Max Lucado Daily: Such Love
Such Love
Posted: 28 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PDT
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34, NIV
How Jesus, with a body wracked with pain, eyes blinded by his own blood, and lungs yearning for air, could speak on behalf of some heartless thugs is beyond my comprehension. Never, never have I seen such love. If ever a person deserved a shot at revenge, Jesus did. But he didn’t take it. Instead he died for them. How could he do it? I don’t know. But I do know that all of a sudden my wounds seem very painless. My grudges and hard feelings are suddenly childish.
Ezekiel 3
Warn These People
1 He told me, "Son of man, eat what you see. Eat this book. Then go and speak to the family of Israel." 2-3 As I opened my mouth, he gave me the scroll to eat, saying, "Son of man, eat this book that I am giving you. Make a full meal of it!" So I ate it. It tasted so good—just like honey.
4-6 Then he told me, "Son of man, go to the family of Israel and speak my Message. Look, I'm not sending you to a people who speak a hard-to-learn language with words you can hardly pronounce. If I had sent you to such people, their ears would have perked up and they would have listened immediately.
7-9 "But it won't work that way with the family of Israel. They won't listen to you because they won't listen to me. They are, as I said, a hard case, hardened in their sin. But I'll make you as hard in your way as they are in theirs. I'll make your face as hard as rock, harder than granite. Don't let them intimidate you. Don't be afraid of them, even though they're a bunch of rebels."
10-11 Then he said, "Son of man, get all these words that I'm giving you inside you. Listen to them obediently. Make them your own. And now go. Go to the exiles, your people, and speak. Tell them, 'This is the Message of God, the Master.' Speak your piece, whether they listen or not."
12-13 Then the Spirit picked me up. Behind me I heard a great commotion—"Blessed be the Glory of God in his Sanctuary!"—the wings of the living creatures beating against each other, the whirling wheels, the rumble of a great earthquake.
14-15 The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I went bitterly and angrily. I didn't want to go. But God had me in his grip. I arrived among the exiles who lived near the Kebar River at Tel Aviv. I came to where they were living and sat there for seven days, appalled.
16 At the end of the seven days, I received this Message from God:
17-19 "Son of man, I've made you a watchman for the family of Israel. Whenever you hear me say something, warn them for me. If I say to the wicked, 'You are going to die,' and you don't sound the alarm warning them that it's a matter of life or death, they will die and it will be your fault. I'll hold you responsible. But if you warn the wicked and they keep right on sinning anyway, they'll most certainly die for their sin, but you won't die. You'll have saved your life.
20-21 "And if the righteous turn back from living righteously and take up with evil when I step in and put them in a hard place, they'll die. If you haven't warned them, they'll die because of their sins, and none of the right things they've done will count for anything—and I'll hold you responsible. But if you warn these righteous people not to sin and they listen to you, they'll live because they took the warning—and again, you'll have saved your life."
22 God grabbed me by the shoulder and said, "Get up. Go out on the plain. I want to talk with you."
23 So I got up and went out on the plain. I couldn't believe my eyes: the Glory of God! Right there! It was like the Glory I had seen at the Kebar River. I fell to the ground, prostrate.
24-26 Then the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. He said, "Go home and shut the door behind you." And then something odd: "Son of man: They'll tie you hand and foot with ropes so you can't leave the house. I'll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so you won't be able to talk and tell the people what they're doing wrong, even though they are a bunch of rebels.
27 "But then when the time is ripe, I'll free your tongue and you'll say, 'This is what God, the Master, says:...' From then on it's up to them. They can listen or not listen, whichever they like. They are a bunch of rebels!"
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Psalm 105
1-6 Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name!
Tell everyone you meet what he has done!
Sing him songs, belt out hymns,
translate his wonders into music!
Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs,
you who seek God. Live a happy life!
Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works;
be alert for signs of his presence.
Remember the world of wonders he has made,
his miracles, and the verdicts he's rendered—
O seed of Abraham, his servant,
O child of Jacob, his chosen.
March 29, 2010
Thanks, God!
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READ: Psalm 105:1-5
Oh, give thanks to the Lord! —Psalm 105:1
At RBC Ministries, our human resources team has developed an effective and encouraging program that centers around gratefulness.
When an employee notices something good another employee does here at the office, he or she can take a special “Thank You” card provided by human resources and write a note of appreciation. It’s a good feeling to walk into your office and find one of those cards on your desk.
Isn’t it great to be thanked for a job well done? Doesn’t a good, hearty “thank you” brighten your day? And doesn’t it make your relationships a little more special—just to know that your work is not being taken for granted?
