Max Lucado Daily: Unwrapping the Gifts of the Cross
Much has been said about Jesus' "gift of the Cross." But what of the other gifts? What of the nails, the crown of thorns? The garments taken by the soldiers? Have you taken time to open these gifts?
He didn't have to give us these gifts, you know. The only required act for our salvation was the shedding of blood, yet He did much more. So much more.
Search the scene of the Cross-and what do you find? A wine-soaked sponge. A sign. Two crosses beside Christ. Divine gifts intended to stir that moment, that split second when your face will brighten, your eyes will widen, and God will hear you whisper, "You did this for me?" Dare we think such thoughts?
Let's unwrap these gifts of grace- as if for the first time. Pause and listen. Perhaps you will hear Him whisper, "I did it just for you!"
From He Chose the Nails
Genesis 16
Hagar and Ishmael
16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”
6 “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:
“You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,[a]
for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward[b] all his brothers.”
13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen[c] the One who sees me.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi[d]; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Footnotes:
Psalm 23:4 Or the valley of the shadow of death
Insight
As a young boy, David, the author of Psalm 23, was a shepherd. He was responsible for his family’s sheep, which were a significant part of the family’s livelihood. In order to make sure the sheep were well fed and watered, shepherds in ancient Israel would often have to take their flocks deep into the wilderness for long periods of time. It is possible that when David penned this psalm, he was reflecting on God’s presence in the wilderness as he was alone with his sheep. Thinking of the constant and watchful care he provided for each and every sheep, he found comfort in the presence and care of God even when his only companions were animals.
You’ve Got A Friend
By Bill Crowder
[Jesus said,] “I have called you friends.” —John 15:15
One of the ironic consequences of the sweeping growth of social media is that we often find ourselves more personally isolated. One online article warns: “Those who oppose leading one’s life primarily or exclusively online claim that virtual friends are not adequate substitutes for real-world friends, and . . . individuals who substitute virtual friends for physical friends become even lonelier and more depressive than before.”
Technology aside, all of us battle with seasons of loneliness, wondering if anyone knows, understands, or cares about the burdens we carry or the struggles we face. But followers of Christ have an assurance that brings comfort to our weary hearts. The comforting presence of the Savior is promised in words that are undeniable, for the psalmist David wrote, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4).
Whether isolated by our own choices, by the cultural trends that surround us, or by the painful losses of life, all who know Christ can rest in the presence of the Shepherd of our hearts. What a friend we have in Jesus!
I’ve found a Friend; O such a Friend!
He loved me ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love,
And thus He bound me to Him. —Small
Those who know Jesus as their Friend are never alone.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
The Glory That’s Unsurpassed
. . . the Lord Jesus . . . has sent me that you may receive your sight . . . —Acts 9:17
When Paul received his sight, he also received spiritual insight into the Person of Jesus Christ. His entire life and preaching from that point on were totally consumed with nothing but Jesus Christ— “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul never again allowed anything to attract and hold the attention of his mind and soul except the face of Jesus Christ.
We must learn to maintain a strong degree of character in our lives, even to the level that has been revealed in our vision of Jesus Christ.
The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others. The overruling passion of his life is Jesus Christ. Whenever you see this quality in a person, you get the feeling that he is truly a man after God’s own heart (see Acts 13:22).
Never allow anything to divert you from your insight into Jesus Christ. It is the true test of whether you are spiritual or not. To be unspiritual means that other things have a growing fascination for you. Since mine eyes have looked on Jesus, I’ve lost sight of all beside, So enchained my spirit’s vision, Gazing on the Crucified.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Game That Matters Most - #7103
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
My team, the New York Giants, decided to not even show up for the playoffs this year. Oh, the Super Bowl was in their stadium, but sadly there was no blue and white on the field. I was expecting a "gunfight at the OK Corral" kind of game. It was more like only one guy showed up with a gun. Odds makers were predicting that Denver was going to win by one point. They lost 43-8.
Denver Broncos defensive end Shaun Phillips managed to emerge from that blowout a winner. Where it really counts I mean. See, Shaun texted his son Jaylen and said, "Sorry I let you down." His son's answer changed everything. "It's OK daddy u r still my hero." Perspective. Wow! Playing in the Super Bowl - big accomplishment. Being a super dad - that's the biggest victory a man can win.
And suddenly, Shaun was reminded of where putting points on the board matters most. He told his son, "Well, at least we get to hang out now." That little exchange on Super Bowl Sunday is a message for every one of us that someone calls dad.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Game That Matters Most."
You can be a hero "on the field" - whatever your field is - and be a zero at home. But if you're a hero at home, you can weather the blowouts in the other parts of your life.
My son tells me, "Dad, it doesn't matter how crazy my workday has been, I walk in the door of my house and five minutes with my kids reminds me what really matters." It's true! I smiled when he said that. He and his siblings did that for me more times than I can count.
Of course, some dads come home to just another battlefield. But the man of the house has more effect on the climate of that house than anyone else. Beginning in the Garden of Eden, God has held the man ultimately responsible for what happens in his family. It's a classic case of "a man reaps what he sows."
That's our word for today from the Word of God, Galatians 6:7, "A man reaps what he sows." If you sow unselfishness, you'll start to reap unselfishness. If you sow "I come first," you'll reap a family of people who are all about themselves. The homefront harvest of stress or peace, of harshness or kindness, of criticism or encouragement? So much of that depends on the seed sown by dad. That's why the Bible warns fathers to "not embitter your children or they will become discouraged" (Colossians 3:21). And it says, "fathers do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4).
I came to realize that I was the thermostat in my family, setting the temperature; my wife was the thermometer, reflecting the temperature I set; and my children were the seismograph, registering every disturbance.
Clearly, the central arena of a man's best efforts is to be in his home. No amount of applause, awards or accomplishment outside your family can begin to compensate for losing at home. And the weight of that life-shaping assignment - with so much potential for being life-scarring instead - has driven me to seek outside help from the God who told us to call Him "our Father."
It was being a husband and being a dad that showed me that I am not enough. My family had needs I couldn't meet because I hadn't figured out how to meet those needs in me. That the things that troubled me in my kids mirrored my own weaknesses. My own baggage. My own sin. That's when the word "Savior" becomes intensely personal. I need a Rescuer from the dark side of me that God calls sin. A dark side that becomes a spreading infection when you have a wife and you have children.
So I reached out to Jesus and I grabbed Him like a drowning man would grab a rescuer, because (as the Bible says) "the Lord Jesus Christ...gave Himself for our sins to rescue us" (Galatians 1:3). And there I found that this self-centered sinner of a dad could become what the Bible calls "a new creation in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17). With God's power, anyone can win the game that matters more than any other - winning the hearts of the children that He gave you.
If you've never begun your relationship with this life-changing Savior, for your sake, for your family's sake would you open your heart to Him today? I'd love to help you get connected with the life-changing power of this Jesus. So I hope you'll join me at our website ANewStory.com. It could be the beginning of a new story for you and for those you love.