Max Lucado Daily: Five Stones
Five Stones
Posted: 09 May 2010 11:01 PM PDT
“David took [the armor] all off. He took his stick in his hand and chose five smooth stones from a stream.” 1 Samuel 17:39-40
The king tried to give David some equipment. “What do you want, boy? Shield? Sword? . . .”
David had something else in mind. Five smooth stones and an ordinary leather sling.
The soldiers gasped. Saul sighed. Goliath jeered. David swung. And God made his point. “Anyone who underestimates what God can do with the ordinary has rocks in his head.”
Mark 2
A Paraplegic
1-5 After a few days, Jesus returned to Capernaum, and word got around that he was back home. A crowd gathered, jamming the entrance so no one could get in or out. He was teaching the Word. They brought a paraplegic to him, carried by four men. When they weren't able to get in because of the crowd, they removed part of the roof and lowered the paraplegic on his stretcher. Impressed by their bold belief, Jesus said to the paraplegic, "Son, I forgive your sins."
6-7Some religion scholars sitting there started whispering among themselves, "He can't talk that way! That's blasphemy! God and only God can forgive sins."
8-12Jesus knew right away what they were thinking, and said, "Why are you so skeptical? Which is simpler: to say to the paraplegic, 'I forgive your sins,' or say, 'Get up, take your stretcher, and start walking'? Well, just so it's clear that I'm the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both . . ." (he looked now at the paraplegic), "Get up. Pick up your stretcher and go home." And the man did it—got up, grabbed his stretcher, and walked out, with everyone there watching him. They rubbed their eyes, incredulous—and then praised God, saying, "We've never seen anything like this!"
The Tax Collector
13-14Then Jesus went again to walk alongside the lake. Again a crowd came to him, and he taught them. Strolling along, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, at his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, "Come along with me." He came.
15-16Later Jesus and his disciples were at home having supper with a collection of disreputable guests. Unlikely as it seems, more than a few of them had become followers. The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: "What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the riffraff?"
17Jesus, overhearing, shot back, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I'm here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit."
Feasting or Fasting?
18The disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees made a practice of fasting. Some people confronted Jesus: "Why do the followers of John and the Pharisees take on the discipline of fasting, but your followers don't?"
19-20Jesus said, "When you're celebrating a wedding, you don't skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to pull in your belt, but not now. As long as the bride and groom are with you, you have a good time. No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come!"
21-22He went on, "No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don't put your wine in cracked bottles."
23-24One Sabbath day he was walking through a field of ripe grain. As his disciples made a path, they pulled off heads of grain. The Pharisees told on them to Jesus: "Look, your disciples are breaking Sabbath rules!"
25-28Jesus said, "Really? Haven't you ever read what David did when he was hungry, along with those who were with him? How he entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, with the Chief Priest Abiathar right there watching—holy bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat—and handed it out to his companions?" Then Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren't made to serve the Sabbath. The Son of Man is no lackey to the Sabbath. He's in charge!"
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Exodus 25:1-9
1 The Lord said to Moses,
2 "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.
3 These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze;
4 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair;
5 ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood;
6 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;
7 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
8 "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.
9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.
A Little Piece Of Heaven
May 10, 2010 — by Marvin Williams
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? —1 Corinthians 3:16
A couple of weeks ago my wife met a woman who needed a ride. She sensed that this could be from God, so she agreed to take her to her destination. During the ride, the woman revealed to my wife that she was a believer but she struggled with drug addiction. My wife listened to and talked with this hurting woman. As she gave her hope for a better tomorrow, I believe that the woman experienced in some small way a little piece of heaven on earth.
When God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle according to His specifications, it was so that God’s people would sense His presence. I like to think of it as a little piece of heaven on earth. The temple was a physical example of God’s presence on earth also (1 Kings 5–8). The purpose of these holy places was for God to dwell among His people. This was God’s plan when Jesus, the perfect temple, “tabernacled” among us (John 1:14).
When Jesus ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell His followers (John 14:16-17), so that we would be God’s tabernacles and temples in the world (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19). As God’s representatives of His presence, let’s find ways to bring the peace and hope of heaven to others on earth.
For Further Thought
Ask God to use you in the lives of others and to show you some ways to apply this devotional at work, in your home, and in your neighborhood.
