Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
June 23
Kindness Makes the Coffee
He is kind even to people who are ungrateful and full of sin.
Luke 6:35 (NCV)
How often do we thank God for his kindness? Not often enough. But does our ingratitude restrict his kindness? No. "Because he is kind even to people who are ungrateful and full of sin."
In the original language, the word for kindness carries an added idea the English word does not. Chiefly it refers to an act of grace. But it also refers to a deed or person who is "useful, serviceable, adapted to its purpose." Kindness was even employed to describe food that was tasty as well as healthy. Sounds odd to our ears. "Hey, honey, what a great meal. The salad is especially kind tonight."
But the usage makes sense. Isn't kindness good and good for you? Pleasant and practical? Kindness not only says "good morning," kindness makes the coffee.
Luke 12
Jesus Gives Words of Warning and Hope
1 During that time a crowd of many thousands had gathered. There were so many people that they were stepping on one another.
Jesus spoke first to his disciples. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees," he said. "They just pretend to be godly. 2 Everything that is secret will be brought out into the open. Everything that is hidden will be uncovered. 3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight. What you have whispered to someone behind closed doors will be shouted from the rooftops.
4 "My friends, listen to me. Don't be afraid of those who kill the body but can't do any more than that. 5 I will show you whom you should be afraid of. Be afraid of the One who can kill the body and also has the power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, be afraid of him.
6 "Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? But God does not forget even one of them. 7 In fact, he even counts every hair on your head! So don't be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.
8 "What about someone who says in front of others that he knows me? I tell you, the Son of Man will say that he knows that person in front of God's angels. 9 But what about someone who says in front of others that he doesn't know me? I, the Son of Man, will say that I don't know him in front of God's angels.
10 "Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But anyone who speaks evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
11 "You will be brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities. But do not worry about how to stand up for yourselves or what to say. 12 The Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say."
The Story of the Rich Man
13 Someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "tell my brother to divide the family property with me."
14 Jesus replied, "Friend, who made me a judge or umpire between you?"
15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against wanting to have more and more things. Life is not made up of how much a person has."
16 Then Jesus told them a story. He said, "A certain rich man's land produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, 'What should I do? I don't have any place to store my crops.'
18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my storerooms and build bigger ones. I will store all my grain and my other things in them. 19 I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things stored away for many years. Take life easy. Eat, drink and have a good time." '
20 "But God said to him, 'You foolish man! This very night I will take your life away from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
21 "That is how it will be for anyone who stores things away for himself but is not rich in God's eyes."
Do Not Worry
22 Then Jesus spoke to his disciples. He said, "I tell you, do not worry. Don't worry about your life and what you will eat. And don't worry about your body and what you will wear. 23 There is more to life than eating. There are more important things for the body than clothes.
24 "Think about the ravens. They don't plant or gather crops. They don't have any storerooms at all. But God feeds them. You are worth much more than birds!
25 "Can you add even one hour to your life by worrying? 26 You can't do that very little thing. So why worry about the rest?
27 "Think about how the lilies grow. They don't work or make clothing. But here is what I tell you. Not even Solomon in all of his glory was dressed like one of those flowers. 28 If that is how God dresses the wild grass, how much better will he dress you! After all, the grass is here only today. Tomorrow it is thrown into the fire. Your faith is so small!
29 "Don't spend time thinking about what you will eat or drink. Don't worry about it. 30 People who are ungodly run after all of those things. Your Father knows that you need them.
31 "But put God's kingdom first. Then those other things will also be given to you.
32 "Little flock, do not be afraid. Your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell what you own. Give to those who are poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out. Put away riches in heaven that will not be used up. There, no thief can come near it. There, no moth can destroy it. 34 Your heart will be where your riches are.
Be Ready
35 "Be dressed and ready to serve. Keep your lamps burning. 36 Be like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding dinner. When he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once.
37 "It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready when he comes. What I'm about to tell you is true. The master will then dress himself so he can serve them. He will have them take their places at the table. And he will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready. It will even be good if he comes very late at night.
