Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 28
Our Work Is God’s Work
Jesus got into one of the boats,…that belonged to [Peter], and asked him to push off a little from the land.
Luke 5:3 (NCV)
Jesus claims Peter’s boat. He doesn’t request the use of it. Christ doesn’t fill out an application or ask permission; he simply boards the boat and begins to preach.
He can do that, you know. All boats belong to Christ. Your boat is where you spend your day, make your living, and to a large degree live your life. The taxi you drive,…the dental office you manage, the family you feed and transport—this is your boat. Christ shoulder-taps us and reminds:
“You drive my truck.”
“You work on my job site.”
“You serve my hospital wing.”
To us all, Jesus says, “Your work is my work.”
Titus 1
1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— 2a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,
4To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus' Task on Crete
5The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint[a] elders in every town, as I directed you. 6An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since an overseer[b] is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
10For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. 11They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." 13This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. 15To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Romans 15
1We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me."[a] 4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
5May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
August 28, 2008
Comfort Food
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READ: Romans 15:1-7
Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. —Romans 15:4
I love the phrase “comfort food.” It speaks of the things that are so good, so familiar, so right, that they can always bring a smile to your face. For me, comfort food usually includes some form of beef and potatoes. Hamburgers and French fries. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes and gravy. Also, chocolate in almost any form imaginable. These are the foods that speak to me and say that all is well with the world. (I’m not saying they’re the most healthy!)
Unfortunately, all is not well with the world, and no amount of hamburgers and French fries can make it right. Real comfort is not the byproduct of specific foods any more than it is the result of alcohol or drugs or money or pleasure or power. It is a much deeper need that requires a much deeper solution.
Paul told the church at Rome that the search for comfort can begin in the pages of the Bible. He wrote, “Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).
God has given us His Word to draw us to Himself. Through a relationship with Him, He provides the comfort we need to live in a broken world. — Bill Crowder
Jesus is all this poor world needs today;
Blindly they strive, for sin darkens their way.
O to draw back the grim curtains of night—
One glimpse of Jesus and all will be bright! —Loes
© Renewal 1943 H. D. Loes. Assigned to Hope Publishing
God’s Word is a life preserver that keeps the soul from sinking in a sea of trouble.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 28, 2008
The Purpose of Prayer
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READ:
. . . one of His disciples said to Him, ’Lord, teach us to pray . . .’ —Luke 11:1
Prayer is not a normal part of the life of the natural man. We hear it said that a person’s life will suffer if he doesn’t pray, but I question that. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God in him, which is nourished not by food, but by prayer. When a person is born again from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve or nourish that life. Prayer is the way that the life of God in us is nourished. Our common ideas regarding prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer simply as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the biblical purpose of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.
"Ask, and you will receive . . ." ( John 16:24 ). We complain before God, and sometimes we are apologetic or indifferent to Him, but we actually ask Him for very few things. Yet a child exhibits a magnificent boldness to ask! Our Lord said, ". . . unless you . . . become as little children . . ." ( Matthew 18:3 ). Ask and God will do. Give Jesus Christ the opportunity and the room to work. The problem is that no one will ever do this until he is at his wits’ end. When a person is at his wits’ end, it no longer seems to be a cowardly thing to pray; in fact, it is the only way he can get in touch with the truth and the reality of God Himself. Be yourself before God and present Him with your problems— the very things that have brought you to your wits’ end. But as long as you think you are self-sufficient, you do not need to ask God for anything.
To say that "prayer changes things" is not as close to the truth as saying, "Prayer changes me and then I change things." God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner nature.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
What You Bring in the Door - #5644 - August 28, 2008
Category: Your Relationships
Thursday, August 28, 2008
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When our three kids were young, they'd run to the door to greet me when I was returning from an international trip. Isn't that tender! Yeah, but you need to know part of the reason for this enthusiastic greeting. You see, when I'm away from my family, I am a sucker for souvenirs. The one way I can be with them is by shopping for something for them, whether it's in Singapore, or Holland, or Australia. So there was a certain expectancy when old dad walked through the door. Oh, yes, there would be hugs and kisses, and we had missed each other, but the three kids each knew that those suitcases had things in them that weren't in them when I left. It's nice to come home with gifts for everyone.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What You Bring in the Door."
Now, David was in the middle of an unforgettable experience as we read 1 Chronicles 16. He had led the Jewish people in bringing the holiest object in the world to the new capitol of Jerusalem. It was the ark of God. This was the center of the Lord's personal presence on earth at this point in spiritual history. After years of its being gone, David leads in the return of the ark and he sets up a tremendous leadership structure and worship program that everyone was just beginning to celebrate. But he left behind him memorable events in Jerusalem to go on another mission - he went home.
Our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Chronicles 16:43, "Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David returned home to bless his family." Not only did David bring blessing in public ministry, he brought blessing with him when he walked in the door at home. Do you? You see, each day when you return to your family from wherever you were that day you bring something in the door with you - stress, tension, or peace. Selfishness and looking to have your own needs met, or unselfishness - looking to help people meet their needs. Do you bring positive, encouraging talk, or negative, critical talk? Do you bring coldness or affection?
In many ways you set a tone when you walk in the door and you'll probably have to live with that tone for hours to come. After a stressful day it's just human nature to walk in with a pretty self-focused mind set, carrying the garbage of the day, which we then proceed to dump all over our loved ones! But, wouldn't you like to put your name in our word for today? "________ returned home to bless his or her family."
Well, how do you do that? You have to consciously discipline yourself to mentally close out your work day as you're traveling home. I used to call it "closing your mental briefcase" while you're on the way home. You have to consciously get outside of yourself and focus on how each family member was in the morning when you left. What was each one looking forward to? What were they dreading? What were they planning on? How was each one feeling? And then you enter their lives again before you are ever with them. Sort of with them before you're with them! When you walk through the door you're already in touch with these most important people in your life. Then, like a dad returning home from one of those big trips, you bring gifts through the door with you - like a sincere and specific question about some part of their day, or maybe a caring touch for each member of your family, or a word of encouragement for each one. Seek out each family member. Focus on them for a couple of minutes. Make them feel like they're the only person in the world. Give them all of you, at least for a short time. And if you make up your mind to bring blessing through the door with you, I'll tell you, the people at your house are going to be looking forward to your return! Come home with a commitment to give a gift - a gift of you, to each person you love.
