Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 30
A Hidden Hero
I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens.
Philippians 4:12 (NCV)
Peer into the prison and see [Paul] for yourself: bent and frail, shackled to the arm of a Roman guard. Behold the apostle of God....
Dead broke. No family. No property. Nearsighted and worn out....
Doesn't look like a hero.
Doesn't sound like one either. He introduced himself as the worst sinner in history. He was a Christian-killer before he was a Christian leader. At times his heart was so heavy, Paul's pen drug itself across the page. "What a miserable man I am! Who will save me from this body that brings me death?" (Rom. 7:24).
Only heaven knows how long he stared at the question before he found the courage to defy logic and write, "I thank God for saving me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Rom. 7:25).
From: When God Whispers Your Name
Copyright (Word Publishing, 1994)
Max Lucado
1 Samuel 18
Saul's Jealousy of David
1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
5 Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully [m] that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul's officers as well.
6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. 7 As they danced, they sang:
"Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands."
8 Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. "They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?" 9 And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
10 The next day an evil [n] spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice.
12 Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left Saul. 13 So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. 14 In everything he did he had great success, [o] because the LORD was with him. 15 When Saul saw how successful [p] he was, he was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.
17 Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the LORD." For Saul said to himself, "I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!"
18 But David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my family or my father's clan in Israel, that I should become the king's son-in-law?" 19 So [q] when the time came for Merab, Saul's daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.
20 Now Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. 21 "I will give her to him," he thought, "so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." So Saul said to David, "Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law."
22 Then Saul ordered his attendants: "Speak to David privately and say, 'Look, the king is pleased with you, and his attendants all like you; now become his son-in-law.' "
23 They repeated these words to David. But David said, "Do you think it is a small matter to become the king's son-in-law? I'm only a poor man and little known."
24 When Saul's servants told him what David had said, 25 Saul replied, "Say to David, 'The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.' " Saul's plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.
26 When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, 27 David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the king so that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
28 When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, 29 Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.
30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success [r] than the rest of Saul's officers, and his name became well known.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
John 14
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going."
Jesus the Way to the Father
5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
November 30, 2009
Nowhere Tickets
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READ: John 14:1-6
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. —Acts 4:12
We kept getting tickets to nowhere. We had finished a missions trip to Jamaica and were trying to get home. However, our airline was having problems, and no matter what our tickets said, we couldn’t leave Montego Bay. Over and over we heard, “Your flight has been canceled.” Even though we had purchased our tickets in good faith, the airline could not back up its promise to transport us to the US. We had to stay an extra day before boarding a plane that could take us home.
Imagine thinking that you are headed for heaven, but discovering that your ticket is no good. It can happen. If you trust the wrong plan, you will get to the gate of eternity but be denied entrance into heaven to live with God forever.
The apostle Peter said there is salvation in no one else but Jesus (Acts 4:12). Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The only ticket to heaven goes to those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross as payment for their sin.
Some offer other ways. But those tickets are worthless. To make sure you’re going to heaven, trust Jesus. He’s the only way. — Dave Branon
Lord, I know I’m a sinner and cannot save myself. I need You as my Savior. Thank You for dying in my place and rising again. I believe in You. Please forgive my sin. I want to live with You in heaven someday.
Jesus took my place on the cross and gave me a place in heaven.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 30, 2009
"By the Grace of God I Am What I Am"
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READ:
By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . . —1 Corinthians 15:10
The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, "Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint." But to say that before God means, "No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible." That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.
Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, "Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified," is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.
There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Everything But a Captain - #5971
Monday, November 30, 2009
It was one of those nightmare days, trying to get a flight out of Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Some thunderstorms actually sent flight schedules into chaos for about 24 hours. You know what that means. Two hundred flights were cancelled that day, a lot more were delayed, and thousands of people were scrambling to find a way to get to where they needed to go...including me. Finally, I just gave up on trying to get out that day and I reserved one of the last seats available the next morning for the city where I was supposed to be speaking. Well, 7:00 A.M. the next morning my partner and I were in our seats on a full flight. The engine was running - it seemed like we were ready to go. Until the cockpit came on and made this announcement, "Uh, folks, we've encountered one problem this morning. We can't find a captain for this flight." Oh, great! No captain! We're not going anywhere, folks! Well, thankfully, a captain finally came, and we finally got there!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Everything But a Captain."
So the engine's running, the plane is full, the passengers are ready, but there was no one to take us there. There are a lot of flights like that - or more accurately, a lot of lives like that...maybe yours.
You've got basically a good life, things are running well, you've got plenty to do, you've got plenty of people in your life. But for all that, it just maybe doesn't seem like you're really going anywhere. Apparently, a lot of people feel like that. A recent survey in USA Today asked Americans what one question they would ask a Supreme Being if they were guaranteed an answer. The second largest group - 17% said they would ask about life after death. You might have thought that would come in number one. But by far the largest group - 34% wanted to ask, "What's the purpose of my life?" In other words, "What's it all for? What's the point? Where does all this go?"
That's not a new question. King Solomon was struggling with it in our word for today from the Word of God in the book of Ecclesiastes. After accumulating the greatest fortune of his time, building the most impressive structures of his time, trying every pleasure he wanted, and having the best of everything, he concludes in Ecclesiastes 1:14, "I have seen all the things that are under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind."
A little later he starts to uncover what's been missing in all his good times. He says, "God has set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We've all got this hole inside us that can only be filled with something that lasts forever...which, of course, nothing on earth does. In the conclusion of his book, Solomon says, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the days of trouble come" (Ecclesiastes 12:1). In other words, get a relationship with your Creator as soon as you can. He's what you've been missing all these years.
All these years our life has been a flight that doesn't go anywhere because we're missing our Captain - the God we were made by; the God we were made for. We've been trying to be our own captain, running a life that our Creator was supposed to run. So we're alienated from the only One who knows why we're here, the only One who can make it all make sense.
Which is why Jesus Christ came - to die to remove the sin-wall that is keeping us from the God we were made for. And until you open up your life to the Man who died for you, your life is going to be a flight without a Captain. But once you give yourself to Jesus, you belong to the One who can give each new day eternal meaning.
Maybe you've never begun a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, or you're not sure if you have. Why don't you tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours." And I would encourage you as soon as you can to get over to our website, because there you will find a simple presentation I put together called Yours For Life, and it will help you be sure that you have begun this relationship you will never lose...that will introduce you to the purpose you were made for. The website is YoursForLife.net. Or you can call toll free if you would like to get this in booklet form. You can ask for Yours For Life at this number - 877-741-1200.
You've taken your life as far as it's going to go with you in the cockpit. The Captain is ready to come aboard as soon as you open the door. And He can take your life where you could never go without Him.
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