Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
December 23
He Was Reachable
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
John 1:14 (NKJV)
“The Word became flesh,” John said. In other words…he was touchable, approachable, reachable. And, what’s more, he was ordinary. If he were here today you probably wouldn’t notice him as he walked through a shopping mall. He wouldn’t turn heads by the clothes he wore or the jewelry he flashed.
“Just call me Jesus,” you can almost hear him say.
He was the kind of fellow you’d invite to watch the Rams-Giants game at your house. He’d wrestle on the floor with your kids, doze on your couch, and cook steaks on your grill. He’d laugh at your jokes and tell a few of his own. And when you spoke, he’d listen to you as if he had all the time in eternity.
And one thing’s for sure, you’d invite him back.
Judges 14
Samson's Marriage
1 Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, "I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife."
3 His father and mother replied, "Isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?"
But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me." 4 (His parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.) 5 Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. 6 The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. 7 Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her.
8 Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion's carcass. In it was a swarm of bees and some honey, 9 which he scooped out with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion's carcass.
10 Now his father went down to see the woman. And Samson made a feast there, as was customary for bridegrooms. 11 When he appeared, he was given thirty companions.
12 "Let me tell you a riddle," Samson said to them. "If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. 13 If you can't tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes."
"Tell us your riddle," they said. "Let's hear it."
14 He replied,
"Out of the eater, something to eat;
out of the strong, something sweet."
For three days they could not give the answer.
15 On the fourth [b] day, they said to Samson's wife, "Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father's household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?"
16 Then Samson's wife threw herself on him, sobbing, "You hate me! You don't really love me. You've given my people a riddle, but you haven't told me the answer."
"I haven't even explained it to my father or mother," he replied, "so why should I explain it to you?" 17 She cried the whole seven days of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people.
18 Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said to him,
"What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?"
Samson said to them,
"If you had not plowed with my heifer,
you would not have solved my riddle."
19 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of their belongings and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he went up to his father's house. 20 And Samson's wife was given to the friend who had attended him at his wedding.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
John 14:5-20 (New International Version)
Jesus the Way to the Father
5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know[a] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
8Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
9Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15"If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[b] in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
December 23, 2008
Invisible Man
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READ: John 14:5-20
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross. —Hebrews 12:2
As a boy, I was fascinated by the book The Invisible Man. The main character played an elaborate game of hide-and-seek, staying just out of reach of mere mortals “cursed” with a visible nature. To have a physical presence, he wore clothes and wrapped his face in bandages. When it was time to escape, he simply removed everything and disappeared.
I wonder if we have similar thoughts about our unseen God. We feel He is beyond our reach and express it in song with one of my favorite hymns:
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible
Hid from our eyes.
Yet, while declaring the wonder of God, the hymn speaks of a God who is not just invisible:
All praise we would render—O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee!
We perceive that God is distant, far off, inaccessible, and hidden. But we need a God who is accessible, and we wonder how to have a meaningful relationship with Him.
We will never fully comprehend what God is like. Yet He Himself is accessible to us. In part, that is why Jesus came—to “show us the Father” (John 14:8-11) and to bring us close to Him, because “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Col. 1:15).
Our God is an invisible God, beyond our limited comprehension. Thankfully, Jesus came to show us how near to us He really is. — Bill Crowder
God’s presence with us is His greatest present to us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 23, 2008
Sharing in the Atonement
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READ:
God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . —Galatians 6:14
The gospel of Jesus Christ always forces a decision of our will. Have I accepted God’s verdict on sin as judged on the Cross of Christ? Do I have even the slightest interest in the death of Jesus? Do I want to be identified with His death— to be completely dead to all interest in sin, worldliness, and self? Do I long to be so closely identified with Jesus that I am of no value for anything except Him and His purposes? The great privilege of discipleship is that I can commit myself under the banner of His Cross, and that means death to sin. You must get alone with Jesus and either decide to tell Him that you do not want sin to die out in you, or that at any cost you want to be identified with His death. When you act in confident faith in what our Lord did on the cross, a supernatural identification with His death takes place immediately. And you will come to know through a higher knowledge that your old life was "crucified with Him" (Romans 6:6 ). The proof that your old life is dead, having been "crucified with Christ" ( Galatians 2:20 ), is the amazing ease with which the life of God in you now enables you to obey the voice of Jesus Christ.
