Max Lucado Daily: He Made His Point
He Made His Point
Posted: 14 Jun 2010 11:01 PM PDT
“I have made known to you everything I heard from my Father.” John 15:15
We learn brevity from Jesus. His greatest sermon can be read in eight minutes (Matthew 5-7). . .He summarized prayer in five phrases (Matthew 6:9-13). He silenced accusers with one challenge (John 8:7). He rescued a soul with one sentence (Luke 23:43). He summarized the Law in three verses (Mark 12:29-31), and he reduced all his teaching to one command (John 15:12).
He made his point and went home.
Acts 9
The Blinding of Saul
1-2 All this time Saul was breathing down the necks of the Master's disciples, out for the kill. He went to the Chief Priest and got arrest warrants to take to the meeting places in Damascus so that if he found anyone there belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he could arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem.
3-4He set off. When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice: "Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?"
5-6He said, "Who are you, Master?"
"I am Jesus, the One you're hunting down. I want you to get up and enter the city. In the city you'll be told what to do next."
7-9His companions stood there dumbstruck—they could hear the sound, but couldn't see anyone—while Saul, picking himself up off the ground, found himself stone-blind. They had to take him by the hand and lead him into Damascus. He continued blind for three days. He ate nothing, drank nothing.
10There was a disciple in Damascus by the name of Ananias. The Master spoke to him in a vision: "Ananias."
"Yes, Master?" he answered.
11-12"Get up and go over to Straight Avenue. Ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus. His name is Saul. He's there praying. He has just had a dream in which he saw a man named Ananias enter the house and lay hands on him so he could see again."
13-14Ananias protested, "Master, you can't be serious. Everybody's talking about this man and the terrible things he's been doing, his reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem! And now he's shown up here with papers from the Chief Priest that give him license to do the same to us."
15-16But the Master said, "Don't argue. Go! I have picked him as my personal representative to non-Jews and kings and Jews. And now I'm about to show him what he's in for—the hard suffering that goes with this job."
17-19So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, "Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something like scales fell from Saul's eyes—he could see again! He got to his feet, was baptized, and sat down with them to a hearty meal.
Plots Against Saul
19-21Saul spent a few days getting acquainted with the Damascus disciples, but then went right to work, wasting no time, preaching in the meeting places that this Jesus was the Son of God. They were caught off guard by this and, not at all sure they could trust him, they kept saying, "Isn't this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem among the believers? And didn't he come here to do the same thing—arrest us and drag us off to jail in Jerusalem for sentencing by the high priests?"
22But their suspicions didn't slow Saul down for even a minute. His momentum was up now and he plowed straight into the opposition, disarming the Damascus Jews and trying to show them that this Jesus was the Messiah.
23-25After this had gone on quite a long time, some Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul got wind of it. They were watching the city gates around the clock so they could kill him. Then one night the disciples engineered his escape by lowering him over the wall in a basket.
26-27Back in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him. They didn't trust him one bit. Then Barnabas took him under his wing. He introduced him to the apostles and stood up for him, told them how Saul had seen and spoken to the Master on the Damascus Road and how in Damascus itself he had laid his life on the line with his bold preaching in Jesus' name.
28-30After that he was accepted as one of them, going in and out of Jerusalem with no questions asked, uninhibited as he preached in the Master's name. But then he ran afoul of a group called Hellenists—he had been engaged in a running argument with them—who plotted his murder. When his friends learned of the plot, they got him out of town, took him to Caesarea, and then shipped him off to Tarsus.
31Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for a while. All over the country—Judea, Samaria, Galilee—the church grew. They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God. The Holy Spirit was with them, strengthening them. They prospered wonderfully.
Tabitha
32-35Peter went off on a mission to visit all the churches. In the course of his travels he arrived in Lydda and met with the believers there. He came across a man—his name was Aeneas—who had been in bed eight years paralyzed. Peter said, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed!" And he did it—jumped right out of bed. Everybody who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him walking around and woke up to the fact that God was alive and active among them.
36-37Down the road a way in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, "Gazelle" in our language. She was well-known for doing good and helping out. During the time Peter was in the area she became sick and died. Her friends prepared her body for burial and put her in a cool room.
38-40Some of the disciples had heard that Peter was visiting in nearby Lydda and sent two men to ask if he would be so kind as to come over. Peter got right up and went with them. They took him into the room where Tabitha's body was laid out. Her old friends, most of them widows, were in the room mourning. They showed Peter pieces of clothing the Gazelle had made while she was with them. Peter put the widows all out of the room. He knelt and prayed. Then he spoke directly to the body: "Tabitha, get up."
40-41She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. He took her hand and helped her up. Then he called in the believers and widows, and presented her to them alive.
42-43When this became known all over Joppa, many put their trust in the Master. Peter stayed on a long time in Joppa as a guest of Simon the Tanner.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Peter 2:9-12
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
A Beautiful Melody
June 15, 2010 — by Joe Stowell
. . that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. —1 Peter 2:9
In the spring of 2009, Susan Boyle took the stage of Britain’s Got Talent. Compared to the other contestants, she was plain-looking. No one expected much when she raised the microphone to her lips. But then she began to sing. Spellbound, the judges were clearly taken with the beauty and power of the voice that filled the auditorium as the audience stood to their feet cheering with delight. All were surprised that such a rivetingly beautiful song came from such an unlikely source.
