Max Lucado Daily: Another Wall A-Tumblin’ Down
“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation…Ephesians 2:14”
Christ’s death on the cross has torn down the wall we use to keep each other at a distance.
My pastor friend, Bucker Fanning, experienced this firsthand in World War II three weeks after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Imagine a young American Marine in that city of radiation-burned victims. He was a soldier feeling not victory but grief for the suffering around him.
But instead of anger and revenge, Buckner found an oasis of grace! The sign said: Methodist Church. What he found was a partially collapsed structure. Shattered windows; walls, buckled. But several men were setting up chairs. They turned as he entered. He knew one Japanese word. He heard it. Brother!
During Communion, worshippers brought him the elements. In that quiet moment, the enmity and the hurt of the war was set aside as one Christian served another the body and the blood of Christ!
Another wall came a-tumblin’ down.
Proverbs 3
Wisdom Bestows Well-Being
1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
2 for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you peace and prosperity.
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.[b]
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
9 Honor the LORD with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.
11 My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline,
and do not resent his rebuke,
12 because the LORD disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.[c]
13 Blessed are those who find wisdom,
those who gain understanding,
14 for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;
those who hold her fast will be blessed.
19 By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations,
by understanding he set the heavens in place;
20 by his knowledge the watery depths were divided,
and the clouds let drop the dew.
21 My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,
preserve sound judgment and discretion;
22 they will be life for you,
an ornament to grace your neck.
23 Then you will go on your way in safety,
and your foot will not stumble.
24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
25 Have no fear of sudden disaster
or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
26 for the LORD will be at your side
and will keep your foot from being snared.
27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to act.
28 Do not say to your neighbor,
“Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—
when you already have it with you.
29 Do not plot harm against your neighbor,
who lives trustfully near you.
30 Do not accuse anyone for no reason—
when they have done you no harm.
31 Do not envy the violent
or choose any of their ways.
32 For the LORD detests the perverse
but takes the upright into his confidence.
33 The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous.
34 He mocks proud mockers
but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.
35 The wise inherit honor,
but fools get only shame.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Colossians 1:3-14
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant,[a] who is a faithful minister of Christ on our[b] behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[c] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[d] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Celebrate The Fruit
March 13, 2012 — by Marvin Williams
We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. —Colossians 1:3
It’s easy to develop a critical spirit toward people who are not growing spiritually according to our expectations. We can easily spot areas of concern that need correction, but we also need to take note of what’s right. In his letters, Paul often needed to correct churches, but he also celebrated what was good.
In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, for example, he mentioned that the gospel had taken root and was producing fruit in the lives of the believers there (1:6). He celebrated them by directing his thanksgiving toward God for their spiritual growth. They had come to know Jesus and now were struggling against the false teachers (2:6-8). He thanked the Lord for their deep and abiding love for all the saints and for expressing tangible and sacrificial concern for them (1:4). Paul also thanked God because the Colossians’ faith and love grew out of their hope—the reality and assurance that this world is not the end (1:5).
Today may present us with opportunities to observe fellow believers. We can be critical or celebrate their spiritual progress. Let’s take the time to thank the Lord for the way the gospel of Jesus Christ has taken root and is producing fruit in their lives.
Help me, Lord, to reassure and strengthen
Others by the words I speak today;
I would always try to be affirming,
As our pathways cross along life’s way. —Hess
Correction does much, but encouragement does more.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
God’s Total Surrender to Us
For God so loved the world that He gave . . . —John 3:16
Salvation does not mean merely deliverance from sin or the experience of personal holiness. The salvation which comes from God means being completely delivered from myself, and being placed into perfect union with Him. When I think of my salvation experience, I think of being delivered from sin and gaining personal holiness. But salvation is so much more! It means that the Spirit of God has brought me into intimate contact with the true Person of God Himself. And as I am caught up into total surrender to God, I become thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself.
To say that we are called to preach holiness or sanctification is to miss the main point. We are called to proclaim Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). The fact that He saves from sin and makes us holy is actually part of the effect of His wonderful and total surrender to us.
If we are truly surrendered, we will never be aware of our own efforts to remain surrendered. Our entire life will be consumed with the One to whom we surrender. Beware of talking about surrender if you know nothing about it. In fact, you will never know anything about it until you understand that John 3:16 means that God completely and absolutely gave Himself to us. In our surrender, we must give ourselves to God in the same way He gave Himself for us— totally, unconditionally, and without reservation. The consequences and circumstances resulting from our surrender will never even enter our mind, because our life will be totally consumed with Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Whose Smile You're Working For - #6567
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
I remember not long ago, this hot summer day when my oldest son and I were out working in the yard. I was doing the mowing; he was doing some clipping around the rocks; working just a little bit behind me where I had just mown. And I noticed that he was working pretty hard, and I glanced at him. I was pretty pleased with how he was doing, and I just kind of gave him a quick smile and went back to work.
About ten minutes later he walked up to me and I noticed his lips moving, but I could not understand what he was saying because of the lawn mower was so loud. So, I turned the mower down and I said, "What did you say, son?" And he said, "Dad, would you do that again?" And I said, "Do what again?" He said, "Would you give me another smile like you did a few minutes ago?" And then this is what I never forgot. He said, "Dad, you know, it's your smile that keeps me going." Talk about melted Dad! "It's your smile that keeps me going." He had decided that a father's approval was worth working for.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Whose Smile You're Working For."
In our word for today from the Word of God the Apostle Paul tells us whose smile he was working for. Galatians 1:10 - Paul says, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Wow! Paul said in essence, "I've decided who my audience is. I've decided whose applause I'm interested in. I've decided whose smile I want." And frankly he's saying, "It just doesn't matter to me what men think of what I've done, but I want to know that my Lord Jesus is smiling when the day is over and saying, 'Good day. Good job, faithful servant.'"
Now, when you work, and sweat, and minister, and sacrifice; when you do all those things that you do for your family, who are you doing it for? Even the simple things of household chores, homework, tasks you have to accomplish at work. Who are you doing it for? The answer to that question makes all the difference in the fulfillment factor and the meaning of what you're doing.
Years ago, author Keith Miller told in one of his books about getting close to the Oklahoma college football team at a time when they had the longest winning streak in college history. For years they had not been defeated. And he went to a practice at the invitation of the now immortal Coach Bud Wilkinson, and he said after a couple of days there that he found out what their secret was. They lived for Monday. Yeah, that's when they watched the movies of the game with Coach Wilkinson, because as it turned out it really didn't matter to them what the sports writers said. And even though there were say 50,000 people in the stadium, it really didn't matter ultimately whether they cheered or jeered. And it didn't really matter even what the rest of the team said. They waited for one thing. They waited for the coach's verdict on how they had played that day. And Keith Miller said, "The secret of that football team's winning was that they played only for the coach." How about you and me?
Are you playing for the stands, you playing for the other people on the team, playing for the writers, the publicity? I'll tell you this; ultimately every other audience will prove disappointing and unappreciative. You do it for your family, sometime they'll disappoint you. For your church, for some Christian leader, for your employer, for your teachers? Count on it, sometime they're going to let you down.
But the Bible says, "We serve the Lord Christ." And the thrill is taking today's activity and saying, "Lord, I'm doing it all for You."
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