Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 2
What Is Grace?
My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you.
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NCV)
What is grace? It’s what someone gives us out of the goodness of his heart, not out of the perfection of ours. The story of grace is the good news that says that when we come, he gives. That’s what grace is….
Grace is something you did not expect. It is something you certainly could never earn. But grace is something you’d never turn down.
You know what happens when someone sees the grace of God? When someone really tastes the forgiving and liberating grace of God? Some one who tastes God’s grace is the hardest worker, the most morally pure individual, and the person most willing to forgive.
Hebrews 2
Warning to Pay Attention
1We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Jesus Made Like His Brothers
5It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6But there is a place where someone has testified:
"What is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
7You made him a little[a] lower than the angels;
you crowned him with glory and honor
8 and put everything under his feet." [b]
In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12He says,
"I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises."[c] 13And again,
"I will put my trust in him."[d] And again he says,
"Here am I, and the children God has given me."[e]
14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for[f]the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Deuteronomy 4:5-10
5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, "Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children."
September 2, 2008
Pass It On
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READ: Deuteronomy 4:5-10
Lest you forget the things your eyes have seen . . . teach them to your children and your grandchildren. —Deuteronomy 4:9
One day as my wife was baby-sitting our granddaughter, she shared an old, familiar friend with her. With Eliana in her arms, Sue picked up a well-worn book that we had read to our daughter when she was a little girl. It’s a book called The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes, a staple in our efforts to share God’s truth with our children.
So now it is Eliana’s turn to begin to learn about God’s creation, His goodness, His plan, and His salvation. It’s time for her to be told about what we have seen and experienced in our walk of faith. As Deuteronomy 4:9 says, “Teach [God’s statutes] to your children and your grandchildren.”
Back in the days of Deuteronomy, the people were being handed a gift from God—“the statutes and the judgments” (v.1) that would allow them to live properly in the land of God’s promise. Along with those laws came an admonition for the people to share with their progeny the lessons God taught them on the way. They were told not to “forget the things your eyes have seen” (v.9) and to teach God’s words to their children and grandchildren.
We have a similar legacy to convey to the next generation. As followers of Christ, we take this as one of our greatest responsibilities. Pass it on. — Dave Branon
Begin to train them early
To fear and love the Lord,
To carry on life’s pathway
God’s lamp, His holy Word. —Fennema
If children are to find their way to God, we must point the way.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 2, 2008
A Life of Pure and Holy Sacrifice
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READ:
He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow . . . —John 7:38
Jesus did not say, "He who believes in Me will realize all the blessings of the fullness of God," but, in essence, "He who believes in Me will have everything he receives escape out of him." Our Lord’s teaching was always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a person— His purpose is to make a person exactly like Himself, and the Son of God is characterized by self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts. God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us. Our spiritual life cannot be measured by success as the world measures it, but only by what God pours through us— and we cannot measure that at all.
When Mary of Bethany "broke the flask . . . of very costly oil . . . and poured it on [Jesus’] head," it was an act for which no one else saw any special occasion; in fact, ". . . there were some who . . . said, ’Why was this fragrant oil wasted?’ " (Mark 14:3-4 ). But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion, and said, ". . . wherever this gospel is preached . . . what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her" ( Mark 14:9 ). Our Lord is filled with overflowing joy whenever He sees any of us doing what Mary did— not being bound by a particular set of rules, but being totally surrendered to Him. God poured out the life of His Son "that the world through Him might be saved" ( John 3:17 ). Are we prepared to pour out our lives for Him?
"He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water"— and hundreds of other lives will be continually refreshed. Now is the time for us to break "the flask" of our lives, to stop seeking our own satisfaction, and to pour out our lives before Him. Our Lord is asking who of us will do it for Him?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Flash Gordon Rescues - #5647 - September 2, 2008
Category: Your Hard Times
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
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OK, I was a Flash Gordon freak when I was a kid. In case you've led a deprived life or you're too young to have this exciting heritage, Flash was that intergalactic hero made famous in a serialized movie made in the 1930's, long before anyone ever heard of Luke Skywalker or Captain Kirk. No, I wasn't around when it first came out, but those episodes have been showing ever since. Every episode was a cliffhanger. They always left you hanging with Flash in a terrible jam, about to be destroyed by some space monster or death ray. You were sure there was no way out of this one. But there always was. Somehow, no matter how bleak it looked, Flash always came through somehow.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Flash Gordon Rescues."
Always a way out when there is no way out - that's the way it can be for you, too, in the episodes of your life. If, that is, you're working for the right Director. The great missionary Paul was sort of a spiritual Flash Gordon, except all his close calls were real! Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Timothy 3:11. It refers in this passage to some life-or-death experiences Paul had. He calls them, "what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them."
You could say that, and so could I. It's not that it hasn't been very close sometimes. Just look at some past episodes. The time the money ran out, your friends and family ran out, your strength ran out. Or the times you've been so lonely you couldn't stand it, so frustrated because every door slammed shut. Times when things or people you had depended on were suddenly gone; when you felt hopelessly overwhelmed by an overload of responsibilities. Yes, you've been to the edge of desperation, "yet the Lord rescued me from all of them."
And maybe now you're in a perilous place again or a painful place. This time it looks like there is no way out, there's no time left to turn it around, no place an answer could come from. But then, it looked like that before at the end of other episodes, didn't it, and you're still here. Those mountains that once looked insurmountable are now just monuments to what God can move. Those problems that seemed unsolvable are now part of your testimony of the faithfulness of God. If you forget yesterday's Red Sea, you won't have faith to face today's giants.
In 1 Corinthians 10:13, God made a promise to you that "He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted (the word also means tested), He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." God will never let you face more than you can handle with His strength. In fact, He will pour out for you on a daily basis, the strength needed. The promise of Deuteronomy 32:25 is this: "Your strength will equal your days." And Paul found, really at the end of his rope, that "My grace" God said, "is sufficient for you." In the original Greek translation, "Enough for you, my grace."
Remember, Jesus is your Savior, and Savior means Rescuer. He's already accomplished the toughest rescue of all. He rescued you from the clutches of sin and hell. Surely, after that, He can save you from this comparatively small crisis. He will change the situation or He will enlarge you to deal with it, but He will always rescue you! He always has.
My hero, Flash Gordon, got in big trouble, and so do you and I. But he always got rescued and so will you. The same God who brought you through so many episodes in the past, is still writing the script with some very close calls and some pretty amazing rescues!