Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
June 17
God’s Good Timing
God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them.
Luke 18:7 (NCV)
Why does God wait until the money is gone? Why does he wait until the sickness has lingered? Why does he choose to wait until the other side of the grave to answer the prayers for healing?
I don't know. I only know his timing is always right. I can only say he will do what is best....
Matthew 7
Be Fair When You Judge Others
1 "Do not judge others. Then you will not be judged. 2 You will be judged in the same way you judge others. You will be measured in the same way you measure others.
3 "You look at the bit of sawdust in your friend's eye. But you pay no attention to the piece of wood in your own eye. 4 How can you say to your friend, 'Let me take the bit of sawdust out of your eye'? How can you say this while there is a piece of wood in your own eye?
5 "You pretender! First take the piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you will be able to see clearly to take the bit of sawdust out of your friend's eye.
6 "Do not give holy things to dogs. Do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they might walk all over them. Then they might turn around and tear you to pieces.
Ask, Search, Knock
7 "Ask, and it will be given to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 Everyone who asks will receive. He who searches will find. The door will be opened to the one who knocks.
9 "Suppose your son asks for bread. Which of you will give him a stone? 10 Or suppose he asks for a fish. Which of you will give him a snake? 11 Even though you are evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
12 "In everything, do to others what you would want them to do to you. This is what is written in the Law and in the Prophets.
The Large and Small Gates
13 "Enter God's kingdom through the narrow gate. The gate is large and the road is wide that lead to death and hell. Many people go that way. 14 But the gate is small and the road is narrow that lead to life. Only a few people find it.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you pretending to be sheep. But on the inside they are hungry wolves. 16 You can tell what they really are by what they do.
"Do people pick grapes from bushes? Do they pick figs from thorns? 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit. But a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree can't bear bad fruit. And a bad tree can't bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down. It is thrown into the fire. 20 You can tell each tree by its fruit.
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do what my Father in heaven wants will enter.
22 "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord! Lord! Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we drive out demons in your name? Didn't we do many miracles in your name?' 23 Then I will tell them clearly, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who do evil!'
The Wise and Foolish Builders
24 "So then, everyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like a wise man. He builds his house on the rock. 25 The rain comes down. The water rises. The winds blow and beat against that house. But it does not fall. It is built on the rock.
26 "But everyone who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man. He builds his house on sand. 27 The rain comes down. The water rises. The winds blow and beat against that house. And it falls with a loud crash."
28 Jesus finished saying all these things. The crowds were amazed at his teaching. 29 He taught like one who had authority. He did not speak like their teachers of the law.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Mark 12:41-44 (New International Reader's Version)
The Widow's Offering
41 Jesus sat down across from the place where people put their temple offerings. He watched the crowd putting their money into the offering boxes. Many rich people threw large amounts into them.
42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins. They were worth much less than a penny.
43 Jesus asked his disciples to come to him. He said, "What I'm about to tell you is true. That poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others. 44 They all gave a lot because they are rich. But she gave even though she is poor. She put in everything she had. She gave all she had to live on."
June 17, 2009
Common Cents
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READ: Mark 12:41-44
[Jesus said,] “This poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury.” —Mark 12:43
In 1987, Mike Hayes, a freshman at the University of Illinois, found a unique way to finance his education. He convinced a popular columnist at the Chicago Tribune to ask his readers to “send in a penny for Mike.”
“Just one penny,” Hayes said. “A penny doesn’t mean anything to anyone. If everyone . . . looks around the room right now, there will be a penny under the couch cushion . . . or on the floor. That’s all I’m asking. A penny from each of your readers.”
In less than a month the fund was up to 2.3 million cents. Donations came in from all over the US, as well as Mexico, Canada, and the Bahamas. Mike eventually ended up with $28,000!
The common cent just isn’t worth much—unless it’s added to a whole bunch of other pennies. The woman we read about in Mark 12 gave the equivalent of a fraction of a penny, which was “all that she had” (v.44). But Jesus honored that little bit.
The widow’s sacrifice was an example and an encouragement to the disciples—and to us. She gave all she had. Have we ever been so generous? Jesus used an unnamed widow to teach us what giving is all about.
It was less than a cent, yet it was a priceless gift of love to God. — Cindy Hess Kasper
One grace each child of God can show
Is giving from a willing heart;
Yet, if we wait till riches grow,
It well may be we’ll never start. —D. De Haan
God looks at the heart, not the hand; the giver, not the gift.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 17, 2009
Beware of Criticizing Others
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READ:
Judge not, that you be not judged —Matthew 7:1
Jesus’ instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put; He says, "Don’t." The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood. Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others. Jesus says that as His disciple you should cultivate a temperament that is never critical. This will not happen quickly but must be developed over a span of time. You must constantly beware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person.
There is no escaping the penetrating search of my life by Jesus. If I see the little speck in your eye, it means that I have a plank of timber in my own (see Matthew 7:3-5 ). Every wrong thing that I see in you, God finds in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (see Romans 2:17-24 ). Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation. The first thing God does is to give us a thorough spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us. I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Too Busy for the Beauty - #5853
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
As we drove through Utah that day I kept "oohing" and "ahhing" at one magnificent view after another. Majestic mountains, rugged terrain, fabulous vistas - I loved it! Then my wife reminded me that I'd seen all this before. Or, more accurately, I should have seen it before. See, I had traveled these same scenic highways on a bus with our Native American outreach team On Eagles' Wings a couple of years before. But much of the time, I had my head down, I was buried in work or preparation or I was busy talking with one of the team members. In the process, I totally missed some of this country's greatest beauty.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Busy for the Beauty."
So I missed some wonderful beauty because I was too busy. Unfortunately, that's not the only time in my life that I've made that mistake. And I don't think I'm the only one who's made it. In our overheated, overscheduled lives, it's just so easy to speed right by some things that are too beautiful to miss - in our surroundings, in our son, our daughter, our grandchild, our husband or wife, in the blessings that God is unfolding right in front of us. And even in hearing the voice of God.
Many of us have been (well, here's a word that isn't one) "Martha-ed." Now, even though it's not a word, it is a familiar reality. Let's watch busy, busy Martha missing the beauty around her in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Luke 10, beginning with verse 38, and there I see a mirror almost. I see what I'm like sometimes. Maybe it's a mirror for you, too.
Here's what it says. "Martha opened her home to Jesus. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!' 'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better.'"
Now, Martha has the Son of God in her home! Mary realizes what an opportunity this is, but Martha's so busy she misses it. And she turns negative toward her sister and she starts attacking her. Martha is the patron saint of all of us who are sometimes too busy to stop and see the beauty right in front of us. For someone listening today, God is trying to say to you, "Would you slow down and smell the flowers?" You are missing precious, never-again moments in the life of your child, or in your relationship with your husband or wife, moments that will never come again. Or maybe beauty in other people that you care about. Your busyness may have made you mechanical, robotic, brittle, maybe even insensitive or mean. Well, that kind of busy is too busy.
And maybe, like Martha, you've even become so busy that you're even missing time with Jesus. Your time to listen at His feet has been crowded to the edges instead of being the sun around which all the other planets of your life revolve. You're missing God's voice. You're missing God's fingerprints all over your day. You're speeding by a lot of things that really, really matter.
It's time to look at those priorities, isn't it? So many beautiful things are right in front of you, but you're doing so much, moving so fast that you're missing them. These are moments, memories and opportunities that may never be there again. Don't let them slip through your fingers.
