Max Lucado Daily: A Picture of the Spirit
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A Picture of the Spirit
Posted: 27 Jan 2010 10:01 PM PST
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth.” John 16:13
Envision a father helping his son learn to ride a bicycle, and you will have a partial picture of the Holy Spirit. The father stays at the son’s side. He pushes the bike and steadies it if the boy starts to tumble. The Spirit does that for us; he stays our step and strengthens our stride. Unlike the father, however, he never leaves. He is with us to the end of the age.
Proverbs 1
Prologue: Purpose and Theme
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for attaining wisdom and discipline;
for understanding words of insight;
3 for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,
doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young-
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance-
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools [a] despise wisdom and discipline.
Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom
Warning Against Enticement
8 Listen, my son, to your father's instruction
and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
9 They will be a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
do not give in to them.
11 If they say, "Come along with us;
let's lie in wait for someone's blood,
let's waylay some harmless soul;
12 let's swallow them alive, like the grave, [b]
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot with us,
and we will share a common purse"-
15 my son, do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;
16 for their feet rush into sin,
they are swift to shed blood.
17 How useless to spread a net
in full view of all the birds!
18 These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they waylay only themselves!
19 Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the lives of those who get it.
Warning Against Rejecting Wisdom
20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street,
she raises her voice in the public squares;
21 at the head of the noisy streets [c] she cries out,
in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:
22 "How long will you simple ones [d] love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?
23 If you had responded to my rebuke,
I would have poured out my heart to you
and made my thoughts known to you.
24 But since you rejected me when I called
and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,
25 since you ignored all my advice
and would not accept my rebuke,
26 I in turn will laugh at your disaster;
I will mock when calamity overtakes you-
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
28 "Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me.
29 Since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the LORD,
30 since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
January 28, 2010
Quiet Time With God
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READ: Psalm 23
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. —Psalm 23:2
The word connected captures our contemporary experience of life. Many people rarely go anywhere without a cell phone, iPod, laptop, or pager. We have become accessible 24 hours a day. Some psychologists see this craving to stay connected as an addiction. Yet a growing number of people are deliberately limiting their use of technology. Being a “tech-no” is their way of preserving times of quiet, while limiting the flow of information into their lives.
Many followers of Christ find that a daily time of Bible reading and prayer is essential in their walk of faith. This “quiet time” is a disconnection from external distractions in order to connect with God. The “green pastures” and “still waters” of Psalm 23:2 are more than an idyllic country scene. They speak of our communion with God whereby He restores our souls and leads us in His paths (v.3).
All of us can make time to meet with God, but do we? In Robert Foster’s booklet “7 Minutes With God,” he suggests a way to begin: Start with a brief prayer for guidance, then read the Bible for a few minutes, and close with a short time of prayer that includes adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication for others. It’s vital to take time today to connect with the Lord, who is our life. — David C. McCasland
We need to set aside the time
To read God’s Word and pray,
And listen for the Spirit’s voice
To guide us in His way. —Sper
Time spent with God is time well spent.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 28, 2010
How Could Someone So Persecute Jesus!
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READ:
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? —Acts 26:14
Are you determined to have your own way in living for God? We will never be free from this trap until we are brought into the experience of the baptism of "the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11). Stubbornness and self-will will always stab Jesus Christ. It may hurt no one else, but it wounds His Spirit. Whenever we are obstinate and self-willed and set on our own ambitions, we are hurting Jesus. Every time we stand on our own rights and insist that this is what we intend to do, we are persecuting Him. Whenever we rely on self-respect, we systematically disturb and grieve His Spirit. And when we finally understand that it is Jesus we have been persecuting all this time, it is the most crushing revelation ever.
Is the Word of God tremendously penetrating and sharp in me as I hand it on to you, or does my life betray the things I profess to teach? I may teach sanctification and yet exhibit the spirit of Satan, the very spirit that persecutes Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Jesus is conscious of only one thing— a perfect oneness with the Father. And He tells us, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29 ). All I do should be based on a perfect oneness with Him, not on a self-willed determination to be godly. This will mean that others may use me, go around me, or completely ignore me, but if I will submit to it for His sake, I will prevent Jesus Christ from being persecuted.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Cancer That Always Kills - #6014
Thursday, January 28, 2010
My friend called me not long ago to pray for his Mom. During some medical tests, the doctor discovered something he didn't like - a large growth in her stomach. My friend said, "They haven't used the 'C' word yet. They wanted to take some more tests first." Now they've said the "C" word; the word all of us dread hearing from a doctor. You know - cancer. We know what that word can mean.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Cancer That Always Kills."
Anchorman Peter Jennings from ABC died a few years ago from cancer of the lung. Many women die from cancer of the breast; many men from cancer in their prostate. Everyone dies from cancer of the soul unless they find the miracle cure.
Thankfully, there are many modern medical tools with which people have successfully battled physical cancer and escaped it being fatal. But when it comes to cancer of the soul - which, according to the Bible, afflicts 100% of the human race - it always kills unless you find the miracle cure, and there is only one.
Let's not beat around the bush. Our Creator has one word for the cancer that infects every soul, including your soul - my soul. It's called sin: the willful control of our own lives. And that causes us to ignore how God wants us to live and to choose what we want instead. It is spiritual rebellion. It's spiritual defiance. And, as the Bible says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Translation: we've done it our way and there's no way we're going to see God in heaven someday. No way we can come up with, that is.
In James 1:15, God shows us the inevitable terminal consequences of all the wrong things we've done: "After desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." The death that sin leads to is more than just your heart stopping for good. It's missing God's love and purpose and peace every day of your life on earth, and then being forever separated from Him and His heaven after we die. It is spiritual death from spiritual cancer.
Physical cancer is something you can't see, but it slowly kills you. It's inside...it's invisible...it's deadly. So is the soul cancer of sin. In Ezekiel 18, beginning with verse 20, our word for today from the Word of God, it says: "The soul who sins will surely die...Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die?" There's only one way to rid yourself of all your offenses against God - through the miracle cure purchased with the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible says "everyone who believes in Him (Jesus) receives forgiveness of sins through His name" (Acts 10:43). Jesus went through the agony of being separated from God when He died on the cross so you would never have to be separated from Him.
The moment you reach out to Jesus, and in total trust take the cure that He died to give you, your hell is cancelled. Your sins are erased from God's book as if you'd never done them. Your cancer is cured. In the words of John 5:24, you have literally "crossed over from death to life."
This could be the day when you cross over. It happens when you tell Jesus, "I'm Yours, Lord. Your death for my sin is my only hope of being forgiven. It's my only hope of knowing God; of going to heaven. I surrender the steering wheel of my life this very day. And Jesus, from now on, it's all about You."
Are you ready to take what Jesus died to give you? If you are, tell Him that right now. And let me encourage you to go to our website as early as you can today. There you'll find laid out in simple words the steps to beginning your own personal relationship with God that will last forever. It's YoursForLife.net. Don't risk another day without Him.
This is your day to cross over from death to life!