Max Lucado Daily: God’s Salvation
God’s Salvation
Posted: 07 Jul 2010 11:01 PM PDT
“It is not our love for God; it is God’s love for us in sending his Son to be the way to take away our sins.” I John 4:10
Please note: salvation is God-given, God-driven, God-empowered, and God-originated. The gift is not from man to God. It is from God to man . . .
Grace is created by God and given to man.
2 Corinthians 8
The Offering
1-4Now, friends, I want to report on the surprising and generous ways in which God is working in the churches in Macedonia province. Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts. I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could—far more than they could afford!—pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians.
5-7This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives. That's what prompted us to ask Titus to bring the relief offering to your attention, so that what was so well begun could be finished up. You do so well in so many things—you trust God, you're articulate, you're insightful, you're passionate, you love us—now, do your best in this, too.
8-9I'm not trying to order you around against your will. But by bringing in the Macedonians' enthusiasm as a stimulus to your love, I am hoping to bring the best out of you. You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us—in one stroke he became poor and we became rich.
10-20So here's what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart's been in the right place all along. You've got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can't. The heart regulates the hands. This isn't so others can take it easy while you sweat it out. No, you're shoulder to shoulder with them all the way, your surplus matching their deficit, their surplus matching your deficit. In the end you come out even. As it is written,
Nothing left over to the one with the most,
Nothing lacking to the one with the least.
I thank God for giving Titus the same devoted concern for you that I have. He was most considerate of how we felt, but his eagerness to go to you and help out with this relief offering is his own idea. We're sending a companion along with him, someone very popular in the churches for his preaching of the Message. But there's far more to him than popularity. He's rock-solid trustworthy. The churches handpicked him to go with us as we travel about doing this work of sharing God's gifts to honor God as well as we can, taking every precaution against scandal.
20-22We don't want anyone suspecting us of taking one penny of this money for ourselves. We're being as careful in our reputation with the public as in our reputation with God. That's why we're sending another trusted friend along. He's proved his dependability many times over, and carries on as energetically as the day he started. He's heard much about you, and liked what he's heard—so much so that he can't wait to get there.
23-24I don't need to say anything further about Titus. We've been close associates in this work of serving you for a long time. The brothers who travel with him are delegates from churches, a real credit to Christ. Show them what you're made of, the love I've been talking up in the churches. Let them see it for themselves!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 24:36-44
36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
False Predictions
July 8, 2010 — by C. P. Hia
Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? —Matthew 24:3
News that a solar eclipse would take place on July 22, 2009, brought an alarming prediction. It was predicted that the eclipse would sufficiently affect gravitational pull, causing tectonic plates to “pop a seam,” resulting in a sizable earthquake and a subsequent devastating tsunami in Japan. The US Geological Survey responded that no scientists “have ever predicted a major earthquake. They do not know how, and they do not expect to know how, anytime in the foreseeable future.”
There have also been many false predictions about the date of Christ’s second coming—despite our Lord’s emphatic words: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matt. 24:36). Christ told His followers that instead of trying to predict the date of His return, they should “watch” (v.42) and “be ready” (v.44).
Peter warned, “The day of the Lord will come like a thief.” Then he added: “What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives” (2 Peter 3:10-11 NIV).
Striving to live for God—that’s what Jesus wants us to focus our energy on while we wait for that “blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
When someone says, “I can discern
Exactly when Christ will return,”
Don’t be deceived or led astray—
The Lord said we can’t know the day. —Sper
Look for Christ’s return, and you’ll live for Christ’s glory.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 8th , 2010
Will To Be Faithful
. . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . —Joshua 24:15
A person’s will is embodied in the actions of the whole person. I cannot give up my will— I must exercise it, putting it into action. I must will to obey, and I must will to receive God’s Spirit. When God gives me a vision of truth, there is never a question of what He will do, but only of what I will do. The Lord has been placing in front of each of us some big proposals and plans. The best thing to do is to remember what you did before when you were touched by God. Recall the moment when you were saved, or first recognized Jesus, or realized some truth. It was easy then to yield your allegiance to God. Immediately recall those moments each time the Spirit of God brings some new proposal before you.
“. . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . .” Your choice must be a deliberate determination— it is not something into which you will automatically drift. And everything else in your life will be held in temporary suspension until you make a decision. The proposal is between you and God— do not “confer with flesh and blood” about it ( Galatians 1:16 ). With every new proposal, the people around us seem to become more and more isolated, and that is where the tension develops. God allows the opinion of His other saints to matter to you, and yet you become less and less certain that others really understand the step you are taking. You have no business trying to find out where God is leading— the only thing God will explain to you is Himself.
Openly declare to Him, “I will be faithful.” But remember that as soon as you choose to be faithful to Jesus Christ, “You are witnesses against yourselves . . .” ( Joshua 24:22 ). Don’t consult with other Christians, but simply and freely declare before Him, “I will serve You.” Will to be faithful— and give other people credit for being faithful too.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
When Only Blood Could Do it - #6129
Thursday, July 8, 2010
He's a noted surgeon who wants to make a difference in the world. So once a year, he dedicates a month to going to Central America to do volunteer medical work. Not long ago, he was in an emergency medical clinic performing urgent surgery on a young boy. It was in a very remote location. The boy started losing blood faster than expected, and he clearly needed blood. The problem was that he had a rare blood type that only two percent of the population carries. And this village clinic certainly didn't have anything that rare. In that critical moment, the doctor suddenly put down his scalpel and went to another room - where he gave blood. He, too, had that rare blood. The boy got the blood he needed, the surgeon returned to finish the operation, and the boy came through just fine.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Only Blood Could Do it."
A boy's life hanging in the balance; his only hope - blood given by the only one who had what it took to save him. Boy, I understand that. Mine was once a life hanging in the balance, and my only hope was the gift of someone's blood - the only One who had the blood that could meet my need.
Some have called Him the Great Physician. Many call Him Savior. We all call Him Jesus. And my only hope of escaping the spiritual death penalty for the sins of my life was blood - His blood; the blood of the only Man who had no sin of His own to pay for - God's one and only Son. No matter what religion you are, no matter how religious or spiritual you are, His blood is your only hope, too.
All of our theories, all of our systems for getting to God and getting to heaven are, at best, guesswork. Only God can tell us what it takes to get to Him; to be forgiven of that sin that makes it impossible for Him to have a relationship with us. And God does tell us in Hebrews 9:22, "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Sin carries the eternal death penalty of being separated from our God now and forever. And a death penalty cannot be paid by doing nice things. Someone has to die; and Someone did. Hebrews 9:26, our word for today from the Word of God, says of Christ: "Now He has appeared once for all...to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Incredibly, Jesus said to God the Father, "Let Me die so Ron doesn't have to." You could put your name there. "Father, let Me die so Davis doesn't have to."
If you get to the end of your life and you find out that you have missed heaven, that your eternal destination turned out to be hell, don't blame God. He gave His only Son to die so you would not have to go there. If a rescuer extends his hand and you don't grab his hand, don't blame the rescuer. In this case, the Rescuer is God's Son, reaching for you. He didn't just donate blood so you could be saved. He poured out His life-blood, dying for you. It's the blood of Jesus that could cover every sin of your life. It is because of that blood shed for you that God is willing to say to you today, "You are forgiven. You are clean. You are Mine forever." You can see why what you do with Jesus is the decisive choice of your life. God will never forget what you do with His Son, because He gave His Son for you.
This is a spiritual rescue we're talking about. And your only hope is to grab the hand of Jesus, God's rescuer, with all the faith you've got. That step will trigger a cleansing miracle of God. In the Bible's words, "The blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). Every sin you've ever committed, erased from God's book forever today, if you will tell Jesus that you are His from this day on - that His blood, shed for you, is your only hope.
At our website, I've got a brief explanation of just how to begin this life-giving relationship with Jesus. If God is stirring in your heart at all, would you check out the website YoursForLife.net.
There's an old hymn that says it pretty powerfully: "Just as I am, without one plea, but that Your blood was shed for me. And that You bid me come to Thee. O Lamb of God, I come."
