Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 8
What Makes God, God?
If we are not faithful, he will still be faithful, because he cannot be false to himself.
2 Timothy 2:13 (NCV)
God's blessings are dispensed according to the riches of his grace, not according to the depth of our faith....
Why is that important to know? So you won't get cynical. Look around you. Aren't there more mouths than bread? Aren't there more wounds than physicians? Aren't there more who need the truth than those who tell it?
So what do we do? Throw up our hands and walk away? Tell the world we can't help them?
No, we don't give up. We look up. We trust. We believe. And our optimism is not hollow. Christ has proven worthy. He has shown that he never fails. That's what makes God, God.
Hebrews 12
God Disciplines His Sons
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."[a]
7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet,"[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
Warning Against Refusing God
14Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.
18You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned."[c] 21The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."[d]
22But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."[e] 27The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our "God is a consuming fire."[f]
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Romans 12:3-8
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[a]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
September 11, 2008
Called
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Romans 12:3-8
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. —Romans 12:6
In September 2001, Lisa Jefferson had an unexpected opportunity to be used by God. Her now well-known 15-minute conversation with a passenger on United Flight 93 forever changed the direction of her life. In her book Called, she emphasizes that her listening skills and her ability to take charge and stay calm in a crisis were used to encourage fellow believer Todd Beamer in the last moments of his life.
She didn’t ask to be used that way. But God saw a woman who was available and matched her with someone who was in need. Lisa now shares her story with whomever she can to encourage believers to always be ready to serve.
Not only has God given us natural abilities, He also equips every believer with spiritual gifts for the purpose of ministry. God doesn’t use the unwilling—He won’t force us to serve Him. His part is to equip us (Eph. 4:11-13) and empower and prepare us for service. Our part is to be faithful and available and aware of opportunities to use our gifts (Rom. 12:6).
When you feel impelled to help fill a need, when you are inwardly driven to serve—listen to those thoughts. You don’t want to miss God’s call. — Cindy Hess Kasper
In gladness I go forth each day
Expectantly to serve and claim
The happiness that service gives
When freely rendered in God’s name. —Anon.
God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary work.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 11, 2008
Missionary Weapons (2)
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet —John 13:14
Ministering in Everyday Opportunities. Ministering in everyday opportunities that surround us does not mean that we select our own surroundings— it means being God’s very special choice to be available for use in any of the seemingly random surroundings which He has engineered for us. The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings.
The things Jesus did were the most menial of everyday tasks, and this is an indication that it takes all of God’s power in me to accomplish even the most common tasks in His way. Can I use a towel as He did? Towels, dishes, sandals, and all the other ordinary things in our lives reveal what we are made of more quickly than anything else. It takes God Almighty Incarnate in us to do the most menial duty as it ought to be done.
Jesus said, "I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you" (13:15). Notice the kind of people that God brings around you, and you will be humiliated once you realize that this is actually His way of revealing to you the kind of person you have been to Him. Now He says we should exhibit to those around us exactly what He has exhibited to us.
Do you find yourself responding by saying, "Oh, I will do all that once I’m out on the mission field"? Talking in this way is like trying to produce the weapons of war while in the trenches of the battlefield--you will be killed while trying to do it.
We have to go the "second mile" with God (see Matthew 5:41 ). Yet some of us become worn out in the first ten steps. Then we say, "Well, I’ll just wait until I get closer to the next big crisis in my life." But if we do not steadily minister in everyday opportunities, we will do nothing when the crisis comes.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
No Tipping Allowed - #5654 - September 11, 2008
Category: Your Personal Power
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Any time I'm planning to be in New York City, I make sure I have some loose change and some small bills; I know I'll need it for tips. Maybe for a parking lot attendant, a cab driver, maybe a waitress. Actually, tipping is a way of life in America. Here's what the dictionary says it is: "A small percent of money given directly to someone for performing a service." A tip is a small thank you, nothing major, loose change stuff. And that's appropriate as a response to a small service but not to a total sacrifice.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Tipping Allowed."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 6:33-34. It says this, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus is setting up here the priority structure that should govern the lives of anyone who is following Him, and it's pretty simple. Make sure God always gets His first.
But often Jesus has to wait in a long line behind our business, our friends, our family, our recreation, our ambitions, and our needs. Then we fish around in the loose change of our life and give Him a tip, a small thanks for a total sacrifice. In the words of Romans 8:32, "God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all." That's worth more than a tip that costs you little. Or in the words of David, "Shall I bring to the Lord that which costs me nothing?"
Life at its best always gives to God off the top. Let's start with money, whether you have a lot or a little. There's no tithe law anymore, but don't you think love should start where law left off and go from there? Financially, seek first God's interests - you give to Him before you do anything else with the money you have received.
And how about your schedule? We need to say, "With my busy schedule, I'm seeking Him first." Daily time to spend with Jesus is supposed to be the anchor of your schedule, it is non-negotiable. And be sure you save some prime time for the work of His Kingdom, too.
Jesus also deserves the best of your talents and your dearest possessions. Who really owns that car of yours, that house, that music, that wardrobe, those books? Jesus' Name should be all over everything. He should have prior claim to how it all gets used since He paid for your life with His life on a cross!
Will you make Jesus' share the sun around which everything must revolve, or is Jesus really just one of your planets revolving around something else that you've put in the center? Doesn't the Bible say, "You shall have no other gods before me"? Give Jesus His money first, His time first, His use of your talents first, your possessions first.
It may seem risky, but it's not nearly as risky as giving your Savior less than your best. You give God His and you don't have less, you have more. What did Jesus say? "All these things will be given to you...do not worry." God is your Father, not your waiter. He's your Lord, not your chauffeur. And He gets your very best. You don't worship your Lord and Savior by just giving Him tips.
