Max Lucado Daily: Everyday Miracles
As I look around, I find more and more things that I had labeled “to be expected” that deserve to be labeled, “Well, what do you know!”
There was a time, at the end of the day I’d step into the bedrooms of three little girls. Their covers were usually kicked off—so I’d cover them up. Their hair usually covered their faces, so I’d brush it back. And one by one, I’d bend over and kiss the foreheads of the angels God had loaned me. Then I’d stand in the doorway and wonder why in the world God would entrust a fumbling fellow like me with the task of loving and leading such treasures.
But I’ve learned not to take these everyday miracles for granted. If I open my eyes and observe, there are many reasons to look at the Source of it all, and just say thanks! Well, what do you know!
From In the Eye of the Storm
Matthew 26:36-75
Gethsemane
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus Arrested
47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
50 Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”[a]
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin
57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. 58 But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward 61 and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.
The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
64 “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”[b]
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,” they answered.
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”
Peter Disowns Jesus
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Footnotes:
Matthew 26:50 Or “Why have you come, friend?”
Matthew 26:64 See Psalm 110:1; Daniel 7:13.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, August 06, 2014
Read: Jeremiah 18:1-6
At the Potter’s House
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.
Insight
Jeremiah is often referred to as the weeping prophet because of the disheartening messages he was often called to deliver to the people of Israel. This title is also appropriate considering the fact that he also wrote the book of Lamentations. In today’s passage, God shows Jeremiah that there is no situation that is not redeemable. No matter the mar, no matter the defect, God can remold and reshape the people of Israel into something useful and beautiful. This is the same message that Paul delivers to the church of Corinth. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). God takes the old and broken and fashions it into something new and useful.
Broken But Beautiful
By Cindy Hess Kasper
[The vessel] was marred . . . ; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. —Jeremiah 18:4
Recently, my daughter showed me her collection of sea glass. Also known as beach glass, the varied bits of colored glass are sometimes pieces of pottery but often they are pieces of shattered glass bottles. Originally the glass had a purpose, but then it was casually thrown away and became broken.
If the discarded glass ends up in an ocean, its journey is just beginning. As it is relentlessly tossed about by currents and tides, its jagged edges are ground down by the sand and waves and eventually are smoothed away and rounded off. The result is something beautiful. The jewel-like sea glass has found new life and is treasured by collectors and artists.
In a similar way, a broken life can be renewed when it is touched by God’s love and grace. In the Old Testament, we read that when the prophet Jeremiah watched a potter working, he noticed that if an object was marred the potter simply reshaped it (Jer. 18:1-6). God explained that in His hands the people of ancient Israel were like clay, which He would shape as He saw best.
We are never too badly broken for God to reshape. He loves us in spite of our imperfections and past mistakes, and He desires to make us beautiful.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay;
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still. —Pollard
When melted by trial, we can be fully molded by the Potter.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, August 06, 2014
The Cross in Prayer
In that day you will ask in My name . . . —John 16:26
We too often think of the Cross of Christ as something we have to get through, yet we get through for the purpose of getting into it. The Cross represents only one thing for us— complete, entire, absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ— and there is nothing in which this identification is more real to us than in prayer.
“Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Then why should we ask? The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only because we want answers, we will become irritated and angry with God. We receive an answer every time we pray, but it does not always come in the way we expect, and our spiritual irritation shows our refusal to identify ourselves truly with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove that God answers prayer, but to be living trophies of God’s grace.
“. . . I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you . . .” (John 16:26-27). Have you reached such a level of intimacy with God that the only thing that can account for your prayer life is that it has become one with the prayer life of Jesus Christ? Has our Lord exchanged your life with His vital life? If so, then “in that day” you will be so closely identified with Jesus that there will be no distinction.
When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to place the blame on someone else. That is always a trap of Satan. When you seem to have no answer, there is always a reason— God uses these times to give you deep personal instruction, and it is not for anyone else but you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, August 06, 2014
No Third Choice - #7193
I don't know whether or not your town has a big water tank. But if it does, I bet I can guess what it says. It probably has the name of your town on it, right? I don't have some kind of gift. I've just seen a lot of water tanks, and they all look basically the same, you know, with the name of the town or something on them.
But I saw a particular water tank on one trip that really got my attention. Actually, I saw two of them. We were driving through Virginia, and all of a sudden I looked up and here are two water tanks on a mountain overlooking this town. You can't miss them. Two tanks; each one has one word on it. One says "HOT." I'll bet you can guess what the other one says - "COLD."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Third Choice."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Revelation 3:15. God is talking to a church in a place called Laodicea. He could be talking to some of us today. He says, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot or cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Boy, that's strong language for God, isn't it?
This is kind of disturbing to some of us who might want our Christianity like we want our oatmeal. You know, not too hot; not too cold. "I'll just get a little involved. I'll give a little money. I'll be a little committed." How about, "I'll believe the beliefs, I'll sing the songs, I'll pray the prayers, I'll read the Bible sometimes, I'll help out a little, but you know, I've got a life. Let's not get carried away."
See, we don't mind getting hot when it comes to sports. Oh, man, we get crazy excited. Or business. We're intense! There's no laid back there. Or recreation - wow! Man, we get all passionate about the thing we love to do for fun or about a relationship. But Jesus? Well, lukewarm is okay. He'd rather have you be cold. That's what He just said. "I'd rather have you be cold. Would you be really something? But lukewarm I find repulsive." Like those water tanks: hot/cold. There was not a third choice. There isn't in following Jesus either. It is hot or cold.
In verse 17, it describes these people a little more. It says, "You say I am rich. I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." See, these are people that, well you can't tell by looking at them, but they're cold on the inside. They look like they've got it totally together.
See, it's easy to mistake success, or prosperity, or a good image for spiritual health. But God is not fooled. Here is this poignant picture in chapter 3, verse 20. Jesus is talking to the church and He says, "Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in." Literally, Jesus has been locked out of His own church. He has been locked out of a life that He purchased with His life. Maybe yours. Isn't it time you let Him in and let Him run things? Lukewarm Christianity frankly is hardly worth the trouble. It's boring, it's powerless, and it's unsatisfying. And you're sitting there saying, "Man, I wonder why this faith of mine is so lifeless? Why bother with it?"
See, real Christianity is as radical as taking up a cross daily. This is a time for no holding back - being all in. The Word of God says in Romans 12:1, "In view of God's mercy, what Christ did on the cross for us, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, (That means you're not hanging onto anything.) holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship."
See, there are two signs over God's people today: hot and cold. Step up to one or the other, will you? And when it comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, remember, there is no third choice.
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