Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
June 22
The Oldest and Choicest
Even when you are old, I will be the same. Even when your hair has turned gray, I will take care of you.
Isaiah 46:4 (NCV)
Growing old can be dangerous. The trail is treacherous and the pitfalls are many. One is wise to be prepared. You know it's coming. It's not like God kept the process a secret. It's not like you are blazing a trail as you grow older. It's not as if no one has ever done it before. Look around you. You have ample opportunity to prepare and ample case studies to consider. If growing old catches you by surprise, don't blame God. He gave you plenty of warning. He also gave you plenty of advice.
Your last chapters can be your best. Your final song can be your greatest. It could be that all of your life has prepared you for a grand exit. God's oldest have always been among his choicest.
Luke 11
Jesus Teaches About Prayer
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples spoke to him. "Lord," he said, "teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
2 Jesus said to them, "When you pray, this is what you should say.
" 'Father,
may your name be honored.
May your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
as we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
Keep us from falling into sin when we are tempted.' "
5 Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose someone has a friend. He goes to him at midnight. He says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. 6 A friend of mine on a journey has come to stay with me. I have nothing for him to eat.'
7 "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked. My children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.'
8 "I tell you, that person will not get up. And he won't give the man bread just because he is his friend. But because the man keeps on asking, he will get up. He will give him as much as he needs.
9 "So here is what I say to you. Ask, and it will be given to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 Everyone who asks will receive. He who searches will find. And the door will be opened to the one who knocks.
11 "Fathers, suppose your son asks for a fish. Which of you will give him a snake instead? 12 Or suppose he asks for an egg. Which of you will give him a scorpion? 13 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 the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Jesus and Beelzebub
14 Jesus was driving out a demon. The man who had the demon could not speak. When the demon left, the man began to speak. The crowd was amazed.
15 But some of them said, "Jesus is driving out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons." 16 Others put Jesus to the test by asking for a miraculous sign from heaven.
17 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, "Any kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. A family that is divided against itself will fall. 18 If Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom stand?
"I say this because of what you claim. You say I drive out demons by the power of Beelzebub. 19 Suppose I do drive out demons with Beelzebub's help. With whose help do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 20 But suppose I drive out demons with the help of God's powerful finger. Then God's kingdom has come to you.
21 "When a strong man is completely armed and guards his house, what he owns is safe. 22 But when someone stronger attacks, he is overpowered. The attacker takes away the armor the man had trusted in. Then he divides up what he has stolen.
23 "Anyone who is not with me is against me. Anyone who does not gather sheep with me scatters them.
24 "What happens when an evil spirit comes out of a man? It goes through dry areas looking for a place to rest. But it doesn't find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' 25 When it arrives there, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then the evil spirit goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and live there. That man is worse off than before."
27 As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out. She shouted, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you."
28 He replied, "Instead, blessed are those who hear God's word and obey it."
The Miraculous Sign of Jonah
29 As the crowds grew larger, Jesus spoke to them. "The people of today are evil," he said. "They ask for a miraculous sign from God. But none will be given except the sign of Jonah. 30 He was a sign from God to the people of Nineveh. In the same way, the Son of Man will be a sign from God to the people of today.
31 "The Queen of the South will stand up on judgment day with the men now living. And she will prove that they are guilty. She came from very far away to listen to Solomon's wisdom. And now one who is more important than Solomon is here.
32 "The men of Nineveh will stand up on judgment day with the people now living. And the Ninevites will prove that those people are guilty. The men of Nineveh turned away from their sins when Jonah preached to them. And now one who is more important than Jonah is here.
The Eye Is the Lamp of the Body
33 "No one lights a lamp and hides it. No one puts it under a bowl. Instead, people put a lamp on its stand. Then those who come in can see the light.
34 "Your eye is like a lamp for your body. Suppose your eyes are good. Then your whole body also is full of light. But suppose your eyes are bad. Then your body also is full of darkness. 35 So make sure that the light inside you is not darkness.
36 "Suppose your whole body is full of light. And suppose no part of it is dark. Then your body will be completely lit up. It will be as when the light of a lamp shines on you."
