed by the wicked, hated by his enemies, and betrayed by a friend, David spoke of the anxiety and anguish that threatened to crush his spirit: "Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me" (v.5).
But instead of caving in to fear, David poured out his heart to God: "As for me, I will call upon God, and the LORD shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice" (vv.16-17).
Prayer lifts our eyes from personal tragedy to the compassion of God. It enables us to cast our burdens on the LORD instead of breaking under their weight. When our hearts are filled with pain, it's good to call on God in prayer--morning, noon, and night. --David McCasland
THINKING IT OVER
Difficult circumstances can motivate us to pray.
Read Jesus' Blueprint For Prayer at
www.discoveryseries.org/hj891
In prayer, God hears more than words;
He listens to your heart.
A BITTER ATTITUDE
Read: Great emphasis is being placed on living longer Deut. 32:44-52 ang living better. Advances in medical science are
___________________ making it possible for more and more people. Yet
Set your hearts on in spite of this, none of us can avoid growing
all the words which old. One day aging will ovetake all of us, and our
I testify among you bodies will shut down.
today . . . It is your what is preventable, however, is an attitude of
life. --Deut. 32.46-47 bitterness and regret as we grow older. Look at
the life of Moses. When he was 120 years old, he stood with the Israelites before they crossed the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land. He could not go with them because he had disobeyed the Lord when in anger he struck the rock in the wilderness (Numbers 20:12,24).
How easily Moses could have slipped into a self-pitying and resentful frame of mind! Had he not borne the burden of a stubborn and stiff-necked people for 40 years? Had he not interceded for them time after time? Yet at the end of his life he praised the Lord and urged a new generation of Israelites to obey Him (Deuteronomy 32:1-4,45-47).
As we grow older, we can dwell on the failures and hardships of our past, or we can remember God's faithfulness, accept His discipline, and keep looking to the future in faith. It's the only way to avoid a bitter attitude. --Dennis De Haan
Though wrinkles and weakness come with age
And life with its stress takes its toll,
Yet beauty and vigor can still be seen
When Jesus gives peace to our soul. --D. De Haan
We cannot avoid growing old;
but we can avoid growing cold.
OUT OF THE THORNS
Read: The gorse bush is a shrub that was imported
Hebrews 12:7-11 from Europe and now grows wild in the Pasific
___________________ Northwest. It has dense, dark green shoots, and
No chastening seems in springtime it provides a dazzling display of fra-
to be joyful for the grant, vibrant yellow flowers. But it's best
present, but painful. known by hikers and fishermen for its vicious
--Hebrews 12:11 spines.
Remarkably, the flowers grow right out of the thorns.
Missionary and artist Lilias Trotter wrote, "The whole year round the thorn has been hardening and sharpening. Spring comes--the thorn does not drop off, it does not soften. There it is as uncompromising as ever, but halfway up appear two brown fuzzy balls, mere specks at first, that break at last--straight out of last year's thorn--into a blaze of golden glory."
So it is with the suffering that accompanies God's chastening. Just when our situation seems hopeless and hardest to bear, tiny signs of life appear that will soon burst into bloom. Take the toughest issue, the most difficult place. There, God in His grace can cause His beauty to be seen in you.
No chastening seems pleasent at the time, "Yet when it is all over we can see that it has quietly produced the fruit of real goodness in the characters of those who have accepted it in the right spirit" (Hebrews 12:11 PHILLIPS). --David Roper
For all the heartaches and the tears,
For gloomy days and fruitless years
I do give thanks, for now I know
These were the things that helped me grow! --Crandlemire
God's hand of discipline
is a hand of love.
THE OIL OF HELPFULNESS
Read: There's a story of an eccentric old man who
Isaiah 61:1-3 carried an oil can with him everywhere he
______________________ went. If he passed through a squeaky door or
The LORD has annointed a stiff gate, he applied oil to the hinges. His
Me . . . to give them practice of lubricating made life easier for
beauty for ashes, the those who followed after him.
oil of joy for mourning. Nearly every day we encounter people who-
--Isaiah 61:1,3 se lives creak and grate harshly with pro-
lems. In such situations we face two choices--either to aggravate their problems with a spirit on criticism or to lubricate their lives in the Spirit of Christ.
Some people we meet carry unbearable burdens and long for the oil of a sympathetic word. Others are defeated and feel like giving up. Just one drop of encouragement could restore their hope. Still others are mean and sin-hardened. Such people can become pliable toward the saving grace of Christ through regular apllications of the oil of kindness.
When we receive Christ as our Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit indwells us and equips us to bless others. If we're prepared to pour out God's oil of helpfulness every day and everywhere, beginning at home, we'll minister Christ's beauty and the oil of joy to many hurting people.
