Max Lucado Daily: Only Through the Cross
“We have freedom now, because Christ made us free.” Galatians 5:1
Some teach that we earn God’s favor by what we know (intellectualism). Others insist we are saved by what we do (moralism). Still others that salvation is determined by what we feel (emotionalism).
However you package it, Paul contests, . . . salvation comes only through the cross—no additions, no alterations.
Luke 10
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.[b]
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
22 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 40:1-5
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
and put their trust in him.
4 Blessed is the one
who trusts in the LORD,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.[b]
5 Many, LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.
Joy In The Morning
July 26, 2011 — by Dennis Fisher
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. —Psalm 30:5
Angie could not see through the fogged-up windows in her car. Inadvertently, she pulled out in front of a truck. The accident caused such damage to her brain that she could no longer speak or take care of herself.
Over the years, I have been amazed at the resiliency of Angie’s parents. Recently I asked them, “How have you managed to get through this experience?” Her father thoughtfully responded, “In all honesty, the only way we have been able to do this is by drawing close to God. He gives us the strength we need to help us through.”
Angie’s mother agreed and added that around the time of the accident their grieving was so deep that they wondered if they would ever have joy again. As they both leaned upon God, they experienced countless unexpected provisions for the physical and spiritual care of Angie and their entire family. Although Angie may never regain her ability to speak, she now responds to them with wide smiles and this gives them joy. Her parents’ favorite verse continues to be: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5).
Have you experienced extreme sorrow? There is the promise of future joy amid your tears as you lean upon our loving Lord.
New mercies every morning,
Grace for every day,
New hope for every trial,
And courage all the way. —McVeigh
Leave your sorrows with Jesus, the “Man of Sorrows.”
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 26th, 2011
The Way to Purity
Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart . . . . For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man . . . —Matthew 15:18-20
Initially we trust in our ignorance, calling it innocence, and next we trust our innocence, calling it purity. Then when we hear these strong statements from our Lord, we shrink back, saying, “But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart.” We resent what He reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust the penetration of His Word into my heart, or would I prefer to trust my own “innocent ignorance”? If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me. But as long as I remain under the false security of my own “innocence,” I am living in a fool’s paradise. If I have never been an openly rude and abusive person, the only reason is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive from living a civilized life. But when I am open and completely exposed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis of me.
The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolute unblemished purity.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Is Your Dog Walking You? - #6402
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
In all the years we were raising our family, we didn't have a dog at our house. One big reason is that dogs have a non-negotiable need to be walked. We've had some fish. Our fish never needed to be taken for a walk. We had a parrot. It's very hard to walk a parrot.
Now, we had a pretty active neighborhood and you could usually find people jogging, and walking, and biking, and walking their dog. But the funniest scene there was the people whose dogs were walk them. Here's a little person and a big dog, and this wide-eyed person being pulled by that dog just as surely as a wagon is pulled by horses. It's pretty funny when the master is being mastered like that...or is it?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Is Your Dog Walking You?"
Now, today's word from the Word of God is not about pets, but it comes from Deuteronomy 28. I'll begin reading at verse 12. This passage is very interesting because it tells what God will bless, and what will cause Him to withhold His blessing. And the whole history of Israel from this point on is pretty much a reflection of what God promises here. When they did what He said, they had His blessing - they had abundance. When they did not do what God said, He withheld His blessing.
Here's one thing that He emphasizes. "The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail." Sounds a little bit like those dogs walking those people doesn't it?
Well, listen to verse 44. They have disobeyed God, and it talks about the alien living among them. And it says, "He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head and you will be the tail." It's very interesting; pretty graphic language that God uses here. He is saying that when you're in debt, you're the tail. It reminds me of those masters being pulled around by their dogs.
When you solve a financial problem by going into debt, you usually end up with a bigger problem. You lose control of your life. Debt strains marriages. I mean, there are more arguments over money and debt than anything else between married couples. Debt tempts you to make compromises. It may force Mom out to work instead of being home with the kids, or long hours of working and neglecting the family, or it might reduce your giving to the Lord. It may tempt you to make choices, not based on what is God's best but on what will get us the money we need. And then you end up wasting the Lord's money on interest too.
Literally, one compartment of your life takes over, the financial, and your dog is walking you. Nowhere in scripture did God meet the needs of His children with a loan. Now, some borrowing may be okay, if you're sure how you're going to pay it back. But it's never God's highest road; it's always a step toward financial bondage. If you want God's best, draw a line today against any more debt. Commit to wait for God's supply till He gives it. Attack that debt one day at a time; whittle it away. And commit yourself, whatever the past has been, to a debt-free future and just say, "Lord, if You'll help us get out of this bondage, we commit to You that we will never go back to it again."
God's fullest blessing comes through His gifts, not through men's loans. Besides, you look silly being run all over by a debt that you should be running. Remember that the next time you see a dog walking a man. That could be you and your debts
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