Max Lucado Daily: God Sent a Savior
God has given a son to us.…
His name will be Wonderful Counselor,
Powerful God … Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
Every Christmas I read this reminder that came in the mail several years ago:
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.
Christmas cards. Punctuated promises. Phrases filled with the reason we do it all anyway.
He became like us, so we could become like him.
Angels still sing and the star still beckons.
Isaiah 9:6 proclaims, “God has given a son to us. His name will be Wonderful Counselor.”
Powerful God.
Prince of Peace.
The wonder of it all is that…
He loves each one of us like there was only one of us to love.
2 Samuel 22
David’s Song of Praise
1 David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said:
“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield[e] and the horn[f] of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
from violent people you save me.
4 “I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and have been saved from my enemies.
5 The waves of death swirled about me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
6 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7 “In my distress I called to the LORD;
I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.
8 The earth trembled and quaked,
the foundations of the heavens[g] shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared[h] on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his canopy around him—
the dark[i] rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence
bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14 The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at the rebuke of the LORD,
at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
17 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.
20 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
21 “The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.
23 All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
24 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
25 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness[j] in his sight.
26 “To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
27 to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
28 You save the humble,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.
29 You, LORD, are my lamp;
the LORD turns my darkness into light.
30 With your help I can advance against a troop[k];
with my God I can scale a wall.
31 “As for God, his way is perfect:
The LORD’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
32 For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?
33 It is God who arms me with strength[l]
and keeps my way secure.
34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You make your saving help my shield;
your help has made[m] me great.
37 You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
38 “I pursued my enemies and crushed them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
39 I crushed them completely, and they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
40 You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
41 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
42 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the LORD, but he did not answer.
43 I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth;
I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.
44 “You have delivered me from the attacks of the peoples;
you have preserved me as the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
45 foreigners cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
46 They all lose heart;
they come trembling[n] from their strongholds.
47 “The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior!
48 He is the God who avenges me,
who puts the nations under me,
49 who sets me free from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.
50 Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.
51 “He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 46:1-3
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.[b] A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
All Is Well
December 19, 2011 — by Cindy Hess Kasper
I will never leave you nor forsake you. —Hebrews 13:5
Recently, my husband and I were reacquainted with a young man we had known as a child many years ago. We fondly reminisced about a Christmas program when Matthew had sung—in a perfect boy soprano—the song “All Is Well” by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Michael W. Smith. It was a wonderful memory of a song beautifully sung.
All is well, all is well;
Lift up your voice and sing.
Born is now Emmanuel,
Born is our Lord and Savior.
Sing Alleluia, sing Alleluia, all is well.
To hear the words of that song at Christmastime is comforting to many. But some people are unable to absorb the message because their lives are in turmoil. They’ve experienced the loss of a loved one, persistent unemployment, a serious illness, or depression that will not go away. Their hearts loudly cry out, “All is not well—not for me!”
But for those of us who celebrate the birth of our Savior—despite the dark night of the soul we may experience—all is well because of Christ. We are not alone in our pain. God is beside us and promises never to leave (Heb. 13:5). He promises that His grace will be sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9). He promises to supply all our needs (Phil. 4:19). And He promises us the amazing gift of eternal life (John 10:27-28).
As we review God’s promises, we can agree with the poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who wrote, “Before me, even as behind, God is, and all is well.”
God’s peace pillows the head when God’s promises calm the heart
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, December 19, 2011
The Focus Of Our Message
I did not come to bring peace but a sword —Matthew 10:34
Never be sympathetic with a person whose situation causes you to conclude that God is dealing harshly with him. God can be more tender than we can conceive, and every once in a while He gives us the opportunity to deal firmly with someone so that He may be viewed as the tender One. If a person cannot go to God, it is because he has something secret which he does not intend to give up— he may admit his sin, but would no more give up that thing than he could fly under his own power. It is impossible to deal sympathetically with people like that. We must reach down deep in their lives to the root of the problem, which will cause hostility and resentment toward the message. People want the blessing of God, but they can’t stand something that pierces right through to the heart of the matter.