Six Warnings
37 Jesus finished speaking. Then a Pharisee invited him to eat with him. So Jesus went in and took his place at the table. 38 But the Pharisee noticed that Jesus did not wash before the meal. He was surprised.
39 Then the Lord spoke to him. "You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish," he said. "But inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 You foolish people! Didn't the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 Give to poor people what is inside the dish. Then everything will be clean for you.
42 "How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give God a tenth of your garden plants, such as mint and rue. But you have forgotten to be fair and to love God. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first.
43 "How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the most important seats in the synagogues. You love having people greet you in the market places.
44 "How terrible for you! You are like graves that are not marked. People walk over them without knowing it."
45 An authority on the law spoke to Jesus. He said, "Teacher, when you say things like that, you say bad things about us too."
46 Jesus replied, "How terrible for you authorities on the law! You put such heavy loads on people that they can hardly carry them. But you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
47 "How terrible for you! You build tombs for the prophets. It was your people of long ago who killed them. 48 So you give witness that you agree with what your people did long ago. They killed the prophets, and now you build the prophets' tombs.
49 "So God in his wisdom said, 'I will send prophets and apostles to them. They will kill some. And they will try to hurt others.' 50 So the people of today will be punished. They will pay for all the prophets' blood spilled since the world began. 51 I mean from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I tell you, the people of today will be punished for all these things.
52 "How terrible for you authorities on the law! You have taken away the key to the door of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered. And you have stood in the way of those who were entering."
53 When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law strongly opposed him. They threw a lot of questions at him. 54 They set traps for him. They wanted to catch him in something he might say.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Ephesians 2:14-22 (New International Reader's Version)
14 Christ himself is our peace. He has made Jews and non-Jews into one group of people. He has destroyed the hatred that was like a wall between us. 15 Through his body on the cross, Christ put an end to the law with all its commands and rules. He wanted to create one new group of people out of the two. He wanted to make peace between them.
16 He planned to bring both of them as one body back to God because of the cross. Christ put their hatred to death on that cross.
17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away. He also preached peace to those who were near. 18 Through Christ we both come to the Father by the power of one Holy Spirit.
19 So you are no longer strangers and outsiders. You are citizens together with God's people. You are members of God's family.
20 You are a building that is built on the apostles and prophets. They are the foundation. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in the building. 21 The whole building is held together by him. It rises to become a holy temple because it belongs to the Lord.
22 And because you belong to him, you too are being built together. You are being made into a house where God lives through his Spirit.
June 22, 2009
Open Invitation
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READ: Ephesians 2:14-22
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. —Hebrews 4:16
Versailles was made the capital of France by King Louis XIV in 1682 and remained the capital (except for a short time) until 1789 when it was moved back to Paris. The beautiful palace of Versailles included an opulent 241-foot-long Hall of Mirrors. When a visitor approached the king, he had to curtsy every five steps as he walked the entire distance to meet the king sitting on his dazzling silver throne!
Foreign emissaries to France submitted to that humiliating ritual to court the French monarch’s favor toward their country. By contrast, our God, the King of kings, invites His people to come to His throne freely. We can come to Him anytime—no advance appointments and no bowing required!
How grateful we should be that our heavenly Father is so much more inviting! “Through [Christ] we . . . have access by one Spirit to the Father” (Eph. 2:18). Because of this, the writer of Hebrews urges us to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).
Have you responded to God’s open invitation? Come in awe and gratitude, for the God of this universe is willing to hear your petitions anytime. — C. P. Hia
You need to talk with God today,
Your heart’s bowed down with care;
Just speak the words you have to say—
He’ll always hear your prayer. —Hess
Access to God’s throne is always open.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 22, 2009
The Unchanging Law of Judgment
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READ:
With what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you —Matthew 7:2
This statement is not some haphazard theory, but it is an eternal law of God. Whatever judgment you give will be the very way you are judged. There is a difference between retaliation and retribution. Jesus said that the basis of life is retribution— "with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." If you have been shrewd in finding out the shortcomings of others, remember that will be exactly how you will be measured. The way you pay is the way life will pay you back. This eternal law works from God’s throne down to us (see Psalm 18:25-26 ).
