Max Lucado Daily: Three Proclamations
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Three Proclamations
Posted: 11 Jan 2010 10:01 PM PST
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you.” Romans 15:7 NIV
Grace makes three proclamations.
Dealing with my sins is God responsibility. I repent, I confess, but only God can forgive. (And he does.) . . .
Dealing with my neighbor is God’s responsibility. I must speak; I must pray. But only God can convince. (And he does.) . . .
God loves me and makes me his child. God loves my neighbor and makes him my brother.
Song of Solomon 1
1 Solomon's Song of Songs.
Beloved [a]
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
for your love is more delightful than wine.
3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
your name is like perfume poured out.
No wonder the maidens love you!
4 Take me away with you—let us hurry!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.
Friends
We rejoice and delight in you [b] ;
we will praise your love more than wine.
Beloved
How right they are to adore you!
5 Dark am I, yet lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
dark like the tents of Kedar,
like the tent curtains of Solomon. [c]
6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
because I am darkened by the sun.
My mother's sons were angry with me
and made me take care of the vineyards;
my own vineyard I have neglected.
7 Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock
and where you rest your sheep at midday.
Why should I be like a veiled woman
beside the flocks of your friends?
Friends
8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women,
follow the tracks of the sheep
and graze your young goats
by the tents of the shepherds.
Lover
9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare
harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,
your neck with strings of jewels.
11 We will make you earrings of gold,
studded with silver.
Beloved
12 While the king was at his table,
my perfume spread its fragrance.
13 My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh
resting between my breasts.
14 My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
from the vineyards of En Gedi.
Lover
15 How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes are doves.
Beloved
16 How handsome you are, my lover!
Oh, how charming!
And our bed is verdant.
Lover
17 The beams of our house are cedars;
our rafters are firs.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
January 12, 2010
Finishers
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READ: 2 Timothy 4:1-8
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. —2 Timothy 4:7
When I was a kid, I dreamed of becoming a black belt in karate. Several years ago, I began training and came close to fulfilling that goal. However, two belts away from my goal, I quit. There were two reasons—my teacher changed styles in the middle of my training, and I got so busy that I could not devote adequate time for training.
Almost every week, I am nagged by the thought that God wants me to be a finisher in all aspects of my life—but especially in my service for Him.
As Paul spoke of the conclusion of his life, he did not have any nagging thoughts of unfinished business about his ministry. In this final farewell (2?Tim. 4:7), Paul used imagery-rich words to talk about finishing his service for Christ. He described his life and ministry in terms of a fight: “I have fought the good fight.” The fight was good because he had engaged in it for God and the gospel. Then he used the imagery of a race as synonymous with his ministry: “I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Paul affirmed that by God’s grace he had finished all that God had given him to do.
As followers of Jesus, let us strive to be finishers, persevering in our service for Jesus Christ. — Marvin Williams
For every follower of Christ
There is a race to run;
And when we cross the finish line,
We’ll be with Christ, God’s Son. —Fitzhugh
Run the race with eternity in view.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 12, 2010
Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (1)
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READ:
When they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples —Mark 4:34
Our Solitude with Him. Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We don’t even recognize the envy, laziness, or pride within us when we see it. But Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look inwardly with courage?
We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we will never say, "Oh, I’m so unworthy." We will understand that this goes without saying. But as long as there is any doubt that we are unworthy, God will continue to close us in until He gets us alone. Whenever there is any element of pride or conceit remaining, Jesus can’t teach us anything. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment we feel when our intellectual pride is wounded. He will reveal numerous misplaced affections or desires— things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. Many things are shown to us, often without effect. But when God gets us alone over them, they will be clear.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Happy Delays - #6002
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
I was at the end of seven weeks of ministry travel and, believe me, I was really anxious to be home. Delays are just a part of air travel these days and I'm used to them, and I'm usually patient with them. But when they announced that the very last leg of my journey home was going to be significantly delayed, that was a test of my patience. Every half hour, they would tell us that they would get an update in another half hour. I knew the plane was there...the crew was there...all the passengers were sure there, but the flight just kept getting postponed. My homing instinct was going crazy.
When we were finally boarded and about to take off, the pilot explained what had been taking so long. He said, "Just before we were going to board you, our mechanics found a problem with two of our tires in a routine maintenance check. We had to replace both tires." Hmm...see, I had been on a plane that blew a tire on takeoff - a potentially life-threatening situation. So all of a sudden I was so grateful for the delay that had been so frustrating.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Happy Delays."
Now, there was a very good reason for that particular airline delay. I have to tell you that the airlines don't always have a good reason for their delays. God always does.
The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk had been waiting a long time, by his reckoning, for God to come through with an answer to his impassioned prayers. Our word for today from the Word of God is the word that God gave to his prophet in that situation and maybe to you right now. In Habakkuk 2:3, the Lord says, "The revelation awaits an appointed time...Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."
Habakkuk, like us, thought God was already delaying his answer. But God was saying, "It's not time until it's My time, Habakkuk. That's the right time. And it won't be a minute late when it's time. So cooleth your jets even if your flight is delayed considerably longer. It will certainly come, and it will come right on time."
That day when our flight was delayed due to replacing some faulty tires, I couldn't help but reflect on the ways of God over and over in my life. How often He has seemed to be taking forever, delaying the answer I was praying for. But in every situation, without exception, there was always a good reason for what seemed like a delay. And, like those mechanics whose work delayed my flight, God is always taking time to make it better for us. He's getting a perfect answer ready for you...He's getting you ready for the answer...He's doing it in the time and the way that will most amaze you and those around you...and in the time and the way that will best help you become more like His Son, Jesus.
I told the staff member who was traveling with me the day of the tire delays, "Do you know what we were just experiencing? That is the answer to all those prayers for our safety that people say they pray for us every day." They were praying, and God responded by getting bad tires changed on our plane.
I can't begin to see all the incredible purposes of God and the unexplainable ways of God, but I can begin to settle down and trust that any delay - that every delay is for my good and for His glory. And when I finally do see some of His reasons for the delay, I will be so grateful that He took His time!