Perhaps the old man with the oil can wasn't so eccentric after all. --Joanie Yoder
PUTTING IT INTO PRACTISE
*Lend a listening ear
*Pause to pray specifically
*Speak a word of encouragement
The human spirit can gain new hope
from an encouraging word.
ALREADY, BUT NOT YET
Read: If Jesus has won the victory over sin, suffer-
Luke 10:1-12; 17-20 ing, and death, why is it that we still sin, suffer,
_____________________ and die? To undestand this seeming contradic-
[Jesus] said to them, tion, we must recognize the "already, but not
"I saw Satan fall like not yer" tension of the gospel.
lightning from heaven." On the one hand, God's kingdom has already
--Luke 10:18 come in the person of Jesus. As the incarnate
God-man, he died on the cross so that through His death and resurrection He might destroy the devil (Hebrews 2:14).
On the other hand, the perfect kingdom toward which He pointed awaits His personal return to earth. We experience the tension of living between the "already, but not yet" aspects of God's kingdom.
Luke 10 illustrates this tension. Upon returning from preaching, the disciples were jubilant. "Even the demons are subject to us in Your name," they told Jesus (Luke 10:17). He replied that He had seen Satan "fall like lightning from heaven" (v.18). He also assured them that nothin would hurt them (v.19). Yet many of them suffered and died as martyrs, and evil is still rampant today.
Even so, we can face whatever comes, for someday we'll enter fully into the victory Jesus has won. In the meantime, we can take somfort in knowing that nothing shall separat us from God's love (Romans 8:35-39). --Herb Vander Lugt
God's kingdom has come in Jesus the king,
He died and He rose, redemption to bring,
Yet still we await the glorious day
When Satan and sin no longer hold sway. --D. De Haan
Satan may win some battles,
but he has already lost the war.
A MASSIVE CELEBRATION
Read: We all love to have someone tell us, "Hey,
Revelations 5:6-14 great job. I appreciate you." And if several
_____________________ people tell us we are doing something right,
Oh, worship the LORD that's even better.
in the beauty of God loves the praise of His people too, and
holiness! Tremble He truly deserves it. Our most important work
before Him, all the on earth is to exalt Him (Psalm 96:9), "that in
earth. --Psalm 96:9 all things God may be glorified" (1 Peter 4:11).
It's our responsibility and privilege to worship, love, exalt, and serve the Lord.
Revelation 5:9-13 tells of a future day in heaven when believers from "every tribe and tongue and people and nation" who have been redeemed by Jesus' blood will surround His throne with praises. All of those individuals--multiplied over the millennia--add up to a mind-boggling congregation of God-glorifying people.
God's greatness is so overwhelming, so unfathomable, and so indescribable that millions and millions of people--all praising Him and bowing before Him in worship---will give Him the glory He deserves.
Even now, each of us can participate in celebrating God's majesty by glorifying Him with our lives. And one day we will join with people from every nation in that massive heavenly celebration. --Dave Branon
Sing praise to God who reigns above,
The God of all creation,
The God of power, the God of love,
The God of our salvation. --Sch�tz
We have all eternity to praise God--
begin today.
POWER OUTAGE
Read: The silence awakened me at 5:30 one morning.
2 Timothy 1:6-12 There was no gentle whir of fan blades, no reas-
___________________ suring hum from the refriegerator downstairs.
God has not given us A glance out the window confirmed that a power
a spirit of fear, but of outage had left everyone in our neighborhood
power and of love and without electricity just as they would be prepa-
of a sound mind. ring for work.
--2 Timothy 1:7 I realized that alarm clocks would not sound,
and there would be no TV news. Coffee makers, toasters, hair dryers, and many telephones would be useless. Begin-
ning a day without power was simply an inconvenience and a disruption of routine-but it felt like a disaster.
Then I thought of how often I rush into the day without spiritual power. I spend more time reading the newspaper than the Bible. Talk radio replaces listening to the Spirit. I react to difficult people and circumstances in a spirit of fear rather than the spirit of "power and of love and of a sound mind" that God has given us (2 Timothy 1:7). I must appear as spiritually unkempt as a person who dressed and groomed in the dark.
Our power outage was short-lived, but the lesson remains of my need to begin each day by seeking the Lord. His strength is not for my success or well-being, but so that I will glorify Christ by living in His power. --David McCasland
There's never a lack of God's power
In prayer and reading His Word,
For Jesus in heaven is listening-
Your prayer will always be heard. --Hess
The human spirit fails us
unless the Holy Spirit fills us.
KEEP AT IT!
