Max Lucado Daily: He Forgets
He Forgets
Posted: 25 Aug 2010 11:01 PM PDT
“He forgives your sins—every one.” Psalm 103:3 The Message
It’s against God’s nature to remember forgiven sins . . .
He who is perfect love cannot hold grudges. If he does, then he isn’t perfect love. And if he isn’t perfect love, you might as well put this book down and go fishing, because both of us are chasing fairy tales.
But I believe in his loving forgetfulness. And I believe he has a graciously terrible memory.
Genesis 6
The Flood
1 When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with [n] man forever, for he is mortal [o] ; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
9 This is the account of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress [p] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. [q] 16 Make a roof for it and finish [r] the ark to within 18 inches [s] of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."
22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Cor. 4:16-18
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Older Or Better?
August 26, 2010 — by Joe Stowell
Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. —2 Corinthians 4:16
We know we’re getting older when we say things like, “Can you believe how young those professional baseball players are?” And it’s a sure sign of aging when we no longer ask, “How are you?” but say, “Hey, you look terrific”—as if we’re surprised.
Aging is inevitable. Unfortunately, society has taught us to fear advancing age and to disguise its reality as much as possible. But aging can actually be a wonderful thing. Followers of Jesus have the capacity to get significantly better with age. As Paul put it: “Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).
Just as there are physical signs that reveal we’re getting older, there are signs that show we are getting better. Rather than becoming more crotchety, intolerant, and unloving, the maturing follower of Jesus grows better at forgiving, loving, and caring. Growing older is a continuation of the journey to become more like Jesus, which means that as time goes on our heart and attitudes should increasingly resonate with and reflect the compelling character and winsome ways of our Savior.
So as we grow older, let’s embrace the opportunity to become spiritually more like Jesus. Our friends will notice that we look better with age.
The seeds of aging sprout in youth,
As weeds or grain they’re sure to grow;
But if we sow with love and truth,
A golden harvest we can know. —D. De Haan
Don’t just grow older— grow better as a follower of Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 26th , 2010
Are You Ever Troubled?
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you . . . —John 14:27
There are times in our lives when our peace is based simply on our own ignorance. But when we are awakened to the realities of life, true inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When our Lord speaks peace, He creates peace, because the words that He speaks are always “spirit, and they are life” ( John 6:63 ). Have I ever received what Jesus speaks? “. . . My peace I give to you. . .”— a peace that comes from looking into His face and fully understanding and receiving His quiet contentment.
Are you severely troubled right now? Are you afraid and confused by the waves and the turbulence God sovereignly allows to enter your life? Have you left no stone of your faith unturned, yet still not found any well of peace, joy, or comfort? Does your life seem completely barren to you? Then look up and receive the quiet contentment of the Lord Jesus. Reflecting His peace is proof that you are right with God, because you are exhibiting the freedom to turn your mind to Him. If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself. Allowing anything to hide the face of Jesus Christ from you either causes you to become troubled or gives you a false sense of security.
With regard to the problem that is pressing in on you right now, are you “looking unto Jesus” ( Hebrews 12:2 ) and receiving peace from Him? If so, He will be a gracious blessing of peace exhibited in and through you. But if you only try to worry your way out of the problem, you destroy His effectiveness in you, and you deserve whatever you get. We become troubled because we have not been taking Him into account. When a person confers with Jesus Christ, the confusion stops, because there is no confusion in Him. Lay everything out before Him, and when you are faced with difficulty, bereavement, and sorrow, listen to Him say, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” ( John 14:27 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
What They're Trying to Tell Us - #6164
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Non-verbal communication. You don't always need words to communicate what you need to get across. At least our 18-month-old granddaughter didn't. It may have been one of those times when Mommy was preoccupied with one of the thousand things she has to stay on top of. The little one didn't try to make any big noise about what she needed. She just toddled from the living room where Mommy was, into the bedroom, picked up a diaper, toddled back into the living room, and layed herself down right in front of Mommy, diaper in hand, with her legs in the air, ready for a change. So, you get the idea, Mommy?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What They're Trying to Tell Us."
Our granddaughter had a need. She didn't know how to put it into words. So she acted it out. In a way, that doesn't change as our children grow. They often don't know how to put the need inside them into words. They may not even know what the need is, so they act it out - in their behavior. And that behavior often isn't very cute. It may drive us nuts, or worry us to death or baffle us. There is no more important lesson for a parent to remember than this: behind your child's deed is a need. And you won't affect the deeds until you do something about the needs that drive those deeds. A wise dad was confiding his concern to me the other day about his son's use of alcohol - that's the deed. Then he said, "You know, there's some need there." He's right.
Using parenting as an example of how he treated the believers at Thessalonica, Paul says this in 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12, our word for today from the Word of God: "We dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God." Right there you've got three powerful tools in your parenting tool kit, each designed to meet the needs that are driving their deeds. Sometimes, there's discouragement deep down inside, making them act the way that they're acting. So you respond to that need with some positive encouraging. Other times, there's pain inside from something you may not know about or realize that it's hurt them. It's time to apply some gentle comfort. Other times there's a lack of clear direction, confusion about what's the right thing to do. That may act itself out in some crazy behavior, but the need behind it is to be urged in the right direction.
Behind your son or daughter's actions may very well be a need that really needs some attention. They may feel like they're not worth much - so they make choices that fit that self-evaluation. But the bad choices are because of bad feelings about their worth. Or maybe your child is unduly curious about sex. Could it be because you've never given them clear and loving sexual answers? Sometimes, the need is just to feel loved. You may be showing your love by things you do for them, when their language of love is more about your availability, or your public treatment of them, or your exclusive time with them, or just your hugs. If that need isn't met at home, they'll go somewhere else to have it met and that can mean a disaster.
If you're going to get behind your child's deeds to their needs, you'll have to make James 1:19 your modus operandi - "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." If you listen a lot, if you listen patiently, un-condemningly, you'll begin to hear the needs behind their deeds. Just as your Lord did. When He saw the crowds, the Bible says, He had compassion on them. (Matthew 9:36). Compassion - that literally means the capacity to feel with the other person. That's what your son needs. That's what your daughter needs.
Yeah, the deeds need to be addressed. But it's the needs that are driving them. God has promised His wisdom upon request (James 1:7) - and nobody needs that wisdom more than moms and dads. So, several times a day as you look at your children, ask your Heavenly Father, "Help me see what You see when you look at them." Then you'll know how to give them what they need the most.