Everybody loves to be thanked. Even God. Our heavenly Father finds pleasure in our expression of thanks to Him. It’s His will that we tell Him “Thank You.” “Give thanks in all circumstances,” Paul said, “for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18 niv). The writer of Hebrews took it a step further by saying, “Let us be thankful, and so worship God” (12:28 niv).
Keep looking for ways to improve your relationship with God. Don’t forget what may be the most basic way to worship and honor Him: Tell Him “Thanks.” — Dave Branon
Then let us adore and give Him His right,
All glory and power, all wisdom and might,
All honor and blessing, with angels above,
And thanks never ceasing for infinite love. —Wesley
The worship most acceptable to God comes from a thankful heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 29, 2010
Our Lord’s Surprise Visits
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READ:
You also be ready . . . —Luke 12:40
A Christian worker’s greatest need is a readiness to face Jesus Christ at any and every turn. This is not easy, no matter what our experience has been. This battle is not against sin, difficulties, or circumstances, but against being so absorbed in our service to Jesus Christ that we are not ready to face Jesus Himself at every turn. The greatest need is not facing our beliefs or doctrines, or even facing the question of whether or not we are of any use to Him, but the need is to face Him.
Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical situations. The only way a servant can remain true to God is to be ready for the Lord’s surprise visits. This readiness will not be brought about by service, but through intense spiritual reality, expecting Jesus Christ at every turn. This sense of expectation will give our life the attitude of childlike wonder He wants it to have. If we are going to be ready for Jesus Christ, we have to stop being religious. In other words, we must stop using religion as if it were some kind of a lofty lifestyle-we must be spiritually real.
If you are avoiding the call of the religious thinking of today’s world, and instead are "looking unto Jesus" ( Hebrews 12:2 ), setting your heart on what He wants, and thinking His thoughts, you will be considered impractical and a daydreamer. But when He suddenly appears in the work of the heat of the day, you will be the only one who is ready. You should trust no one, and even ignore the finest saint on earth if he blocks your sight of Jesus Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Hour Before the Sunrise - #6056
Monday, March 29, 2010
If you've ever had to make a marathon drive over a long distance, or if you just wanted to squeeze every possible hour out of your vacation, you know what it's like to drive all night probably. If you're a long-haul truck driver, pushing through the night, that could well be a way of life for you. For me, that last hour or two before dawn, oh, man, that's the toughest. That's when you turn on the most obnoxious radio station you can find and you blast it. That's when you start doing aerobic workouts behind the wheel. It's when you roll down the window in spite of the 30-below wind chill and hurricane force winds. What makes the last hours of the night particularly challenging is the truth of that old cliché, "It's always darkest before the dawn." It usually is the darkest time, right when the night is seeming the very longest. Then suddenly, you start to see that glow on the horizon. The glow gets steadily brighter, and it starts radiating light across more and more of the dark sky. And then, there it is - the sunrise! Hallelujah, the long night is over! Just when it felt like it was never going to end!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Hour Before the Sunrise."
That's what time it might be in your life right now. It's been a long drive - a long night. It feels as if it's been dark forever, doesn't it? In fact, it just got even darker. This is as bad as it's ever been. You're fighting hard to keep driving, especially when you feel like just giving up on the trip. But God wants to put a little glow in your dark sky right now. If it's getting darker, that means sunrise is coming soon! God has given you His word on this promise: "Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).
It's no secret that I like pictures of spiritual truth. And Jesus gives us a wonderful real-life picture of this "darkest before the dawn" truth in our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 5, beginning with verse 4. Simon, the veteran fisherman, has been unsuccessful in his fishing expedition on the Sea of Galilee. He's back in port, cleaning his nets when Jesus asks to use his boat as a pulpit. Then, Jesus "said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch.' Simon answered, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.'"
It may be daytime, but it's dark time for Simon. He's done everything that his great ability and his vast experience know how to do in order to bring in a catch. And all his efforts to succeed, to change the situation have failed. Sound familiar at all? He is, in fact, accepting failure and, at least for the time being, giving up. It's dark. But the light is just about to dawn. The story concludes: "When they had done so (let down the nets, that is), they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break." The most amazing catch of Simon's life! Now, here's the principle of how Jesus works. A night of failure sets the stage for a day of fantastic results if you don't give up; if you keep fighting under the orders of Captain Jesus. So, as Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap if we do not give up."
God uses the long dark night to accomplish some important spiritual changes. He wants us to have those times when no human answers, no human consolation, no human heroes; no human efforts can change things. He's bringing you to the end of what you can do; the end of anything you can even think of doing. Because that's the beginning of the things only God can do. First, He has to get us out of the way.