Read: They know Tom Dotson pretty well in the prisons
Isaiah 55:6-13 of Michigan. They ought to. He spent more than
____________________ a decade behind bars.
My word . . . shall not Tom gave his testimony at the annual banquet for
return to Me void, but prison chaplains in Muskegon, Michigan. He said
it shall accomplish he had grown up in a Christian home but had re-
what I please. belled and rejected the gospel. His wife, who
--Isaiah 55:11 sang at the banquet, stayed with him in spite of
his repeated failures. A prison chaplain faithfully worked with him, Tom genuinely surrendered to Jesus Christ, and his life was changed.
Dotson urged Christian workers, "Continue on in your ministry with people like me, no matter how frustrating. We may have lots of setbacks. But don't give up. There's power for change in even the most frustrating person through the sacrifice of Christ, the One who really sets us free." Then, looking right at the chaplain who had patiently witnessed to him, Tom said tenderly, "Thank you for not giving up one me."
God will "abundantly pardon" all who come to Him (Isaiah 55:7). His powerful Word can bring change (v.11), freeing men and women from the prison of sin (John 8:32).
Are you about to give up on someone you think will never change? Don't! Keep at it! --Dave Egner
Be not weary in well-doing,
Though your labors cause you pain-
There could never be a harvest
Without showing of the grain. --Anon.
Instead of giving up on a person,
give that person to God.
BOTH GLAD AND SAD
Read: There's an old legend about three men who
Luke 12:16-21 were crossing a desert on horseback at
______________________ night. As they approached a dry creek bed,
Do not lay up for they heard a voice commanding them to
yourselves treasures dismount, pick up some pebbles, put them in
on earth, . . . but lay up their pockets, and not look at them til the
for yourselves treasures next morning. The men were promised that
in heaven. if they obeyed they would be both glad and
--Matthew 6:19-20 sad. After they did as they were told, the
three mounted their horses and went on their way.
As the first streaks of dawn began to spread across the sky, the men reached into their pockets to pull out the pebbles. To their great surprise, they had been transformed into diamonds, rubies, and other precious gems. It was then that they realize the significance of the promise that they would be both glad and sad. They were happy that they had picked up as many pebbles as they did, but sorry-so sorry-that they had not collected more.
I wonder if we will have a similar feeling when we get to heaven. We will be happy for the treasure we laid up in heaven while on earth, and joyful for the rewards Christ will give us. But we eill also experience regret for not having done more to serve Him.
Let's make the most of our opportunities so that we'll be more glad than sad.--Richard De Haan
They day will come when we will stand
Before our Judge, God's Son;
Have we so lived that He will say,
"Well done, My child, well done"? --Sper
The crowns we wear in heaven
must be won on earth.
A MATTER OF TASTE
Read: Two cockroaches decided to visit their favorite
2 Corinthians 6:1-7:1 restaurant. While the larger of the two was en-
______________________ joying his meal, the smaller one said, "You
Let us cleanse ourselves wouldn't believe the house I just left. It was
from all filthiness of the spotless. The lady had to be a cleanaholic.
flesh and spirit. Everything was immaculate-the sink, the coun- --2 Corinthians 7:1 ter, the floors. You couldn't find a crumb any-
where." The other cockroach stopped his munching, looked with some annoyance at his companion, and said, "Do you have to talk like that while I'm eating?"
This story about roaches can apply to human nature as well. The second letter to the Corinthians shows that Paul's readers had much to learn about clean living. They needed to develop a stronger hunger and thirst for righteous-
ness. So the apostle pleaded with them to turn away from all filthiness (7:1). He reminded them that God wants His people to separate themselves from spiritual garbage.
If "cleanness" of heart sounds unappealing, perhaps we've been satisfied with the crumbs of our earthly desires. We need to learn to savor the flavor of godliness.
Father, forgive us for feeding the cravings of our sinful flesh. Help us to cultivate instead the tastes that Your Holy Spirit wants to produce in us. --Mart De Haan
If we desire to taste what's good
And lose our taste for sin,
We must with ruthless honesty
Expose the dirt within. --D. De Haan
Sin cannot flourish where godliness is cultivated.
SAVING DYLAN
Read: The baby lay critically ill in the hospital, fight-
John 9:1-12 ting to breathe. He had pneumonia, which made
_____________________ staying alive a struggle for his 8-months-old
Neither this man nor body, Doctors, nurses, and his family fought
his parents sinned, but to save this weak baby boy.
that the works of God Some people say he should never made it to
should be revealed in 8 months of age. Others say this precious him. --John 9:3 child should not have been allowed to be born,
or that he should have been left to die after he was born.
Why would anyone say this? For one simple reason: Dylan has Down syndrome. Through no fault of his own or of his parents, my great-nephew has an extra chromosome, and he will face some added struggles in his life.
