Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
October 17
Finishing Strong
Think about Jesus' example. He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to him. So do not get tired and stop trying.
Hebrews 12:3 (NCV)
Heaven was not foreign to Jesus. He is the only person to live on earth after he had lived in heaven. As believers, you and I will live in heaven after time on earth, but Jesus did just the opposite. He knew heaven before he came to earth. He knew what awaited him upon his return. And knowing what awaited him in heaven enabled him to bear the shame on earth.
He "accepted the shame as if it were nothing because of the joy that God put before him" (Heb. 12:2). In his final moments, Jesus focused on the joy God put before him. He focused on the prize of heaven. By focusing on the prize, he was able not only to finish the race but to finish it strong.
Revelation 14
The Lamb and the 144,000
1Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
The Three Angels
6Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."
8A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."
9A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." 12This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.
13Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."
"Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
The Harvest of the Earth
14I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man"[a] with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." 19The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. 20They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.[b]
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
John 8:42-47
The Children of the Devil
42Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? 47He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."
October 17, 2008
Breaking The Spin Cycle
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READ: John 8:42-47
[Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. . . . He is a liar and the father of it. —John 8:44
Politicians are adept at “spinning” the details of a story to advance their own agenda. During a political campaign, spin doctors massage stories to ensure that their candidate is cast in a positive light—often at the expense of the truth. This leaves us with serious questions about what the real truth is.
According to Jesus, Satan is the “spin doctor” of hell—the master deceiver who “speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar” (John 8:44). He casts himself as the one who wants to give us unfettered freedom and pleasure, carefully masking his plan to steal, kill, and destroy us (John 10:10). He even spins the loving laws of God by claiming that God’s boundaries are restrictive, simply intended to take all the fun out of living. When we buy into Satan’s damaging lies, we will eventually find ourselves empty and broken—sidelined in our journey with God.
Thankfully, Jesus warns us. He says that Satan is the father of lies. And we know Satan is lying when what he tells us contradicts God’s Word. Jesus, on the other hand, is the truth (John 14:6). So, when it comes to sorting out the spin, our only defense against the spin doctor of hell is to listen constantly for the voice of Jesus as we pray and study His Word. And that’s the truth! — Joe Stowell
The devil is crafty, deceptive, and sly;
He cleverly tricks us to swallow his lie.
But his cunning methods we’re sure to discern
If we make God’s warnings our daily concern. —D. De Haan
God’s truth stops the spin of Satan’s lies.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
October 17, 2008
The Key of the Greater Work
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READ:
. . . I say to you, he who believes in Me, . . . greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father —John 14:12
Prayer does not equip us for greater works— prayer is the greater work. Yet we think of prayer as some commonsense exercise of our higher powers that simply prepares us for God’s work. In the teachings of Jesus Christ, prayer is the working of the miracle of redemption in me, which produces the miracle of redemption in others, through the power of God. The way fruit remains firm is through prayer, but remember that it is prayer based on the agony of Christ in redemption, not on my own agony. We must go to God as His child, because only a child gets his prayers answered; a "wise" man does not (see Matthew 11:25 ).
Prayer is the battle, and it makes no difference where you are. However God may engineer your circumstances, your duty is to pray. Never allow yourself this thought, "I am of no use where I am," because you certainly cannot be used where you have not yet been placed. Wherever God has placed you and whatever your circumstances, you should pray, continually offering up prayers to Him. And He promises, "Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do . . ." (John 14:13 ). Yet we refuse to pray unless it thrills or excites us, which is the most intense form of spiritual selfishness. We must learn to work according to God’s direction, and He says to pray. "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" ( Matthew 9:38 ).
There is nothing thrilling about a laboring person’s work, but it is the laboring person who makes the ideas of the genius possible. And it is the laboring saint who makes the ideas of his Master possible. When you labor at prayer, from God’s perspective there are always results. What an astonishment it will be to see, once the veil is finally lifted, all the souls that have been reaped by you, simply because you have been in the habit of taking your orders from Jesus Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Safety When Your World is Collapsing - #5680
Friday, October 17, 2008
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He was just a teenager and his village had just collapsed all around him. He was one of countless thousands who were affected by this massive earthquake that hit Turkey. In an interview with National Geographic Magazine, this young man offered an amazingly insightful perspective on what he had just witnessed. He said, "I accept this as a geologic event, but it can be taken as a warning. In seconds, billionaires can become penniless. So you must have values you cannot lose."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Safety When Your World is Collapsing."
In a sense, we all live in an earthquake zone. There are times when everything in your world is shaken by forces you cannot control. It might be one of those times in your life right now. And like that young man in Turkey observed after so much collapsed so quickly, life's quakes remind us how losable things are, how breakable, how vulnerable we are. In fact, "vulnerable" might be a word that describes how you're feeling right now.
Then, I think you'll find our word for today from the Word of God pretty encouraging. In Proverbs 18:10, God says, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe." "Safe." It's hard to feel that when a relationship you've counted on is collapsing all around you, when there are suddenly serious questions about your health or your job or someone you love, or when things or people you've counted on can't be counted on anymore. But "safe" is what the Lord offers you in a relationship with Him. It's what that earthquake victim talked about - something "you cannot lose."
I'll never forget the night one of our Native American team members told her heart-rending story to all of the young people of a Native village. Tearfully, she told about a life of violation. She had been raped as a little girl, sexually abused over a period of years, and hurt by alcoholic parents. By the time she got to her teenage years, she tried to find some relief from her pain in alcohol and sexual relationships. But those things only added to her despair. But then she told about giving the broken pieces of her life to Jesus Christ and asking Him to be her Savior from her sin. I just about lost it when she concluded this way, "Now that I belong to Jesus, I feel safe for the first time in my life."
When you run into the strong tower of a relationship with Jesus, you finally are safe. He's the relationship you were made for; the anchor you've been looking for in a world where everything else is so losable. You'll never lose Jesus, though, because His love for you is unconditional. He proved it by blood when He died on the cross to pay for every sin you've ever committed. In God's own words, "God demonstrated His own love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
If you're ready to finally surrender the self-government of your life, then you're ready to start living for the One you were designed to live for. And Jesus is waiting for you with open arms to welcome you into His unlosable love.
If you're not sure you have a relationship with Him and you want to, you have to tell Him. Maybe in words something like this: "Jesus, I know I was created by you and I was created for You. I've lived pretty much for me. And I know your Bible says that there's a death penalty for hijacking my life from You, and I deserve to pay that. But I believe You loved me so much that You paid it for me when You died on the cross. Now I know You're alive because You walked out of your grave. And Jesus, today I'm turning my back on running my life. I resign that, and beginning today I put all my trust in You. I am Yours."
I think our website might help you understand this better and make sure you belong to Him. Would you check it out? It's YoursForLife.net.
There is no quake in your life that can pry you from the loving hands of Jesus Christ. When you belong to Him, for the first time in your life, you are really safe.
