Max Lucado Daily: Too Incredible
Too Incredible
Posted: 17 Aug 2010 11:01 PM PDT
“What do you think about the Christ?” Matthew 22:42
The idea that a virgin would be selected by God to bear himself . . . The notion that God would don a scalp and toes and two eyes . . . The thought that the King of the universe would sneeze and burp and get bit by mosquitoes . . . It’s too incredible. Too revolutionary. We would never create such a Savior. We aren’t that daring.
Revelation 21
Everything New
1I saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea. 2I saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as a bride for her husband. 3-5I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: "Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They're his people, he's their God. He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone." The Enthroned continued, "Look! I'm making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate."
6-8Then he said, "It's happened. I'm A to Z. I'm the Beginning, I'm the Conclusion. From Water-of-Life Well I give freely to the thirsty. Conquerors inherit all this. I'll be God to them, they'll be sons and daughters to me. But for the rest—the feckless and faithless, degenerates and murderers, sex peddlers and sorcerers, idolaters and all liars—for them it's Lake Fire and Brimstone. Second death!"
The City of Light
9-12One of the Seven Angels who had carried the bowls filled with the seven final disasters spoke to me: "Come here. I'll show you the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb." He took me away in the Spirit to an enormous, high mountain and showed me Holy Jerusalem descending out of Heaven from God, resplendent in the bright glory of God.
12-14The City shimmered like a precious gem, light-filled, pulsing light. She had a wall majestic and high with twelve gates. At each gate stood an Angel, and on the gates were inscribed the names of the Twelve Tribes of the sons of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, three gates on the west. The wall was set on twelve foundations, the names of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb inscribed on them.
15-21The Angel speaking with me had a gold measuring stick to measure the City, its gates, and its wall. The City was laid out in a perfect square. He measured the City with the measuring stick: twelve thousand stadia, its length, width, and height all equal. Using the standard measure, the Angel measured the thickness of its wall: 144 cubits. The wall was jasper, the color of Glory, and the City was pure gold, translucent as glass. The foundations of the City walls were garnished with every precious gem imaginable: the first foundation jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate a single pearl.
21-27The main street of the City was pure gold, translucent as glass. But there was no sign of a Temple, for the Lord God—the Sovereign-Strong—and the Lamb are the Temple. The City doesn't need sun or moon for light. God's Glory is its light, the Lamb its lamp! The nations will walk in its light and earth's kings bring in their splendor. Its gates will never be shut by day, and there won't be any night. They'll bring the glory and honor of the nations into the City. Nothing dirty or defiled will get into the City, and no one who defiles or deceives. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life will get in.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Daniel 6:1-10
It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,
2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss.
3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.
5 Finally these men said, "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God."
6 So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said: "O King Darius, live forever!
7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions' den.
8 Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered--in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed."
9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.
10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
Ruts And Routines
August 18, 2010 — by Julie Ackerman Link
Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust. —Psalm 143:8
Summer is my favorite season. I love the leisurely days when I can set aside some of my routines without feeling guilty. Doing new things, seeing new places, and allowing myself the time to take “the scenic route” revive my spirit and renew my enthusiasm for life and work.
But summer can also be a dangerous time of breaking good habits. Certain routines are good. They increase our efficiency and ensure that important things get done. After all, we need to have fixed times and places for certain things or the world would be chaotic. Creation is designed to operate on schedule, and, as part of it, so are we. We need food and sleep at regular intervals.
We sometimes hear legitimate warnings about allowing routines to turn into ruts. But the Bible indicates that having set times for certain things is good. David indicated that morning was the right time for him to praise God and ask for His direction (Ps. 5:3; 143:8). And Daniel prayed three times a day, and not even the threat of death made him change his routine (Dan. 6:10).
While enjoying carefree days, we must not become careless about spending time with God. Savoring spiritual sustenance is a routine for all seasons.
You’ll go forth a little stronger
With a fresh supply of grace,
If each day you meet the Savior
In a secret, quiet place. —Adams
Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. —Isaiah 40:31
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 18th , 2010
Have You Ever Been Speechless with Sorrow?
