Max Lucado Daily: Let Grace Happen
I became a Christian about the same time I became a Boy Scout and I made the assumption that God grades like the Boy Scout's do…on a merit system. Good scouts move up. Good people go to heaven.
So, I worked toward the day when God, amid falling confetti and dancing cherubim, would drape my badge-laden sash across my chest and welcome me into his eternal kingdom where I would humbly display my badges for eternity.
But some thorny questions surfaced. How many badges does He require? How good is good?
Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."
Unearned. A gift. Our merits merit nothing. Let grace happen. Of all the things you must earn in life, God's unending affection is not one of them. You have it!
From GRACE
Genesis 6
Wickedness in the World
When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with[m] humans forever, for they are mortal[n]; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Noah and the Flood
9 This is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress[o] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.[p] 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit[q] high all around.[r] Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Genesis 6:3 Or My spirit will not remain in
Genesis 6:3 Or corrupt
Genesis 6:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Genesis 6:15 That is, about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 135 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high
Genesis 6:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
Genesis 6:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 15:1-10
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Footnotes:
Luke 15:8 Greek ten drachmas, each worth about a day’s wages
Insight
Like Jesus, followers of Christ are to seek the lost. In Luke 15, the illustrations Jesus used of the lost included a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a wayward son. When the rebellious repent and turn to God, their change of heart is celebrated in heaven. The gospel provides both a diagnosis of the problem of sin and the cure in salvation.
Heaven Rejoices!
By Anne Cetas
There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. —Luke 15:10
Joann had been raised in a Christian home. But when she went to college, she began to question her beliefs and walked away from God. After graduation, she traveled to a number of countries, always looking for happiness but never feeling satisfied. While experiencing some difficulties, she recognized that God was pursuing her and that she needed Him.
From Germany, Joann called her parents in the US and said, “I have given my life to Christ, and He’s changing me! I’m sorry for the worry I have caused you.” Her parents were so excited that they called her brothers and sisters-in-law to come over immediately. They wanted to tell them the exciting news in person. “Your sister has received Christ!” they said, rejoicing through tears.
The woman in Luke 15 who found her lost coin called her friends and neighbors together to rejoice with her (v.9). Jesus told this story, and others about a lost sheep and a lost son, to the religious people of His day to show how He came to earth to pursue lost sinners. When we accept God’s gift of salvation, there is rejoicing both on earth and in heaven. Jesus said, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (v.10). How wonderful that Jesus has reached down to us and heaven rejoices when we respond!
I was lost but Jesus found me—
Found the sheep that went astray,
Threw His loving arms around me,
Drew me back into His way. —Rowley
Angels rejoice when we repent.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Abraham’s Life of Faith
He went out, not knowing where he was going —Hebrews 11:8
In the Old Testament, a person’s relationship with God was seen by the degree of separation in that person’s life. This separation is exhibited in the life of Abraham by his separation from his country and his family. When we think of separation today, we do not mean to be literally separated from those family members who do not have a personal relationship with God, but to be separated mentally and morally from their viewpoints. This is what Jesus Christ was referring to in Luke 14:26.
Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason—a life of knowing Him who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world.
The final stage in the life of faith is the attainment of character, and we encounter many changes in the process. We feel the presence of God around us when we pray, yet we are only momentarily changed. We tend to keep going back to our everyday ways and the glory vanishes. A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles’ wings, but is a life of day—in and day—out consistency; a life of walking without fainting (see Isaiah 40:31). It is not even a question of the holiness of sanctification, but of something which comes much farther down the road. It is a faith that has been tried and proved and has withstood the test. Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith—a faith, tested and true, built on the true God. “Abraham believed God. . .” (Romans 4:3).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Only for a Day - #7093
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Our youngest son had an interesting method of weight control. He would eat what he wanted for a while, and then suddenly he would reverse all engines for a day or two. He would announce, "Today is a Slim Fast day!" That means drink diet milk shakes three times a day. Now, when you like to eat, drinking all three meals, I'm sorry, that's not very satisfying.
Well, one day I was out running errands and my son went with me. We stopped at this bagel store, and I came back to the car with the aroma of fresh bagels. (One of the great aromas in the world!) I said, "Son, I'm sorry I did this today." He said, "Dad, I can handle it. It's only one day."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Only for a Day."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. Paul is writing his perspective on the mountain of suffering that he was experiencing. It sounds a little bit like the son I know that would deprive himself of food for a short time.
Here's what it says, "Therefore we do not lose heart." Wow. In spite of all Paul went through, not losing heart. He says, "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles..." (Get that? Light and momentary troubles.) "...are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 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."
He continues that theme in Romans 8:18. He says, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Now, those issues are a lot more serious. Paul is measuring his pain much as my son was measuring his little sacrifice. It's called perspective. "Okay, if this is all there is, I can handle it." But this isn't all there is. In fact, compared to a forever without pain and with incredible rewards for the faithful, our suffering is only for a day. "I can handle it."
I think there's a reason God asked me to talk about this today, because... Well, maybe you're part of the reason. Your loving Lord knows you are under a very heavy load of hurt right now. He has shared your pain. He has seen your tears, He cares about your suffering, and He knows sometimes it's just more than you can handle. And He wanted me to remind you it isn't always going to be like this. This isn't forever; not compared to how long you will live through eternity. It isn't even for long.
When my wife and I were riding the roller coaster that goes with having kids in junior high, we used to say, "TTSP!" The glorious truth: This too shall pass! And that's the truth about this dark valley you're going through-This Too Shall Pass. Maybe you have lost someone close to you recently, and the grief is heavy, but it is temporary. There's a reunion coming. This is only an interruption in your relationship. The pain of your situation is real; maybe even devastating. But praise God there's an eternal healing coming. The Bible still says, "Weeping may be for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).
In Christ there is a four-letter word that makes the worst earth stuff bearable-HOPE. And the hope will last much longer than the hurt. You have in Jesus a Savior who has lived the pain. Hebrews 12:2 says, "For the joy set before him He endured the cross,..." The pain today; the joy forever.
If you just look at today's suffering, you're going to stagger under the load. But if you can lift your eyes and look at the short way down the road, you'll be a winner even with your wounds. For just beyond this valley there is a Savior waiting with His arms wide open, waiting to welcome you to the forever He has planned for you. And you will hear Him say, "It's over, my child. You have born your pain as I did. Now, enter the kingdom I've been waiting to give you."
Oh, it hurts now, but it's only for a day.