But isn't his life worth as much as the life of a sick baby without an extra chromosome? Are we not all of equal value in the eyes of our Creator? Aren't we all deficent in some way? Our lack of perfection should remind us that no one has the right to judge another's worth.
Our imperfections are opportunities for God to work in our lives. That's what Jesus told His disciples when they asked why a man had been born blind. He said it happened so that "the works of God should be revealed in him" (John 9:3).
We're seeing God work in Dylan's life. That's what he's here for--just like the rest of us. --Dave Branon
People in whom the world sees no value,
But only as burdens to bear,
Teach us great lessons of God's sovereign power--
He loves them as treasures so rare. --Carbaugh
If God didn't have a purpose for us
we wouldn't be here.
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
Read: In 1948, Life magazine brought together a group
Psalm 34 of labor-union representatives, industrial leaders,
____________________ university scholars, and clergy to discuss what
Oh, taste and see that the framers of the United States Constitution had
the LORD is good; in mind when they referred to "the pursuit of
blessed is the man who happiness." They agreed that steady work under
trusts in Him! good conditions at a living wage was absolutely --Psalm 34:8 essential. Some included the values of racial
fairness, unselfishness, and integrity.
This led one participant, a brilliant young woman who had been crippled by polio, to say, "It is my experience that suffering and pain are, unfortunately, great character builders-not that suffering is good in itself, but because it often helps to shift our expectations of happiness from without to a search for it from within." True, but we can find inner happiness only by knowing God persosnally and walking the path of trust and obedience.
Happiness isn't found by pursuing it. It's a by-product of seeking an ever-closer walk with God. When we do, we will find a depth of happiness no person or thing can give. That's what David referred to when he said, "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" (Psalm 34:8). --Herb Vander Lugt
Happiness is never found
When happiness is sought;
It's found instead in Jesus
And what His blood has bought. --D. De Haan
To know happiness, know God.
GOD FORGIVES DISOBEDIENCE
Read: I'll never forget the painful lesson I learned in
Hosea 14 early childhood about disobedience. My father,
_____________________ who had been mowing our lawn, interrupted his
I will heal their back- work to go shopping. He left the push mower
sliding. I will love them standing near some flowers and ordered me not
freely.--Hosea 14:4 to touch it while he was gone. But I disobeyed
him and gave it a push. To my shock, the mower veered and knocked over several flowers.
When Dad returned, I blubbered, "I didn't mean to do it!" Wisely, he replied, "Why did you do it then?" I knew the truth-I did mean to push the mower. My sin wasn't that I mowed the flowers down, it was that I disobeyed my father.
This childhood lesson is a reminder to be sorry for disobedience and not just the consequences. Rather than blubber to God, "I didn't mean to do it," I do what Hosea told wayward Israel to do: "Take words [of repentance] with you, and return to the LORD" (Hosea 14:2). I tell the Lord honestly that I knew His will but chose to disobey, and I cry out for His mercy. Praise God, He forgives!
Are you grieved that you chose to disobey, and not merely sorry about the consequences? Then "take words with you, and return to the LORD" today. He promises to forgive you of your sin, for He loves you freely (v.4). --Joanie Yoder
I've strayed, O Lord, and turned aside,
I've disobeyed Your voice;
But now with contrite heart I turn
And make Your will my choice. --D. De Haan
Repentance keeps the way clear
in our walk with God.
DYING DAILY
Read: Are you in a situation where you are often mis-
2 Corinthians 4:7-12 understood for your faith in Christ? Are you
____________________ surrounded by people with a carping, critical
We are hard-pressed spirit? Do you get little or no credit for the
on every side, . . . work you do in your church or for your fami-
always carrying about ly?
in the body the dying The proper response is a willingness to have
of the Lord Jesus. a humble and submissive spirit-to die as Jesus
--2 Corinthians 4:8,10 did throughout His life. Yes, our Lord died
once on the cross; but in another sense He also died every day. The cross was the culmination of an entire lifetime of dying. He was willing to misunderstood and maligned, to give up home and com-
forts, to take the role of a servant. That was His "death". We must be willing to die in that way as well.
When we die with Him, God's gift to us is "the life of Jesus" (2 Corinthians 4:10), the most attractive life ever lived. His beauty will gradually grow in us and become our beauty as well.
Remember this saying: "A picture is worth a thousand words." The portrait you draw of Jesus with your humble, tranquil presence in the face of grievous wrong is worth many words on the subject. Some may see the life of Jesus revealed in you and long to enter into that life. That's how dying daily can help bring life to another. --David Roper
Dear Jesus, take my heart and hand,
And grant me this, I pray:
That I through Your sweet love may grow
More like You day by day. --Garrison
Living daily for Christ requires dying daily to self.