Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
June 9
We Need a Big God
“I am Yahweh.”
Exodus 6:2 (JB)
The Israelites considered the name Yahweh too holy to be spoken by human lips. Whenever they needed to say Yahweh, they substituted the word Adonai, which means "Lord." If the name needed to be written, the scribes would take a bath before they wrote it and destroy the pen afterward.
The name I AM sounds strikingly close to the Hebrew verb to be--havah. It's quite possibly a combination of the present tense form (I am) and the causative tense (I cause to be). Yahweh, then, seems to mean "I AM" and "I cause." God is the "One who is" and the "One who causes."
Why is that important? Because we need a big God. And if God is the "One who is," then he is an unchanging God.
Luke 4
The Temptation of Jesus
1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."
4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'[a]"
5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7So if you worship me, it will all be yours."
8Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'[b]"
9The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. 10For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'[c]"
12Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'[d]"
13When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."[e]
20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
22All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.
23Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.' "
24"I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27And there were many in Israel with leprosy[f] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian."
28All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit
31Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil[g]spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34"Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
35"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" 37And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Jesus Heals Many
38Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
40When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.[h]
42At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." 44And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.[i]
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Proverbs 6:16-19 (New International Version)
16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
June 9, 2009
Risk
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Proverbs 6:16-19
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. —1 Peter 5:6
When our children were young, one of our favorite board games was Risk. World conquest was the objective. Each player mobilized his troops to take possession of countries and continents. It always amused me that the person who initially was leading the game seldom won. The reason is obvious. When other players sensed his mounting pride, they would join together against him.
Whether consciously or subconsciously, it is easy to dislike powerful people who have proud looks. Their very countenance seems to encourage others to throw obstacles in their paths or to be silent objectors.
In today’s Bible reading, we are told that God hates seven things. Tellingly, the first is pride. When someone overvalues himself by undervaluing others, he inevitably reveals it with his proud look. Puffed up in self-conceit, he may also devise evil and sow discord. No wonder God hates proud looks.
Proud and powerful people may think they can disregard others’ displeasure, but they cannot disregard God’s opposition. Peter reminds us not to trust in ourselves but in the One who will exalt us “in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). As we submit to Him, we avoid the risk that pride brings to our character and we become thankful, humble servants of God. — Albert Lee
Naught have I gotten but what I received;
Grace hath bestowed it since I have believed;
Boasting excluded, pride I abase;
I’m only a sinner saved by grace! —Gray
No one can glorify self and Christ at the same time.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 9, 2009
Then What’s Next To Do?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Everyone who asks receives . . . —Luke 11:10
Ask if you have not received. There is nothing more difficult than asking. We will have yearnings and desires for certain things, and even suffer as a result of their going unfulfilled, but not until we are at the limit of desperation will we ask. It is the sense of not being spiritually real that causes us to ask. Have you ever asked out of the depths of your total insufficiency and poverty? "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God . . . " ( James 1:5 ), but be sure that you do lack wisdom before you ask. You cannot bring yourself to the point of spiritual reality anytime you choose. The best thing to do, once you realize you are not spiritually real, is to ask God for the Holy Spirit, basing your request on the promise of Jesus Christ (see Luke 11:13 ). The Holy Spirit is the one who makes everything that Jesus did for you real in your life.
"Everyone who asks receives . . . ." This does not mean that you will not get if you do not ask, but it means that until you come to the point of asking, you will not receive from God (seeMatthew 5:45 ). To be able to receive means that you have to come into the relationship of a child of God, and then you comprehend and appreciate mentally, morally, and with spiritual understanding, that these things come from God.
"If any of you lacks wisdom . . . ." If you realize that you are lacking, it is because you have come in contact with spiritual reality— do not put the blinders of reason on again. The word ask actually means "beg." Some people are poor enough to be interested in their poverty, and some of us are poor enough spiritually to show our interest. Yet we will never receive if we ask with a certain result in mind, because we are asking out of our lust, not out of our poverty. A pauper does not ask out of any reason other than the completely hopeless and painful condition of his poverty. He is not ashamed to beg— blessed are the paupers in spirit (see Matthew 5:3 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Mirror That Loves You - #5847
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
We were eating with friends at a restaurant, and my wife unobtrusively gave me "the sign." She brushed her upper lip with her fingers. I know what that means - it's nothing romantic. Some crumb of my dinner has managed to escape going in my mouth, and it's on my mouth instead. If we're alone when that happens, I usually tell her, "Oh, I'm just saving it for later." I don't know why she doesn't just let me embarrass myself. That's called love, isn't it? I have no way of knowing that I'm carrying something that's going to embarrass me or make me look bad because I can't see myself. But she can and she loves me enough to tell me.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Mirror That Loves You."
There are things we can't see about ourselves - things that aren't particularly flattering. That's why we have mirrors. And some of the most revealing mirrors in your life aren't glass reflectors hanging on a wall. They're people who love you enough to show you things about yourself that you might not otherwise see.
In fact, mirroring is an important part of loving a person; holding up a mirror and helping them to see things about themselves - beautiful things and things that are not-so-beautiful. Proverbs 27:17, our word for today from the Word of God, talks about this loving responsibility we have for one another. God says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Iron striking iron can create some friction, but it also helps create a sharper edge, a greater usefulness.
God has placed you in people's lives to be a mirror for them, and He's placed people in your life to be a mirror for you. That's what husbands and wives are supposed to do for each other, what parents should be doing for their child, and even children for their parents, with proper respect, of course. Friends, fellow believers, associates, supervisors, employees - they can all be voices from God, letting you know things about yourself that you might otherwise miss.
The question is, "How are you responding to the mirrors in your life?" Are you just getting mad at the mirror or are you walking away refusing to change? Proverbs says, "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses" (Proverbs 27:6). In other words, the people who really care about you will love you enough to tell you the truth about you. And then God tells us, "He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise" (Proverbs 15:31).
Yes, mirroring lets the person we love know how they're coming across. It lets them know the damage they may be doing; it lets them know what they might be doing that's displeasing to God. And it also shows that person the good things about them that they may not realize. See, as a mirror for somebody you love, you need to praise their strengths and their insight, their good ideas, their progress and their growth in an area of weakness...even if it's only a little growth. Our constructive criticism needs to come in the context of lots of affirmation, not lots of condemnation - or they won't know that we're saying it because of how much we love them. It's not going to feel like we love them.
Loving someone means mirroring them - showing them the things they can't see. And it means receiving what they show us as love that cares enough to tell us the truth. Pay attention to what your mirror shows you - you can save yourself a lot of embarrassment and a lot of regret!
