Max Lucado Daily: Washed Away
Washed Away
Posted: 08 Aug 2010 11:01 PM PDT
“The blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from every sin.” I John 1:7
The cleansing is not a promise for the future but a reality in the present. Let a speck of dust fall on the soul of a saint, and it is washed away. Let a spot of filth land on the heart of God’s child, and it is wiped away . . .
Our Savior kneels down and gazes upon the darkest acts of our lives. But rather than recoil in horror, he reaches out in kindness and says, “I can clean that if you want.”
1 John 3
1 What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to.
2-3But friends, that's exactly who we are: children of God. And that's only the beginning. Who knows how we'll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus' life as a model for our own.
4-6All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God's order. Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program. No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who do practice sin have taken a good look at Christ. They've got him all backward.
7-8So, my dear children, don't let anyone divert you from the truth. It's the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil's ways.
9-10People conceived and brought into life by God don't make a practice of sin. How could they? God's seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It's not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin. Here's how you tell the difference between God's children and the Devil's children: The one who won't practice righteous ways isn't from God, nor is the one who won't love brother or sister. A simple test.
11For this is the original message we heard: We should love each other.
12-13We must not be like Cain, who joined the Evil One and then killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because he was deep in the practice of evil, while the acts of his brother were righteous. So don't be surprised, friends, when the world hates you. This has been going on a long time.
14-15The way we know we've been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don't go together.
16-17This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.
When We Practice Real Love
18-20My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.
21-24And friends, once that's taken care of and we're no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we're bold and free before God! We're able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we're doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God's command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Peter 5:1-7
1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed:
2 Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;
3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
The Life That Matters
August 9, 2010 — by David H. Roper
Remember those . . . who have spoken the Word of God to you, whose faith follow. —Hebrews 13:7
Isaac Hann was a little-known pastor who served a small church in Loughwood, England, in the mid-18th century. At the close of his ministry, the membership of the church numbered 26 women and 7 men. And only 4 of the men attended with any regularity.
In this age of mass media and mega-churches, who would consider this a successful work? In our world today, Isaac Hann would be considered one of those pastors who never quite “made it.” He certainly wouldn’t have been invited to speak at pastors’ conferences, nor would he have written articles on church growth.
Yet, when he died at 88 his parishioners placed a plaque on the wall of their meeting house that remains to this day. It reads in part:
Few ministers so humble were, yet few so much admired: Ripened for heaven by grace divine, like autumn fruit he fell;
Reader think not to live so long, but seek to live as well.
First Peter 5:5-6 comes to mind: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” Reverend Isaac Hann “made it big” in a way that matters—humility before God and a reward in heaven. We can too.
True greatness does not come to those
Who strive for worldly fame,
It lies instead with those who choose
To serve in Jesus’ name. —D. De Haan
Humility is the recipe for success.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 9th , 2010
Prayer in the Father’s Hearing
Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, ’Father, I thank You that You have heard Me’ —John 11:41
When the Son of God prays, He is mindful and consciously aware of only His Father. God always hears the prayers of His Son, and if the Son of God has been formed in me (see Galatians 4:19 ) the Father will always hear my prayers. But I must see to it that the Son of God is exhibited in my human flesh. “. . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . . ” ( 1 Corinthians 6:19 ), that is, your body is the Bethlehem of God’s Son. Is the Son of God being given His opportunity to work in me? Is the direct simplicity of His life being worked out in me exactly as it was worked out in His life while here on earth? When I come into contact with the everyday occurrences of life as an ordinary human being, is the prayer of God’s eternal Son to His Father being prayed in me? Jesus says, “In that day you will ask in My name . . .” ( John 16:26 ). What day does He mean? He is referring to the day when the Holy Spirit has come to me and made me one with my Lord.
Is the Lord Jesus Christ being abundantly satisfied by your life, or are you exhibiting a walk of spiritual pride before Him? Never let your common sense become so prominent and forceful that it pushes the Son of God to one side. Common sense is a gift that God gave to our human nature— but common sense is not the gift of His Son. Supernatural sense is the gift of His Son, and we should never put our common sense on the throne. The Son always recognizes and identifies with the Father, but common sense has never yet done so and never will. Our ordinary abilities will never worship God unless they are transformed by the indwelling Son of God. We must make sure that our human flesh is kept in perfect submission to Him, allowing Him to work through it moment by moment. Are we living at such a level of human dependence upon Jesus Christ that His life is being exhibited moment by moment in us?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
When the Devil Pulls Your String - #6151
Monday, August 9, 2010
When you have young grandchildren, hey, you're back in the toy business again. And sure enough, we've got a closet full of toys that, contrary to some vicious rumors, are not mine. They are there for those grandchildren, who quickly relocate those toys from the closet to our living room every time they visit. One of them (The toys...not the grandchildren.) is a furry blue puppet with bulging eyes - it's good old Cookie Monster of Sesame Street fame. And he's got this string in his back. When you pull it, he starts chewing and moving his arms and uttering his trademark phrase: "Cookie. Me want cookie!" Pull the string again and he'll say the same thing again. No matter how many times you pull that string, he will do the "cookie" thing every time.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When the Devil Pulls Your String."
You pull that puppet's string, and he'll respond the same way every time. Now the sad thing is that that's exactly what happens when Satan pulls our string - we act like his puppet. We respond the same old sinful or destructive way almost every time...until you cut his string. We've got some insight into how to do that in 1 Samuel 17 , beginning with verse 16, our word for today from the Word of God.
The Jewish army and the Philistine army are at a standoff, and their armies are each holding a hill on opposite sides of this valley. The Philistines send out their nine-foot giant every day to challenge the Jews to send out some champion to fight him - with the people of the loser serving the people of the winner from then on. Every day the giant tries to make them afraid; every day the Jewish soldiers run for cover. Goliath's tactics actually mirror our enemy's tactics, and we can discover here the ways that Satan gets you do whatever he wants you to do every time he pulls those old strings.
Verse 16 says, "For forty days the Philistine came forward...and took his stand." Tactic number one to keep you in a pattern of defeat - his persistent attacks. Satan just keeps pulling that string that has always worked, stalking and tempting and twisting your feelings until you finally do again what you've always done. Here's a second way your enemy can often get you to do what he wants - Goliath says in verse 9, "If I overcome him (that's whoever the Jews send against him) and kill him, you will become our subjects." Second enemy tactic - raising the stakes. The devil gets his way by saying, "Look at all you have to lose if you don't give in. The stakes are too high this time to do it God's way."
Well, young David finally steps up to challenge the enemy, but his older brothers, who are part of that cowering army, accuse him of being "conceited" and "wicked" and coming there for the wrong reasons. Even the king says, "You are only a boy." Tactic #3: discouragement from your fellow soldiers. Cowardice and criticism and negativity are contagious, and they're Satan's favorite tool to discourage a believer - another believer. Don't fall for it. One other string your enemy loves to pull: lies about who you are. As David challenged the giant, he mocked David's youth, his pitiful weapons, and said "I'll give your flesh to the birds" (v. 44). Satan has gotten you to do what he wants over and over by you believing lies about who you are.
You've responded to Satan pulling the same old strings long enough. Do what David did - don't be compliant. Be defiant against your enemy! David said to him, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty." (v. 45, 47). God says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7 ). It's time you defied that enemy in the conquering name of Jesus. It's time you say, "Go ahead, pull my string. But because I've got Jesus on my side, I'm not going to do what I've always done before. I am not your puppet anymore!"