Max Lucado Daily: You Have Intrinsic Value
You Have Intrinsic Value
Posted: 01 Dec 2010 10:01 PM PST
With your very own hands you formed me; now breath your wisdom over me. Psalm 119:73, The Message
Listen closely. Jesus’ love does not depend upon what we do for him. Not at all. In the eyes of the King, you have value simply because you are. You don’t have to look nice or perform well. Your value is inborn.
You are valuable…not because of what you do or what you have done, but simply because you are. Remember that!
Genesis 33
Jacob Meets Esau
1 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. 2 He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. 3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. 5 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked.
Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.”
6 Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down. 7 Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.
8 Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?”
“To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said.
9 But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”
10 “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. 11 Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it.
12 Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.”
13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. 14 So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”
15 Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.”
“But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.”
16 So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. 17 Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth.
18 After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. 19 For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. 20 There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Acts 3:17-26
Acts 3:17-26 (NIV)Ac 17 "Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus. 21 He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.' 24 "Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.' 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."
Times Of Refreshing
December 2, 2010 — by Dennis Fisher
Repent . . . , so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. —Acts 3:19
What do you find most refreshing? A cold drink on a hot day? An afternoon nap? Listening to praise and worship music?
The biblical theme of refreshing has a variety of physical and spiritual meanings. In Scripture we read of refreshment by resting on the Sabbath (Ex. 23:12), with cool water after physical activity (Judg. 15:18-19), by soothing music (1 Sam. 16:23), and with encouraging fellowship (2 Tim. 1:16).
The apostle Peter describes a time of spiritual refreshment that took place on the Day of Pentecost. He exhorted his listeners to repent and respond to the gospel “that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). The apostle’s statement was especially meaningful to the Jewish audience with its reference to the millennium when Messiah would rule. But the good news of spiritual life would also be extended to the Gentiles (Acts 10).
Even now as believers we can experience a time of refreshing by quieting our hearts in a devotional time of prayer and Bible reading. When we spend time alone with the Lord, we can experience His peace and joy which renew us in spirit. Aren’t you thankful for these daily times of spiritual refreshment?
A Prayer: Lord, I need my spirit refreshed and
renewed today. Speak to me through Your Word that I
might hear Your heart, and help me to share my heart
with You in prayer. Amen.
When we draw near to God, our minds are refreshed and our strength is renewed.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 2nd, 2010, 2010
Christian Perfection
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect . . . —Philippians 3:12
It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, “It could never be God’s will for me to be sick”? If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn’t He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick.
Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary— that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God’s standard for your life. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Jesus Where You Live - #6234
Thursday, December 2, 2010
It had been one of the architectural glories of a historic city in England; a majestic cathedral, now deeply scarred by the relentless German bombings of World War II. Slowly but surely, it was being restored, except for the statue that had welcomed people to the cathedral for so many years. It was actually a statue of Jesus with outstretched hands. The inscription on its base was a compelling invitation, "Come unto Me." Sadly, the statue had been destroyed by the bombing. A group of German medical students decided that they would make it their mission to rebuild that statue. Piece by piece, it began to come together. But restoring the hands? Well, that one was was hopeless. They'd been smashed to powder. What were the rebuilders to do? They ended up having a great idea. The statue of Jesus now stands without hands and an inscription that simply says, "Christ has no hands but ours."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Jesus Where You Live."
It's an amazing perspective to have on what we do every day, "I am the hands of Jesus in this place, doing what He would do." At work - the hands of Jesus. At home, I'm the hands of Jesus. In your neighborhood, your class, your organization - the hands of Jesus. Now that is a purpose-driven life!
In our word for today from the Word of God, there's a wonderful picture of our part in the work that Jesus wants to do in people's lives. It's in Mark 6 , beginning with verse 37; the story of the feeding of the five thousand. That's obviously something only Jesus could have done with five loaves of bread and two fish. But it's amazing how much He uses the hands of His disciples to deliver what He's making. When the disciples suggested that Jesus send the multitudes away because they had no way to feed them, Jesus shocked them by saying, "You give them something to eat." As a result, they found the boy with the loaves and fish.
The Bible goes on to say, "Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups." Then, after Jesus gave thanks for the loaves and fish, "He gave them to His disciples to set before the people." It looked like the miracle was coming from the disciples! Finally, "the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish." Now, what we see in this miracle is the modus operandi of Jesus. He does things only He can do for people, but He delivers them through His disciples. Today, that's you and me. And the people you see each day often need something from Jesus, whether they realize it or not. They need to feel His love, so Jesus prompts you to show them His love in some act of kindness, or caring, or rescue. He sends His encouragement through you to discouraged people. He may send His financial provision through what He's given you to give, some gift that will show how much He cares. Every day, He wants you to leave with your "needometer" on and finely tuned - going through your day, not just to survive or to get your "to do" list done, but to look for needs and to deliver gifts from Him. That's part of the daily adventure life can be when you belong to Christ and when you set out to represent Him each new day.
Ultimately, you are the hands of Jesus to deliver His greatest gift of all - the Good News of the rescue He made possible through His cross. When Paul reveals that we are "Christ's ambassadors" in our personal world, he said it was "as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you, on Christ's behalf: 'Be reconciled to God'" (2 Corinthians 5:20 ). It's almost as if we approach each life-situation with this mindset: "Jesus couldn't be here today, so He's sent me to say what He would say and do what He would do."
When you're all wrapped up in yourself and your needs, your hands will always be full of your stuff. But when you step up to serve Jesus each day, to continue His work in your world, then your hands will be giving away what He has to give because what He started, He's left with us to carry on. In so many lives you know, Christ has no hands but your hands.
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