Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
June 26
The Only Path
Tolerance. A prized virtue today. The ability to be understanding of those with whom you differ is a sign of sophistication. Jesus, too, was a champion of tolerance:
o Tolerant of the disciples when they doubted.
o Tolerant of the crowds when they misunderstood.
o Tolerant of us when we fall.
But there is one area where Jesus was intolerant. There was one area where he was unindulgent and dogmatic....
As far as he was concerned, when it comes to salvation, there aren't several roads . . . there is only one road.... There aren't several paths, .. there is only one path. And that path is Jesus himself.
That is why it is so hard for people to believe in Jesus. It’s much easier to consider him one of several options rather than the option. But such a philosophy is no option.
John 13
Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet
1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world. It was time for him to go to the Father. Jesus loved his disciples who were in the world. So he now showed them how much he really loved them.
2 The evening meal was being served. The devil had already tempted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. He had told Judas to hand Jesus over to his enemies. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put everything under his power. He also knew he had come from God and was returning to God.
4 So he got up from the meal and took off his outer clothes. He wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a large bowl. Then he began to wash his disciples' feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter.
"Lord," Peter said to him, "are you going to wash my feet?"
7 Jesus replied, "You don't realize now what I am doing. But later you will understand."
8 "No," said Peter. "You will never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you can't share life with me."
9 "Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet! Wash my hands and my head too!"
10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs to wash only his feet. The rest of his body is clean. And you are clean. But not all of you are."
11 Jesus knew who was going to hand him over to his enemies. That was why he said not every one was clean.
12 When Jesus finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes. Then he returned to his place.
"Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord.' You are right. That is what I am. 14 I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you.
16 "What I'm about to tell you is true. A servant is not more important than his master. And a messenger is not more important than the one who sends him. 17 Now you know these things. So you will be blessed if you do them.
Jesus Tells What Judas Will Do
18 "I am not talking about all of you. I know those I have chosen. But this will happen so that Scripture will come true. It says, 'The one who shares my bread has deserted me.'—(Psalm 41:9)
19 "I am telling you now, before it happens. When it does happen, you will believe that I am he. 20 What I'm about to tell you is true. Anyone who accepts someone I send accepts me. And anyone who accepts me accepts the One who sent me."
21 After he had said this, Jesus' spirit was troubled. Here is the witness he gave. "What I'm about to tell you is true," he said. "One of you is going to hand me over to my enemies."
22 His disciples stared at one another. They had no idea which one of them he meant. 23 The disciple Jesus loved was next to him at the table. 24 Simon Peter motioned to that disciple. He said, "Ask Jesus which one he means."
25 The disciple was leaning back against Jesus. He asked him, "Lord, who is it?"
26 Jesus answered, "It is the one I will give this piece of bread to. I will give it to him after I have dipped it in the dish."
He dipped the piece of bread. Then he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
"Do quickly what you are going to do," Jesus told him.
28 But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Judas was in charge of the money. So some of the disciples thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast. Others thought Jesus was talking about giving something to poor people.
30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
Jesus Says That Peter Will Fail
31 After Judas was gone, Jesus spoke. He said, "Now the Son of Man receives glory. And he brings glory to God. 32 If the Son brings glory to God, God himself will bring glory to the Son. God will do it at once.
33 "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me. Just as I told the Jews, so I am telling you now. You can't come where I am going.
34 "I give you a new command. Love one another. You must love one another, just as I have loved you. 35 If you love one another, everyone will know you are my disciples."
36 Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?"
Jesus replied, "Where I am going you can't follow now. But you will follow me later."
37 "Lord," Peter asked, "why can't I follow you now? I will give my life for you."
38 Then Jesus answered, "Will you really give your life for me? What I'm about to tell you is true. Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don't know me!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Revelation 15
Seven Angels With Seven Plagues
1 I saw in heaven another great and miraculous sign. Seven angels were about to bring the seven last plagues. The plagues would complete God's anger.
2 Then I saw something that looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Standing beside the sea were those who had won the battle over the beast. They had also overcome his statue and the number of his name. They held harps given to them by God.
3 They sang the song of Moses, who served God, and the song of the Lamb. They sang,
"Lord God who rules over all,
everything you do is great and wonderful.
King of the ages,
your ways are true and fair.
4 Lord, who will not have respect for you?
Who will not bring glory to your name?
You alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you.
They see that the things you do are right."
5 After this I looked, and the temple was opened in heaven. The temple is the holy tent where the tablets of the covenant were kept.
6 Out of the temple came the seven angels who were bringing the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen. They wore gold strips of cloth around their chests.
7 Then one of the four living creatures gave seven golden bowls to the seven angels. The bowls were filled with the anger of God, who lives for ever and ever. 8 The temple was filled with smoke that came from the glory and power of God. No one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
June 26, 2009
The Song Of The Saints
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READ: Revelation 15
Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. . . . Your judgments have been manifested. —Revelation 15:4
We’ve all heard the expression, “I don’t get mad; I just get even.” Reading about the judgments described in Revelation, one might assume that God will get “even” with sinners for their phenomenal offenses throughout the history of mankind.
