Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 17
The Heart of Jesus
The Son does whatever the Father does.
John 5:19 (NCV)
The crowning attribute of Christ was this: his heart was spiritual. His thoughts reflected his intimate relationship with the Father. "I am in the Father and the Father is in me," he stated (John 14:11)....
Jesus took his instructions from God. It was his habit to go to worship (Luke 4:16). It was his practice to memorize Scripture (Luke 4:4). Luke says Jesus "often slipped away to be alone so he could pray" (Luke 5:16). His times of prayer guided him. He once returned from prayer and announced it was time to move to another city (Mark 1:38). Another time of prayer resulted in the selection of the disciples (Luke 6:12-13). Jesus was led by an unseen hand....
The heart of Jesus was spiritual.
Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 "You shall not murder.
14 "You shall not commit adultery.
15 "You shall not steal.
16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
Idols and Altars
22 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites this: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.
24 " 'Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, [b] your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.'
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Acts 5
Ananias and Sapphira
1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet.
3Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
5When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
7About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?"
"Yes," she said, "that is the price."
9Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also."
10At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
November 17, 2008
Closing The Gaps
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Acts 5:1-11
Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God. —Acts 5:4
After the final episode of the 2002 TV program Survivor: Africa, a wrap-up special focused on the final contestants. The show’s host Jeff Probst said that the victor won “mostly by sticking with his principles.” The champion later explained that he wanted to win while retaining “dignity and self-respect.” He elaborated that you don’t have to lie, cheat, or do underhanded things to win. You can be competitive, yet still be truthful and nice. In short, he permitted no discrepancy between image and reality.
In the book of Acts we read about Ananias and Sapphira, who did have a gap between what they wanted to be known for and who they really were (5:1-11). Satan filled their hearts with a deceptive plan. They sold a piece of property and brought just a portion of the money to the apostles, while pretending they were giving all the proceeds. They wanted to be recognized as a generous couple, but they were not what they appeared to be. This gap caused them to lie to the Holy Spirit and to the faith community. They paid a terrible price—death. Their example stands as a stark warning to us all.
What discrepancies have we permitted in our lives? We must confess them and close the gaps. — Marvin Williams
Lord, by Your Spirit grant that we
May live with such integrity
That when we simply give our word
No one will doubt what has been heard. —D. De Haan
Integrity means never having to look over your shoulder.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 17, 2008
The Eternal Goal
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing . . . I will bless you . . . —Genesis 22:16-17
Abraham, at this point, has reached where he is in touch with the very nature of God. He now understands the reality of God.
My goal is God Himself . . .
At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.
"At any cost . . . by any road" means submitting to God’s way of bringing us to the goal.
There is no possibility of questioning God when He speaks, if He speaks to His own nature in me. Prompt obedience is the only result. When Jesus says, "Come," I simply come; when He says, "Let go," I let go; when He says, "Trust God in this matter," I trust. This work of obedience is the evidence that the nature of God is in me.
God’s revelation of Himself to me is influenced by my character, not by God’s character.
’Tis because I am ordinary,
Thy ways so often look ordinary to me.
It is through the discipline of obedience that I get to the place where Abraham was and I see who God is. God will never be real to me until I come face to face with Him in Jesus Christ. Then I will know and can boldly proclaim, "In all the world, my God, there is none but Thee, there is none but Thee."
The promises of God are of no value to us until, through obedience, we come to understand the nature of God. We may read some things in the Bible every day for a year and they may mean nothing to us. Then, because we have been obedient to God in some small detail, we suddenly see what God means and His nature is instantly opened up to us. "All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen . . ." (2 Corinthians 1:20). Our "Yes" must be born of obedience; when by obedience we ratify a promise of God by saying, "Amen," or, "So be it." That promise becomes ours.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Greatest Miracle Known to Man - #5701 - November 17, 2008
Category: Your Most Important Relationship
Monday, November 17, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
It was an incredible moment when our second grandchild was born. My wife and I actually got to be in the birthing room only minutes after his arrival. There was that fragile, precious little handful of baby boy, and then across the room was that amazing life-support system they call the placenta. I couldn't help but flash back to the birth of our youngest child. His delivery was the first one that I was allowed by the hospital to be there for. (That was in the old days, you know.) And I'll never forget our obstetrician's comment immediately after the baby and the placenta had come. He looked and me and he said, after having had this experience hundreds of times, "This is the greatest miracle known to man."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Greatest Miracle Known to Man."
Our obstetrician was almost right. The birth of a baby is the second greatest miracle known to man. The greatest miracle is that moment when a person like you or me is spiritually born into the family of Almighty God! If you've been born into His family, you know you have. Believe me, my new grandson knows something has changed dramatically! He doesn't understand it, but he knows it happened!
If you don't know you've become God's child through a spiritual birth, then you probably haven't. You don't have to understand it all, most people don't when they're reborn, but you will know that it happened. A baby like our grandson is born to a life that will last 80, 90, maybe even 100 years, at best. When a person is born into God's family, they are born into eternal life. They get heaven forever!
This greatest miracle of all is described in our word for today from the Word of God in John 1:12. It can help you understand exactly how spiritual birth really works. Speaking of Jesus Christ, God says, "To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." Sometimes you'll hear people say, "We're all God's children." Not according to the Bible. We're all God's creation, but you have to be born spiritually to be His child. And you can't get into His presence; you can't get into heaven if you're not His child.
In fact, Jesus said, "No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3). That's actually where the words "born again" originated - with Jesus Himself. How does it happen? John 1:12 tells us that you become a child of God when you "receive Christ" and when you "believe in His name." Receiving Him means consciously welcoming Jesus Christ into your life, realizing who He is; realizing why He came. You know if you've done that or not.
Jesus, this name you have to believe in, means "Jehovah saves." So when you "believe in His name," you're telling Jesus that you're taking Him as your personal Rescuer from the death penalty for your sins because He's the only One who died for them. Which brings us to the eternal life-or-death question: has there been a time when you've done that? If not, do you want there to be? Would you like to go to bed tonight being able to say, "I belong to Jesus. I know I do. I've been born into God's family. I know I have. I'm going to heaven when I die. I know I am"? Then tell Jesus today that He's welcome to come in, that you're pinning all your hopes for heaven on Him.
And if that's what you want, I would encourage you to go visit our website because it's really set up to help you walk through beginning a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and knowing that you have. Let me encourage you to visit us at YoursForLife.net. Or if you'd like to call and get my little booklet Yours For Life with a lot of that same information in it, you can call toll free at 877-741-1200.
You've had one birthday obviously; that's why you're here. Today can be the day of your birth into the family of God. And that is why you'll be in heaven.
