Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 28
A Life Free of Clutter
Your heart will be where your treasure is.
Matthew 6:21 (NCV)
The most powerful life is the most simple life. The most powerful life is the life that knows where it's going, that knows where the source of strength is, and the life that stays free of clutter and happenstance and hurriedness.
Being busy is not a sin. Jesus was busy. Paul was busy. Peter was busy. Nothing of significance is achieved without effort and hard work and weariness. Being busy, in and of itself, is not a sin. But being busy in an endless pursuit of things that leave us empty and hollow and broken inside--that cannot be pleasing to God.
One source of man's weariness is the pursuit of things that can never satisfy; but which one of us has not been caught up in that pursuit at some time in our life? Our passions, possessions, and pride--these are all dead things. When we try to get life out of dead things, the result is only weariness and dissatisfaction
Ephesians 2
Made Alive in Christ
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
One in Christ
11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Deuteronomy 18:9-14
Detestable Practices
9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in [a] the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
The Prophet
14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
July 28, 2008
Desperate For Answers
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READ: Deuteronomy 18:9-14
When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. —Deuteronomy 18:9
A popular afternoon television program a few years ago was hosted by a self-proclaimed medium. He supposedly received messages from spirits of the dead to give to their family members in his studio audience. His readings prompted many people to believe in this occultic practice.
We live in a culture where people are desperate to know their future, and they’ll turn to psychics and mediums for answers—a practice expressly forbidden in the Scriptures.
The ancient Israelites were desperate to know their future, and God knew that they would be tempted to consult ungodly sources for answers. So He warned them to stay away from mediums and those who contact the dead (Lev. 19:26,31; 20:27; Deut. 18:9-14).
God knew that these practices would prevent ancient Israel from being a holy, set-apart people who would be a blessing to all nations. The future for Israel was determined by their faithfulness to God’s covenant, not the words of soothsayers and psychics. Reliance on these evil practices indicated a failure to trust the Lord with their lives.
When you are desperate for information about your future, turn to the sovereign God of heaven. He is the only One who holds the answers you seek. — Marvin Williams
Shall not He who led me safely
Through the footsteps of this day
Lead with equal understanding
All along my future way? —Adams
The what of our future is determined by the who of eternity.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 28, 2008
God’s Purpose or Mine?
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READ:
He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side . . . —Mark 6:45
We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.
What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see "Him walking on the sea" with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see "Him walking on the sea" ( Mark 6:49 ). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.
God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.
God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Only Way to End Up Where You Want to Go - #5621
Thursday, July 28, 2008
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Our son was supposed to be flying into our local airport, but the shall we say unpredictabilities of airplane travel today forced him to land in another city. Which meant renting a car to drive the four hours home and then returning the rental car to the airport where I have never returned a rental car. He drove the rental car as I led the way in our family car. We managed to find the ramp that pointed to "rental car returns." I looked at the companies listed on the signs only to discover that the one Brad had rented from wasn't listed! We pulled over, rolled down our windows, and said, "What now?" Suddenly said, "Whoa! Let's follow him!" At just that moment, the van from our rental company went by! We took off behind him. And it's a good thing we did. The roads and ramps took us on this like merry chase all around the airport and beyond the airport. We could have never figured out how to get there! We had to follow someone who has been there!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "The Only Way to End Up Where You Want to Go."
An article in USA Today talked about the rush of movies and books that are coming out recently that deal with death and dying. We're thinking a lot more about our mortality and immortality. And in this age where people are taking a little helping of everything that's on the spirituality buffet, we have all kinds of theories and hopes about what might await us on the other side of our last heartbeat.
And like my son and I looking for the right destination at the airport that night, we're scanning the various signs, we're following our instincts to get to where we want to end up. Every time we go to a funeral, every time we hear about the death of someone our age, we remember it will be us in the casket some day and we want to know where the life is beyond our time on earth.
There are a lot of ideas floating around today about what's out there, but after all is said and done, everybody's guessing! We're like my son and me at the airport. We're trying to find the way by reading the signs posted by various religions and theorizers. We're trying to figure out the way through our own instincts and speculation. But our only hope is what got my son and me to our destination that night. We need someone who has been there and back! Without that, it's just too easy to get lost, to make a wrong turn, to be wrong - dead wrong. Eternity is too important. It's too long to risk being wrong about.
There is one Person who has been all the way there and back, and He is the final word on death and on eternity. He speaks to us about it in our word for today from the Word of God in Revelation 1:17-18, where Jesus' disciple, John, is allowed to see Jesus as He is today in heaven. John says, "Then He placed His right hand on me and said: 'Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.'"
According to the record of six historians, three days after He died, Jesus Christ walked out of His grave under His own power. He's been there and back, and He is the only One who isn't guessing about death and eternity. He told us there's a heaven for those who have had their sins forgiven, there's a hell for those who have not claimed God's forgiveness, that we die once and don't come back, He told us that our eternal destination is settled here, in this life, by whether or not we grab hold of the One who died to forgive our sins and take us to heaven.
You could literally go to sleep tonight, not wondering about your eternity, but knowing you will go to heaven when you die because the sin that would keep you from heaven is gone forever. The Bible says, "He who has the Son (of God) has life" (1 John 5:12). You can have the Son of God right now by putting your trust in Him to be your eternal Rescuer based on His death for you on the cross.
If you want to know for sure you're going to heaven. If you want to belong to the only One who can take you there, you want to begin your relationship with Him today, would you just say to Him, "Jesus I'm Yours." And let me invite you to our website. A lot of people have found help in beginning their relationship with Christ at yoursforlife.net. I hope you'll go there right away today.
The One who can take you to heaven is near you right now. Don't miss Him!