Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 21
Jesus Planned It All
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29 (NCV)
Jesus planned his own sacrifice.
It means Jesus intentionally planted the tree from which his cross would be carved.
It means he willingly placed the iron ore in the heart of the earth from which the nails would be cast.
It means he voluntarily placed his Judas in the womb of a woman.
It means Christ was the one who set in motion the political machinery that would send Pilate to Jerusalem.
And it also means he didn’t have to do it—but he did.
2 Corinthians 13
Final Warnings
1This will be my third visit to you. "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses."[a] 2I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, 3since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. 4For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you.
5Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? 6And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 7Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection. 10This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.
Final Greetings
11Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
12Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13All the saints send their greetings.
14May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Romans 12:3-13
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[a]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Love
9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
July 21, 2008
We Are Connected
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READ: Romans 12:3-13
So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. —Romans 12:5
An air-monitoring station atop a California mountain has detected wind-borne particles that drifted across the Pacific Ocean from coal-fired power plants and smelters thousands of miles away. Some experts predict that expanding economies in other nations could one day account for a third of the pollution in California. The US, however, remains the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and other countries are feeling the effects of America’s energy consumption.
An Associated Press report quoted atmospheric scientist Dan Jaffe: “There is no place where you can put away your pollution anymore.” Every nation shares the world’s atmosphere and is affected by the actions of others.
A similar principle is at work in the global community of those who follow Jesus Christ. We all have a stake in the lives of others because our actions, good and bad, affect every other Christian. In the body of Christ, each member belongs to all the others (Rom. 12:5). Because of that, we are urged to exercise our spiritual gifts (vv.6-8), and to be loving, faithful in prayer, and generous (vv.10-13).
Our obedience to the Lord may seem insignificant in the big picture, but it breathes freshness and life into the spiritual atmosphere of every believer. — David C. McCasland
We don’t live unto ourselves,
We’re part of one another;
For good or ill we touch a life
Of sister, friend, and brother. —D. De Haan
When believers influence each other for good, the body of Christ remains healthy.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 21, 2008
The Doorway to the Kingdom
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READ:
Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . —Matthew 5:3
Beware of thinking of our Lord as only a teacher. If Jesus Christ is only a teacher, then all He can do is frustrate me by setting a standard before me I cannot attain. What is the point of presenting me with such a lofty ideal if I cannot possibly come close to reaching it? I would be happier if I never knew it. What good is there in telling me to be what I can never be— to be "pure in heart" ( Matthew 5:8 ), to do more than my duty, or to be completely devoted to God? I must know Jesus Christ as my Savior before His teaching has any meaning for me other than that of a lofty ideal which only leads to despair. But when I am born again by the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come only to teach— He came to make me what He teaches I should be. The redemption means that Jesus Christ can place within anyone the same nature that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives us are based on that nature.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces a sense of despair in the natural man— exactly what Jesus means for it to do. As long as we have some self-righteous idea that we can carry out our Lord’s teaching, God will allow us to continue until we expose our own ignorance by stumbling over some obstacle in our way. Only then are we willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him. "Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . ." This is the first principle in the kingdom of God. The underlying foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possessions; not making decisions for Jesus, but having such a sense of absolute futility that we finally admit, "Lord, I cannot even begin to do it." Then Jesus says, "Blessed are you . . ." ( Matthew 5:11 ). This is the doorway to the kingdom, and yet it takes us so long to believe that we are actually poor! The knowledge of our own poverty is what brings us to the proper place where Jesus Christ accomplishes His work.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
That Voice - #5616 - July 21, 2008
Category: Your Personal Power
Monday, July 21, 2008
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I grew up on the south side of Chicago, and honestly we did not have a lot of sheep running around. So I listened with fascination the other day when I heard my father-in-law tell about being the shepherd for his family's flock of sheep. He was just a boy, the only child, and Mom and Dad left the sheep pretty much with him, and he was with them a lot. One day he and his parents were watching the flock and he said, "Would you like me to call one of them out?" Right, kid. Like one sheep is going to know it's him you want? So Mom and Dad kind of laughed. The little shepherd asked them to pick a sheep they wanted called out, and then he made a little bleating sound and the selected sheep proceeded to leave the flock and come right to him. Mom and Dad were still skeptical. So he said, "OK, pick another sheep. " And they did. Another bleat, and Mr. Sheep answered the call. And no one else could get that kind of response. That little exercise was repeated several times, until there was no denying the amazing fact: those sheep had such a personal relationship with their shepherd that his was the only voice they followed.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "That Voice."
Our word for today from the Word of God is John 10:3. It says, "The watchman opens the gate for the shepherd and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out." Here's a fundamental that you need to remember every day. "You sheep ... Him Shepherd." And Jesus describes this incredibly personal relationship that you as a sheep have with Him as your Shepherd.
Oh yeah, there's a big Christian flock. Sure, sometimes you feel like just another church attender or just an anonymous blur in the huge family of God. But Jesus doesn't see a flock. Just like my father-in-law as a boy. He didn't see a bunch of sheep. He saw Woolly and Fluffy and Blackie, and Hoofer. Whatever you call sheep. He had an individual relationship with each sheep in that flock. That's how Jesus sees you. Others may see a flock of a hundred Christians or a thousand Christians, but Jesus sees a thousand ones. He knows you by name. He loves you as you.
The sheep know there is only one voice they can trust; the voice of the One who really loves them. My father-in-law's sheep had decided which voice they would follow and who would decide which way they went. That's what it's supposed to be like between you and Jesus right now. Is it? The only one voice that you will follow - Jesus. Only one person deciding which direction you'll go - Jesus.
But maybe there's another voice that's been drowning out your shepherd's voice lately. Maybe you're hearing the voice of your family or your friends; maybe someone you're dating, maybe the voice of your company, or even of a religious leader. But the voice you've been tending to follow lately may be taking you a direction that your Shepherd would never take you.
See, there is only one voice you can trust - the Shepherd who laid down His life for you. Jesus said in John 10, "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." It's time to decide again that the voice of Jesus is the only voice you'll follow. All those other voices will lead you where you'll only end up lost. Your Good Shepherd will never lead you wrong. He's the One who loves you most. And He says He puts His sheep out and He goes ahead of them. Everywhere He'll send you, He'll get there first. You'll be safe. You can un-complicate your life from the confusion of following so many different voices.
That voice of Jesus may be speaking inside your heart right now. It may feel just like a strange spiritual tug. But the fact is, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for you, his wandering sheep, is trying to bring you into a relationship with Him. That is the tug you feel; that is the voice of the Shepherd calling you to belong to Him. You may have believed in Him, but never really belonged to Him. You've never really given Him your whole life. You can do that this very day. I'd love to be a part of helping you with that, if you'll just go to our website. It's yoursforlife.net. We'll help you in how to get started with Him, and be sure you have Him.
You are the deeply loved treasure of your Shepherd, Jesus. Choose one voice to be the only voice you follow; the voice you are hearing in your heart this very day. Choose Jesus.
