Daily Bread

[HeavenBesideYou]

June 28th

"Crying ones."

The story of Lazarus's death and resurrection ( John 11:1-44 ) contains a profound teaching about sorrow. When Jesus arrived and was taken to the graveside, he wept openly. Onlookers were impressed with the power of his grief and immediately recognized it as an indication of his great love: "See how much he loved him," they said.

The tears Jesus shed that day forever validate the experience of human sorrow and grief. Even though we have the hope of resurrection and we know that for the believer physical death is not the final word, our tears and sorrow are appropriate and good. How comforting to know that God himself is willing to walk the way of sorrow with us! Is there any sorrow that you have been unable to express fully? You can share it with the Lord, for he understands your grief fully.

He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God for his own sins! But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the guilt and sins of us all.

Isaiah 53:3-6

You that are called born of God, and Christians, if you be not criers, there is no spiritual life in you; if you be born of God, you are crying ones; as soon as He raised you out of the dark dungeon of sin, you cannot but cry to God.

John Bunyan

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

June 29th

"God has a purpose and plan for each of our lives."

The greatest thing we can do is to find that purpose and live it out. We can trust his purpose in us because it is based on his wisdom and love. As long as we seek his will, we're not going to do anything that can ultimately spoil his purpose in us. Yes, we may at times stray from the perfect channel he wants us to travel, but we never get totally out of the main channel. As long he does not abandon us, (and he promised he never would forsake us he will use us) for his purposes.

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever -- do not abandon the works of your hands.

Psalm 138:8

One night I had a dream
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord, and
Across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand;
One belonged to me, and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before us,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
There was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in my life.
This really bothered me, and I questioned the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
You would walk with me all the way;
But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why in times when I needed you the most, you should leave me.
The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child. I love you, and I would never, never leave you during your times of trial and suffering.

When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Mary Stevenson

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

June 30th

"Are you regular?"

In 1 Samuel 15 the Bible tells how King Saul disobeyed the Lord's command to completely destroy the enemies and their livestock. When Samuel asked the king why he heard the bleating of sheep and the lowing of cattle, Saul basically replied, "Oh, right, thanks for reminding me. We're saving those to offer to the Lord later!"

Samuel recognized a lie when he heard one and replied, "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." ( 1 Samuel 15:22 ). God wants the same from us, not some great annual recommitment that we soon break. He wants consistency. Regularity. Faithfulness. He wants our obedience.

But Samuel replied [to Saul], "What is more pleasing to the Lord, your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to him is much better than offering the fat of rams. Rebelling is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols.

1 Samuel 15:22-23

If you love me, obey my commandments.… You are my friends if you obey me.

John 14:15; 15:14

The life that intends to be wholly obedient, wholly submissive, wholly listening, is astonishing in its completeness. Its joys are ravishing, its peace profound, its humility the deepest, its power world-shaking, its love enveloping.

Thomas Kelly

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

July 1st

"Religious cults."

Thousands of people turn to cults and sects, hoping to find something Christianity can't give them. Usually, they don't want to take the responsibility Christ gives to live a holy and upright life. It is easier to run away to somewhere where the self doesn't matter so much, then to face the problems right in front of us. Sadly, there is no place to run. Jesus is the only true answer to a life that is empty and void. Strange gods come and go. They have no staying power. They may be attractive for awhile, but only God endures forever.

There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.

Psalm 81:9

Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it.

Andre Gide

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

July 3rd

"God will guard you from evil."

In order to be effective on the battlefield a soldier must be both well trained and properly equipped. The warrior must be alert for surprise attacks. So it is in our spiritual battle with Satan. Determined to destroy our faith by leading us into sin and discouragement, Satan attacks with blatant temptation and deceptive lies. The Bible teaches that the best weapons for this warfare are the Word of God and prayer.

