Max Lucado Daily: Spiritual Life
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Spiritual Life
Posted: 31 Jan 2010 10:01 PM PST
“Human life comes from human parents, but spiritual life comes from the Spirit.” John 3:6
Spiritual life comes from the Spirit! Your parents may have you given you genes, but God gives you grace. Your parents may be responsible for your body, but God has taken charge of your soul. You may get your looks from your mother, but you get eternity from your Father, your heavenly Father.
2 Chronicles 15
Asa's Reform
1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. 4 But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. 5 In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. 6 One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. 7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."
8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of [c] Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD's temple.
9 Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
10 They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. 11 At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. 12 They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul. 13 All who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 14 They took an oath to the LORD with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.
16 King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole. Asa cut the pole down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17 Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa's heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life. 18 He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.
19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Romans 15:4-13 (New International Version)
4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
5May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews[a]on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs 9so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written:
"Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing hymns to your name."[b] 10Again, it says,
"Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people."[c] 11And again,
"Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and sing praises to him, all you peoples."[d] 12And again, Isaiah says,
"The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
the Gentiles will hope in him."[e]
13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
February 1, 2010
The Written Word
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READ: Romans 15:4-13
Whatever things were written before were written . . . that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. —Romans 15:4
Last January, ESPN television ran a compelling feature about Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who had just been named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. But the feature was not about football. Instead, it explained that for several years, when certain competitors Manning admired were retiring from the NFL, he took time to handwrite a note to them, congratulating them on their careers and their character.
Each recipient who was interviewed expressed deep appreciation that one of the greatest players of all time would do that. It was a great reminder of the power of the written word.
While a written note from a respected athlete such as Peyton Manning has much value, no human’s words can compare with the written Word we have from God in Scripture. Paul wrote, “Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). In the life-changing wisdom of the Bible, we have a personal message that tells us what God desires for us to be and what He desires to be for us. He has given us His written Word so we “might have hope” as we face the issues of life. Out of gratitude, let’s read God’s written message—and watch it change our lives. — Bill Crowder
Cling to the Bible; this jewel and treasure
Brings life eternal and saves fallen man;
Surely its value no mortal can measure;
Seek for its blessing, O soul, while you can. —Anon.
God speaks through His Word to those who listen with their heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
February 1, 2010
The Call of God
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READ:
Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel . . . —1 Corinthians 1:17
Paul states here that the call of God is to preach the gospel. But remember what Paul means by "the gospel," namely, the reality of redemption in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are inclined to make sanctification the goal of our preaching. Paul refers to personal experiences only by way of illustration, never as the end of the matter. We are not commissioned to preach salvation or sanctification— we are commissioned to lift up Jesus Christ (see John 12:32 ). It is an injustice to say that Jesus Christ labored in redemption to make me a saint. Jesus Christ labored in redemption to redeem the whole world and to place it perfectly whole and restored before the throne of God. The fact that we can experience redemption illustrates the power of its reality, but that experience is a byproduct and not the goal of redemption. If God were human, how sick and tired He would be of the constant requests we make for our salvation and for our sanctification. We burden His energies from morning till night asking for things for ourselves or for something from which we want to be delivered! When we finally touch the underlying foundation of the reality of the gospel of God, we will never bother Him anymore with little personal complaints.
The one passion of Paul’s life was to proclaim the gospel of God. He welcomed heartbreak, disillusionment, and tribulation for only one reason— these things kept him unmovable in his devotion to the gospel of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Stepped On But Still Precious - #6016
Monday, February 1, 2010
I'm holding a $20 bill in my hand. I don't get to do that too often, so this is a really special moment. If you were sitting here with me and I offered this $20 to you, would you take it? I think you would. Now you're going to have to use your imagination to picture what I'm about to do, but here goes. I am now crumpling that nice $20 bill and I am crushing it into a little wad. You still want this bill? If you were right here, would you still take it? It's all wadded up. OK, now I'm beating on this wadded up bill, and I am actually stomping on it with my foot. Now, if I still... (Boy, I get some exercise on this program. That's unusual.) Now, if I still offered to give you this $20, would you still take it? I mean, it's been beat up, it's crushed, stomped on? Well, of course you would.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stepped On But Still Precious."
And that's the point, isn't it? No matter how abused and beat up that $20 is, it's still worth just as much, and so are you.
I'll tell you, there's someone listening today who's been treated like I just treated this currency. You feel beat up, mishandled, treated badly, you've been crushed, and you've been trampled on. And when someone's been treated like that, they begin to believe a lie that they're not worth much. If they were, why would anyone treat them like that? When you think you're worthless, you start making choices based on that; throwing yourself away, settling for junk, doing anything for a little love. But the truth is, you're just like my beat-up $20 bill. No matter how you've been treated, you are still just as valuable. You're still precious because no one on earth gave you your worth - God did. So no one on earth can take it away.
We've got to go to God's Book to get the real truth about your value. And when we do, we find three worth-givers that can't be taken from you. First, your worth is based on your being made in God's image. In Genesis 1:27, the Bible says, "God created man in His own image." God made you as a reflection of Himself, so don't tell me you're not worth much!
Secondly, your worth is based on your being God's one-of-a-kind masterpiece. In Psalm 139:13, David says to God, "You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful." When you believe you're not worth much, you are insulting the One who designed you. From the moment that egg and sperm came together to start your life, you have been God's unique creation. If you don't believe it, look at your fingerprints. There's no one else on earth like you.
But most importantly, you are infinitely valuable because God paid for you with the life of His Son! Our word for today from the Word of God, Galatians 2:20 says, "I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." I want to invite you to walk with me right now up a hill near Jerusalem called Skull Hill. At the top, imagine there's this blood-stained cross. That's where God's one and only Son thought you were so precious that He poured out His life for every wrong thing you have ever done. Why? Because that's the only way you could ever be forgiven of your sins; the only way you could ever have the love relationship with Him you were made for; the only way you could be with Him in heaven forever.
The children are so right when they sing that little song "Jesus loves me, this I know." He really does love you. And you can never experience how much you're worth until you experience the One who gave you your worth. That's what Jesus has come to give you today. He stands ready to enter your life upon your invitation, to begin that love relationship He gave His life to give you. Today, why don't you reach out to Him; He's reaching for you. Say, "Jesus, I'm sorry for my sin. I'm not running my life anymore. I'm giving myself to You - the One who died for my sin. I am Yours." I've tried to briefly lay out how you get started with Jesus at our website. I want to invite you to check that out today. I think it will help and encourage you at this point. It's YoursForLife.net.
The life you were made for, the love you were made for, begins when you let Jesus Christ into your life because no one loves you like He does.
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