Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 19
A World Without Sin
Then wolves will live in peace with lambs, and leopards will lie down to rest with goats.
Isaiah 11:6 (NCV)
Can you imagine a world minus sin? Have you done anything recently because of sin?
At the very least, you've complained. You've worried. You've grumbled. You've hoarded when you should have shared. You've turned away when you should have helped....
Because of sin, you've snapped at the ones you love and argued with the ones you cherish. You have felt ashamed, guilty, bitter.
Sin has sired a thousand heartaches and broken a million promises. Your addiction can be traced back to sin. Your mistrust can be tracked back to sin. Bigotry, robbery, adultery--all because of sin. But in heaven, all of this will end.
Can you imagine a world without sin? If so, you can imagine heaven.
Colossians 3
Rules for Holy Living
1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Rules for Christian Households
18Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
21Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
22Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 15:7-20 (New International Version)
7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'[a]"
10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "
12Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"
13He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14Leave them; they are blind guides.[b] If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
15Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."
16"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. 17"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' "
August 19, 2009
It’s All About The Heart
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READ: Matthew 15:7-20
Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart. —Matthew 15:18
Every time Susan opens her mouth, it sounds like the blare of an ambulance siren. This TV commercial uses humor to indicate that a dental problem could reveal a more serious physical ailment. So she’d better see her dentist soon!
The commercial made me think about what comes out of my mouth when I open it. Jesus said that our words come from our heart (Matt. 15:18). He offended the Pharisees when He said, “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man” (vv.11-12). They thought they were right with God because they followed strict rules, including ritual cleansing of their hands before eating and eating only “clean” foods. Jesus upset their pride.
Jesus upsets our pride too. We may think we’re godly people because we go to church regularly or pray, but then we gossip or talk about people behind their backs. James 3:9-10 says, “With [our tongue] we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men . . . . Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. . . . These things ought not to be so.”
If a siren blares from our mouth when we open it, we need to examine our heart and ask the Lord to forgive us and to help us be a blessing to others. — Anne Cetas
Lord, cleanse our hearts so what we speak
Will be reflective of Your grace;
And help us to control our tongues
So we’ll not bring on You disgrace. —Sper
Every time you speak, your mind is on parade.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 19, 2009
Self-Awareness
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READ:
Come to Me . . . —Matthew 11:28
God intends for us to live a well-rounded life in Christ Jesus, but there are times when that life is attacked from the outside. Then we tend to fall back into self-examination, a habit that we thought was gone. Self-awareness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of our life in God, and self-awareness continually produces a sense of struggling and turmoil in our lives. Self-awareness is not sin, and it can be produced by nervous emotions or by suddenly being dropped into a totally new set of circumstances. Yet it is never God’s will that we should be anything less than absolutely complete in Him. Anything that disturbs our rest in Him must be rectified at once, and it is not rectified by being ignored but only by coming to Jesus Christ. If we will come to Him, asking Him to produce Christ-awareness in us, He will always do it, until we fully learn to abide in Him.
Never allow anything that divides or destroys the oneness of your life with Christ to remain in your life without facing it. Beware of allowing the influence of your friends or your circumstances to divide your life. This only serves to sap your strength and slow your spiritual growth. Beware of anything that can split your oneness with Him, causing you to see yourself as separate from Him. Nothing is as important as staying right spiritually. And the only solution is a very simple one— "Come to Me . . . ." The intellectual, moral, and spiritual depth of our reality as a person is tested and measured by these words. Yet in every detail of our lives where we are found not to be real, we would rather dispute the findings than come to Jesus.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
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The Sweet and Sour Strategy - #5898
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
When you visit Amish country in Pennsylvania, you pass these buffet restaurants that advertise fare with "seven sweets and seven sours." I'm glad it's not all one or the other. I mean, the mix is good, as it is in one of my favorite salad dressings - sweet and sour dressing - another specialty in Amish country. Once again, I like that dressing because it's both. I don't want to think about a salad with just vinegar all over my lettuce and tomatoes. But then, a salad with just lots of sugar spread all over it doesn't do much for me either. But sweet and sour together, now that's an appealing combination!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Sweet and Sour Strategy."
When it comes to eating, sweet and sour can be great together. When it comes to the business of leading and shaping peoples' lives, it's that combination that can lead to some very positive results. It takes some sweet and it takes some sour to change people.
There is, in fact, sort of a sweet and sour strategy for shaping people in our word for today from the Word of God. And there is definitely some of each in this guidance from 2 Timothy 4:2. It says, "Correct, rebuke" (I guess those could be described as "sours," especially from the perspective of the person being corrected or being rebuked). Then it goes on to say, "and encourage (OK, there's the sweet!) with great patience and careful instruction."
God has placed many of us in a position where we're a leader in someone's life. You're a parent, a grandparent, an aunt or uncle, you're a supervisor, you're a friend, or you're a counselor or maybe a spiritual leader. Well, we have a responsibility before God to not leave people where we found them, but to challenge them and inspire them and equip them to become more of what God made them to be.
In this passage, He's given us three main tools in our people-leading, people-changing tool kit. First, you have to correct. The original Greek word here is about bringing things to light; showing people things that they may not be able to see without someone showing them. As a parent, as a leader, you have a God-given responsibility to show someone that they're swerving or drifting off the road, not just to let them go because you're afraid of confrontation.
Your second life-changing tool is to rebuke. This is more of a hammer that seriously warns people of the consequences of their wrong choices. Rebuking doesn't beat around the bush; it spells it all out plainly and strongly. It may feel like a "sour" to the person, but it's every bit as loving as a hug - maybe more so. You love them enough to take the risk of telling them the truth.
But you have to mix correcting and rebuking with the "sweet" of encouraging - telling them the great things that you see in them, leading with positive things before you present the negative, assuring them of your support and your unconditional love and your belief in them. And you do this all with "careful instruction." In other words, you explain things to them, you give reasons, you train them in how to do the right thing; you give a "how" with the "should." And you do it with great patience, bearing with them, giving them chances to change, and being willing to wait a while for the seed that you planted to grow.
So which part of this is going to mean growing and changing for you? Maybe you're naturally good at dropping the truth-bomb - the part that feels sour to the recipient. Or maybe you're good at the encouraging part - the sweet part. But one without the other is only half the story, and it leaves people either confronted but destroyed, or comforted but unchanged. Maybe you need the Lord to help you add some sweet to your sour - or some of the tough side to your sweet. He's both. He can make you both, so you can help the people you know become more than they have ever been before.
