Max Lucado Daily: True Courage
Are you timid? Cautious? Could you use some courage? Scripture says, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). If you're in Christ, these promises are not only a source of joy, they are the foundations of true courage!
When God looks at you, he doesn't see you; He sees the One who surrounds you. Failure's not a concern for you; your victory is secure. How could you not be courageous? In Hebrews 10:22, the writer says, "Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus-let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith."
The point is clear. The Father of Truth will win, and the followers of Truth will be saved. The prize is yours. Applaud the victory!
From The Applause of Heaven
Psalm 82
A psalm of Asaph.
1 God presides in the great assembly;
he renders judgment among the “gods”:
2 “How long will you[d] defend the unjust
and show partiality to the wicked?[e]
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.
They walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”;
you are all sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like mere mortals;
you will fall like every other ruler.”
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are your inheritance.
Footnotes:
Psalm 82:2 The Hebrew is plural.
Psalm 82:2 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Insight
Christ-followers will experience trials and tribulation in this life. Christian ministry, like any other activity, carries with it the wear and tear of opposition, resistance, and disappointment. Paul acknowledges this reality but finds more than enough power and encouragement from his inner spiritual transformation to carry on. In Paul’s mind, the final outcome will be an “eternal weight of glory” (v.17). In all this, perspective is essential. “For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (v.18). The Greek word temporary could be translated “for a season.” The good and ills we face each day are only seasonal, but the reality of Christ will last for all eternity. This perspective gives the believer staying power to face life’s challenges.
Heavenly Perspective
January 17, 2014 — by Dennis Fisher
The things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. —2 Corinthians 4:18
Fanny Crosby lost her sight as an infant. Yet, amazingly, she went on to become one of the most well-known lyricists of Christian hymns. During her long life, she wrote over 9,000 hymns. Among them are such enduring favorites as “Blessed Assurance” and “To God Be the Glory.”
Some people felt sorry for Fanny. A well-intentioned preacher told her, “I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you.” It sounds hard to believe, but she replied: “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I was born blind? . . . Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.”
Fanny saw life with an eternal perspective. Our problems look different in light of eternity: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:17-18).
All our trials dim when we remember that one glorious day we will see Jesus!
Dear God, please help us to see this life
from a heavenly perspective. Remind us that
our trials, however difficult, will one day fade
from view when we see You face to face.
The way we view eternity will affect the way we live in time.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 17, 2014
The Call of the Natural Life
When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me . . . —Galatians 1:15-16
The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles . . . .”
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Morning Turnover - #7050
Friday, January 17, 2014
Our daughter was just eight years old when we left her at a summer camp for the first time. That's kind of a milestone for the child and the parent. But our daughter was really excited. I guess it's the parents that have a little harder time letting go. But a beautiful island, Camp Tapawingo, is on an island in the middle of an Adirondack lake only accessible by boat. So as this boat pulls away, it really underscores the reality that you are leaving this girl. But to be honest with you, it wasn't all that tough.
At that time, there was a woman who had run the place for years; a tremendous Christian educator with a lot of wisdom, a lot of love, a lot of experience. And they took us on a tour of the camp. We loved the facilities and they had this very well-conceived program that they planned for the week. So we knew we'd miss our little girl for the week, but we felt really good about where she was. She wasn't going to be with us, but we could relax. She was in good hands.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Morning Turnover."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Job chapter 1. When you think of Job, you probably think of suffering, right? But he's also a great example of parenting. "There lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil." Verse 3, "He was the greatest man among all the people of the East." Now the life of Job goes on to tell that he had 10 children - seven sons, three daughters - and it says of them after they were grown, his sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
The Bible says, "When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, 'Perhaps my children have sinned or cursed God in their hearts.' This was Job's regular custom." Later on, God and Satan are actually discussing Job's life and his righteousness in this incredible scene in heaven. And apparently the Devil is pretty frustrated, because he says to God, "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?"
Well, here's Job, like us in a lot of ways, worried about his children. They're obviously not in his hands anymore. But each morning (Did you get this?) he would meet with the Lord on their behalf. If you're a mom or dad, that's the most powerful life-shaping weapon you have in your parenting arsenal. We all know the feeling that my wife and I faced as we left our daughter; the concerns of a child who's going to be totally beyond your control, or your protection, your oversight, your influence.
We had her exclusively for only a very few short years, and then like all the others, she started school, began having friends we didn't pick. And they have ideas that are different from our own that are coming at them from every direction. And their time with us steadily decreases. And the influence of many other people and other forces steadily increases, and we start to worry.
And then sometimes there's a panic. We want to nag, or we've got to interrogate or pressure them, maybe even accuse or preach. And in the process of trying to protect them from mistakes, we sometimes end up driving them into mistakes unless we understand the power of the morning turnover when we surrender that child to the care and keeping of the living God. Who, by the way, goes all the places with your child you cannot go.
Now, one prayer is for that hedge; that God protection of your son or daughter from Satan, from sin, from themselves. Each of our children when they were infants, you know what? We'd dedicated them to the Lord at our church in some way. Now we couldn't carry them in our arms any more; they're a little big for that maybe. But all of us need to repeat that process daily; holding each child up to the Lord, committing them to the Lord, turning them over to Him again in serious intercession for them.
Remember, I said that my wife and I had peace when we left our daughter without us on that island that day and it was because we knew we were leaving her in such great hands? All of us parents can have that same peace if we'll leave our sons and daughters in God's strong hands each day. However far they may seem from you or from God, in the words of Isaiah 40:11, "He gathers the lambs in His arms and He carries them close to His heart."
