Max Lucado Daily: Make The Right Choice
Make The Right Choice
Posted: 24 Jun 2010 11:01 PM PDT
“Everyone must die once and be judged.” Hebrews 9:27
Eternity is to be taken seriously. A judgement is coming.
Our task on earth is singular—to choose our eternal home. You can afford many wrong choices in life. You can choose the wrong career and survive, the wrong city and survive, the wrong house and survive. You can even choose the wrong mate and survive. But there is one choice that must be made correctly and that is your eternal destiny.
James 2
Favoritism Forbidden
1My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself,"[a] you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, "Do not commit adultery,"[b] also said, "Do not murder."[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
Faith and Deeds
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[e] and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Corinthians 12:7-18
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
One Body, Many Parts
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
The Right People
June 25, 2010 — by Bill Crowder
God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. —1 Corinthians 12:18
The film Miracle tells the true story of the 1980 US Olympic ice hockey team as it marches to an improbable gold medal. At the outset of the story, coach Herb Brooks is shown selecting the players for his team. When he gives assistant coach Craig Patrick a list of names he has chosen, Craig says in surprise, “You’re missing some of the best players.” Brooks responds, “I’m not looking for the best players, Craig—just the right ones.”
Brooks knew that individual talent would take the team only so far. A willingness to fit into his style of selfless play would be far more important than talent. Clearly, team success, not individual glory, was the priority.
The biblical call to service has a similar emphasis. In God’s purposes, each believer does his or her part, but the results are team-oriented. After explaining the wide differences in the spiritual gifts of believers, Paul says, “the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all” (1 Cor. 12:7). When we use the skills God gives us, His purposes are accomplished, and He gets the glory. In God’s service, it’s not about being the best, the most talented, or the most gifted. It’s about being the right people—the ones God “set . . . in the body” (v.18)—joining together to serve the same team.
Christ builds His church with different stones
And makes each one secure;
All shapes and sizes fit in place
To make His church endure. —Anon.
There are no unimportant people in the body of Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 25, 2010
Receiving Yourself in the Fires of Sorrow
. . what shall I say? ’Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ’Father, glorify Your name’ —John 12:27-28
As a saint of God, my attitude toward sorrow and difficulty should not be to ask that they be prevented, but to ask that God protect me so that I may remain what He created me to be, in spite of all my fires of sorrow. Our Lord received Himself, accepting His position and realizing His purpose, in the midst of the fire of sorrow. He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour.
We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires. If we try to evade sorrow, refusing to deal with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life, and there is no use in saying it should not be. Sin, sorrow, and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them.
Sorrow removes a great deal of a person’s shallowness, but it does not always make that person better. Suffering either gives me to myself or it destroys me. You cannot find or receive yourself through success, because you lose your head over pride. And you cannot receive yourself through the monotony of your daily life, because you give in to complaining. The only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be this way is immaterial. The fact is that it is true in the Scriptures and in human experience. You can always recognize who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself, and you know that you can go to him in your moment of trouble and find that he has plenty of time for you. But if a person has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous, having no respect or time for you, only turning you away. If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Saying Goodbye to What's Been Holding You Back - #6120
Friday, June 25, 2010
Our daughter might still be sucking on her binky if we hadn't negotiated a deal. She was very attached to that pacifier, long after she really didn't need it anymore. Then my wife struck that bargain - the doll that our girl really wanted in exchange for her binky. From that day on, the binky was no more. I kept it in a drawer for my tough days. Not long ago, our son and daughter-in-law had a similar crossroads moment with our granddaughter. She could not imagine life without her binky, until Mommy and Daddy announced her Bye-Bye Binky Party. Did you ever go to one of those? On that day, she would surrender her binky and there would be a party in her honor with cake, decorations and even little presents. And suddenly, she didn't need her binky anymore!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Saying Goodbye to What's Been Holding You Back."
A child with their pacifier; Linus with his blanket - things they've depended on that they don't really need anymore. Even we grownup kids have things we depend on that are actually holding us back from what our life could be. But we hold on to it as stubbornly as a child to her binky or Linus to his blanket until someone comes along and shows us something better.
For me, for millions of people, that someone is Jesus Christ. He liberated people from what they needed so long when He was here on earth, and He's still doing it today. He wants to do it for you.
One example of how it works is recorded in Luke 5, beginning with verse 15. It's our word for today from the Word of God. "Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus." Then the Bible describes some extraordinary measures they had to employ to accomplish their mission, but they did get their paralyzed friend to Jesus. The story continues: "He said to the paralyzed man, 'I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.'" Can you imagine this? That mat has supported this man his whole life. It's been used to carry him where he couldn't walk himself. Suddenly, Jesus is telling him to get up and carry what's been carrying him all these years!
It says, "Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God." I could just imagine this man shouting, "I've needed this thing my whole life, but I don't need it anymore!" That is the kind of freedom Jesus wants to bring to you; freedom from always needing a man or a woman to make you feel valued and secure. Think of how they've let you down, freedom from being an approval junkie, from seeing yourself as a victim all the time, from trying to find your worth in your work or your performance, freedom from the bottle, the drug, the sex, or the applause that you thought you needed to complete you. They never have; they never will.
Then along comes Jesus, the Man who loves you enough to die to pay for the sin that keeps you from God; who's powerful enough to walk out of His grave. The Bible says of Jesus, "You are complete in Him" (Colossians 2:10) and only in Him, because the Bible tells us you were "...created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). Every other thing you've leaned on for love and significance and completeness is an unfulfilling substitute for the real thing - for Jesus.
And today, He's come to you and He's saying, "Get up. You don't need what you've used to support you for so long. I'm what you've needed all along." What a day this could be if you would make it your Jesus-day - the day you open your heart for Him to come in and forgive all the sin of your life and free you from the dependencies that have been holding you back. Just talk to Him where you are. Tell Him you're done driving your own life, that your only hope is Him and what He did on the cross for you, and that from this day on, you're His.
If that's what you want, I really hope you will check out our website. I've got a brief explanation there of just how to begin this life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. A lot of people have found encouragement and help there. Maybe you will too. Just go to YoursForLife.net.
This can be your declaration of independence. The day you say, "The thing I've been depending on for so long - I don't need it anymore because I have Jesus now. I'm His, I'm complete, and I'm free!"