The truth is that God’s final judgment is a necessary expression of His holy justice. He can’t turn a blind eye to sin. In fact, if He doesn’t finally carry out justice as described in Revelation, it would be a denial of His holy character. That’s why in the midst of His judgments, the saints will sing His praise: “Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. . . . Your judgments have been manifested” (15:4). Those who know God best do not judge Him for His judgments; rather, they worship and affirm His actions.
What should surprise us is not the massive scale of God’s judgments, but that He’s waiting so long! Desiring that none should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), God is now mercifully restraining His judgment and giving maximum space to His marvelous mercy and grace. Now is the time to repent and take advantage of His patient love. And when we do, we’ll join the saints in praising Him for all eternity! — Joe Stowell
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song. —Lehman
© Renewal 1945, Nazarene Publishing.
When God’s justice is finally and fully revealed, His praises will resound!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 26, 2009
Drawing on the Grace of God— Now
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READ:
We . . . plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain —2 Corinthians 6:1
The grace you had yesterday will not be sufficient for today. Grace is the overflowing favor of God, and you can always count on it being available to draw upon as needed. ". . . in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses"— that is where our patience is tested ( 2 Corinthians 6:4 ). Are you failing to rely on the grace of God there? Are you saying to yourself, "Oh well, I won’t count this time"? It is not a question of praying and asking God to help you— it is taking the grace of God now. We tend to make prayer the preparation for our service, yet it is never that in the Bible. Prayer is the practice of drawing on the grace of God. Don’t say, "I will endure this until I can get away and pray." Pray now — draw on the grace of God in your moment of need. Prayer is the most normal and useful thing; it is not simply a reflex action of your devotion to God. We are very slow to learn to draw on God’s grace through prayer.
". . . in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors . . ." ( 2 Corinthians 6:5 )— in all these things, display in your life a drawing on the grace of God, which will show evidence to yourself and to others that you are a miracle of His. Draw on His grace now, not later. The primary word in the spiritual vocabulary is now. Let circumstances take you where they will, but keep drawing on the grace of God in whatever condition you may find yourself. One of the greatest proofs that you are drawing on the grace of God is that you can be totally humiliated before others without displaying even the slightest trace of anything but His grace.
". . . having nothing . . . ." Never hold anything in reserve. Pour yourself out, giving the best that you have, and always be poor. Never be diplomatic and careful with the treasure God gives you. ". . . and yet possessing all things"— this is poverty triumphant ( 2 Corinthians 6:10 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
No Such Thing as Mission Impossible - #5860
Friday, June 26, 2009
"Good morning, Mr. Phelps." If you were a fan of the classic TV series, "Mission Impossible," you know those words always began a riveting adventure. Jim Phelps, the head of the Mission Impossible Force, would listen to a tape, outlining this assignment that seemed, well, impossible. Key word - seemed. And even in more modern times when it's not a tape anymore, and when it's Tom Cruise who's doing Mission Impossible, it's still the same idea. You begin building a team of specialists, you concoct this elaborate, perfectly-timed plan to do what couldn't be done, and every time they got it done.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Such Thing as Mission Impossible."
That's the conclusion you reached after watching that show for a while. For them, there was no such thing as Mission Impossible. That's great fantasy stuff. It's a much greater reality when it comes to rescue missions undertaken by the One of whom the Bible says, "For with God, nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37). That might be important for you to know right now, because there is a person in your life that seems beyond His reach. But there's no such person.
The living proof of that is in our word for today from the Word of God. Saul, the man leading the crusade to eradicate the early Christians, is on the way from Jerusalem to Damascus to round up more of these hated believers. Acts 9:3 says, "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?' 'Who are You, Lord?' Saul asked. 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting...'"
After this dramatic encounter with Jesus, the Bible says, "Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind..." You probably know that this persecutor of Jesus' followers will ultimately become the greatest proclaimer of Jesus in the world; the world-changing Apostle Paul.
I can't imagine anyone in the world of the early Christians whom they would have considered a greater "mission impossible." But there's no such thing when it comes to God, including that person in your life who seems to be so hard, so far from God, so antagonistic, so impossible to get through to. In fact, maybe you've almost stopped believing, stopped seeking opportunities to point them in Jesus' direction, and maybe even stopped praying very much for them.
Don't stop going to God on their behalf. Ask God, "Lord, do whatever it takes within Your will to get through to their heart." That's a powerful prayer...the "whatever it takes" prayer. He may have to knock them off their high horse, as He did Saul. He may have to bring them to a position where they're helpless, as He did with Saul. He may have to show up dramatically in front of them, but Jesus didn't die for them just to give up on them now.
As you pray, this very moment, Jesus the ultimate Mission Impossible Man, is moving people and events to bring someone you love face to face with Him. You may not even be here for the answer to your prayers, but God says in Galatians 6:9, "we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Mission Impossible? For Jesus, there's no such thing.