The faith of the Thessalonian believers was being tried by persecution. Undoubtedly some of them were wavering, even failing, as the surrounding evil put them to the test. This was an important time for Paul to remind them that, no matter what happened, God's faithfulness would prevail over evil and strengthen them so that they could endure.

Finally, dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to pray for us. Pray first that the Lord's message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. Pray, too, that we will be saved from wicked and evil people, for not everyone believes in the Lord. But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from the evil one.… May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and the endurance that comes from Christ.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Always do the things you fear the most. Courage is an acquired taste, like caviar.

Erica Jong

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

July 4th 2006

"Independence Day!"

For Americans, July 4 has special meaning as we celebrate Independence Day. There will be parades and picnics and fireworks. It is a day to celebrate freedom and to recognize God as the true source of freedom and blessing for any nation.

So much of our freedom today seems bound up in a world driven by material possessions, yet those who died for the liberty we enjoy often did so to obtain or preserve freedoms of conscience—speech, religion, assembly, among others. And much of the blessing we enjoy today began with the promise God made to Abraham.

"I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, regulations, and laws."

Genesis 26:4-5

What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen for his own.

Psalm 33:12

We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances—to choose one's own way.

Victor Frankl

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July my friends...

Peace,

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

July 5th

"Facing evil?"

In 1887, Ernest Shurtleff was about to graduate from Andover Seminary. Ernest wrote a hymn for the entire graduating class to sing. He told his fellow seminarians, "We've been spending days of preparation here at seminary. Now the day of march has come, and we must go out to follow the leadership of the King of kings, to conquer the world under His banner."

Thus, "Lead On, O King Eternal" was written for a seminary graduating class. The commencements today are not always so dramatic, but there is no reason our eternal King cannot open a new door for us today. We can step out and march under His banner, "not with fears, for gladness breaks like morning where'er [His] face appears."

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was seated on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Hovering around him were mighty seraphim, each with six wings.…In a great chorus they sang, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!"

Isaiah 6:1-4

Lead on, O King eternal,
Till sin's fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper
The sweet amen of peace.
For not with swords' loud clashing,
Nor roll of stirring drums,
With deeds of love and mercy
The heavenly kingdom comes.

Ernest Warburton Shurtleff

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

July 6th

"Protection for the soul."

Psalm 121 is one of a collection of "songs of ascent" sung by Jewish pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for one of Israel's great feasts. Basically it is hymn of trust that God will watch over his people as they journey along potentially dangerous roads, up through the hills of Judea to the Holy City.

Does God say that his people will never encounter trouble? No. The awful truth is that even Christians get robbed and mugged, raped and murdered. Statistics indicate that more followers of Jesus were martyred for their faith in the twentieth century than in the previous nineteen centures combined. You will not find any biblical evidence to suggest that believers are exempt from the ugly violence of a fallen world.

I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth!

He will not let you stumble and fall; the one who watches over you and will not sleep. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never tires and never sleeps. The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not hurt you by day, nor the moon at night. The Lord keeps you from all evil and preserves your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

Psalm 121

As Jesus said in Matthew 10:28: At worst, evil people "can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul."

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

July 7th

"Not the real thing."

Wickedness, when you examine it, turns out to be the pursuit of some good in the wrong way. You can be good for the mere sake of goodness; you cannot be bad for the mere sake of badness. You can do a kind action when you are not feeling kind and when it gives you no pleasure, simply because kindness is right; but no one ever did a cruel action simply because cruelty was wrong—only because cruelty was pleasant or useful to him. In other words, badness cannot succeed even in being bad in the same way in which goodness is good. Goodness is, so to speak, itself; badness is only spoiled goodness.…Evil is a parasite, not an original thing.

C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

1 Peter 5:8-9

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.

James 4:7-8

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

July 8th

"Tricking Houdini."

