Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 29
Glimpses of God’s Image
Everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory.
Romans 11:36 (TLB)
The breath you just took? God gave that.
The blood that just pulsed through your heart? Credit God. The light by which
you read and the brain with which you process? He gave both.
Everything comes from him…and exists for him. We exist to exhibit God, to display his glory. We serve as canvases for his brush stroke, papers for his pen, soil for his seeds, glimpses of his image.
Ephesians 3
Paul the Preacher to the Gentiles
1For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
2Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. 6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
7I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. 8Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
A Prayer for the Ephesians
14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Philippians 1:9-18
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel
12Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[a] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
15It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.[b] 18But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
July 29, 2008
The Sign
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READ: Philippians 1:9-18
Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill. —Philippians 1:15
A pastor friend told me about a sign he had seen in front of a neighborhood church. Instead of just advertising the congregation’s own time of worship, the sign also listed the schedule for two other churches that met at different times in the same small town. Interestingly, my friend didn’t think this was impractical or foolish. Instead, he imagined what it must do for a church to put such unselfishness at the heart of everything it did!
Whether it is a good idea to advertise the worship times of other churches is a matter of opinion. But one thing is certain—the Spirit of Christ is not found in a spirit of envy and self-serving competition. The generosity and goodwill that Paul expressed toward self-serving church leaders is a mark of the authentic Christian spirit (Phil. 1:14-18). This Christlike attitude lines up with the absence of spiritual competition James called for in his epistle (James 3:14-17).
Churches ought to be concerned about building their congregations. But beware of setting the bar too low by worrying about numbers. The wisdom and grace of Christ are not necessarily found in conventional wisdom. Good judgment often requires that we perform counter-intuitive acts of unselfishness that reflect Jesus’ life in us. — Mart De Haan
More like the Master I would live and grow,
More of His love to others I would show;
More self-denial, like His in Galilee,
More like the Master I long to ever be. —Gabriel
Nothing is more pleasing to God than self-sacrifice that grows out of obedience.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 29, 2008
Do You See Jesus in Your Clouds?
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READ:
Behold, He is coming with clouds . . . —Revelation 1:7
In the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith. "The clouds are the dust of His feet" ( Nahum 1:3 ). They are a sign that God is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow, bereavement, and suffering are actually the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near us without clouds— He does not come in clear-shining brightness.
It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud He brings our way, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in using the cloud is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that of a child— a relationship simply between God and our own souls, and where other people are but shadows. Until other people become shadows to us, clouds and darkness will be ours every once in a while. Is our relationship with God becoming more simple than it has ever been?
There is a connection between the strange providential circumstances allowed by God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Until we can come face to face with the deepest, darkest fact of life without damaging our view of God’s character, we do not yet know Him.
". . . they were fearful as they entered the cloud" (Luke 9:34). Is there anyone except Jesus in your cloud? If so, it will only get darker until you get to the place where there is "no one anymore, but only Jesus . . ." (Mark 9:8 ; also see Mark 2-7 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Sheep Shoving - #5622 - July 29, 2008
Category: Your Personal Power
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
There's a lot of sheep-talk in the Bible, which puts city boy here at a distinct disadvantage. I grew up in Chicago, we didn't have them. Now if the Bible used cockroaches as an example, I'd be all set. But I've had to learn about sheep from friends who have been around them a lot. One of our ministry team has worked with ranchers a lot with their sheep. And he told me the other day about how the shepherd gets his sheep to go where he wants them to go! There's a way that works and a way that doesn't work. My co-worker said he has seen people get behind sheep and try to push them along. Notice I said, try! It doesn't work, no matter how much noise he makes or how he waves his arms. When they are pushed by a shepherd, sheep just scatter. But when he gets out in front of them; when he leads them the way he wants them to go, the sheep follow after him.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Sheep Shoving."
Over and over in God's Word we are described as being like sheep, and Jesus is described as being our Shepherd. Our word for today from the Word of God, Isaiah 40:11, "He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and He carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those who have young." Notice the Lord gets us to go where He wants us to go not by pushing. It says He gently leads. Remember the 23rd Psalm, "He leads me beside quiet waters."
Now it may be that God has put you in a position where you're doing some shepherding. In other words, there are some people under your influence who need to go in a certain direction, and you're trying to get them to go there. The sheep may be your own children, or some people in ministry with you, or people you minister to, or people who work with you, or just some folks you're trying to motivate to go a certain way. If you're trying to do any shepherding, take a lesson from the Great Shepherd and many other shepherds - gently lead them. Even though you sometimes feel like really pushing them. Leading just works so much better than pushing.
If you're trying to push your "sheep," you tend to be impatient with them. In fact, that's why we often start pushing because they're not responding. If you're leading them, you'll be willing to take time for them to get it right. If you're pushing, you probably dwell a lot on what they're doing wrong. If you're leading, you're dwelling on the things they're doing right and you're encouraging from there to work on the rest. When you're behind the sheep trying to forcibly direct them, you tend to make moving the most important thing. When you're in front of the sheep leading them, you tend to communicate that the sheep are most important.
Honestly now, which one best describes you. Are you behind those sheep, nagging, criticizing, coercing? You're pushing, and they will probably just run away. Or are you modeling where you want them to go, giving correction gently and privately, praising, encouraging, and enabling? If so, then you are leading the sheep. And they're a lot more likely to follow.
Now, sheep sometimes wander off and they require some strong bringing back with a staff. But most of the time, all of us sheep follow gentle, consistent leadership the best. We don't like to be pushed. We like to be led. The destination the shepherd wants the sheep to go is the same, whether he's up front leading or behind pushing. What's different is how the sheep respond. If you have a sheep that isn't going where you're trying to take him or her, consider if part of the problem is the shepherd. Maybe it's time for a little less of that hard pushing from behind, and maybe it's time for a little more of that gentle leading from out in front.