Romans 2:1 applies it in even a more definite way by saying that the one who criticizes another is guilty of the very same thing. God looks not only at the act itself, but also at the possibility of committing it, which He sees by looking at our hearts. To begin with, we do not believe the statements of the Bible. For instance, do we really believe the statement that says we criticize in others the very things we are guilty of ourselves? The reason we see hypocrisy, deceit, and a lack of genuineness in others is that they are all in our own hearts. The greatest characteristic of a saint is humility, as evidenced by being able to say honestly and humbly, "Yes, all those, as well as other evils, would have been exhibited in me if it were not for the grace of God. Therefore, I have no right to judge."
Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged" ( Matthew 7:1 ). He went on to say, in effect, "If you do judge, you will be judged in exactly the same way." Who of us would dare to stand before God and say, "My God, judge me as I have judged others"? We have judged others as sinners— if God should judge us in the same way, we would be condemned to hell. Yet God judges us on the basis of the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Deeply Personal - #5856
Monday, June 22, 2009
It's a special thrill for a follower of Jesus Christ to be able to walk where Jesus walked. That's why, for many of us, a visit to the Holy Land is a special memory or a special dream. Years ago, one of America's premier preachers - his name was Dr. Robert G. Lee - paid his first visit to Israel. Every place was special, but when his tour group went to Golgotha, the place where many believe Jesus was crucified, he couldn't contain himself. He suddenly started running ahead of the group to get there. The guide had to run to catch up with him, and he asked him breathlessly, "Sir, have you been here before?" Dr. Lee paused and then he answered, "Yes, I have been here before. Almost 2,000 years ago."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Deeply Personal."
Dr. Lee wasn't talking about some time-travel experience he'd had. He was talking about his deep feeling that when Jesus was dying on that cross, he was totally identifying with what Jesus was doing there. It was his sin Jesus was paying the price for there. The great painter, Rembrandt, must have had that same sense when he painted his rendition of Christ's crucifixion. When his friends pointed out that a man in the crowd there looked like Rembrandt, he replied, "Well, that is me."
Once a person comes to understand what Jesus was really doing on that cross, His death becomes a deeply personal event and a totally transforming event. It's what the great Apostle Paul was describing in Galatians 2:20, our word for today from the Word of God. He says, "The life I live...I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
There are many people who wear a cross or who know all about the cross who have never been to the cross. In other words, they have never, in their heart, made their way to Jesus' cross and said, "For me. What He did there is to pay for every sin I've ever committed, for every wrong thing I've ever done." It's at that point that you realize Jesus is your only hope of being clean, being forgiven, of ever having a relationship with God, your only hope of going to heaven someday. And you surrender yourself to this Son of God who gave His life for you.
I wonder if there's ever been a time like that for you; when you move beyond Jesus' brutal death as being just a historical event, or just a religious event, commemorated by some religious observance - when Jesus' sacrifice on that cross becomes for you a deeply personal "for me" event. Our churches are filled with people who know about the cross, who appreciate what Jesus did there, but who have missed the only thing that will change your eternal address from hell to heaven; that personal transaction at the cross where you make the Savior your Savior. "For me, Jesus...it's for me."
If there's never been a time when you actually gave yourself completely to Jesus as your only hope, don't wait another day to get that settled. Your soul is at stake. Your eternity is at stake. Right where you are, tell Jesus that you are putting you are putting your total trust in Him to forgive every sin, and to change your life, and to take you to His heaven someday. If you want to begin that relationship with Him you might just say these words: "Jesus, I'm yours because you died for me, and you're alive today. I'm yours." It may very well be that your journey has led you to this day as the day you begin your relationship with Jesus Christ and move from having Him in your head to having Him in your heart.
Let me encourage you to check out our website, because I think you'll find there what many have found there; some information that will help you know that you've begun this relationship and that you belong to Jesus Christ. Let me give you the web address. It's YoursForLife.net. I hope you'll go there as soon as you can. It's your Jesus-day.
