Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 2
Finding Good in the Bad
Wish good for those who harm you; wish them well and do not curse them.
Romans 12:14 (NCV)
It would be hard to find someone worse than Judas. Some say he was a good man with a backfired strategy. I don't buy that. The Bible says, "Judas . . . was a thief" (John 12:6). The man was a crook. Somehow he was able to live in the presence of God and experience the miracles of Christ and remain unchanged. In the end he decided he'd rather have money than a friend, so he sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. . . . Judas was a scoundrel, a cheat, and a bum. How could anyone see him any other way?
I don't know, but Jesus did. Only inches from the face of his betrayer, Jesus looked at him and said, "Friend, do what you came to do" (Matt. 26:50). What Jesus saw in Judas as worthy of being called a friend, I can't imagine. But I do know that Jesus doesn't lie, and in that moment he saw something good in a very bad man. . . .
He can help us do the same with those who hurt us.
From: Just Like Jesus
Copyright (Word Publishing, 1998)
Max Lucado
Joshua 1
The LORD Commands Joshua
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea [a] on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.' "
12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 "Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: 'The LORD your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.' 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise."
16 Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!"
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Galatians 3:19-29 (New International Version)
19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.
21Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ[a] that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
Sons of God
26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
November 2, 2009
Prisoners Of Sin
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Galatians 3:19-29
The Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. —Galatians 3:22
A 2008 report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said, “At any given time there are more than 10 million people imprisoned worldwide.” Since some prisoners are being released while new ones are being sentenced every day, there are more than 30 million total prisoners worldwide each year. Statistics like these have caused many people to work for prison reform and a reexamination of sentencing laws.
From a spiritual perspective, the Bible offers an even more staggering statistic: “The Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin” (Gal. 3:22 niv). In what is sometimes considered a difficult passage to understand, Paul says that although the Old Testament law could not impart life (v.21), it was an effective teacher in showing us that we need a Savior who can give life (v.24). The bad news is that “the Scripture has confined all under sin,” and the good news is “that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe” (v.22).
When we give our lives to Christ, who has fulfilled the requirements of the law, we are no longer imprisoned by sin. Instead, we enter a fellowship of people from every nationality and social status.
In Christ, we are free indeed! — David C. McCasland
The law reveals the mind of God,
The prophets too made clear His will;
But Christ alone brings life and peace,
His words our deepest needs fulfill. —D. De Haan
Deliverance from sin is the greatest of all freedoms.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 2, 2009
Obedience or Independence?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
If you love Me, keep My commandments —John 14:15
Our Lord never insists obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an "If," meaning, "You do not need to do this unless you desire to do so." "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . ." ( Luke 9:23 ). In other words, "To be My disciple, let him give up his right to himself to Me." Our Lord is not talking about our eternal position, but about our being of value to Him in this life here and now. That is why He sounds so stern (see Luke 14:26 ). Never try to make sense from these words by separating them from the One who spoke them.
The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself. Jesus Christ will not force me to obey Him, but I must. And as soon as I obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. But if I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God. Then, when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When God’s redemption brings a human soul to the point of obedience, it always produces. If I obey Jesus Christ, the redemption of God will flow through me to the lives of others, because behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Waiting for Your Father - #5951
Monday, November 2, 2009
I had promised to take my three-year-old grandson out to lunch, and apparently he was really looking forward to it. Here's how I know that. He was ready a few minutes early, and I was a few minutes late. As I was about to leave, an e-mail came through with a picture of him that had just been taken. It broke my heart. It showed the back of our little guy as he sat on the floor in the doorway, looking down the stairs expectantly, propping the door open with one foot. I made record time driving to his house.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Waiting for Your Father."
That picture is etched on my heart! As I looked at it later, I thought about how that is, in a way, the picture of the lives of many people - maybe you. They're sitting at the door, waiting; not for a grandfather, but for a father. And they've been waiting a long time. No one has come to be the father-person in their heart that they've yearned for so long.
Some have been so disappointed, either by the father they had or the father they didn't have, that they've just let their hurt turn hard so they don't get hurt anymore. Others have become desperate, trying all kinds of relationships and experiences to fill the hole that only a father can fill, and they've ended up with scars and regrets and still no father. You see, there's that special kind of loneliness, of emptiness, of loss when you've been waiting a long time at the door for that father who's never come. The father you need most, though, has come, and He's coming your direction this very day.
The God of the universe, who Jesus said we can call "Our Father in heaven," says in Psalm 68:5 that He is "a father to the fatherless." He's also a father to those who have a father, because no human father can possibly meet all the deepest needs of our heart. In our word for today from the Word of God, He describes the kind of relationship He wants to have with you. We're at 2 Corinthians 6:18, "'I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty." Let those words sink into your soul, "I will be a Father to you." Not like the father you've had, but like the father you've always wished you had; that you needed to have. God is that Father, and He desires to have you as His son, His daughter, by spiritual birth into His family.
The problem is that God is sinless and holy totally perfect. And you and I, on the other hand, have a lifetime of sinning; of doing it our way instead of God's way. You can't get into His family unless something is done about your sin, and something has been done. In fact, God did it. That's how much He loves you and He does not want to lose you. He sent His Son, Jesus, to take your place, to take your punishment for your sin. He was doing your spiritual death penalty when He died on that cross, so you could be born into the family of the father you were made for - who you have looked for so long.
Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father except by Me" (John 14:6). You enter God's family the moment you give yourself completely to Jesus Christ, telling Him you don't want to do the things that God is against anymore. Telling Him, "I'm Yours, Jesus." At that moment, every barrier between you and God is gone, and the God of the universe becomes your Heavenly Father. There's nothing like it. This is life's most awesome, most important relationship.
Our website is there to help you be sure that the wall between you and God is gone; that you belong to Jesus, and God is your Heavenly Daddy. Would you go to our website as soon as you can today? It's YoursForLife.net.
You've been looking and waiting for your father long enough. The ultimate Father has come to you, right where you are, to bring you into His family. Don't miss Him.
