Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 22
Majestic Message
“You will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21 (NCV)
Many of the names in the Bible that refer to our Lord are nothing less that palatial and august: Son of God, The Lamb of God, The Light of the World, The Resurrection and the Life, The Bright and Morning Starr, He that Should Come, Alpha and Omega.
They are phrases that stretch the boundaries of human language in an effort to capture the uncapturable, the grandeur of God. And try as they might to draw as near as they may, they always fall short. Hearing them is somewhat like hearing a Salvation Army Christmas band on the street corner play Handel’s Messiah. Good try, but it doesn’t work. The message is too majestic for the medium.
And such it is with language. The phrase “There are no words to express…” is really the only one that can honestly be applied to God. No names do him justice.
Genesis 15
God's Covenant With Abram
1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
"Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield, [a]
your very great reward. [b] "
2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit [c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."
8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
9 So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river [d] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates- 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Revelation 5:8-14 (New International Version)
8And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9And they sang a new song:
"You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth."
11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"
13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!" 14The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.
September 22, 2009
Everyone Sings!
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READ: Revelation 5:8-14
Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever! —Revelation 5:13
Each summer I enjoy attending many of the free outdoor concerts presented in our city. During one performance by a brass band, several of the members briefly introduced themselves and told how much they enjoyed practicing and playing together.
The pleasure of sharing music in community has drawn people together for centuries. As followers of Christ, whether we are in small groups, choirs, or congregations, bringing praise to God is one of the key elements in our own expression of faith. And one day, we’ll be singing in a concert that defies imagination.
In a sweeping vision of the tumultuous events at the end of time, John records a chorus of praise that begins with a few and swells to a company beyond number. In honor of the Lamb of God, who with His blood has redeemed people from every tribe and nation (Rev. 5:9), the song begins at the throne of God, is joined by multiplied thousands of angels, and finally includes every creature in heaven, earth, and sea. Together we will sing, “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” (v.13).
What a choir! What a concert! What a privilege to start rehearsing today! — David C. McCasland
Give me a spirit of praise, dear Lord,
That I may adore Your name,
Sing praises from a grateful heart
To the One who is always the same. —Dawe
Those who know Christ now will sing His praise forever.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 22, 2009
The Missionary’s Master and Teacher
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READ:
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am . . . . I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master . . .—John 13:13, 16
To have a master and teacher is not the same thing as being mastered and taught. Having a master and teacher means that there is someone who knows me better than I know myself, who is closer than a friend, and who understands the remotest depths of my heart and is able to satisfy them fully. It means having someone who has made me secure in the knowledge that he has met and solved all the doubts, uncertainties, and problems in my mind. To have a master and teacher is this and nothing less— ". . . for One is your Teacher, the Christ . . ." ( Matthew 23:8 ).
Our Lord never takes measures to make me do what He wants. Sometimes I wish God would master and control me to make me do what He wants, but He will not. And at other times I wish He would leave me alone, and He does not.
"You call Me Teacher and Lord . . ."— but is He? Teacher, Master, and Lord have little place in our vocabulary. We prefer the words Savior, Sanctifier, and Healer. The only word that truly describes the experience of being mastered is love, and we know little about love as God reveals it in His Word. The way we use the word obey is proof of this. In the Bible, obedience is based on a relationship between equals; for example, that of a son with his father. Our Lord was not simply God’s servant— He was His Son. ". . . though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience. . ." (Hebrews 5:8 ). If we are consciously aware that we are being mastered, that idea itself is proof that we have no master. If that is our attitude toward Jesus, we are far away from having the relationship He wants with us. He wants us in a relationship where He is so easily our Master and Teacher that we have no conscious awareness of it—a relationship where all we know is that we are His to obey.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Taking it to the Boss - #5922
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
I know you've experienced it. Let's call it consumer frustration or customer frustration. Maybe it's all about a bill you believe there's a mistake on, or a problem with your phone or some other service, or maybe it's a store policy that seems to have you going in circles trying to find an answer. You've talked yourself blue in the face, trying to get some resolution from this salesperson or this customer rep. Then it dawns on you - this person doesn't have any authority to make any difference in this situation. They're just reading from the company script. So what do you do? You ask for the boss, the manager, the owner. That's where I usually get an answer, because they've got the authority to do something!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Taking it to the Boss."
Authority is really the decisive factor in getting anything done; putting it in the hands of the person who is in charge. Now that's a fundamental secret of getting things done when you pray! Those who understand that mountain-moving faith is about realizing who's in charge are people who pray with power and who get results.
Jesus made that clear in our word for today from the Word of God. In Luke 7, beginning with verse 7, we hear the message a desperate Roman officer sent to Jesus about his dying servant. He was as Scripture says, "valued highly." The centurion says to Jesus, "Say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
Then Luke records Jesus' unique response. "When Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turning to the crowds following Him, He said, 'I tell you, I have not found such great faith in Israel.' Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and they found the servant well." Now Jesus had described His own disciples as "you of little faith." But He says this Gentile soldier has great faith. It's the only time in the Bible when we're told Jesus was amazed at someone's faith. Usually, He's amazed at their lack of faith.
So what kind of faith amazes Jesus, and by the way, prays down miracles? Well, it's all about authority. This officer was saying, "Just as I have total authority over my soldiers, Jesus, so You have total authority over this disease my servant has. This disease will do what You tell it to do, Lord!" So when you pray, you pray to Jesus as the Lord over every germ, every virus, every disease on this planet. He is the Lord over every heart of every person in your situation. He is the Lord over every weather system, every home, every piece of land, every human authority, every resource, every corner of this world and this universe. "Jesus, the economy isn't going to decide what happens to me - You are. This condition isn't going to decide it - You are. These people aren't going to decide it - You are. The odds aren't going to decide it - You are, Jesus!"
No matter how big the need, no matter how limited the resources, no matter how short the time, Jesus has whatever it takes to do what needs to be done! So quit coming to Jesus as if He's limited to what we can see and what we can come up with. He's the Boss of everything and everyone that touches your life! If you want something done, go to the person in charge of the whole universe!