Every once in a while our Lord gives us a glimpse of what we would be like if it were not for Him. This is a confirmation of what He said— ". . . without Me you can do nothing" ( John 15:5 ). That is why the underlying foundation of Christianity is personal, passionate devotion to the Lord Jesus. We mistake the joy of our first introduction into God’s kingdom as His purpose for getting us there. Yet God’s purpose in getting us into His kingdom is that we may realize all that identification with Jesus Christ means.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Whatever Happened to Peace on Earth? - #5727 - December 23, 2008
Category: Your Most Important Relationship
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
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Every time you sing that Christmas carol, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," you sing those words, "Peace on earth and mercy mild." But if you ever watch the news or read a newspaper, you might well be asking, "Whatever happened to peace on earth?" That's a good question. Some have said that the terrorism danger for Americans has remained high, even after September 11, 2001. One national correspondent expressed on television what a lot of people are feeling. He said, "I have never in my lifetime seen such a high degree of threat to our personal security." And recent financial developments sure haven't helped that. Then you throw in dangers that you may be facing personally, medical, financial, your personal life - where's that peace that Christmas is supposed to be about?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Whatever Happened to Peace on Earth?"
That phrase "peace on earth" wasn't invented by some greeting card company. It's part of the birth announcement of the first Christmas. It was the one delivered by angels from heaven to shepherds in the field, watching over their sheep. Luke 2:13-14, our word for today from the Word of God says, "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.'"
So, in a dangerous world - an unpredictable world, where is that peace? It's in the hearts of those who are ready for eternity, whenever it comes. They understand why the angel said that first Christmas, "Fear not." He said it was because "a Savior has been born to you...Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11). The announcement from heaven said that peace would be for those "on whom God's favor rests." And the Bible makes it very clear that means people whose sins have been forgiven, whose sins have been totally erased from God's Book. No religion can do that because no amount of doing good can erase bad.
It took a Savior. It took a Rescuer. If it could have been done without the death of the Son of God, you can be sure it would have been. But only a man could die for man's sin. And only a man who was God could be totally perfect so He could meet God's holy standards and not have any sin of His own to pay for. Enter Jesus. He could barely find a place to be born as He came into the world that He created. And now many of us have kept the door of our heart closed to Him as surely as that innkeeper did those centuries ago.
The peace we need most is peace with God - the God who made us, who we will meet when we die. And Romans 5:1 says, "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." When Jesus enters your life, the wall between you and God comes down forever and He is there to help win the war in your soul. And there's peace; peace that is recession-proof, divorce-proof, terror-proof, death-proof. But first comes your surrender of you running your own life. You were never supposed to, you were never made to. When you grab Jesus in total trust as your personal Rescuer from the guilt of your sin, the penalty of your sin, the storm inside is replaced with His incredible peace. And you know you're ready for eternity, whenever it comes; however it comes.
I just can't think of a better time to begin your relationship with Jesus Christ than right here on the threshold of the celebration of His coming. Just tell Him, "Jesus, I know you died for me, and I am going to live for You." If you want to begin this personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you tell Him that. And then I hope that you'll let us help you be sure that you have begun a relationship with Him, that you belong to Him. Our website has helped a lot of people do that, and let me encourage you to visit YoursForLife.net. Or I'd be glad to send you my booklet Yours For Life if you'll just call for it. I'll just give you the toll free number that will make it easy for you. It's 877-741-1200.
We're celebrating when Jesus came to earth. Today, you can be celebrating the day He comes into your life - the day the peace came.