All of us can be unlikely sources when it comes to the beauty of Jesus flowing out of us. But that is how He planned it. Common folk like you and me take turns on the stage of life in front of the world’s skeptical audience so that our friends, family, and all who fill the arena of our lives will see and hear the love and grace of Jesus Christ emerging from our lives.
I love Peter’s reminder that we are “a people for His own possession, that [we] may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9 esv). You might think you’re an unlikely source, but when you allow the Lord to flow through you, the watching world will stand up and take notice.
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me—
All His wonderful passion and purity!
O Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine,
Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me. —Orsborn
The beauty of Jesus may come from the most unlikely sources.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 15, 2010
Get Moving! (2)
Also . . . add to your faith . . . —2 Peter 1:5
In the matter of drudgery. Peter said in this passage that we have become “partakers of the divine nature” and that we should now be “giving all diligence,” concentrating on forming godly habits (2 Peter 1:4-5 ). We are to “add” to our lives all that character means. No one is born either naturally or supernaturally with character; it must be developed. Nor are we born with habits— we have to form godly habits on the basis of the new life God has placed within us. We are not meant to be seen as God’s perfect, bright-shining examples, but to be seen as the everyday essence of ordinary life exhibiting the miracle of His grace. Drudgery is the test of genuine character. The greatest hindrance in our spiritual life is that we will only look for big things to do. Yet, “Jesus . . . took a towel and . . . began to wash the disciples’ feet . . .” ( John 13:3-5 ).
We all have those times when there are no flashes of light and no apparent thrill to life, where we experience nothing but the daily routine with its common everyday tasks. The routine of life is actually God’s way of saving us between our times of great inspiration which come from Him. Don’t always expect God to give you His thrilling moments, but learn to live in those common times of the drudgery of life by the power of God.
It is difficult for us to do the “adding” that Peter mentioned here. We say we do not expect God to take us to heaven on flowery beds of ease, and yet we act as if we do! I must realize that my obedience even in the smallest detail of life has all of the omnipotent power of the grace of God behind it. If I will do my duty, not for duty’s sake but because I believe God is engineering my circumstances, then at the very point of my obedience all of the magnificent grace of God is mine through the glorious atonement by the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Love That Can't Stand to Lose You - #6112
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Rick Rescorla was a decorated Vietnam War hero. But his greatest acts of heroism happened years later, on the job at the World Trade Center. As head of security for Morgan Stanley, one of the largest employers in the Twin Towers, he began to take special measures after the Trade Center bombing back in 1993. Suggesting that there might be another attack, possibly coming from the air, he has become known as the man who predicted September 11. He began regular drills for Stanley's 2,700 employees in emergency evacuation procedures. Morgan Stanley had offices from the 44th to the 74th floors of Tower Two. When Tower One was hit on that awful September 11, there seemed to be no reason to get out of Tower Two, except for Rick Rescorla's training.
Sixteen minutes after Tower One was hit, a plane crashed into Tower Two. The explosion knocked Rick Rescorla to the floor. Even there, he grabbed a bullhorn and he yelled for people to stay calm and to head for the stairwells. Then he began to go from floor to floor, looking for people he could save. With both towers now burning out of control, Rick stayed in the building, talking the last of his colleagues down the stairwells. One of the last ones out was a Morgan Stanley executive who said, "Rick, you have to get out of here, too." His answer: "I will, John, as soon as we get everyone out." Rick Rescorla died that day at Ground Zero, but only after he had saved the lives of nearly 2,700 people.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Love That Can't Stand to Lose You."
It was Jesus Christ who said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). The sacrifice of one man to save many on September 11 has given those people the opportunity to live possibly many more years on earth - thirty, forty, fifty more years. The sacrifice of one man on a cross on Skull Hill has given every man and woman on this planet the opportunity to live forever; including you and me. And that man was no one less than God's one and only Son. In the words of Scripture, "...they crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:8).
Jesus summed up the unspeakable sacrifice He was about to make in these words from John 10:11, our word for today from the Word of God: "I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." Jesus didn't come just to teach us a wonderful way to live or provide us a great example. He came to give His life. And you are one of the reasons God's only Son allowed Himself to be nailed to a criminal's cross. I'm one of those reasons. He loves you so much that He does not want to lose you.
And why this sacrifice? There was no other way to rescue you and me from this death penalty for the sins of our life. We've hijacked our life from the God who gave it to us. We've done so many things our way instead of His way. A death penalty can only be paid one way - somebody has to die. I know who deserves to die for my sins. I do. But in the greatest act of love in human history, Jesus did the dying for every God-defying thing I have ever done and that you've done.
And now He keeps going back to rescue one more from the awful judgment that's coming. Today, even now, He's come to offer you an opportunity to be saved. But it's a rescue you must choose by grabbing the Rescuer as if He's your only hope. He is. And while you may appreciate Jesus and agree with Jesus, that's not enough to have your sins forgiven. You've got to pin all your hopes on Jesus, like one of those people stranded on their roof after Hurricane Katrina; wrapping themselves around that Rescuer who came from above.
The price Jesus paid for your rescue could not have been higher. That's what makes what you do with Jesus so serious; so decisive in terms of whether eternity means heaven or hell. Your decision about Jesus is your decision about where you will be forever.
My prayer is that you will not wait another day before you tell Jesus, "I'm Yours." This could be your Jesus-day; this could be your rescue day. We've set up our website to help you experience His love for yourself. Would you visit us there today? It's YoursForLife.net?
After the price God paid to rescue you, is it any wonder there's one thing upon which He will base your eternity, "What did you do with My Son?"