July 2
Get Out of the Judgment Seat
You will be judged in the same way that you judge others.
Matthew 7:2 (NCV)
We condemn a man for stumbling this morning, but we didn't see the blows he took yesterday. We judge a woman for the limp in her walk, but cannot see the tack in her shoe. We mock the fear in their eyes, but have no idea how many stones they have ducked or darts they have dodged.
Are they too loud? Perhaps they fear being neglected again. Are they too timid? Perhaps they fear failing again. Too slow? Perhaps they fell the last time they hurried. You don't know. Only one who has followed yesterday's steps can be their judge.
Not only are we ignorant about yesterday, we are ignorant about tomorrow. Dare we judge a book while chapters are yet unwritten? Should we pass a verdict on a painting while the artist still holds the brush? How can you dismiss a soul until God's work is complete? "God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again" (Phil.1:6).
From: In the Grip of Grace
Copyright (Word Publishing, 1996)
Max Lucado
1 Corinthians 10
Warnings From Israel's History
1For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3They all ate the same spiritual food 4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
6Now these things occurred as examples[a] to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry."[b] 8We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
11These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Idol Feasts and the Lord's Supper
14Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
18Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. 22Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
The Believer's Freedom
23"Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive. 24Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
25Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."[c]
27If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience' sake[d]— 29the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience? 30If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Corinthians 5:14-21
14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
July 2, 2008
Being An Ambassador
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READ: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21
[God] has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. —2 Corinthians 5:19-20
After visiting a homeless shelter, a group of teenagers couldn’t wait to express what they had experienced. Excitedly, they wrote about their visits with men and women of all ages who were poor and destitute.
One teen wrote: “I talked with a Vietnam vet and told him that in heaven he would have a new body. I was able to reassure him in his faith.”
Another said, “A guy named Michael showed me that even though he was living in a homeless shelter, having faith made all the difference.”
Still another wrote: “I talked with a man who had almost stopped believing in God. I tried to [encourage him in his faith].”
While desiring to share God’s message of reconciliation, these teens were surprised to find that some of the people already knew God. By cutting through the discomfort of their differences, the kids discovered people who needed the reassurance that God still cared for them. The teens’ roles changed from sharing the good news to guiding their new friends toward a deeper faith.
Being “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20) opens doors of opportunity both to share the gospel and to strengthen the struggling. Seek out someone today who needs encouragement or “the word of reconciliation” (v.19). — Dave Branon
Lord, use us as Your instruments
Of truth and love and care,
And may we bring encouragement
As Your good news we share. —Sper
A word of encouragement can make the difference between giving up and going on.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 2, 2008
The Conditions of Discipleship
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READ:
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also . . . . And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me . . . . So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple —Luke 14:26-27, 33
If the closest relationships of a disciple’s life conflict with the claims of Jesus Christ, then our Lord requires instant obedience to Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person— our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between devotion to a person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause— He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To be a disciple is to be a devoted bondservant motivated by love for the Lord Jesus. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are not truly devoted to Jesus Christ. No one on earth has this passionate love for the Lord Jesus unless the Holy Spirit has given it to him. We may admire, respect, and revere Him, but we cannot love Him on our own. The only One who truly loves the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit, and it is He who has "poured out in our hearts" the very "love of God" (Romans 5:5 ). Whenever the Holy Spirit sees an opportunity to glorify Jesus through you, He will take your entire being and set you ablaze with glowing devotion to Jesus Christ.
The Christian life is a life characterized by true and spontaneous creativity. Consequently, a disciple is subject to the same charge that was leveled against Jesus Christ, namely, the charge of inconsistency. But Jesus Christ was always consistent in His relationship to God, and a Christian must be consistent in his relationship to the life of the Son of God in him, not consistent to strict, unyielding doctrines. People pour themselves into their own doctrines, and God has to blast them out of their preconceived ideas before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Making the Most of it - #5603
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
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"The metropolitan New York area may be a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there." That's how a lot of folks feel about the area where I lived for so many years. And I can understand that. The area has a very fast pace, an awful lot of people, and there is a high stress quotient. Some call it stressful, some call it exciting, and some call it both. Now imagine this young man moving to the New York area to join our ministry team. He grew up in a small town in Mississippi and he most recently ministered in Arkansas. Bam! He's suddenly in this whirlwind we call the New York area. So did he crawl inside his little home and just watch TV with his dog? No way! He started driving into New York every chance he got. He checked out all those places he'd heard so much about. He learned very quickly how nice it was to spend a day down at the Jersey Shore. He started eating a lot of new things he never tried before. Yes, this can be a hard area to adjust to, but he decided not to lament his location, he decided to make the most of it!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Making the Most of it."
The great missionary Paul didn't always end up in choice locations, say like a Roman prison. That's where he wrote the book of Philippians. And that's where we find our word for today from the Word of God. Philippians 4:4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always." (Excuse me - in a prison cell locked up for doing something right, not something wrong?) "I will say it again: Rejoice!" No, Paul is not on something - he's in Christ and he's finding ways to be content in a crummy situation, a spirit maybe you could use right now.
Verse 11 says, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."
Paul may be in a crummy situation, but he's doing what my friend did when he moved to the New York area. He's looking around for ways he can make the most of the place where God has put him. First, Paul is taking the extra time his prison sentence gives him to write this inspired letter to those he loves in Philippi, and it's still touching us today. If it weren't for Paul's prison times, I've got to wonder if a chunk of the New Testament would have been written. Secondly, Paul is celebrating the fact that his being out of action has motivated many other people to get in the game. He has looked for the good God is doing with it. Philippians 1:12 says, "What has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel. Most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly."
And Paul has been uniquely positioned to get the Gospel right into Caesar's inner circle by leading his Roman guards to Christ. He never would have had this opportunity any other way as a missionary except for this jail. He says the whole palace guard knows about Christ through this and he sends greeting from the saints in "Caesar's household" (Philippians 1:13, 4:22). This reminds me of how my Dad made the most of his last hospital stay before the operation that would claim his life. He led his roommate to Christ!
Look, you may not like the situation you're in right now, your location, your singleness, your sickness, your job, your church. But instead of lamenting your spot, God wants you to experience the wonderful joy and contentment that comes from saying, "Hey, I'm here. I'm going to be here a while. I'm going to make the most of it!"
My ministry teammate who explored New York so enthusiastically realized that he could do things in that area that he could never do anywhere else. That's true of the place that God's placed you in. Don't let your environment capture you. You capture your environment!