During his life, Harry Houdini had a standing challenge that he could escape from any jail cell within an hour. A small town in the British Isles had just constructed a new jail cell they thought was escape-proof, and they wanted to put it to the test. Houdini entered the cell and immediately went to work. After two grueling hours—an hour past his deadline—Houdini finally withdrew his file from the lock and leaned against the door in exhaustion. To his amazement, the cell door swung open. The jailors had tricked the great magician by closing the jail door but never bolting the lock. He was free all along, he just didn't know it.

Satan has the same strategy, doesn't he? His greatest weapon is to make us think that we are trapped, when in reality the cell door is always open. Satan can't bind us, so he tricks us into making us believe the cell door is locked.

Be strong with the Lord's mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be to stand firm against all the strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:10-12

Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.

Arthur Shopenhauer

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

July 9th

""I will never let you down."

That is faithfulness. Husbands and wives vow on their wedding day to be faithful to one another, devoted and committed to one another in all area of marriage. It is a vow to be with one's mate, to stay with one's mate, and to build up one's mate. Again and again throughout the Bible, God holds faithfulness up as one of his foundational qualities and a foundation quality he expects from his people. There is nothing like the faithfulness of a mate, friends and family, and God to build our sense of security.

Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and constantly loves those who love him and obey his commands.

Deuteronomy 7:9

The love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children's children of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments.

Psalm 103:17-18

The Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from the evil one.

2 Thessalonians 3:3

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Hebrews 13:8

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

July 10th

"Morning prayer too?"

What a way to start the day! The verses in Psalm 92 represent one of the first prayers on the priests' lips on the Sabbath day: "You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me!"

What if before you read your morning paper, before you head out the door, before you start the countless tasks you have to do for each day, you determine that you're going to start your day with praise for how God has "thrilled" you? Right now, you have the chance to start afresh. A new day is before you. Why not start things off right with a regimen of praise instead of the old routine? In prayer today, proclaim his unfailing love, and tonight, before going to bed, praise him again for his faithfulness.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by the harp and lute and the harmony of the lyre. You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done.

Psalm 92:1-4

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

July 11th

"Gratefulness."

Astonishing gratefulness:

Insurance agent Thomas O. Chisholm certainly had his share of disappointments in life. His health had been fragile, forcing him to resign as a Methodist minister after only one year of service. But he enjoyed writing and submitted his poetry to various Christian magazines. Sometimes he got rejection slips, sometimes acceptances, but he seldom received any money. He earned his meager living selling life insurance.

When he was seventy-five, he wrote, "My income has not been large at any time due to impaired health in the earlier years which has followed me on until now. Although I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and that He has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulenss."

The unfailing love of the Lord never ends!…Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy Faithfulness!
Great is Thy Faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Thomas Obadiah Chisholm

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

July 12th

"Forgive my weakness."

It is hard to be good when we are so weak. Even the great apostle, Paul, spoke of doing things he knew he should not do. No one ever rises completely above sin. God wants people who will try and who will strive to do better, even when they know they can't be perfect. God will judge us on the intentions of our hearts. We cannot separate ourselves from God's love as long as we desire in our hearts to be reconciled to Him. He loves us that much.

I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am a man that hath no strength: Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in thy grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from they hand.

Psalm 88:4,5

We assume that God views injustice and sin the way we do. But He doesn't, and aren't we blessed by that fact?

Bruce Toews

Heaven

[HeavenBesideYou]

July 13th

"Don't cast aside another of God's children."

We do terrible things to some people in our society. People who suffer greatly need our compassion and love, but instead they receive our judgment and condemnation. Christ does not ask us to accept sin, or the results of sin, but He commands us to love the one who sins. One thing we may never do is cast aside another of God's children. We do not have that right. The Lord loves all His children, and we need to learn to love all our sisters and brothers. No one need ever be alone, if we will extend our hands in love to the sick, the lonely, the poor.

Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.

Psalm 88:8

Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God and value it next to conscience; for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of, a blessing money can't buy.

Izaak Walton

Heaven