Max Lucado Daily: Known to Wander
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. Titus 2:11
If the prophet Isaiah who said, “All we like sheep have gone astray” had known my dog, he might have written, “All we like Molly have gone astray!”
You don’t want to know how many times this minister has chased his dog down the street, tossing un-minister-like warnings! She’s definitely known to wander!
Last week we thought it was for good. I went to the animal shelter. I didn’t find her there. But I had the urge to fill my car with barking, tail-wagging dogs. As much as I wanted to save the dogs, I wanted to stay married even more!
But the urge helps me understand why Jesus made forgiveness his big announcement. Paul told Titus, “Salvation’s available for everyone! Tell them!”
By the way, Molly turned up in a neighbor’s backyard. Turns out she wasn’t as far from home as we feared.
Neither are you!
Psalm 29
A psalm of David.
1 Ascribe to the LORD, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his[b] holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirion[c] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks[d]
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
11 The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 23:23-31
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
Gutters And Windows
January 24, 2012 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Love from a pure heart . . . and from sincere faith. —1 Timothy 1:5
While we were out for a family drive, a spotless white sign with perfect red lettering caught my attention: “Gutters and Windows—Quality Work Guaranteed.” The sign was pristine, but I feared the house and barn directly behind it might collapse at any moment. The paint was peeling, the windows were cracked, and the gutters were nonexistent!
Many of us “advertise” for Jesus, but our spiritual houses are in disrepair. We may attend church, speak in “Christianese,” and mingle nicely with others. But when our conduct does not align with our hearts, our first-class behavior is just a performance of piety. When Jesus confronted the Pharisees, He said, “You . . . outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt. 23:28).
Jesus had a different but equally direct message for His followers: “Do not be like the hypocrites” (6:16). The Bible encourages us to “love from a pure heart . . . and from sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5). These inner attitudes should pour out through our words and actions (Luke 6:45).
Today, consider the state of your spiritual house. If people look beyond the beautiful outward display, will they discover an authentic heart?
Hypocrisy is a common sin
That grieves the Lord above;
He longs for those who’ll worship Him
In faith and truth and love. —Bosch
God desires that our actions be a reflection of a pure heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
God’s Overpowering Purpose
I have appeared to you for this purpose . . .—Acts 26:16
The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. And Paul stated, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). Our Lord said to Paul, in effect, “Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine.” And the Lord also says to us, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go . . .” (John 15:16).
When we are born again, if we are spiritual at all, we have visions of what Jesus wants us to be. It is important that I learn not to be “disobedient to the heavenly vision”—not to doubt that it can be attained. It is not enough to give mental assent to the fact that God has redeemed the world, nor even to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did a reality in my life. I must have the foundation of a personal relationship with Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ.Acts 26:16 is tremendously compelling “. . . to make you a minister and a witness . . . .” There would be nothing there without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s. He saw nothing else and he lived for nothing else. “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Stopped at the Gate - #6532
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Wow! Talk about so near and yet so far - poor Desmond Bishop. He missed what could have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to the White House and meet the President of the United States!
Desmond was a linebacker for the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers that year, and his team met the President. Meanwhile, Desmond took a nap on the team bus. Why? All because he inadvertently left his I.D. on the plane, and the Secret Service wasn't about to make any exceptions on letting someone close to the President. No I.D., no White House, no President.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stopped at the Gate."
Well, it could be worse. I mean, I can't think of anything more tragic than getting to the gates of heaven, expecting to get in with others who are going and being turned away. And that is not an imaginary scenario.
Actually, it's in our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 13. I'll begin reading in verse 24. Jesus said, "Many will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you.' Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you and you taught in our streets.' But he will reply, 'I don't know you. Depart from me.'"
That's disturbing. The folks who are shut out of heaven are apparently church folks, people who've been around Jesus, who know a lot about Jesus. They have Christianity, but they don't have Christ.
Jesus made it really clear when He said, "I am the way...no man comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). The way. Because you can't get into heaven with your sin, and our sin can only be forgiven by the One who paid the sin penalty that we deserve. The Bible says, "He carried our sins in His body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). No religion can die for your sins; no spirituality can die for your sins. Only God's sinless Son could do that. So He's the only "I.D." that will get us into God's heaven.
I got a picture of that a while back. I was speaking at a large youth event in Canada, and the music was provided by one of North America's most popular Christian bands. And I had a small group of young people who really wanted to meet them. (You know, meeting a speaker - who cares? Meet the band? Freak out!) Well they kept getting stopped by security, until I showed up. I pointed to the first one, and eventually to each of them, and I said the magic words that got them in. I just said, "He's with me. She's with me."
You know, that's the only way you and I are going to get into heaven? It takes Jesus saying, "He's with Me. She's with Me." And 2 Timothy 2:19 says, "The Lord knows those who are His." That would be those who have pinned all their hopes on Him and put their life in His hands. Question: "Are you one of them?" I mean, can you remember that there was a time when you said to Jesus, "Jesus, I believe that some of those sins you died for on the cross were mine, and I want to make it personal. I want to pin all my hopes on You. I'm not driving my life any more; You're going to drive from here on." And you actually put your life, and your eternity, and your future, and your soul in the hands of Jesus.
If you don't know you've done that, you probably haven't, but today you could. Today could be your Jesus day, so that He will say, "She's with me. He's with me" when you get to the gate of heaven. It's the only way you're going to get in. If you're not sure you're with Him; if you're not sure you belong to Him, get it settled today, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
Our whole website is there to help you find Him. And you can go there, and I've put as simply as I can in a way you can either read, or watch, or listen to - the way to know that you belong to Jesus Christ for sure. It's YoursForLife.net. Please go there today.
Because without Jesus...without Him saying, "He's with Me. She's with Me," there's just no getting in.
