Max Lucado Daily: Grace Makes All the Difference
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8
If life is “because I have to”—where’s the joy in that?
Too often I hear folks rejecting Christ because they think the Christian life is all about rules and regulations—all about stifling, suffocating ritual.
It happens when we confuse Christ with legalism. Legalism is joyless because it’s endless. There is always another class to attend, another person to teach, another mouth to feed.
Grace! It makes all the difference. I like this quote:
Gone are the exertions of law-keeping, gone the disciplines of legalism, gone the anxiety that having done everything we might not have done enough. We reach the goal not by the stairs but by the lift . . . God pledges his promised righteousness to those who will stop trying to save themselves.
Grace offers rest. Legalism? Never.
John 3:16-36
New International Version (NIV)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John Testifies Again About Jesus
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[a]
31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[b] gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 5:12-19
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Actions And Results
November 30, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
If by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. —Romans 5:15
On November 24, 1971, a man known today as D. B. Cooper hijacked a commercial flight between Portland and Seattle by threatening to blow up the plane unless he received $200,000. After landing to receive a ransom, he ordered the plane back into the air. Then the rear stairs of the 727 aircraft were lowered, and he parachuted into the night. He was never captured, and the case is still unsolved. This act hastened the age of airport security in which trust and confidence have been replaced by suspicion and fear. What he did affected us all.
The Bible describes two actions that changed the world in a far more significant way. Through Adam’s choice, sin and death entered the world, “and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). But through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, God provided a remedy for the results of sin. “Through one man’s [Adam’s] offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s [Christ’s] righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life” (v.18).
Christ did what no one else could do when He broke the power of sin and death by His resurrection. He offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who will accept His gift. And for that, we thank Him with all our hearts.
When Adam sinned, death spread to all—
One act condemned the human race—
But Jesus’ death upon the cross
Provides mankind God’s saving grace. —Sper
The cross of Christ can cure the condemnation of Adam’s choice.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
"By the Grace of God I Am What I Am"
By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . . —1 Corinthians 15:10
The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, “Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint.” But to say that before God means, “No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible.” That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.
Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, “Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified,” is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.
There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The "Yes," the "No," and the "Wait" - #6493
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
My daughter wanted to put her fingers in the fan. Oh, she was a very little girl at the time. I said, "No." She cried. I think she thought I didn't love her and if I loved her I'd let her put her fingers in the fan. She really wanted to check it out!
It was sitting in the kitchen in our little house, rumbling along because it was the only ventilation in the house, one of those big exhaust fans. And I walked into the kitchen and I found her making her way toward it with her hand extended, wanting to check it out. Now, I could have said, "Oh, Honey, let me explain to you how many revolutions per minute those blades are turning and why it is going to cut off your fingers." She didn't know what cut meant...off, fingers, or any of that. All she knew was, she'd been told, "No" and she didn't like it.
You know, fathers have to do things like that because they love their children. God's a father, too. I'm so glad He's called that in the Bible, and He too has children who have their hearts set on something. But when He says, "No," we don't understand and we don't like it. But see, we wouldn't understand even if He did explain. If He tried to say, "Well, you're going to hurt yourself if you stick your fingers in that fan," because the fan just looks so good to us.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The 'Yes,' the 'No,' and the 'Wait' of God."
Well, we're talking about the "yes," the "no," and the "wait" of God. Those times when He says, "Yes" to us when we pray; those times when we're headed for a fan and we're ready to stick our fingers in the fan. We don't even know that's going to hurt us, and He says, "No." And at times He says, "Wait." Now, I'll bet you in your life right now, in your praying, you have some "Yes's," you have some "No's," and you have some "Wait's."
Our word today from the Word of God, Psalm 37:4, 7, David says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Okay, that's "yes." I like that, don't you? Now listen to verse 7: "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret."
Well, that's not that immediate "yes." That's more like, "wait" or even "no." And I think it's very encouraging when you understand how God works in our life, using a creative tension. And that creative tension is between answered and unanswered prayer.
At any moment in your life it is His will, I believe, that you have some of both. Yes you get to "delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." On the other hand, there are the "Wait for the Lord" kinds of answers as well, because that tension of answered and unanswered prayer is what helps you grow in Christ.
In other words, you need enough "yes's" to keep you going--to let you know that He is on your case. But you need enough "no's" and "wait's" to keep you growing so that you hang onto Him. Now, He will say, "Yes" to you and may have said, "Yes" recently. I'm sure He has. I'm sure you could look back and see prayer that He has recently answered. Well, that "yes" is to let you feel His interest in you, to feel His love, to feel His power, His personal involvement in the everyday things of your life. Take a good long look at it, and draw faith, and courage, and determination from those memories; from those yes's.
But He's also given you enough "no's" to keep you trusting Him. And those "no's," like the one a Daddy said one time to his little daughter are, "For your good." Strangely, all green lights make us self-sufficient. And if we get self-sufficient, that's the beginning of big trouble. God knows exactly how much you need of each and He knows when to give them to you. So draw strength from the answered prayer, learn faith from the unanswered prayer, and God will always keep that blessed tension in your life.
Like my daughter with all her fingers, you'll one day thank your Father for the things He denied or the things He postponed for your good. Relax, let your Father drive. You'll love the destination.
