Max Lucado Daily: Childish Resistance
Jesus' promise is comprehensive. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6 ).
We usually get what we hunger and thirst for. The problem is, the treasures of earth don't satisfy. The promise is, the treasures of heaven do. Blessed are those, then, who hold their earthly possessions in open palms. Blessed are those who are totally dependent on Jesus for their joy.
Our resistance to our Father is childish. God, for our own good, tries to loosen our grip from something that will cause us to fall. But we won't let go. We say, "No, I won't give up my weekend rendezvous for eternal joy." "Trade my drugs and alcohol for a life of peace and a promise of heaven? Are you kidding?" There we are, desperately clutching the very things that cause us grief.
It's a wonder the Father doesn't give up!
From The Applause of Heaven
Psalm 84[c]
For the director of music. According to gittith.[d] Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.[e]
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.[f]
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
listen to me, God of Jacob.
9 Look on our shield,[g] O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
12 Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.
Psalm 84:1 In Hebrew texts 84:1-12 is numbered 84:2-13.
Psalm 84:1 Title: Probably a musical term
Psalm 84:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 8.
Psalm 84:6 Or blessings
Psalm 84:9 Or sovereign
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Mark 10:35-45
The Request of James and John
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Insight
Today’s reading reveals the ugliness of self-promotion. This spiritual cancer has plagued the human race since the fall. The remedy to pride is in following Jesus’ model of servanthood. He is the embodiment of a leader who served and a servant who led. Our desire should be to do the same.
True Greatness
January 20, 2014 — by Vernon C. Grounds
Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. —Mark 10:43
Some people feel like a small pebble lost in the immensity of a canyon. But no matter how insignificant we judge ourselves to be, we can be greatly used by God.
In a sermon early in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. quoted Jesus’ words from Mark 10 about servanthood. Then he said, “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. . . . You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.”
When Jesus’ disciples quarreled about who would get the places of honor in heaven, He told them: “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-45).
I wonder about us. Is that our understanding of greatness? Are we gladly serving, doing tasks that may be unnoticed? Is the purpose of our serving to please our Lord rather than to gain applause? If we are willing to be a servant, our lives will point to the One who is truly great.
No service in itself is small,
None great, though earth it fill;
But that is small that seeks its own,
And great that does God’s will. —Anon.
Little things done in Christ’s name are great things.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 20, 2014
Are You Fresh for Everything?
Jesus answered and said to him, ’Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’ —John 3:3
Sometimes we are fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?
Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, “I have to do this thing or it will never get done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us “in the light as He is in the light . . .” (1 John 1:7).
Jealously guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We are one”-with nothing in between (John 17:22). Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone.
Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Lonely World of 'Selfies' - #7051
Monday, January 20, 2014
Facebook has afforded us the wonderful privilege of knowing more about our friends than we ever really wanted to. "I just blew my nose. Thought you all should know." Or, "Status: mad at everybody." Best of all, we can share our "selfies"; pictures of me, taken by me. Because it's all about me, right? No! At least it's not supposed to be.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I'd like to have A Word With You today about "The Lonely World of 'Selfies'."
One TV documentary said, "There's an epidemic of loneliness today." It's true. Even in a world that, in one way, is more connected than ever. Superficially, but strangely lacking in the kind of deep human connection that satisfies our love-starved hearts. Life was never meant to be a "selfie" existence. Where it's all about how I look, what I'm doing, what I'm feeling, what I want to talk about, what I need. The problem is that a world that's only as big as me is a world that's too small to live in. Status: lonely.
Years ago a young man wrote to Mother Teresa with a pretty compelling question. This woman who had buried her life in the needs of the most broken in Calcutta's slums was clearly the one who would know the answer. He asked, "What can I do to have a significant life like you have?" Mother Teresa's postcard reply was only four words: "Find your own Calcutta." Or, "Find some people who need you and be there for them."
You don't have to go to Calcutta to find them. They're in the local senior citizens' facility, the hospital, or they may be kids struggling in school who could flourish if someone took time to tutor them. "Calcutta" may be those homeless people, or the unemployed, or the medically sidelined people down the block.
In fact, you may not have to look any farther than the people you work with or play with or go to school with. On any given day, someone in your world needs a smile, a hug, a compliment, a word of encouragement, a listening ear, a helping hand, or just to be noticed or included. It's a matter of recalibrating your radar to see the people for whom you could make a difference.
On my good days, I wake up and ask the "make a difference" question: "Who needs me today?" It's a decision to be a giver today instead of a taker. But self-sacrifice is not without personal benefit, because the fastest way to get out of your pit is to pull someone else out of theirs. And the best antidote for being lonely is to be there for someone else. So turn your camera lens the other way to make your life a "you-ie" instead of a "selfie" where the other person is the picture. Where your life mission is simple: make each person feel like they matter.
In our word for today from the Word of God, in 2 Corinthians 5:15, God says, "Christ died for all that they should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and rose again." See, we're not supposed to live for ourselves anymore.
Years ago, when I occasionally spoke for New York Giants chapels, I had the privilege of meeting their defensive end, George Martin. A great football player, yes - Super Bowl ring and all. But an even greater man, because he always made other people the big deal instead of himself. He spoke one year for our local high school football team. He had just been named the NFL's Man of the Year for his work with sick and dying children along with a bunch of charitable causes. It wasn't the only award he received for "finding his own Calcutta."
He told our players, "You need to know the real reason I'm doing these things that people give me awards for. I'm just copying my hero. My hero is Jesus Christ." He went on to explain how Jesus forgot about Himself to give us a chance to go to heaven someday. To have a relationship with the God whose love we were made for.
For that to happen, the wall between us and God had to come down. It's a wall I suspect many of us know is there without anyone telling us. And it could only come down if the penalty for us running our own life was paid; a death penalty. As the Bible says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). I'm dead meat if that Bible verse ends there. But thank God, it doesn't. It goes on to say, "But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Living forever instead of punishment forever; heaven instead of hell.
Because as the Bible says, "the Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). That's a love you need to experience for yourself if you never have. It's a relationship you've looked for your whole life, and you could begin today. I'd love to help you know how to do that. Would you go to our website and meet me there? It's ANewStory.com. He'll blow the walls off of your "selfie" world.
Life is never the same once you have experienced for yourself the transforming love of Jesus Christ.
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