Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 29
Lifting Heart and Hands
To the King that rules forever, who will never die, who cannot be seen, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.
1 Timothy 1:17 (NCV)
The whole purpose of coming before the King is to praise him, to live in recognition of his splendor. Praise--lifting up our heart and hands, exulting with our voices, singing his praises--is the occupation of those who dwell in the kingdom.
Praise is the highest occupation of any being. What happens when we praise the Father? We reestablish the proper chain of command; we recognize that the King is on the throne and that he has saved his people.
Titus 2
What Must Be Taught to Various Groups
1You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. 2Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
3Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
6Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
9Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.
11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
15These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Timothy 6:11-16
Paul's Charge to Timothy
11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
August 29, 2008
Don’t Rust Out
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READ: 1 Timothy 6:11-16
But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. —1 Timothy 6:11
On June 15, 1957, a brand-new car was buried in a concrete vault under the courthouse lawn in Tulsa. In June 2007, the car was unearthed as the city celebrated Oklahoma’s 100th year of statehood. Writing in the Tulsa World, Randy Krehbiel said: “Now we know what 50 years in a hole does to a Plymouth Belvedere.” Water seeping into the vault had turned the once shiny car into a rusted monument to the past. A hot-rod expert hired to start the engine pronounced it “hopeless.”
Spiritual inactivity corrodes the soul like moisture acting on metal. Paul urged Timothy, his young protégé, to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness” (1 Tim. 6:11). This command had no expiration date attached to it. The spiritual disciplines require continued attention throughout our lives. If rest becomes our goal, then rust is right behind.
Oswald Chambers said: “The intellect works with the greatest intensity when it works continuously; the more you do, the more you can do. We must work hard to keep in trim for God. Clean off the rust and keep bright by use.”
Our capabilities may vary with age, but pursuing the righteous life to which God has called us should never end. Don’t rust out! — David C. McCasland
For Further Study
For practical advice on how to keep spiritually active as we age, you may wish to read Finishing Well on the Web at www.discoveryseries.org/q0713
Spiritual inactivity corrodes the soul.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 29, 2008
The Unsurpassed Intimacy of Tested Faith
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READ:
Jesus said to her, ’Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’ —John 11:40
Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith. But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture out with courage on the words of Jesus Christ, while the realities of your commonsense life continue to shout, "It’s all a lie"? When you are on the mountaintop, it’s easy to say, "Oh yes, I believe God can do it," but you have to come down from the mountain to the demon-possessed valley and face the realities that scoff at your Mount-of-Transfiguration belief (see Luke 9:28-42 ). Every time my theology becomes clear to my own mind, I encounter something that contradicts it. As soon as I say, "I believe ’God shall supply all [my] need,’ " the testing of my faith begins ( Philippians 4:19 ). When my strength runs dry and my vision is blinded, will I endure this trial of my faith victoriously or will I turn back in defeat?
Faith must be tested, because it can only become your intimate possession through conflict. What is challenging your faith right now? The test will either prove your faith right, or it will kill it. Jesus said, "Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me" Matthew 11:6 ). The ultimate thing is confidence in Jesus. "We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end . . ." ( Hebrews 3:14 ). Believe steadfastly on Him and everything that challenges you will strengthen your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith up to the point of our physical death, which is the last great test. Faith is absolute trust in God— trust that could never imagine that He would forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5-6 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Measurement Mess - #5645 - August 29, 2008
Category: Your Relationships
Friday, August 29, 2008
Joshua 24:15{/bible}. Then, as now, God's people were torn between a cultural drumbeat that was pulling them one way and the standards of their God. Here's the challenge, "Throw away the gods our forefathers worshipped...in Egypt and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served...or the gods of the Amorites in whose land your are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
You have to make that same kind of clear-cut, no-compromise choice. You just can't run your life by two different standards. Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters." Your culture says divorce is OK. Your God says, "I hate divorce" (Malachi 2:16). The world around you says you have to accumulate more and more for security...Jesus says security comes from letting go of what you have and trusting Him to take care of you. You lose your life by hanging onto it; you find your life by giving it away.
The culture says something that portrays things that breaks God's heart is "must see" TV or a "must see" movie. God says, "Guard your heart; it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23). Conventional wisdom tells you that you can't be totally honest and succeed. God says, "Put off falsehood and speak truthfully" (Ephesians 4:25) that He will only bless total integrity. Our tolerant culture says, "There are many ways to God." Your Savior says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father except by Me" (John 14:6). Those can't both be true. You have to choose one and stake everything on it.
It's that way with all the choices I mentioned and so many more that you're faced with each day. You can't keep vacillating; commuting back and forth between what the world around you says is right and what your Lord says is right. You can't just go God's way when it's convenient, when it's easy, and when it doesn't cost you much. In God's words, you have to "choose this day whom you will serve." When you do, life is a whole lot less confusing.
Choose God's way always. If you keep trying to run your own life by two different standards, you're going to crash.