39 "But here is what you must understand. Suppose the owner of the house knew at what hour the robber was coming. He would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at an hour when you don't expect him."
41 Peter asked, "Lord, are you telling this story to us, or to everyone?"
42 The Lord answered, "Suppose a master puts one of his servants in charge of his other servants. The servant's job is to give them the food they are to receive at the right time. The master wants a faithful and wise manager for this. 43 It will be good for the servant if the master finds him doing his job when the master returns. 44 What I'm about to tell you is true. The master will put that servant in charge of everything he owns.
45 "But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time to come back.' Suppose he begins to beat the other servants. Suppose he feeds himself. And suppose he drinks until he gets drunk. 46 The master of that servant will come back on a day the servant doesn't expect him. He will return at an hour the servant doesn't know. Then the master will cut him to pieces. He will send him to the place where unbelievers go.
47 "Suppose a servant knows his master's wishes. But he doesn't get ready. And he doesn't do what his master wants. That servant will be beaten with many blows.
48 "But suppose the servant does not know his master's wishes. And suppose he does things for which he should be punished. He will be beaten with only a few blows.
"Much will be required of everyone who has been given much. Even more will be asked of the person who is supposed to take care of much.
Jesus Will Separate People From One Another
49 "I have come to bring fire on the earth. How I wish the fire had already started! 50 But I have a baptism of suffering to go through. And I will be very troubled until it is completed.
51 "Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you. I have come to separate people. 52 From now on there will be five members in a family, each one against the other. There will be three against two and two against three. 53 They will be separated. Father will turn against son and son against father. Mother will turn against daughter and daughter against mother. Mother?in?law will turn against daughter?in?law and daughter?in?law against mother?in?law."
Understanding What Is Happening
54 Jesus spoke to the crowd. He said, "You see a cloud rising in the west. Right away you say, 'It's going to rain.' And it does. 55 The south wind blows. So you say, 'It's going to be hot.' And it is. 56 You pretenders! You know how to understand the appearance of the earth and the sky. Why can't you understand the meaning of what is happening right now?
57 "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 Suppose someone has a claim against you, and you are on your way to court. Try hard to settle the matter on the way. If you don't, that person may drag you off to the judge. The judge may turn you over to the officer. And the officer may throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny!"
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (New International Reader's Version)
Christ Is God's Power and Wisdom
18 The message of the cross seems foolish to those who are lost and dying. But it is God's power to us who are being saved. 19 It is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of those who are wise.
I will do away with the cleverness of those who think they are so smart." —(Isaiah 29:14)
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the educated person? Where are the great thinkers of this world? Hasn't God made the wisdom of the world foolish? 21 God wisely planned that the world would not know him through its own wisdom. It pleased God to use the foolish things we preach to save those who believe.
22 Jews require miraculous signs. Greeks look for wisdom. 23 But we preach about Christ and his death on the cross. That is very hard for Jews to accept. And everyone else thinks it's foolish.
24 But there are those God has chosen, both Jews and others. To them Christ is God's power and God's wisdom. 25 The foolish things of God are wiser than human wisdom. The weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
June 23, 2009
A Powerful Message
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READ: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
The gospel of Christ . . . is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. —Romans 1:16
Bible teacher Lehman Strauss was brought to Christ through the power of the Word when he was young. At his girlfriend’s suggestion, he read Romans 3:23, 5:8, and 10:13. As he did, he was convicted of his sin. He wept and believed.
When his son Richard was 7 years old, he asked his father how to be saved. Lehman used the same verses that his girlfriend (who was now his wife) had used years earlier. His son believed too, and eventually became a pastor.
God’s Word has tremendous power! The first recorded time God spoke, He created light (Gen. 1:3). He spoke a promise to Abraham (17:15-19) and enabled his 90-year-old wife Sarah to bear a child (21:1-2). God still speaks with power today, and all who hear and believe the gospel are saved (Rom. 1:16).
Yes, the message of Christ and His saving work on the cross can change the direction of a person’s life. It has the power to reach the heart of that person you love and have prayed for many times.
