Max Lucado Daily: Saved by Faith
Saved by Faith
Posted: 09 Jun 2010 11:01 PM PDT
“The important thing is faith—the kind of faith that works through love.” Galatians 5:6
Symbols are important. Some of them, like communion and baptism, illustrate the cross of Christ. They symbolize salvation . . . but they do not impart salvation.
Putting your trust in a symbol is like claiming to be a sailor because you have a tattoo . . .
Our God . . . saves us, not because we trust in a symbol, but because we trust in a Savior.
Acts 1
To the Ends of the World
1-5Dear Theophilus, in the first volume of this book I wrote on everything that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he said good-bye to the apostles, the ones he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. After his death, he presented himself alive to them in many different settings over a period of forty days. In face-to-face meetings, he talked to them about things concerning the kingdom of God. As they met and ate meals together, he told them that they were on no account to leave Jerusalem but "must wait for what the Father promised: the promise you heard from me. John baptized in water; you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And soon."
6When they were together for the last time they asked, "Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?"
7-8He told them, "You don't get to know the time. Timing is the Father's business. What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world."
9-11These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud. They stood there, staring into the empty sky. Suddenly two men appeared—in white robes! They said, "You Galileans!—why do you just stand here looking up at an empty sky? This very Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as certainly—and mysteriously—as he left."
Returning to Jerusalem
12-13So they left the mountain called Olives and returned to Jerusalem. It was a little over half a mile. They went to the upper room they had been using as a meeting place:
Peter,
John,
James,
Andrew,
Philip,
Thomas,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
James, son of Alphaeus,
Simon the Zealot,
Judas, son of James.
14They agreed they were in this for good, completely together in prayer, the women included. Also Jesus' mother, Mary, and his brothers.
Replacing Judas
15-17During this time, Peter stood up in the company—there were about 120 of them in the room at the time—and said, "Friends, long ago the Holy Spirit spoke through David regarding Judas, who became the guide to those who arrested Jesus. That Scripture had to be fulfilled, and now has been. Judas was one of us and had his assigned place in this ministry.
18-20"As you know, he took the evil bribe money and bought a small farm. There he came to a bad end, rupturing his belly and spilling his guts. Everybody in Jerusalem knows this by now; they call the place Murder Meadow. It's exactly what we find written in the Psalms:
Let his farm become haunted
So no one can ever live there.
"And also what was written later:
Let someone else take over his post.
21-22"Judas must now be replaced. The replacement must come from the company of men who stayed together with us from the time Jesus was baptized by John up to the day of his ascension, designated along with us as a witness to his resurrection."
23-26They nominated two: Joseph Barsabbas, nicknamed Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, "You, O God, know every one of us inside and out. Make plain which of these two men you choose to take the place in this ministry and leadership that Judas threw away in order to go his own way." They then drew straws. Matthias won and was counted in with the eleven apostles.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Timothy 2:1-7
1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--
2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time.
7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle--I am telling the truth, I am not lying--and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.
Faithful Prayer
June 10, 2010 — by Cindy Hess Kasper
[Pray] for kings and all who are in authority. —1 Timothy 2:2
In June 2009, 95-year-old Emma Gray died. For over two decades, she had been the cleaning lady in a big house. Each night as she did her work, she prayed for blessings, wisdom, and safety for the man she worked for.
Although Emma worked in the same place for 24 years, the occupants of the residence changed every 4 years or so. Over the years, Emma offered her nightly prayers for six US Presidents: Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter.
Emma had her personal favorites, but she prayed for them all. She followed the instruction we read in 1 Timothy 2 to pray for “all who are in authority” (v.2). The verses go on to speak of how living “a quiet and peaceable life” and being a godly and reverent person “is good and acceptable in the sight of God . . . who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (vv.2-4).
Because God “hears the prayer of the righteous” (Prov. 15:29), who knows how He used Emma’s faithful prayers? In Proverbs 21:1, we read: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
Like Emma, we are to pray for our leaders. Is there someone God is calling you to pray for today?
No leader is beyond God’s grace
When righteous people pray;
For when God’s children intercede,
The Lord will have His way. —D. De Haan
To influence leaders for God, intercede with God for leaders.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 10, 2010
And After That What’s Next To Do?
