Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 16
Our Sure God
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalm 23:6 (NKJV)
Look at the first word: surely. David didn't say, “Maybe goodness and mercy shall
follow me.” Or “Possibly goodness and mercy shall follow me.” Or “I have a hunch that goodness and mercy shall follow me.” David could have used one of those phrases. But he didn't. He believed in a sure God, who makes sure promises and provides a sure foundation. David would have loved the words of one of his great-great-grandsons, the apostle James. He described God as the one "with whom there is never the slightest variation or shadow of inconsistency" (James 1:17 PHILLIPS).
Our moods may shift, but God's doesn't. Our minds may change, but God's doesn't. Our, but God's never does. Even if is faithful, for he cannot betray himself (2 Tim. 2:13). He is a sure God.
2 Corinthians 8
Generosity Encouraged
1And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. 6So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
8I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
10And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
13Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, 15as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."[b]
Titus Sent to Corinth
16I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. 17For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. 18And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. 19What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. 20We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.
22In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. 23As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. 24Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
July 16, 2008
The Bible Guy
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READ: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. —Romans 12:6
When the youth group in Rich’s church needed Bibles for study, he went on a search for more than 70 copies. He got what they needed, but he never stopped collecting and distributing Bibles.
People and businesses donate money; others give him new and used Bibles to share. The motto on the side of the van he uses for this ministry explains his simple desire: “Need a Bible? Ask me for one.” Rich is an ordinary guy, a heating and plumbing technician, who carries on this ministry in his spare time. His nickname around his church is “the Bible guy.”
Do you ever wish you could have a special ministry like Rich’s? The Lord has given each of us at least one spiritual gift to use for His kingdom purposes. The apostle Paul lists several in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, and some are mentioned in 1 Peter 4:9-11.
If you don’t know what gifts you have, volunteer for a ministry in your church that interests you, or meet a need you learn about. Then ask yourself if you saw God work through you and if you had joy as you served. Ask fellow believers if they think you’re gifted in that area. And ask the Lord to help you determine where you fit in His plans.
The Lord wants to use you too. — Anne Cetas
Help us, Lord, to work together
With the gifts that You bestow;
Give us unity of purpose
As we serve You here below. —Sper
Christians who bury their gifts make a grave mistake.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 16, 2008
The Concept of Divine Control
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READ:
. . . how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! —Matthew 7:11
Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct in this passage for those people who have His Spirit. He urges us to keep our minds filled with the concept of God’s control over everything, which means that a disciple must maintain an attitude of perfect trust and an eagerness to ask and to seek.
Fill your mind with the thought that God is there. And once your mind is truly filled with that thought, when you experience difficulties it will be as easy as breathing for you to remember, "My heavenly Father knows all about this!" This will be no effort at all, but will be a natural thing for you when difficulties and uncertainties arise. Before you formed this concept of divine control so powerfully in your mind, you used to go from person to person seeking help, but now you go to God about it. Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct for those people who have His Spirit, and it works on the following principle: God is my Father, He loves me, and I will never think of anything that He will forget, so why should I worry?
Jesus said there are times when God cannot lift the darkness from you, but you should trust Him. At times God will appear like an unkind friend, but He is not; He will appear like an unnatural father, but He is not; He will appear like an unjust judge, but He is not. Keep the thought that the mind of God is behind all things strong and growing. Not even the smallest detail of life happens unless God’s will is behind it. Therefore, you can rest in perfect confidence in Him. Prayer is not only asking, but is an attitude of the mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural. "Ask, and it will be given to you . . ." (Matthew 7:7 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Smacked With Your Back Pack - #5613 - July 16, 2008
Category: Your Most Important Relationship
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
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OK, backpacks are basically a good thing. They make it possible for you to carry some essentials while you keep your hands free, right? But backpacks are not always a good thing, especially when you forget you're wearing one! I've seen a lot of the dangerous side of backpacks, especially in airports and airplanes. You see, you get used to your body ending at a certain point, and you navigate through a crowd knowing where the "oops, I bumped you" point is. Now you add a backpack and suddenly you have enlarged what is commonly known as your space, but you continue to navigate crowds and narrow places as if you had the same old parameters. So you got to turn around and "aahh," you clobber someone behind you or next to you! I mean, its one thing to carry your load, it's another thing to hit someone else with it!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about, "Smacked With Your Backpack."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Peter 3:9-11. We've all got some baggage - the emotional kind that is. The question is, is the baggage you're carrying hurting other people? 1 Peter 3:9 says this: "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing ... 'Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.'" And then verse 15 tells us why it's important to not do or say things that will hurt other people or cause conflict; why we should have positive talk, and wholesome talk, why we should pursue peaceful relationships, doing good for people. Here's the reason. 1 Peter 3:15, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..."
Now, what is going to attract people to your Jesus? Your hope it says. They're going to want to ask about your hope! They'll be curious about what makes you such a positive person, a joyful person. But they're not going to see hope if you keep hitting them with the negative stuff you're carrying. Maybe you're carrying a backpack full of stress and pressure and you're stressing out everybody; you're dumping your stress on them!
It could be that your backpack is full of victim feelings and the people around you just keep getting hit with your self-pity, your complaining, your anger. That's what they get when they get near you. Or are people getting smacked with your critical mouth, your negative attitude, your all too frequent bad moods? It's one thing for you to be carrying that load around, but you're going too far when it's hitting other people!
God uses words like "keep from, turn from," to describe what we ought to do with our negative sinful baggage. Actually, someone else wants to carry your backpack. Later in this book, 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your care upon Him because He cares for you." The Lord Himself is asking, "What are you carrying all that for? Why don't you bring it all to me? Lay it down at My feet. Let Me carry it." If you'll let go of that stuff, you can become the hope person you're called to be that lost people around you desperately need to see. They need to see hope, not heaviness, in you.
You probably didn't mean for your attitudes to hit anyone else, you may not even be aware of the hurt sometimes, but this is a wakeup call. Too many people have been smacked with your back pack - usually the people closest to you. Once you've given your load to your awesome Savior, not only can you stop hitting other people with your load, you can actually reach out and offer to carry theirs!
