Max Lucado Daily: Imagine the Difference
This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
I leaned back into my beach chair, interlaced my fingers behind my head, and closed my eyes. That’s when it happened.
No warning. Just bombs away! PLOP!
I looked up just in time to see a seagull giving high feathers to his buddies on the beach!
Count on it—into each day a bird will plop! Traffic will snarl. Friends will forget. Spouses will complain.
Who has a good day on these days? Most don’t—but couldn’t we try?
“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
This day? Rejoice in it? God invites us to!
Could we rejoice smack dab in the midst of this day? Imagine the difference if we could. How’s that for a day changer?
Have a Great Day—Every Day!
And while you’re at it—keep an eye on the seagull with the silly grin!
John 12
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.[b]” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you,[c] but you will not always have me.”
9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna![d]”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[e]
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”[f]
16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
Jesus Predicts His Death
20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 1:31-41
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit Of Christmas
February 1, 2012 — by David C. McCasland
The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you. —Luke 1:35
The acts of generosity and good will that flourish in December often fade quickly, causing many to say, “I wish we could keep the Christmas spirit all year long.” Why does it seem that kindness and compassion are chained to the calendar? Is there an ever-flowing fountain of compassion deeper than warm holiday feelings that pass with the season?
In the first two chapters of Luke, it is striking that the Holy Spirit is mentioned seven times. His work is cited in the lives of the unborn John the Baptist (1:15), Mary (1:35), Elizabeth (1:41), Zacharias (1:67), and Simeon (2:25-27). Here, in what we often call “the Christmas story,” there is no mention of people having something just come to mind or of feeling strangely moved. Instead, the Holy Spirit is identified as the One who guided Simeon, filled Zacharias and Elizabeth, and created the baby in Mary’s womb.
Do we, like them, recognize the Spirit’s voice in the midst of all others? Are we alert to His promptings and eager to obey? Will we allow His warmth and love to fill our hearts and flow through our hands?
Today, the presence and power of Christ remain with us through the Holy Spirit, who is the true, eternal Spirit of Christmas—all year long.
Let the fullness of Thy Spirit
Fall upon us here this hour.
How we need a new anointing
Of the Holy Ghost and power. —Jarvis
Jesus went away so the Spirit could come to stay.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel . . . —1 Corinthians 1:17
Paul states here that the call of God is to preach the gospel. But remember what Paul means by “the gospel,” namely, the reality of redemption in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are inclined to make sanctification the goal of our preaching. Paul refers to personal experiences only by way of illustration, never as the end of the matter. We are not commissioned to preach salvation or sanctification— we are commissioned to lift up Jesus Christ (see John 12:32). It is an injustice to say that Jesus Christ labored in redemption to make me a saint. Jesus Christ labored in redemption to redeem the whole world and to place it perfectly whole and restored before the throne of God. The fact that we can experience redemption illustrates the power of its reality, but that experience is a byproduct and not the goal of redemption. If God were human, how sick and tired He would be of the constant requests we make for our salvation and for our sanctification. We burden His energies from morning till night asking for things for ourselves or for something from which we want to be delivered! When we finally touch the underlying foundation of the reality of the gospel of God, we will never bother Him anymore with little personal complaints.
The one passion of Paul’s life was to proclaim the gospel of God. He welcomed heartbreak, disillusionment, and tribulation for only one reason— these things kept him unmovable in his devotion to the gospel of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Pardoning Turkeys - #6538
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Well, the President of the United States; let's see, he's got wars to manage, wild economy to handle. But you know what? Every Thanksgiving he steps up to one of the most decisive responsibilities of his office. He pardons a turkey; actually, two turkeys. And this is really serious business. Actually they even have a backup turkey (this is the truth) just in case Turkey #1 isn't able to serve as, well what one writer called the ungobbled gobbler.
Of course, these lucky birds have names. One year "Biscuit" and "Gravy" escaped the ax. Yeah. And then there was "Marshmallow" and "Yam." "Flyer" and "Fryer," that was one year. "May" and "Flower," and last year, "Apple" and "Cider."
Well, after their Summit with the President, the turkeys are sent to Disneyland, and they didn't even win the Super Bowl. They used to be sent to (this is the truth), Frying Pan Park in Virginia. I couldn't make that up. Turkey #1 gets to ride with The Mouse as the Honorary Grand Marshal of Disneyland's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I'm thinkin' - only in America.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Pardoning Turkeys."
Now, I've been thinking about that word "pardon" because, well actually, it's become a deeply personal word for me. "May" and "Flower" got pardoned by the highest authority in the land. My pardon comes from the highest authority in the universe. And as for it being a turkey who got pardoned, I'm not going there.
What I can tell you is - there's no way I deserved the pardon I received. Not this stubborn rebel who's pushed God to the margins of my life so many times...who's time and again said, in essence, "God, You run the universe, and I'll run me, thank You." No, I've never killed anybody; I've never committed a major crime against society. But I'm guilty of infinite counts of doing the selfish thing, the angry thing, the proud thing, the hurting thing.
Now, our word today from the Word of God, Romans 3:23, says that I am a sinner, and everybody listening is. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Not only is the verdict in, but so is the penalty. "The wages of sin (the Bible says) is death" (Romans 6:23). That's "death" as in forever separation from God. I stand on the spiritual equivalent of Death Row, but for the pardon. Which the dictionary says is to "exempt the guilty party from punishment."
The Bible says, "Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression?" He is the God who is willing to "hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea" (Micah 5:18-19). Buried. Erased from my record. My eternal death penalty wasn't cancelled. It was paid by Someone else - by the very Son of God Himself. "Christ died for our sins, (this is the Bible), the righteous (that's Him) for the unrighteous (that's you and me), to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18). An unspeakable sacrifice for me, for all of us condemned sinners.
But, you know, there's something strange about a pardon. You have to take it. And who wouldn't? Well, George Wilson didn't. Condemned to hang for a crime that he committed, he was pardoned at the last minute by then President Andrew Jackson. But as unbelievable as it sounds, he wouldn't take the pardon. As the government tried to force the pardon on Wilson, the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. The Attorney General said, "The Court cannot give the prisoner the benefit of the pardon unless he claims the benefit of it." And the Chief Justice concluded, "A pardon is an act of grace...from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws...Delivery is not complete without acceptance."
Do you know, you have to accept the pardon Jesus died to give you. You can ignore it, you can postpone it. Many do. You can choose to keep running your own life. You can try to depend on your religion or your goodness. But then, like George Wilson, you'll pay a death penalty you don't have to pay. Jesus already paid it.
I pray that this day you would reach out and accept the blood-bought pardon of Jesus Christ. We've set up our website to help you know exactly how to begin that relationship with Him. Go to YoursForLife.net, would you today?
This is the day you can accept your pardon that came at an incredibly high price.