When he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich —Luke 18:23
The rich young ruler went away from Jesus speechless with sorrow, having nothing to say in response to Jesus’ words. He had no doubt about what Jesus had said or what it meant, and it produced in him a sorrow with no words with which to respond. Have you ever been there? Has God’s Word ever come to you, pointing out an area of your life, requiring you to yield it to Him? Maybe He has pointed out certain personal qualities, desires, and interests, or possibly relationships of your heart and mind. If so, then you have often been speechless with sorrow. The Lord will not go after you, and He will not plead with you. But every time He meets you at the place where He has pointed, He will simply repeat His words, saying, “If you really mean what you say, these are the conditions.”
“Sell all that you have . . .” ( Luke 18:22 ). In other words, rid yourself before God of everything that might be considered a possession until you are a mere conscious human being standing before Him, and then give God that. That is where the battle is truly fought— in the realm of your will before God. Are you more devoted to your idea of what Jesus wants than to Jesus Himself? If so, you are likely to hear one of His harsh and unyielding statements that will produce sorrow in you. What Jesus says is difficult— it is only easy when it is heard by those who have His nature in them. Beware of allowing anything to soften the hard words of Jesus Christ.
I can be so rich in my own poverty, or in the awareness of the fact that I am nobody, that I will never be a disciple of Jesus. Or I can be so rich in the awareness that I am somebody that I will never be a disciple. Am I willing to be destitute and poor even in my sense of awareness of my destitution and poverty? If not, that is why I become discouraged. Discouragement is disillusioned self-love, and self-love may be love for my devotion to Jesus— not love for Jesus Himself.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Brightest Stars in the Universe - #6158
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Our son had the privilege of playing on a state championship football team in high school. And that's a really big deal! They were the toast of the school, the heroes of the town, for a while, until next year. Some of those heroes came back from college to visit the old alma mater, and you know what? They just weren't a big deal anymore. Some new guys were the ones wearing the jerseys now and getting all the attention. Sorry, guys! Last year's glory - yesterday's news. What do you bet those guys will still be looking for someone to tell about the big game when they're 70 years old?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Brightest Stars in the Universe."
Forgotten victory, tarnished trophies - that's the story of most of life's great achievements, isn't it? A big deal for a while but quickly faded. The title we fought for and got will be someone else's before long, and it won't even take a day to change the name on the door. All those achievements that mean so much at the time, all the rewards we wanted so long - gone so soon...except for one.
And it's revealed in our word for today from the Word of God in Daniel 12:2-3 . "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." Two eternal addresses - every person you've ever met, every person in your life will spend forever at one of these two eternal destinations - heaven or hell. The only thing they have in common is that they're both "ever-lasting."
That ultimate values-clarifier provides the backdrop now for Daniel 12:3 , the path to a greatness that will never die. "Those who are wise shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars for ever and ever." Tell me, what have you done in your life, or what can you do with the rest of your life that will give you a greatness that will make you "shine like the stars for ever and ever?" Only one thing. Lead people to God's way, and in so doing, help them change their eternal address from hell to heaven. That's ultimate greatness. It's the kind of spiritual greatness your heart is hungry for.
What's exciting about this greatness is it's within everyone's reach. You don't have to be especially intelligent, or educated, or talented, or good-looking, or rich, or well-connected. This has nothing to do with your ability, only your availability for God to speak through you to explain what His Son did on the cross for the people you know. And, in fact, this helping people to go to heaven is the real reason why you are where you are. Jesus placed you there so people there could find Him. How are you doing? Your eternity-changing assignment is why you are who you are, why you've been through what you've been through, so you could talk to people like you and they would listen to you when you tell them what Jesus did for them.
I don't know what you're focusing your best energies on right now, your influence, your prayers, your ambitions. But if it doesn't impact eternity, it is too small to matter much. That's why the Bible says, "He who wins souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30 ). I know you want to make a greater difference with the rest of your life than you've made until now. There is no greater difference you can possibly make in the life of someone you care about than to help them be in heaven with you forever.
Every person you know who doesn't know Jesus in your family, every person you work with, every person you go to school with, that's in your personal world is a future inhabitant of hell. Unless someone tells them how they can be a future resident of heaven. Introduce them to Jesus and you are going to shine like the stars, forever and ever!