Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
June 21
The LORD will be your confidence.
Proverbs 3:26 (NKJV)
The temple builders and the Savior seekers.
You'll find them both in the same church, on the same pew--at times, even in the same suit. One sees the structure and says, "What a great church." The other sees the Savior and says, "What a great Christ!"
Which do you see?
Luke 10
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy?two
1 After this the Lord appointed 72 others. He sent them out two by two ahead of him. They went to every town and place where he was about to go.
2 He told them, "The harvest is huge, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field.
3 "Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals. And don't greet anyone on the road.
5 "When you enter a house, first say, 'May this house be blessed with peace.' 6 If someone there loves peace, your blessing of peace will rest on him. If not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house. Eat and drink anything they give you. Workers are worthy of their pay. Do not move around from house to house.
8 "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set down in front of you. 9 Heal the sick people who are there. Tell them, 'God's kingdom is near you.'
10 "But what if you enter a town and are not welcomed? Then go into its streets and say, 11 'We wipe off even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet. We do it to show that God isn't pleased with you. But here is what you can be sure of. God's kingdom is near.'
12 "I tell you this. On judgment day it will be easier for Sodom than for that town.
13 "How terrible it will be for you, Korazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! Suppose the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon. They would have turned away from their sins long ago. They would have put on black clothes. They would have sat down in ashes. 14 On judgment day it will be easier for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
15 "And what about you, Capernaum? Will you be lifted up to heaven? No! You will go down to the place of the dead.
16 "Anyone who listens to you listens to me. Anyone who does not accept you does not accept me. And anyone who does not accept me does not accept the One who sent me."
17 The 72 returned with joy. They said, "Lord, even the demons obey us when we speak in your name."
18 Jesus replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to walk all over snakes and scorpions. You will be able to destroy all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. 20 But do not be glad when the evil spirits obey you. Instead, be glad that your names are written in heaven."
21 At that time Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit. He said, "I praise you, Father. You are Lord of heaven and earth. You have hidden these things from the wise and educated. But you have shown them to little children. Yes, Father. This is what you wanted.
22 "My Father has given all things to me. The Father is the only one who knows who the Son is. And the only ones who know the Father are the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to make the Father known."
23 Then Jesus turned to his disciples. He said to them in private, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see. But they didn't see it. They wanted to hear what you hear. But they didn't hear it."
The Story of the Good Samaritan
25 One day an authority on the law stood up to put Jesus to the test. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to receive eternal life?"
26 "What is written in the Law?" Jesus replied. "How do you understand it?"
27 He answered, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength and with all your mind.'—(Deuteronomy 6:5) And, 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' "—(Leviticus 19:18)
28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do that, and you will live."
29 But the man wanted to make himself look good. So he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Robbers attacked him. They stripped off his clothes and beat him. Then they went away, leaving him almost dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that same road. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 A Levite also came by. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side too.
33 But a Samaritan came to the place where the man was. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him. 34 He went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey. He took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins. He gave them to the owner of the inn. 'Take care of him,' he said. 'When I return, I will pay you back for any extra expense you may have.'
36 "Which of the three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?"
37 The authority on the law replied, "The one who felt sorry for him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do as he did."
Jesus at the Home of Martha and Mary
38 Jesus and his disciples went on their way. Jesus came to a village where a woman named Martha lived. She welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary.
Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was busy with all the things that had to be done. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, my sister has left me to do the work by myself. Don't you care? Tell her to help me!"
41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered. "You are worried and upset about many things. 42 But only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better. And it will not be taken away from her."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Psalm 127
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. A psalm of Solomon.
1 If the Lord doesn't build a house,
the work of its builders is useless.
If the Lord doesn't watch over a city,
it's useless for those on guard duty to stand watch over it.
2 It's useless for you to work from early morning
until late at night
just to get food to eat.
God provides for those he loves even while they sleep.
3 Children are a gift from the Lord.
They are a reward from him.
4 Children who are born to people when they are young
are like arrows in the hands of a soldier.
5 Blessed are those
who have many children.
They won't be put to shame
when they go up against their enemies in court.
June 21, 2009
Our Legacy
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READ: Psalm 127
Children are a heritage from the Lord. —Psalm 127:3
A friend of mine wrote recently, “If we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family left behind would feel the loss for the rest of their lives. Why then do we invest so much in our work and so little in our children’s lives?”
Why do we sometimes exhaust ourselves rising up early and going late to rest, “eating the bread of anxious toil” (Ps. 127:1-2 esv), busying ourselves to make our mark on this world, and overlooking the one investment that matters beyond everything else—our children?
Solomon declared, “Children are a heritage from the Lord”—an invaluable legacy He has bequeathed us. “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth” (v.4) is his striking simile. Nothing is more worthy of our energy and time.
There is no need for “anxious toil,” working night and day, the wise man Solomon proclaimed, for the Lord does take care of us (Ps. 127:2). We can make time for our children and trust that the Lord will provide for all of our physical needs. Children, whether our own or those we disciple, are our lasting legacy—an investment we’ll never regret. — David H. Roper
Our children are a heritage,
A blessing from the Lord;
They bring a richness to our lives—
In each, a treasure stored. —Fasick
Time spent with your children is time wisely invested.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 21, 2009
The Ministry of the Inner Life
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READ:
You are . . . a royal priesthood . . . —1 Peter 2:9
By what right have we become "a royal priesthood"? It is by the right of the atonement by the Cross of Christ that this has been accomplished. Are we prepared to purposely disregard ourselves and to launch out into the priestly work of prayer? The continual inner-searching we do in an effort to see if we are what we ought to be generates a self-centered, sickly type of Christianity, not the vigorous and simple life of a child of God. Until we get into this right and proper relationship with God, it is simply a case of our "hanging on by the skin of our teeth," although we say, "What a wonderful victory I have!" Yet there is nothing at all in that which indicates the miracle of redemption. Launch out in reckless, unrestrained belief that the redemption is complete. Then don’t worry anymore about yourself, but begin to do as Jesus Christ has said, in essence, "Pray for the friend who comes to you at midnight, pray for the saints of God, and pray for all men." Pray with the realization that you are perfect only in Christ Jesus, not on the basis of this argument: "Oh, Lord, I have done my best; please hear me now."
How long is it going to take God to free us from the unhealthy habit of thinking only about ourselves? We must get to the point of being sick to death of ourselves, until there is no longer any surprise at anything God might tell us about ourselves. We cannot reach and understand the depths of our own meagerness. There is only one place where we are right with God, and that is in Christ Jesus. Once we are there, we have to pour out our lives for all we are worth in this ministry of the inner life.