A Christian who is willing to do little things for others can do great things for the Lord.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 10, 2010
Take the Initiative
. . . add to your faith virtue . . . —2 Peter 1:5
Add means that we have to do something. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do. We cannot save nor sanctify ourselves— God does that. But God will not give us good habits or character, and He will not force us to walk correctly before Him. We have to do all that ourselves. We must “work out” our “own salvation” which God has worked in us ( Philippians 2:12 ). Add means that we must get into the habit of doing things, and in the initial stages that is difficult. To take the initiative is to make a beginning— to instruct yourself in the way you must go.
Beware of the tendency to ask the way when you know it perfectly well. Take the initiative— stop hesitating— take the first step. Be determined to act immediately in faith on what God says to you when He speaks, and never reconsider or change your initial decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do something, you are being careless, spurning the grace in which you stand. Take the initiative yourself, make a decision of your will right now, and make it impossible to go back. Burn your bridges behind you, saying, “I will write that letter,” or “I will pay that debt”; and then do it! Make it irrevocable.
We have to get into the habit of carefully listening to God about everything, forming the habit of finding out what He says and heeding it. If, when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, we will know that the habit has been formed in us. We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we have not yet been.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
No Such Thing as Getting Away With it - #6086
Monday, May 10, 2010
She's one of those ladies with an infectious laugh and a lot of mischief in her eyes. Recently, she painted a word picture of an incident from her childhood that left us all really laughing. She was three, her brother was four - the youngest of 11 children. One day the two youngsters were watching ice skaters on TV, and that inspired her brother to suggest that they try to ice skate in the kitchen by spreading butter across the entire kitchen floor. And that's what they did - laughing all the way. They were having a ball, sliding across that floor like future Olympians, until Mom walked in. They "skated" over to the corner farthest from the door as their mother headed toward them with fire in her eyes. "Ain't Momma happy, ain't nobody happy!" She didn't have her skates on. She fell to the floor. The kids laughed, and Mom couldn't get to them to punish them! Wrong. She went out and got a bucket of hot water and started cleaning the butter off the kitchen floor. She began at the kitchen door and steadily worked her way to the corner where two children cowered; their entire short lives were flashing before them. There was no escape.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Such Thing as Getting Away With it."
Two little kids believing they would get away with what they had done. Sure they would escape the consequences. Wrong on both counts. That is a mistaken calculation that a lot of us grown-up kids have made. We've done some things that go against how God has told us to live, and it seems like we're getting away with it. We haven't been caught.
But make no mistake about it: you are heading for a serious day of reckoning. Judgment delayed is not judgment cancelled. And the longer you "get away with it," the worse the consequences are going to be. The reality about sin's consequences is laid out starkly in Galatians 6:7, our word for today from the Word of God. "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." The painful harvest of your sin may not come immediately, but it will come. There's no such thing as getting away with sin. God puts it this way, "Be sure that your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23).
There's really no such thing as "secret sin." If God knows, it's no secret. If God knows, you're caught. And you can be sure God knows, and He loves you too much to let you ultimately get away with rebellion against Him, with things that eat away your soul that slowly destroy you. And the best time to turn around is right now, because the bill is getting higher every day. In God's words, "because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath" (Romans 2:5).
You don't want to die with your sin unforgiven. The Bible says, "Nothing impure will ever enter" God's heaven... "but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:27). Your name is entered in that book of life the moment that you bring all the sin of your life to the Man who died for that sin, and that's Jesus. He died on the cross to take all the punishment you deserve for that sin, so you would never have to. When you keep your inevitable appointment with a holy God, all that's going to matter is if your sins have been forgiven. And they can only be forgiven if you've put your total trust in Jesus as your personal Savior from your personal sin. You need your name in that book of life, and only Jesus can write it there.
With eternity just one heartbeat away, Jesus is extending His nail-scarred hand to you this very day. You need to grab His hand. You can do that by telling Him with all your heart, "Jesus, I acknowledge my sin. I want to turn from my sin. My only hope is Your death for my sin. I'm all Yours, beginning today." There's a simple explanation of just how to get started with Jesus at our website. I hope you'll check it out today. The website is YoursForLife.net. Or, if you'd like, I'll send you my little booklet called Yours For Life. You can call and ask us for it toll free at 877-741-1200.
That day He died, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them." Today He stands ready to say it for you. And your sins will be gone from God's book forever.