So don’t give up in your witness. Be consistent in your daily walk. Keep praying and sharing the gospel with others. It’s a powerful message! — David C. Egner
Sweetly echo the gospel call—
Wonderful words of life;
Offer pardon and peace to all—
Wonderful words of life. —Bliss
Our words have power to influence; God’s words have power to save.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 23, 2009
"Acquainted With Grief"
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READ:
He is . . . a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief —Isaiah 53:3We are not "acquainted with grief" in the same way our Lord was acquainted with it. We endure it and live through it, but we do not become intimate with it. At the beginning of our lives we do not bring ourselves to the point of dealing with the reality of sin. We look at life through the eyes of reason and say that if a person will control his instincts, and educate himself, he can produce a life that will slowly evolve into the life of God. But as we continue on through life, we find the presence of something which we have not yet taken into account, namely, sin— and it upsets all of our thinking and our plans. Sin has made the foundation of our thinking unpredictable, uncontrollable, and irrational.
We have to recognize that sin is a fact of life, not just a shortcoming. Sin is blatant mutiny against God, and either sin or God must die in my life. The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue— if sin rules in me, God’s life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is nothing more fundamental than that. The culmination of sin was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and what was true in the history of God on earth will also be true in your history and in mine— that is, sin will kill the life of God in us. We must mentally bring ourselves to terms with this fact of sin. It is the only explanation why Jesus Christ came to earth, and it is the explanation of the grief and sorrow of life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Fresh Each Day - #5857
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
OK, I'll confess. I can drive by the candy store. I can drive by the ice cream shop. I can pass up the pizza place, but it's very hard for me to not stop at the bakery. Yes, bakeries are my weakness, and it's a good thing I don't work in one - I'd weigh 500 pounds. Now most bakeries have this discount stuff in a corner; it's the day old baked goods. Oh it's cheaper, but there's a reason. There's a big difference between day-old and fresh baked. That line at the bakery early in the morning; that's not for yesterday's goodies, let me tell you. Those folks are there to get the doughnuts or the bread that just came out of the oven. And I might be right at the head of the line.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Fresh Each Day."
Getting it fresh - that's not only a good idea at the bakery, but also when it comes to picking up your provisions from heaven, too. God's got new resources for you each new day; mercies that are according to the Bible are, "new every morning" (Lamentations 3:23). The reason so many of us are spiritually up and down, lacking the power we need, the strength we need, constantly being overwhelmed by the day's events is that we aren't stopping at God's "bakery" each morning to pick up that day's "bread."
God gives us an enlightening picture of how to stay spiritually strong in our word for today from the Word of God. Exodus 16, beginning in verse 4, records God's delivery system for feeding His people as they wandered in the desert: "'I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day'...So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites...'In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord.'"
Through Moses, the Lord went on to command His people not to store any of His manna overnight. "However," it says, "some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell" (that is day-old at its worst!). But God's plan worked. The Bible says, "Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed."
That's been God's plan ever since; that each of His children would gather each morning all the spiritual resources he or she needs for that day. Speaking of Himself, Jesus said, "The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (John 6:33). Each day, we are to get a fresh helping of Jesus: His thinking, His perspective, His strength, His outlook. And that means consistent time with Him, through His love letter, the Bible, each new day.
You can't store up the resources to live the Christ-life anymore than the ancient Jews could store up manna. You can't let your personal Jesus-time be something you do occasionally or when you feel like it or when you can fit Him in to your busy schedule. Make your daily time with Jesus Christ non-negotiable. Everything else is going to have to revolve around your time with Him instead of what usually happens, your time with Him having to revolve around everything else.
If you will anchor your day to a personal time with Jesus Christ, you'll start to experience a realness, a closeness, a consistency, a victory in your relationship with Him that you've always wanted but maybe never had. You need to hear from heaven each day if you're going to live for heaven while you're on earth. And day-old or week-old stuff just won't cut it for this new day. You need what Jesus has prepared for you fresh each day!