Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
July 8
Intimacy with the Almighty
As a deer thirsts for streams of water, so I thirst for you, God.
Psalm 42:1 (NCV)
Jesus didn't act unless he saw his father act. He didn't judge until he heard his father judge. No act or deed occurred without his father's guidance....
Because Jesus could hear what others couldn't, he acted differently than they did. Remember when everyone was troubled about the man born blind? Jesus wasn't. Somehow he knew that the blindness would reveal God's power (John 9:3). Remember when everyone was distraught about Lazarus's illness? Jesus wasn't.... It was as if Jesus could hear what no one else could.... Jesus had unbroken communion with his father.
Do you suppose the Father desires the same for us? Absolutely!... God desires the same abiding intimacy with you that he had with his son.
Luke 24
The Resurrection
1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8Then they remembered his words.
9When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
On the Road to Emmaus
13Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[k] from Jerusalem. 14They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16but they were kept from recognizing him.
17He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
19"What things?" he asked.
"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."
25He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ[l] have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.
30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
33They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." 35Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
36While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
37They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."
40When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
45Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
The Ascension
50When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Revelation 22
The River of Life
1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
July 8, 2009
Heaven’s Greatest Delights
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READ: Revelation 22:1-5
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard . . . the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. —1 Corinthians 2:9
What will be one of heaven’s supreme joys?
Joni Eareckson Tada, disabled as a teenager in a diving accident, has been a paraplegic for over 40 years. One would imagine that her greatest longing would be the ability to walk, even run, free from the confinement of her wheelchair.
But Joni tells us that her greatest desire is to offer a “praise that is pure.” She explains: “I won’t be crippled by distractions, or disabled by insincerity. I won’t be handicapped by a ho-hum half-heartedness. My heart will join with yours and bubble over with effervescent adoration. We will finally be able to fellowship fully with the Father and the Son. For me, this will be the best part of heaven.”
How that speaks to my divided heart and grips my unfocused spirit! What a blessing to offer “a praise that is pure,” with no wandering thoughts, no self-centered requests, no inability to soar above my earth-bound language!
In heaven, “there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him” (Rev. 22:3). May the prospect of heaven enable us to experience a foretaste of that God-glorifying worship even here and now. — Vernon C. Grounds
To be with Him will crown it all!
To see His face—before Him fall,
To feast within His banquet hall;
To be with Him will crown it all! —Peterson
© Renewal 1987, John W. Peterson Music Company.
To see Jesus will be heaven’s greatest joy.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 8, 2009
Will To Be Faithful
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READ:
. . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . —Joshua 24:15
A person’s will is embodied in the actions of the whole person. I cannot give up my will— I must exercise it, putting it into action. I must will to obey, and I must will to receive God’s Spirit. When God gives me a vision of truth, there is never a question of what He will do, but only of what I will do. The Lord has been placing in front of each of us some big proposals and plans. The best thing to do is to remember what you did before when you were touched by God. Recall the moment when you were saved, or first recognized Jesus, or realized some truth. It was easy then to yield your allegiance to God. Immediately recall those moments each time the Spirit of God brings some new proposal before you.
". . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . ." Your choice must be a deliberate determination— it is not something into which you will automatically drift. And everything else in your life will be held in temporary suspension until you make a decision. The proposal is between you and God— do not "confer with flesh and blood" about it ( Galatians 1:16 ). With every new proposal, the people around us seem to become more and more isolated, and that is where the tension develops. God allows the opinion of His other saints to matter to you, and yet you become less and less certain that others really understand the step you are taking. You have no business trying to find out where God is leading— the only thing God will explain to you is Himself.
Openly declare to Him, "I will be faithful." But remember that as soon as you choose to be faithful to Jesus Christ, "You are witnesses against yourselves . . ." ( Joshua 24:22 ). Don’t consult with other Christians, but simply and freely declare before Him, "I will serve You." Will to be faithful— and give other people credit for being faithful too.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Stuffed With Junk - #5868
A Word With You - Your Relationships
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
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The other day one of our team members shared a discovery she made during the remodeling of her kitchen. The counter top had been removed, and as she looked into this little 6"x8" drawer by the sink, she saw that it was completely stuffed - with like "stuff!" She realized that for 24 years she had been sticking things into that drawer: twist ties, rubber bands - you know, everything. There were some useful things in the back, but they were inaccessible because of all the "stuff." It had been a long time since the drawer had been opened very much; our friend just crammed things into it and occasionally pulled it open an inch or two to use something out of it. But looking down on it all from above, she was surprised to see what was in there. Almost everything in that drawer could be thrown away, but it had been accumulating for years. And that drawer was much more useful now that it was emptied out.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stuffed With Junk."
You've got to wonder what God sees when He looks down on the contents of our life. The "top" is always off as far as His view of us is concerned. He sees directly into our heart, our motives, our every thought. And all too often, our life and our heart are cluttered with "stuff" - things we've filled our life with that are simply unnecessary to Him, useless to Him; actually limiting our usefulness to Him.
Some of us won't realize how useless a lot of our life has been until it's too late to do anything about it; we'll wait until the Judgment Seat of Christ. Paul talks about it in 1 Corinthians 3 , beginning with verse 11. It's our word for today from the Word of God. He says, "No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones..." That's filling our life with things that will last, that have eternal significance. He goes on to say, "wood, hay, or straw" - those are things that are just "stuff" - "his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light...the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."
You get one life. You can fill it with things that really matter or things that really don't. With things that will last forever, and often what this world stresses as being important is really just "stuff." And what Jesus says is important, our world thinks isn't much.
So when the Lord looks down inside your life, is it crammed with a lot of "stuff" that just doesn't mean much? A lot of time in front of a television, hours on the Internet, listening to music, talking on the phone, following sports, pouring yourself into causes and diversions that just won't matter much in eternity at all? It's not that these things are necessarily bad. The problem is when "stuff" that should be peripheral becomes central in your life. That's when it's time to reevaluate your priorities. It's time to see your life through God's eyes, and clean out what's not useful - the trivial pursuits.
When you do, you become so much more useful to your Lord. And the more you fall in love with Him, the less you'll be stuffing your hours, your days, your mind and your heart with "stuff." You'll be about what Jesus is about. You'll be as He said, "seeking first the Kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33 ).