Max Lucado Daily: His Loving Forgetfulness
Hear this powerful passage from Paul's letter to the Galatians. "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Galations 3:27). We have "put on" Christ. When God looks at us He doesn't see us; He sees Christ. We wear Him. We're hidden in Him; covered by Him.
Presumptuous, you say? Sacrilegious? It would be if it were my idea. But it isn't, it's His. We're presumptuous not when we marvel at His grace, but when we reject it. And we're sacrilegious not when we claim His forgiveness, but when we allow the haunting sins of yesterday to convince us God forgives but He doesn't forget.
Do yourself a favor. Take the Roman nails of Calvary and board up the door. Believe in His loving forgetfulness, in His graciously terrible memory.
From God Came Near
2 John 1
New International Version (NIV)
1 The elder,
To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:
3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.
4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we[a] have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.
12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
13 The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings.
Footnotes:
2 John 1:8 Some manuscripts you
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 16:21-28
Jesus Predicts His Death
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Footnotes:
Matthew 16:25 The Greek word means either life or soul; also in verse 26.
Living Backward
December 16, 2013 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. —Matthew 16:25
The Chicago River is unusual because it flows backward. Engineers reversed its direction over a century ago because city-dwellers were using it as a dump. Dishwater, sewage, and industrial waste all funneled into the river, which emptied into Lake Michigan. Since the lake supplied drinking water for the city, thousands grew sick and died before city authorities decided to redirect the river to flow backward, away from the lake.
When we look at the earthly life of Jesus, it may seem backward from what we would expect. As the King of glory, He came to earth as a vulnerable infant. As God in the flesh, He endured accusations of blasphemy. As the only sinless man, He was crucified as a criminal. But Jesus lived on earth according to God’s will (John 6:38).
As followers of Christ, to clothe ourselves with Jesus’ attitudes and actions may appear “backward.” Blessing our enemies (Rom. 12:14), valuing godliness over wealth (1 Tim. 6:6-9), and taking joy in hardship (James 1:2) seem to oppose worldly wisdom. Yet, Jesus said, “Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 16:25).
Don’t worry if living your life sometimes means operating in reverse. God will give you the strength to honor Him, and He will propel you forward.
Dear God, please give me the strength to go
against the flow of this world. Help me to resist
what is wrong in Your eyes and to act in ways
that please You, for the glory of Your name.
Clothing ourselves with Jesus’ attitudes and actions shows His presence in our lives.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 16, 2013
Wrestling Before God
Take up the whole armor of God . . . praying always . . . —Ephesians 6:13,18
You must learn to wrestle against the things that hinder your communication with God, and wrestle in prayer for other people; but to wrestle with God in prayer is unscriptural. If you ever do wrestle with God, you will be crippled for the rest of your life. If you grab hold of God and wrestle with Him, as Jacob did, simply because He is working in a way that doesn’t meet with your approval, you force Him to put you out of joint (see Genesis 32:24-25). Don’t become a cripple by wrestling with the ways of God, but be someone who wrestles before God with the things of this world, because “we are more than conquerors through Him . . .” (Romans 8:37). Wrestling before God makes an impact in His kingdom. If you ask me to pray for you, and I am not complete in Christ, my prayer accomplishes nothing. But if I am complete in Christ, my prayer brings victory all the time. Prayer is effective only when there is completeness— “take up the whole armor of God . . . .”
Always make a distinction between God’s perfect will and His permissive will, which He uses to accomplish His divine purpose for our lives. God’s perfect will is unchangeable. It is with His permissive will, or the various things that He allows into our lives, that we must wrestle before Him. It is our reaction to these things allowed by His permissive will that enables us to come to the point of seeing His perfect will for us. “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . .” (Romans 8:28)— to those who remain true to God’s perfect will— His calling in Christ Jesus. God’s permissive will is the testing He uses to reveal His true sons and daughters. We should not be spineless and automatically say, “Yes, it is the Lord’s will.” We don’t have to fight or wrestle with God, but we must wrestle before God with things. Beware of lazily giving up. Instead, put up a glorious fight and you will find yourself empowered with His strength.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Bare Feet, Boots and a Man In Blue - #7026
Monday, December 16, 2013
Like most Americans, I just about O.D. on the news. No matter what it's about! It could be news about elections, some economic cliff, or eruptions in the Middle East. It's all important, but it's not exactly in the "joy to the world" category.
So I absolutely loved the feel-good story out of New York City that went viral across Facebook last Christmas. It was about the friendly policeman and the freezing homeless man. And it had "Christmas Story" written all over it.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Bare Feet, Boots and a Man In Blue."
In case you missed it, a young police officer, on patrol in Times Square, came upon a homeless man, sitting barefoot on the sidewalk. It was a "two pair of socks" night for the officer and even then his feet were freezing. He couldn't imagine a man sitting there barefoot all night. So the man in blue went inside a nearby store and bought the homeless man a $100 pair of boots with his own money. When he gave those boots to that barefoot man, well, you can imagine the joy.
It would have been one of life's invisible acts of kindness except for a tourist with a cell phone camera. She was so moved with what she was watching, she snapped a picture, which has now been seen by millions of people. Maybe because it was the Christmas season, that poignant scene triggered a flashback to something my personal Hero did over and over again. It's one of the many things that makes me love Him. That would be Jesus.
The incident I remember took place when Jesus was entering a town, surrounded by crowds anxious to see Him. The Bible says there was a blind beggar who had heard that "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." Much to the aggravation of the people around Jesus, he started shouting loudly, "Jesus, have mercy on me!"
A lot of annoyed people there told him in no uncertain terms to shut up. Or "shutteth up" (sounds more Biblical). So he just shouted louder. The blind man was a nuisance. He was an embarrassment; they had a "celebrity" in town. Then two little words that tell me so much about Jesus, and they're our word for today from the Word of God. Two words: Luke 18:40 ; "Jesus stopped". Nobody else stopped, but Jesus did. Not for the mayor. Not for the millionaires. Not for the ministers, but for the miserable. The guy everyone else walked by or walked over. That's who Jesus stops everything for. And the first thing that blind man ever saw was the face of Jesus. Because Jesus did what only He could do; He gave that man his sight.
The Bible's filled with stories of people nobody would stop for except Jesus. Marginalized people like blind Bartimaeus. Obnoxious people like Zacchaeus. Condemned people like the woman caught in the very act of adultery. Even the hardened criminal on the cross next to His, in His agony Jesus answered the thief's cry for mercy and guaranteed him heaven.
For 2,000 years, Jesus has been stopping for the lonely, the losers, the lost. And letting them know that someone knows their name. Someone hears their cry. Someone really loves them. And it's God's one and only Son. He sees me; He sees a world lost in sin, away from God, headed for an awful eternity. And He does what no one else could do. What no religion could ever do. He pays for my sins with His blood. In the words of the Bible, "He was wounded and bruised for our sins. He was beaten so that we might have peace; He was lashed and we were healed!" (Isaiah 53:5 ).
You know, Jesus stopped for me when my soul was destitute, when my soul was doomed. Like the hymn says, "Once I was lost, but now I am found. I was blind, but now I see." Look, He might be passing your way today. He knows your name. He knows your scars. He knows your sin, and He died for it. He's reaching your direction. Why don't you grab His hand today to begin your personal relationship with the man who loved you enough to die for you.
Listen, if you want to know how; if I could possibly help you, would you check out our website ANewStory.com and join me there? Let Jesus do for you what only He can do.
