Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 28
He Understands
God even knows how many hairs are on your head. So don’t be afraid.
Matthew 10:30-31 (NCV)
Why did Jesus grow weary in Samaria (John 4:6), disturbed in Nazareth (Mark 6:6), and angry in the Temple (John 2:15)? Why was he sleepy in the boat on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:38), sad at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35), and hungry in the wilderness (Matt. 4:2)?
Why? Why did he endure all these feelings? Because he knew you would feel them too.
He knew you would be weary, disturbed, and angry. He knew you’d be sleepy, grief-stricken, and hungry. He knew you’d face pain. If not the pain of the body, the pain of the soul…pain too sharp for any drug. He knew you’d face thirst. If not a thirst for water, at least for truth, and the truth we glean from the image of a thirsty Christ is—he understands.
And because he understands, we can come to him.
James 3
Taming the Tongue
1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt[f] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Two Kinds of Wisdom
13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Samuel 20:12-17 (New International Version)
12 Then Jonathan said to David: "By the LORD, the God of Israel, I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know? 13 But if my father is inclined to harm you, may the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away safely. May the LORD be with you as he has been with my father. 14 But show me unfailing kindness like that of the LORD as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, 15 and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family—not even when the LORD has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth."
16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the LORD call David's enemies to account." 17 And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.
July 28, 2009
The Value Of Friends
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READ: 1 Samuel 20:12-17
Jonathan . . . loved [David] as he loved his own soul. —1 Samuel 20:17
John Chrysostom (347–407) was one of the great preachers in the early church. He was given the name Chrysostom, which means “golden-mouthed,” because of his eloquent sermons.
Here is one of his insights on the value of friends: “Such is friendship, that through it we love places and seasons; for as . . . flowers drop their sweet leaves on the ground around them, so friends impart favor even to the places where they dwell. With friends even poverty is pleasant. . . . It would be better for us that the sun were exhausted than that we should be without friends.”
The story of Jonathan and David illustrates the value of friendship. Though David was hunted by the demented King Saul, he drew encouragement from his friendship with Saul’s son. “Jonathan . . . loved [David] as he loved his own soul” (1 Sam. 20:17). Their relationship was characterized by trust, understanding, and encouragement. How difficult it would have been for David to endure this unjust persecution without the nourishment of friendship based in the Lord (v.42).
The ancient voice of Chrysostom and the witness of David and Jonathan are reminders of the need to nurture the friendships God has given us. — Dennis Fisher
Since I have no gold to give,
And love alone must make amends,
My daily prayer is while I live—
“God, make me worthy of my friends.” —Sherman
A friend is the first person who comes in when the whole world has gone out.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 28, 2009
God’s Purpose or Mine?
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READ:
He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side . . . —Mark 6:45
We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.
What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see "Him walking on the sea" with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see "Him walking on the sea" ( Mark 6:49 ). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.
God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.
God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Go When the Gate Is Open - #5882
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
I was speaking at this beautiful conference center, and I'd actually been expecting to stay at the inn where the conferees would be, because that's where I've stayed on previous occasions. But this time they gave my wife and me the key to what they called one of their "remote cabins." Well, I asked the man in charge if everyone they sent to those cabins came back. He smiled and said, "Yeah, if the bears don't get you." Actually, it was a fabulous cabin, nestled in the woods with this spectacular mountain view. But there's limited access to these cabins. They are located on a long mountain lane, the entrance to which is unmarked and it's guarded by a gate. They gave us a pass that opens that gate. Apparently, they don't want anyone else following you in. I'll tell you, that gate opens for a brief time and then it closes. So get movin', Roscoe! My guess is that the bears - they don't need a pass.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Go When the Gate Is Open."
That's what I learned real fast when I saw that the gate guarding the road didn't stay open forever. Tragically, it's something that many people never realize about God's road to heaven; the gate isn't always going to be open. You have to go in when the gate is open. That's why God warns us in Isaiah 55:7, our word for today from the Word of God, to "seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near."
The implication: the Lord may not always be able to be found. He won't always be near. That's why you have to come to Him while He is. The gate to get to God could not be clearer. It's not a religion - no religion including Christian religion. It's a person. Jesus said, "I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved." That's "saved" as in rescued from the spiritual death penalty that hangs over every one of us because every one of us has broken God's laws; every one of us has put ourselves first instead of our Creator. Like a person who is trapped in the rubble of an earthquake, our only hope is the rescuer who risks his own life to save us. When it comes to the hellish penalty for our sin, only the One who died for that sin can rescue us.
And when He comes to you, offering His rescue, that's the time to grab His hand. He may come more than once, but don't count on Him coming forever. God has said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever" (Genesis 6:3). We make the deadly mistake of thinking that we'll come to Jesus when we're ready. That's wrong. You can only come when He's ready. In our sin-deadness, we can't come to Him unless He's working in our heart. Jesus told us, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44).
If this day you're feeling a tug in your heart to get things right with Jesus, I believe that's God drawing you. It's His invitation, not mine. God's Word says, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart" (Hebrews 4:7). I don't know how many more times the gate will be open. This is the only opportunity you can be sure of. To miss Him is to miss the meaning of this life and any hope of eternal life.
If you sense that He's drawing you to Him today, would you give yourself to this One who died for you? Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm sorry for the sins of my life. I am turning from them; I'm not running things anymore - You are. Your death for my sins - your resurrection from the dead is my only hope. Thank you for coming to me one more time. From this day on, I'm Yours."
I would encourage you, if that's where your heart is right now, to go to our website sometime today as soon as you can. Because it's been a help for a lot of people when they've been at the point of saying, "I want to get started with Jesus and know how to do that." Now that website is YoursForLife.net. Or I've got a little booklet that has some of that same information in it, and you can call for it toll free. It's called Yours For Life, and the phone number is 877-741-1200.
The gate is open today, and there's no other way to heaven. The gate won't stay open forever, though. Go in while you can.