Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 25
Prayers Make a Difference
We all know that God does not listen to sinners, but he listens to anyone who worships and obeys him.
John 9:31 (NCV)
Most of our prayer lives could use a tune-up.
Some prayer lives lack consistency. They're either a desert or an oasis. Long, arid, dry spells interrupted by brief plunges into the waters of communion....
Others of us need sincerity. Our prayers are a bit hollow, memorized, and rigid. More liturgy than life. And though they are daily, they are dull.
Still others lack, well, honesty. We honestly wonder if prayer makes a difference. Why on earth would God in heaven want to talk to me? If God knows all, who am I to tell him anything? If God controls all, who am I to do anything?...
Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.
Galatians 5
Freedom in Christ
1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." 10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
13You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature[a]; rather, serve one another in love. 14The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."[b] 15If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Life by the Spirit
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Psalm 59
For the director of music. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." Of David. A miktam . When Saul had sent men to watch David's house in order to kill him. [a]
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O God;
protect me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from evildoers
and save me from bloodthirsty men.
3 See how they lie in wait for me!
Fierce men conspire against me
for no offense or sin of mine, O LORD.
4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.
Arise to help me; look on my plight!
5 O LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel,
rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
show no mercy to wicked traitors.
Selah
6 They return at evening,
snarling like dogs,
and prowl about the city.
7 See what they spew from their mouths—
they spew out swords from their lips,
and they say, "Who can hear us?"
8 But you, O LORD, laugh at them;
you scoff at all those nations.
9 O my Strength, I watch for you;
you, O God, are my fortress, 10 my loving God.
God will go before me
and will let me gloat over those who slander me.
11 But do not kill them, O Lord our shield, [b]
or my people will forget.
In your might make them wander about,
and bring them down.
12 For the sins of their mouths,
for the words of their lips,
let them be caught in their pride.
For the curses and lies they utter,
13 consume them in wrath,
consume them till they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob.
Selah
14 They return at evening,
snarling like dogs,
and prowl about the city.
15 They wander about for food
and howl if not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of your strength,
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
17 O my Strength, I sing praise to you;
you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.
July 25, 2008
Wheelchair Ride
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READ: Psalm 59
You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. —Psalm 59:16Ben Carpenter has muscular dystrophy and gets around in an electric wheelchair. One day as he was crossing an intersection, the light changed and a semi-truck caught the handles of Ben’s wheelchair in its grille. Unaware, the driver started down the road, and before long Ben was being pushed along at 50 miles per hour. Soon the rubber on the wheelchair’s tires began to burn off.
Passersby saw the bizarre sight and phoned 911 to inform the police. When the truck driver pulled over, he was astonished to see what was attached to his truck’s grille. Ben had a big scare but escaped without injury.
Sometimes we may feel as if our lives have been hijacked by unexpected circumstances. When David was invited to King Saul’s court, he soothed the king’s nerves by playing on his lyre. Then, unpredictably, the jealous king threw a spear at him. David found himself caught in a dangerous drama of pursuit in which King Saul tried to take his life. Yet David looked to God for immediate protection, and he ultimately received deliverance. Because of this experience he wrote of the faithfulness of God: “You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble” (Ps. 59:16).
No matter what our trouble, God is there. — Dennis Fisher
I never walk alone, Christ walks beside me,
He is the dearest Friend I’ve ever known;
With such a Friend to comfort and to guide me,
I never, no, I never walk alone. —Ackley
© 1952 The Rodeheaver Co.
When troubles call on you, call on God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 25, 2008
Am I Blessed Like This?
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READ:
Blessed are . . . —Matthew 5:3-11When we first read the statements of Jesus, they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unnoticed into our subconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the "dynamite" of the Holy Spirit. And they "explode" when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of the Beatitudes, we say, "What a startling statement that is!" Then we must decide whether or not we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is as easy as child’s play. But the interpretation by the Spirit of God as He applies our Lord’s statements to our circumstances is the strict and difficult work of a saint.
The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations— it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
When it's too Late to Jump - #5620 - July 25, 2008
Category: Your Most Important Relationship
Friday, July 25, 2008
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It happened over 40 years ago, but it's one of those events I'll never really forget. It happened in Chicago where I grew up, and it was the most devastating tragedy most of us would remember from that time. It was December 1, 1958, and a fire broke out at the foot of a stairway in the Our Lady of the Angels School. That fire raged out of control very quickly, and it cut off any normal escape routes. Ninety grade school children died in that fire. But there's one I remember vividly from a news account that I read at the time and I still haven't forgotten. This little boy was in a second story window - they had a photo of him. The boy's father was down below, yelling to him to jump into his arms. That boy could see the fire racing toward him from behind, but he refused to jump. Then, in one awful moment, the boy disappeared. He was one of those victims.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "When it's too Late to Jump."
Over all these years, I've never been able to get the picture of that little boy out of my mind. He did not have to die. If only he had jumped into the arms that were waiting to save him. Tragically, so many people have made that same awful mistake when it comes to Jesus Christ.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ezekiel 18 beginning at verse 31. In it God poses an impassioned question that just might be for you today. In calling people to get right with God, He says, "Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die? ... repent and live." God says, "I'm offering you life if you'll just turn to Me from a self-run life. Jump into My arms!" And then His question, "Why will you die?"
Dying - in the spiritual sense - is the penalty we all face for doing it "my way" instead of God's way. Speaking of an eternal separation from God in a place that the Bible calls hell, God says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). We hope we can earn a place in heaven by being a good person, but the Bible says the only thing we can earn is the death penalty for our sins. No amount of religion, no amount of decency can pay that death penalty.
But then the Bible introduces the hope - the waiting arms beyond the reach of the fire. It says, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). A gift can't be earned - it can only be received. Jesus bought the gift of eternal life for you and me. He paid for it with His life when He paid our death penalty on the cross, and now He offers to give you heaven when you reach out, when you put your trust in Him, and you begin a relationship with Him.
The fire of God's judgment is real. And if we die without a relationship with Jesus Christ, that is our destination. Now, someone says, "I don't believe God will send anyone to hell." That's actually right. God doesn't send anyone to hell; we send ourselves by refusing to jump into the arms that are waiting to save us.
And there is no way to be forgiven, no way to belong to God, no way to go to heaven without a leap of faith into the arms of Jesus. You can't think your way to Jesus. You can't earn your way to Jesus. There has to be that moment when you jump by faith into your Savior's arms. Has there been a moment like that in your life? There's still time. I don't know how much time.
Like the tragedy of that little boy in the window, there comes a time when it's too late to jump, when your heart is too hard or your life is suddenly over. Listen to Jesus as He calls you to jump. "Why will you die? Repent and live."
If you want to step by faith into this life-saving relationship with Jesus, would you tell Him that right now? And I would love to help you know how to begin that relationship and be sure you have if you would just go to our website. It's for that purpose. It's yoursforlife.net. Or I'll send you my free booklet Yours For Life if you'll just call our office and ask for it at 877-741-1200.
The fire is getting ever closer. But the arms of Jesus are wide open. He's waiting for you.
