Max Lucado Daily: A Likeable Savior
A Likeable Savior
A Likeable Savior
Posted: 10 Feb 2011 10:01 PM PST
“Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble.” I Peter 3:8, The Message
They called Jesus a blasphemer, but they never called him a braggart. They accused him of heresy, but never arrogance. He was branded as a radical, but never unapproachable.
There is no hint that he ever used his heavenly status for personal gain. Ever. You just don’t get the impression that his neighbors grew sick of his haughtiness and asked, “Well, who do you think made you God?”
His faith made him likeable.
Exodus 33
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 2 I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”
4 When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments. 5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’” 6 So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.
The Tent of Meeting
7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. 11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Moses and the Glory of the LORD
12 Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
14 The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
17 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
21 Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Corinthians 5:12-21
2 Corinthians 5:12-21 (NIV)2Co 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Will I Have To Tell?
February 11, 2011 — by Anne Cetas
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. —2 Corinthians 5:17
Jim was sharing the gospel with Kerri. He told her she was separated from a holy God because of her sin, and that Jesus had died and risen for her salvation. She kept coming up with one reason not to believe: “But if I do receive Him, I won’t have to tell other people about it, will I? I don’t want to do that.” She said that didn’t fit her personality; she didn’t want to have to tell others about Jesus.
Jim explained that promising to witness about Jesus wasn’t a requirement before receiving Him. But he also said that once she came to know the Lord, Kerri would become His ambassador to the world (2 Cor. 5:20).
After talking a little longer, Kerri acknowledged her need for salvation through Christ. She went home excited and at peace. Funny thing happened—within 24 hours she told three people about what God had done in her life.
Because we have been reconciled to God through Jesus, we now have “the ministry of reconciliation,” according to the apostle Paul (v.18). We are His ambassadors, and therefore we implore people “on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God” (v.20).
When we’re thankful, we want to share what God has done.
I love to tell the story,
For some have never heard
The message of salvation
From God’s own holy Word. —Hankey
There’s no better news than the gospel— spread the word!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
February 11th, 2011
Is Your Mind Stayed on God?
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You —Isaiah 26:3
Is your mind stayed on God or is it starved? Starvation of the mind, caused by neglect, is one of the chief sources of exhaustion and weakness in a servant’s life. If you have never used your mind to place yourself before God, begin to do it now. There is no reason to wait for God to come to you. You must turn your thoughts and your eyes away from the face of idols and look to Him and be saved (see Isaiah 45:22).
Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. You should seek to be “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ . . .” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This will be one of the greatest assets of your faith when a time of trial comes, because then your faith and the Spirit of God will work together. When you have thoughts and ideas that are worthy of credit to God, learn to compare and associate them with all that happens in nature-the rising and the setting of the sun, the shining of the moon and the stars, and the changing of the seasons. You will begin to see that your thoughts are from God as well, and your mind will no longer be at the mercy of your impulsive thinking, but will always be used in service to God.
“We have sinned with our fathers . . . [and] . . . did not remember . . .” (Psalm 106:6-7). Then prod your memory and wake up immediately. Don’t say to yourself, “But God is not talking to me right now.” He ought to be. Remember whose you are and whom you serve. Encourage yourself to remember, and your affection for God will increase tenfold. Your mind will no longer be starved, but will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Most Important Mirror in Your Life - #6285
Friday, February 11, 2011
So, did you look in the mirror today before you left the house? What did you think? It's amazing how much damage one night can do, isn't it? Probably when you went to the mirror today you combed something, or you brushed something, or you washed something, or you covered up something. Or if you had a full-length mirror, maybe you decided there's something you need to lose? Or maybe you needed to straighten something. What's the purpose of having a mirror in the first place? I suppose you could be like Fonzie when he looked in the mirror and went, "Whoaaa!" You know? And you really liked what you see. But I think for most of us, the reason we have a mirror is so we can see what needs changing. Did you know you own another mirror besides that one in the bathroom and in the bedroom? Oh, this mirror is made of paper, not glass. It's designed to be looked into, though. And you're supposed to change something when you see yourself.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Most Important Mirror in Your Life."
Our word for today from the Word of God - it's found in James chapter 1, verse 22. And here's what it says: "Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it, he will be blessed in what he does."
Kind of a neat analogy, isn't it? The Bible is called a mirror. You look into it and you decide what needs to be done. Now, most of us when we look in a mirror in the morning, we don't just say, "Oh, well, I give up. I can't do much about it." Come on, we comb it, we brush it, we change it, whatever. So the question seems to be to test your spiritual health, "What have you changed today because of something you saw in the Bible today?" You say, "Well, I read something. I know something because of what I read."
But see, the point of the Bible isn't just to know something. Any more than the point of looking in the mirror is just to see how you look. The point is, "What do I need to change?" See, in order to do that, you have to go looking for yourself in the Bible. And it makes so much difference in your study of the Bible if when you open it up each morning you say, "I am looking for my reflection here." God says He wants to show it to you. Then you apply what you're reading to some specific part of your life that you see. Whether it's your temper, or your patience, or your relationship with a neighbor, a member of your family, a way you're treating your children. Whatever it is, you make that application. Then you write it down. The Bible says that it's important not to forget what you saw or you won't make the changes. So you write it down.
I have found personally that keeping a spiritual diary helps me remember where I've read. I have years of those journals now, and I thank God for them. You work with Jesus on that specific combing, or brushing, or whatever it is during that day - the change that needs to be made.
This process on a daily basis begins to change once and for all your spiritual countenance. And it gets to be a really exciting spiritual adventure to get up in the morning and look in the mirror and see what God wants to work on next. That's the thrill! That's the adventure of following Christ.
So, don't start a day without a look in your spiritual mirror. And make whatever changes that are called for that day. I think you'll be amazed at how good you'll start to look.
