Max Lucado Daily: God's Reward
God rewards those who seek Him! Not those who seek doctrine or religion or systems or creeds. Many settle for these lesser passions, but the reward goes to those who settle for nothing less than Jesus Himself.
And what is the reward? What awaits those who seek Jesus? Nothing short of the heart of Jesus. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him. Can you think of a greater gift than to be like Jesus?
Christ felt no guilt; God wants to banish yours. Jesus had no bad habits; God wants to remove yours. Jesus had no fear of death; God wants you to be fearless. Jesus had kindness for the diseased and mercy for the rebellious and courage for the challenges. God wants you to have the same. Isn't it just like Jesus!
From Lucado Inspirational Reader
Ezekiel 38
The Lord’s Great Victory Over the Nations
The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of[c] Meshek and Tubal; prophesy against him 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of[d] Meshek and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. 5 Persia, Cush[e] and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you.
7 “‘Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. 11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.[f]” 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages[g] will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?”’
14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it? 15 You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. 16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.
17 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You are the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel. At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. 18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. 23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Philippians 2:5-11
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Footnotes:
Philippians 2:6 Or in the form of
Philippians 2:7 Or the form
That Name
November 21, 2013 — by Dave Branon
God . . . has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name. —Philippians 2:9
Our little granddaughter Maggie and her family were back home in Missouri after visiting with us in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her mom told us that for a few days after returning home, Maggie walked around the house happily saying, “Michigan! Michigan!”
There was something about that name that attracted Maggie. Could have been the sound of it. Could have been the enjoyable time she had. It’s hard to tell with a 1-year-old, but the name “Michigan” had such an impact on her that she couldn’t stop saying it.
This makes me think about another name—the name of Jesus, “the name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). A song by Bill and Gloria Gaither reminds us why we love that name so much. He is “Master” and “Savior.” Yes, what depth of meaning there is in the names that describe our Lord! When we mention the great name of Jesus to those who need Him as Savior, we can remind them what He has done for us.
Jesus is our Savior. He has redeemed us by His blood, and we can give our lives wholeheartedly to Him. Jesus. Let all heaven and earth—including us—proclaim His glorious name!
The most precious name is Jesus!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 21, 2013
“It is Finished!”
I have finished the work which You have given Me to do —John 17:4
The death of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in history of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus Christ as a martyr. His death was not something that happened to Him— something that might have been prevented. His death was the very reason He came.
Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the revealed truth of God in Jesus Christ. It makes the Cross unnecessary, and the redemption “much ado about nothing.” God forgives sin only because of the death of Christ. God could forgive people in no other way than by the death of His Son, and Jesus is exalted as Savior because of His death. “We see Jesus . . . for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor . . .” (Hebrews 2:9). The greatest note of triumph ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ— “It is finished!” (John 19:30). That is the final word in the redemption of humankind.
Anything that lessens or completely obliterates the holiness of God, through a false view of His love, contradicts the truth of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. Never allow yourself to believe that Jesus Christ stands with us, and against God, out of pity and compassion, or that He became a curse for us out of sympathy for us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by divine decree. Our part in realizing the tremendous meaning of His curse is the conviction of sin. Conviction is given to us as a gift of shame and repentance; it is the great mercy of God. Jesus Christ hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Most Vulnerable Spot - #7009
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Each year in my Campus Life Club we would have a meeting honoring the football players and the cheerleaders. And we had a crowd-breaker that was always great for laughs. We'd get three cheerleaders up front. We'd give them a bag filled with a complete football uniform, pads and all, minus a couple of items that would have been inappropriate. And then with a player coaching them verbally, the cheerleaders raced to see who could get all their uniform on first. You don't realize how much gear a football player has to put on until you try to figure out where all those pads go; knee pads, shoulder pads, hip pads. I mean, it's a lot to figure out!
But when you are colliding with other bodies at high speed, you need to protect yourself. So the smart player makes sure that he is protected in the spots where he's most vulnerable.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Most Vulnerable Spot."
Physically we know we should protect our vulnerable spots. It's a good idea morally and spiritually as well. The Apostle Paul seemed to realize the spot where many of us are quite vulnerable spiritually; the area where we may be most subject to criticism, to temptation, to compromise, an area where temptation hits pretty hard. Paul knew he had to do some serious things to protect himself in that area. That vulnerable spot - money.
Paul had been raising funds for a special relief offering for the impoverished saints in Jerusalem. It was time to put all those funds together and deliver them, which of course meant handling a lot of money given by God's people. This is how determined he was to protect himself from any injury to his character or his credibility.
He says in our word for today from the Word of God from 2 Corinthians 8:20, "We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift." That's a good idea. I mean, few things bring more discredit to the name of Christ than a Christian who's messing with money that isn't his, or that's even handled in such a way that he could be accused of messing with it. He says, "For we are taking pains to do what is right." Pains--that means going out of your way to guard your integrity; doing whatever it takes to do it right. And sometimes it's a pain, but it's worth it.
That's got to be the standard for every follower of Jesus Christ when it comes to the handling of money; taking pains to do what is right. And it goes on to say, "Not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of men." Oh, isn't right before God good enough? Well, not when it comes to money.
We're called to do what is right before the government, before God's people, before those who would love to have an excuse to discredit Christians and the Savior they serve. So the standard is simple: when you're handling money, always take the high road. Don't see how close to the edge of integrity you can play. See how far you can stay away from the edge; always erring on the side of taking too many precautions.
Money seems to have spiritual power and Satan knows it. He's used the abuse of it, or maybe just naive carelessness with it, to majorly harm the name of Christ and the trust of God's people. So take a page here from a spiritual champion, the Apostle Paul. Take whatever precautions you have to take to cover this vulnerable area called money. Don't ever allow yourself to be in a position where you could possibly be tempted to do something unethical, or where you could even possibly be accused of doing something unethical.
Our opponent wants to hit us hard in our weak spot to take us out of the game. But we could stop him by covering ourselves with heavy protection in anything that involves money. If we can stop hits in that vulnerable spot, I think we can finish the game victorious.
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