. . . seek, and you will find . . . —Luke 11:9
Seek if you have not found. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss . . .” ( James 4:3 ). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, “you ask amiss”; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. “. . . seek, and you will find . . . .” Get to work— narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? “. . . seek, [focus,] and you will find . . . .”
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. . .” (Isaiah 55:1 ). Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent— so satisfied with your own experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what you have found, but you can cause him to have a desire for it.
“. . . knock, and it will be opened to you” ( Luke 11:9 ). “Draw near to God . . .” ( James 4:8 ). Knock— the door is closed, and your heartbeat races as you knock. “Cleanse your hands . . .” ( James 4:8 ). Knock a bit louder— you begin to find that you are dirty. “. . . purify your hearts . . .” ( James 4:8 ). It is becoming even more personal— you are desperate and serious now— you will do anything. “Lament . . . ” ( James 4:9 ). Have you ever lamented, expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is no thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are. “Humble yourselves . . . ” (James 4:10 ). It is a humbling experience to knock at God’s door— you have to knock with the crucified thief. “. . . to him who knocks it will be opened” ( Luke 11:10 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Together On the Outside, Broken On the Inside - #6109
Thursday, June 10, 2010
If you saw this three-month-old baby, you'd say, "Man, he looks like the picture of health." He's a handsome baby, a full head of dark hair, and he's doubled his weight since he was born, strong, taking in everything going on around him, and a smile that would melt your heart. But inside, it's a different story. He's already had two major heart surgeries in his short life and there's the prospect of more in the future.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Together On the Outside, Broken On the Inside."
That little guy is a picture of so many of us. He looks so healthy on the outside, but he's got major heart problems on the inside. Most of us have figured out how to look so together and so in control. But inside, where no one but God can see, it's a very different story.
Inside there's those secrets that no one knows; that darkness that we hope no one ever knows; those wounds that no one can heal; the guilt that no one can remove; the answers no one can give us; the fear and insecurity and frustration of not really being sure why we're here or where we're going.
In some strange way, those disturbances in your heart are actually the whispers of the God who made you. They're the hollow echoes in a heart that He was supposed to inhabit - a life that He was supposed to direct. The trouble that hides behind our image of strength is really telling us that someone's missing; that somehow we are away from the God who is the source of our life and of all that's missing inside us.
Of course, God isn't fooled by our cool exterior. The Bible says that though "man looks at the outside appearance...God looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). And here's what the Bible says about all our secrets: "He knows the secrets of the heart" (Psalm 44:21). And then it says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13). That should concern us, because in the Bible's words, "God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ" (Romans 2:16).
Here's what He says about the results of His spiritual EKG of your heart and mine: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure" (Jeremiah 17:9). That's why God can't live in the heart that was made for Him - our sin. But then, in Ezekiel 36, beginning with verse 26, our word for today from the Word of God, He gives us this stunning promise: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you...I will put My Spirit in you...you will be My people and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness."
That saving, that spiritual rescue from certain death, did not come cheap. It cost God the life of His Son. It took the sacrifice of the only perfect life there ever was to absorb God's punishment for all your sin. And it took His resurrection from the dead to open the way for you to live with God forever in heaven; forgiven, clean, and one of His kids forever. That is the amazing offer that Jesus makes to you today. What you feel in your heart is His knocking on the door of your heart. He's giving you this opportunity to open up your life to Him to be your personal Savior from your personal sin. This could be the day that He gives you a new heart spiritually; the day the God of the galaxies literally moves into you upon invitation. How do you do that? You tell Him, "God, I know I've sinned. I know You sent Your Son to pay for my sin. And I believe that Jesus is my only hope. So I am turning from the sin that has kept me from You, and I'm turning to Jesus to make me clean and to make me Yours."
I'm committed to helping you find Him for yourself like somebody helped me. And that's why I've prepared a brief and I think a simple explanation of just how to begin your personal relationship with God and to know that you have. You can listen to it or you could read it at our website; it's YoursForLife.net. Or you can call and get my little booklet Yours For Life. Call toll free at 877-741-1200 and ask for it.
You're just one heartfelt prayer away from God's miracle in your heart. You began your day away from Him. You can go to sleep tonight with Him in your heart.