Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 4
“Come to Me”
“Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 (NCV)
Come to me…. The invitation is to come to him. Why him?
He offers the invitation as a penniless rabbi in an oppressed nation. He has no political office, no connections with authorities in Rome. He hasn’t written a best-seller or earned a diploma.
Yet, he dares to look into the leathery faces of farmers and tired faces of housewives and offer rest. He looks into the disillusioned eyes of a preacher or two from Jerusalem. He gazes into the cynical stare of a banker and the hungry eyes of bartender and makes this paradoxical promise: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29).
The people came. They came out of the cul-de-sacs and office complexes of their day. They brought him the burdens of their existence, and he gave them not religion, not doctrine, not systems, but rest.
Hebrews 5
1Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
4No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. 5So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,
"You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.[a]"[b] 6And he says in another place,
"You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek."[c]
7During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Warning Against Falling Away
11We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 27
Judas Hangs Himself
1Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. 2They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
3When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4"I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."
"What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."
5So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
6The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." 7So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. 8That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."
September 4, 2008
The Sorrow Of Betrayal
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READ: Matthew 27:1-10
I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. —Matthew 27:4
When I was a boy, my dad observed my spendthrift ways and often said that money burned a hole in my pocket. I suppose it’s not unlike the way those 30 pieces of silver burned a hole in Judas’ heart after he had betrayed Jesus for a little cash. Imagine how he must have felt as he watched his friend Jesus, with hands bound, being led to trial. Judas had seen those hands calm the stormy sea and touch the blind and lame. How often those loving hands had touched his own life!
For Judas, the silver was no longer a reward but rather a reminder of what he had done to Jesus. With every step, the clanging coins sounded a dirge of condemnation, until in despair he admitted, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matt. 27:4).
When we make choices that betray Jesus, eventually our lives become filled with sorrow. Even well-intentioned followers find that their desire to love and serve Him is frequently on a collision course with the lure of cash or other seductions. But the things we have gained at His expense ultimately and inevitably become clanging symbols of sorrow and regret.
The next time you have to make a choice about cash—or anything else—remember the clatter of Judas’ condemning coins, and don’t betray your loving Leader. — Joe Stowell
Jesus is all the world to me,
And true to Him I’ll be;
O how could I this Friend deny,
When He’s so true to me? —Thompson
When faced with a choice, don’t betray your loving Leader.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 4, 2008
His!
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READ:
They were Yours, You gave them to Me . . . —John 17:6
A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this realization: "You are not your own" ( 1 Corinthians 6:19 ). To say, "I am not my own," is to have reached a high point in my spiritual stature. The true nature of that life in actual everyday confusion is evidenced by the deliberate giving up of myself to another Person through a sovereign decision, and that Person is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit interprets and explains the nature of Jesus to me to make me one with my Lord, not that I might simply become a trophy for His showcase. Our Lord never sent any of His disciples out on the basis of what He had done for them. It was not until after the resurrection, when the disciples had perceived through the power of the Holy Spirit who Jesus really was, that He said, "Go" (Matthew 28:19; also see Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8 ).
"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" ( Luke 14:26 ). He was not saying that this person cannot be good and upright, but that he cannot be someone over whom Jesus can write the word Mine. Any one of the relationships our Lord mentions in this verse can compete with our relationship with Him. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or to myself, but if that is the case, then, Jesus said, "[You] cannot be My disciple." This does not mean that I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot be entirely His.
Our Lord makes His disciple His very own possession, becoming responsible for him. ". . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . ." ( Acts 1:8 ). The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him. The missionary’s secret is truly being able to say, "I am His, and He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me."
Be entirely His!
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Inside Info On the Road Ahead - #5649 - September 4, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Thursday, September 4, 2008
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I had been on a radio interview, and I was about to sign off. Suddenly I heard this familiar voice chiming in, "Hi, Ron. This is Rosetta." It wasn't the lady who was interviewing me, it was the traffic lady, and she was up next as soon as they got rid of me. But she just jumped right in and said "Hi." Now I knew her voice because morning after morning she had been there giving us the latest scoop on how long the commute was on this road, or where the accident was on that road, or which roads had turned into parking lots. In the New York area, there's a lot of ways to go, and which one you choose any given morning can make the difference between on time or very late. So just before I signed off that interview, I thanked Rosetta for what she did for us every morning. I told her, "Rosetta, you help us pick the right road to be on!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Inside Info On the Road Ahead."
The traffic lady's able to help us find the best way because she's got information we don't have. She's got the big picture; she knows where the slowdowns are. I have great news. You have someone like that for the choices in your life that are much bigger than just today's travel, where a wrong choice costs you a lot more than just a few extra minutes in a traffic jam.
God really wants you to pick the right road - the road that lines up with His great plans for you. And He can see what's on all the roads out there. He can see which one is best, and He wants to let you know. Our word for today from the Word of God, Isaiah 48:17, "This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 'I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.'" Man, what a promise!
Every day you have to decide which way to go in raising your son or daughter, in your personal finances, in your business, in your love life, your ministry, or your relationships. And one of the great benefits of belonging to Jesus Christ is that you don't have to figure it out based only on the limited perspective you have! The One who can see it all is committed to teach you what is best for you, not just what is good for you, and He's committed to direct you in the way you should go.
You may very well have some "which way?" decisions you're facing right now. Claim the promise! Pray that promise back to God. It's Isaiah 48:17. The Bible is full of promises like this!
In order to be able to hear God's leading, here are a few practical steps to take:
1,Don't head into any day without really praying over it and praying through it. God's guidance comes in days, so go over each day with Him early on.
2.Open your Bible with a seeking heart, asking God to show you in these verses a way that He wants you to be thinking today. Keep a journal of what He says.
3.Pay most attention to what you feel most consistently while you are praying when there is no other voice but God's influencing you.
4. Ask God for, and then look for, circumstances that confirm the direction you've been sensing in His Word and in His presence.
5. Make sure you have opened yourself up to anything God wants. God writes His leading on your blank piece of paper, not on a contract you've filled out for God to sign.
Remember, the real issue here is getting closer to your Heavenly Father. He uses our "which way?" struggles to draw us into a deeper dependency on Him. Showing us the plan is the easy part; getting us to trust Him is the hard part.
As you look ahead to your journey, make sure you are tuned to the frequency where the guidance is, to your Father in heaven who sees it all and has all the inside information on the road ahead.