If you are sensitive to God’s way, your message as His servant will be merciless and insistent, cutting to the very root. Otherwise, there will be no healing. We must drive the message home so forcefully that a person cannot possibly hide, but must apply its truth. Deal with people where they are, until they begin to realize their true need. Then hold high the standard of Jesus for their lives. Their response may be, “We can never be that.” Then drive it home with, “Jesus Christ says you must.” “But how can we be?” “You can’t, unless you have a new Spirit” (see Luke 11:13).
There must be a sense of need created before your message is of any use. Thousands of people in this world profess to be happy without God. But if we could be truly happy and moral without Jesus, then why did He come? He came because that kind of happiness and peace is only superficial. Jesus Christ came to “bring . . . a sword” through every kind of peace that is not based on a personal relationship with Himself.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Christmas Invitation - #6506
Monday, December 19, 2011
It was the biggest event of the year in the little town of Cornwall - the annual Christmas pageant, starring many of the people of the town. When it came time for casting the various parts, every parent, of course, was pushing their son or daughter to be included. On audition day, it didn't take long to match every part with just the right person.
But then there was Harold. The little guy really wanted a part, but well because of his learning disabilities, the directors kept passing him over. But Harold just kept popping up again, asking for a part. Finally, the directors gave in and they gave him what they judged to be a no-risk part - the innkeeper who comes to the door and tells Mary and Joseph the inn is full. It was a part with only one simple line. Little did they know that the stage had been set for the most memorable Christmas pageant they had ever seen.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Christmas Invitation."
The night of the pageant, you had to get there early just to get a seat. Backstage, the shepherds were putting on their bathrobes, the angels were adjusting their halos, everyone was reviewing their lines, and the directors were going over Harold's line with him one more time, "Now, remember, Harold...'I'm sorry, we have no room.'" Slowly, but surely, Harold repeated his line, "I'm sorry, we have no room."
The men of the church had built a set that portrayed Bethlehem in the background, a manger on the right, and an inn on the left. As Act One neared its end, a weary Mary and Joseph trudged up to the inn door, desperately looking for shelter. Joseph knocked on the inn door and nothing happened. Backstage the front rows could hear the director whispering, "Now, Harold, now!" The set began to shake! Harold was struggling to get the door open. And then, standing there in his bathrobe, Harold listened as Joseph begged for a room for his pregnant wife.
Harold said nothing. Again, the backstage whisper, "I'm sorry, we have no room." Another long pause. And finally, Harold struggled through his line, "I'm sorry, we have no room." Then he slowly closed the door. It was as Mary and Joseph began to turn away that the totally unforgettable moment came, the one no one would ever forget. Suddenly the set started to shake again; Harold again struggling to get the door open. The stunned director's trying to get to him, can't get to him in time. Harold opened the door, ran after the departing Mary and Joseph, and loud enough for people in the basement to hear, Harold said, "Wait! Wait! You can have my room!"
You know what? Little Harold understood exactly what Christmas means. Luke 2:7, our word for today from the Word of God, says, "There was no room for them in the inn." But Harold understood that when the Son of God is at your door, you have to make room for Him, which is something you may have never done. You've done Christian things, you've gone to Christian meetings, and you've believed Christian beliefs, and you've developed a Christian image, but maybe you've never really opened the door of your heart to the Savior who died for you, who is once again knocking on the door of your heart this Christmas. Your heart is empty because Jesus still isn't there.
I can't think of a better day to change that; to finally give yourself to the One who gave Himself for you. You can open the door by praying a prayer something like this right where you are, "Jesus, I've been running my life. I resign. I believe when You died on that cross You were paying the death penalty for the sinning I have done, and right now I'm giving that up and I'm dropping that to grab You. I'm putting my total trust in You to forgive my sin and to take me to heaven, because You're alive and I'm Yours."
Are you ready to begin that relationship? I hope you'll go to our website. We've got nothing for you to join there, just the kind of information you can watch, or listen to, or read, but however you want to get it that will help you be sure you've begun your relationship with Him. I think you'll find some help there and I want you to know you're His. The website is YoursForLife.net.
This Christmas season - the time that we celebrate His coming to earth, and He came to rescue you - what a great time to give Him what He came for - to give Him you today.