Max Lucado Daily: A Holy Incredibility ·
God did what we wouldn’t dare dream. He did what we could not imagine. He became a man so we could trust him. He became a sacrifice so we could know him. And he defeated death so we could follow him.
It defies logic. It’s a divine insanity. A holy incredibility. Only a God beyond systems and common sense could create a plan as absurd as this. Yet, it’s the very impossibility of it all that makes it possible. The wildness of the story is its strongest witness. For only a God could create a plan this mad. Only a Creator beyond the fence of logic could offer such a gift of love.
What man cannot do, God does. When it comes to eternity, forgiveness, purpose, and truth, go to the manger, kneel with the shepherds. Worship the God who dared to do what man dared not dream!
From And the Angels Were Silent
Luke 2
The Birth of Jesus
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
Jesus Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”[b]), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”[c]
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss[d] your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[e] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
The Boy Jesus at the Temple
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”[f] 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Footnotes:
Luke 2:2 Or This census took place before
Luke 2:23 Exodus 13:2,12
Luke 2:24 Lev. 12:8
Luke 2:29 Or promised, / now dismiss
Luke 2:37 Or then had been a widow for eighty-four years.
Luke 2:49 Or be about my Father’s business
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 32:1-5
Of David. A maskil.[a]
1 Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.[b]
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Footnotes:
Psalm 32:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 32:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 5 and 7.
Insight
Psalm 32 is one of the seven penitential psalms (Pss. 6,38,51,102,130,143), which are prayers confessing sins and turning to the Lord for His mercy and forgiveness. For about a year after his adultery with Bathsheba, David refused to admit that he had sinned—that is, until the prophet Nathan confronted him (2 Sam. 11–12). As a result, David penned Psalms 32 and 51. In today’s psalm, David celebrates the forgiveness he received (vv.1-2), warns of the terrible burden of living with unconfessed sins (vv.3-4), and encourages sinners to repent or face chastening by the Lord (vv.3-6,8-11). In the New Testament, Paul quotes Psalm 32:1-2 to show how God forgives sinners—by grace through faith alone (see Rom. 4:6-8).
Covering Sinkholes
February 20, 2014 — by Marvin Williams
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. —Psalm 32:1
In late May 2010, tropical storm Agatha hit Central America, producing torrential rains and landslides. Once it finished its course, a 200-foot-deep sinkhole opened in downtown Guatemala City. This sinkhole caused the ground to collapse suddenly, sucking land, electrical poles, and a 3-story building into the depths of the earth.
Though sinkholes can be devastating, the most universal and damaging sinkhole is the one that happens in the human heart. King David was an example of this.
The surface of David’s life looked stable; however, his interior life rested on a fragile foundation. After his sins of adultery and murder, David thought he had successfully hidden his treacherous acts (2 Sam. 11–12). However, God’s intense conviction after Nathan’s confrontation caused him to realize that denying the presence of sin in his life weakened the foundation of his spiritual life. To prevent this spiritual sinkhole from worsening, David acknowledged his sin to God in repentance (Ps. 32:5). As a result, God covered David’s sin and gave him the joy of forgiveness.
We too will experience God’s grace when we confess our sins to Him. He will completely forgive and cover our spiritual sinkholes.
Thinking It Over
What habitual sins, secret addictions, or hidden
vulnerabilities are weakening your interior life?
Remember, God longs to give you complete forgiveness.
When we uncover our sins in repentance God will cover them.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
February 20, 2014
Taking the Initiative Against Daydreaming
Arise, let us go from here —John 14:31
Daydreaming about something in order to do it properly is right, but daydreaming about it when we should be doing it is wrong. In this passage, after having said these wonderful things to His disciples, we might have expected our Lord to tell them to go away and meditate over them all. But Jesus never allowed idle daydreaming. When our purpose is to seek God and to discover His will for us, daydreaming is right and acceptable. But when our inclination is to spend time daydreaming over what we have already been told to do, it is unacceptable and God’s blessing is never on it. God will take the initiative against this kind of daydreaming by prodding us to action. His instructions to us will be along the lines of this: “Don’t sit or stand there, just go!”
If we are quietly waiting before God after He has said to us, “Come aside by yourselves . . .” then that is meditation before Him to seek His will (Mark 6:31). Beware, however, of giving in to mere daydreaming once God has spoken. Allow Him to be the source of all your dreams, joys, and delights, and be careful to go and obey what He has said. If you are in love with someone, you don’t sit and daydream about that person all the time— you go and do something for him. That is what Jesus Christ expects us to do. Daydreaming after God has spoken is an indication that we do not trust Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Church Island - #7074
Thursday, February 20, 2014
My wife and I were in Colorado, and she said, "I want to go to a ghost town." I did too, because I was pretty sure there wouldn't any antique stores there. So we drove many miles down this rutted road and into this deserted little village called Winfield. Now it wasn't like this 100 years ago. No, then the gold and silver fever was in the air, and Winfield was alive with the boom that was going on in the area. There were fortune hunters, and fortune spenders, and fortune losers.
Today, however, there are just a few buildings. It stands silent; almost an outdoor museum. There were several hotels back in the boom days, saloons and one church. The church is still standing, and it should be. Though it stood there overlooking that bustling town, no services were ever held in that church. Oh, the town had a church, but the church had absolutely no effect on the people there in their frantic pursuit of wealth and pleasure.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Church Island."
As I looked at that ghost town, I honestly couldn't help but ask, "Is that us as Christians in our town, in our world today?" We have services, but are we really making any difference? Are we connecting with the lost people who are all around us? Or are they just racing after their pleasure and after their money, largely oblivious to what's going on inside our steepled buildings? Are we Christians living on Church Island while most of the people Christ died for are on the mainland over there, totally disconnected from Jesus and from His people? It wasn't meant to be that way.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew chapter 5, beginning in verse 13. "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt looses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
Salt can only change the flavor of the meat if it's in contact with it. It does nothing at all huddled together in a salt shaker does it? Light can only transform the darkness in a room if it's in the room in direct contact with the darkness. Your town doesn't need all the light bulbs huddling together in a light convention. The light has to be out where the people are. Who would build a house with all the lights in one room, leaving the rest of the house dark?
We are in the first American Christian generation to be asked to represent Christ in a post-Christian country where the majority of people don't know our book, they don't know our vocabulary, and they don't know our subculture. They don't know about what our Savior could do for them. We can't do what we've always done and reach the lost people of this culture. And they must have a chance at our Jesus!
How do we break out of being Church Island in a sea of lost people? First, you address their needs. If they don't care about Christ, we have to find ways to help them with the things they do care about; their children, their marriage, their stress, their emotional pain, their recovery. They'll only want to be with us if we find a need they have and try to meet it.
Secondly, we have to speak their language. We've got to move out of our Christianese vocabulary. They just don't understand it. And stretch ourselves to tell Jesus' story in words they speak. We need to love them in their language; in ways that they can feel. And ultimately, we've just got to go to their world and not expect them to come to ours.
It's a sad feeling to stand in a church that had no effect on the dying people around them. And how sad it must be for Jesus to stand in His church today and see that same thing happening. We cannot be content to hunker down on Church Island, when just beyond our reach are people whose eternities are at stake.
