Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 21
God’s Highest Dream
It is not our love for God; it is God's love for us in sending his Son to be the way to take away our sins.
1 John 4:10 (NCV)
We have attempted to reach the moon but scarcely made it off the ground. We tried to swim the Atlantic, but couldn't get beyond the reef. We have attempted to scale the Everest of salvation, but we have yet to leave the base camp, much less ascend the slope. The quest is simply too great; we don't need more supplies or muscle or technique; we need a helicopter.
Can't you hear it hovering?
"God has a way to make people right with him" (Rom. 3:21, italics mine). How vital that we embrace this truth. God's highest dream is not to make us rich, not to make us successful or popular or famous. God's dream is to make us right with him.
Leviticus 16
The Day of Atonement
1 The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the LORD. 2 The LORD said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.
3 "This is how Aaron is to enter the sanctuary area: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. 5 From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
6 "Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 8 He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat. [a] 9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat.
11 "Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the Testimony, so that he will not die. 14 He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.
15 "He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull's blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. 16 In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 No one is to be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.
18 "Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
20 "When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. 21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert.
23 "Then Aaron is to go into the Tent of Meeting and take off the linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there. 24 He shall bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people, to make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26 "The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp. 27 The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and offal are to be burned up. 28 The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.
29 "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves [b] and not do any work—whether native-born or an alien living among you- 30 because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins. 31 It is a sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the community.
34 "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites."
And it was done, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Samuel 12
Nathan Rebukes David
1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 "Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."
7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.'
11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "
13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."
Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.
November 21, 2008
Off Track
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READ: 2 Samuel 12:1-13
Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? —2 Samuel 12:9
When I sat in my car at the start of the automatic car wash, I didn’t know that my left front tire was not properly lined up with the track. The car wash started but my car wasn’t moving, so I accelerated. That caused my tire to jump the track.
Now I was stuck—I couldn’t move forward or backward. The car wash continued through its cycle without my car. Meanwhile, cars began lining up and waiting for me. I was glad when two workers at the station helped me get my car back on the track.
Sometimes in our Christian lives we get off track too. King David did in a big way. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and later ordered that her husband be put “in the forefront of the hottest battle” and left there to be killed (2 Sam. 11:3-4,15-17). David’s actions were way out of line with how God wanted him to behave as His chosen king.
David needed help to get back on track. The Bible says that “the Lord sent Nathan to David” (12:1). He confronted him about stealing another man’s wife, and David wisely repented (v.13). Nathan took a risk to help David get right with God, even though his sin still had dire consequences.
Does someone you know need your help to get back on track? — Anne Cetas
Fellowship with other Christians
Strengthens us when we are weak,
Reprimands when we are sinning,
Helps us when God’s will we seek. —Sper
True love dares to confront.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 21, 2008
'It is Finished!'
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READ:
I have finished the work which You have given Me to do —John 17:4
The death of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in history of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus Christ as a martyr. His death was not something that happened to Him— something that might have been prevented. His death was the very reason He came.
Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the revealed truth of God in Jesus Christ. It makes the Cross unnecessary, and the redemption "much ado about nothing." God forgives sin only because of the death of Christ. God could forgive people in no other way than by the death of His Son, and Jesus is exalted as Savior because of His death. "We see Jesus . . . for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor . . ." ( Hebrews 2:9 ). The greatest note of triumph ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ— "It is finished!" ( John 19:30 ). That is the final word in the redemption of humankind.
Anything that lessens or completely obliterates the holiness of God, through a false view of His love, contradicts the truth of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. Never allow yourself to believe that Jesus Christ stands with us, and against God, out of pity and compassion, or that He became a curse for us out of sympathy for us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by divine decree. Our part in realizing the tremendous meaning of His curse is the conviction of sin. Conviction is given to us as a gift of shame and repentance; it is the great mercy of God. Jesus Christ hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Declaring Bankruptcy - Finding Hope - #5705 - November 21, 2008
Category: Your Most Important Relationship
Friday, November 21, 2008
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It's never fun when the plane you're flying on hits turbulence, especially if the fellow next to you has like a weak stomach. It's really not fun when an entire airline hits turbulence. Several have in recent years, including one of America's largest and one that has been kind of my airline of preference. So, it was a bit of a shocker to read a while back that their indebtedness had reached such a critical point that they were actually considering the protection of bankruptcy to try to recover. Bankruptcy is a word we're hearing way too often these days. Then I saw the headline that confirmed the seriousness of their situation. Here's what it said: "Airline Seeks Rescue in Bankruptcy."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Declaring Bankruptcy - Finding Hope."
That seems strange, doesn't it? The hope of rescue depending on declaring you're bankrupt. But it's the only hope some businesses have of recovering. Declaring bankruptcy is also the only hope you or I have of escaping the awful consequences of running our own lives instead of letting God run them. Our moral debt to God is totally beyond our ability to pay.
The spiritual economics of heaven and hell are spelled out starkly in Romans 6:23, our word for today from the Word of God. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Just three chapters earlier, God makes it clear that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That "all" means there's no one who's excluded, not you, not me, not the most religious person listening today. We've all earned those "wages of sin" which is "death." That means spiritual death, which means total separation from the God who made us - forever.
But after that awful statement about what our sin costs, the light suddenly goes on when God talks about "eternal life." So it's possible that I don't have to suffer the penalty I deserve for hijacking my life from my Creator. It is possible, but it's the gift of God. That's "gift," as in there's nothing I can do to earn it; someone else paid for it. Jesus paid for it. He died on the cross to pay for it. He took the death penalty that I deserve - that you deserve. That's why He cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" God the Father was turning His back on God the Son so He would never have to turn His back on you!
But there's only one road to that spiritual rescue: declaring your spiritual bankruptcy. Admitting there's nothing you can do to pay the debt for the sinning you've done. And that means the surrender of all of our religious pride, of any hope we've been putting in our religion, our church, our Christianness. As great a person as people may think we are, in God's eyes, we're bankrupt, or He wouldn't have sent His Son to die to pay our debt. We may look great, but we're spiritually broke.
Has there ever been a time when you've come to God with nothing in your hands and just said, "Lord, my only hope is what your Son did on the cross. By faith, I give You my life. I turn from running my own life. I claim Jesus as the total payment for every sin I've ever committed." Until that moment of surrender, your bill with God stands unpaid, and you still carry that awful death penalty.
If you've never begun this life-saving relationship with Jesus, you can do it right where you are. And I would be honored to be of some help to you in doing that. A lot of people have found some help in beginning a relationship with Christ and knowing they belong to Him just by going to our website and finding the information we've provided there. Let me invite you to go there at your first opportunity today. It's YoursForLife.net. Or I'd be happy to send you my booklet Yours For Life at the toll free number 877-741-1200.
What a wonderful day for you to come to the Savior, declaring your bankruptcy. Your bill has been paid on an old rugged cross. You can go to bed tonight debt-free in God's sight!