Max Lucado Daily: Look Inside Yourself
When my daughter Jenna was six years old, I discovered her standing in front of a full-length mirror looking down her throat. I asked her what she was doing and she answered, “I’m looking to see if God is in my heart.” I chuckled and turned then overheard her ask Him, “Are you in there?”
She was asking the right question. “Are you in there?” It wasn’t enough for you to appear in a bush or dwell in the temple? It wasn’t enough for you to become human flesh and walk on the earth? You had to go further? You had to take up residence in us?
Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” (I Corinthians 6:19). Perhaps you didn’t. If not, thanks for letting me remind you. The world says look inside yourself and find self. God says look inside yourself and find God.
From When God Whispers Your Name
Matthew 24:29-51
New International Version (NIV)
29 “Immediately after the distress of those days
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[a]
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[b] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.[c] 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[d] is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The Day and Hour Unknown
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[e] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Footnotes:
Matthew 24:29 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
Matthew 24:30 Or the tribes of the land
Matthew 24:30 See Daniel 7:13-14.
Matthew 24:33 Or he
Matthew 24:36 Some manuscripts do not have nor the Son.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Read: Psalm 147:1-9
Praise the Lord.[a]
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.
6 The Lord sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;
make music to our God on the harp.
8 He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He provides food for the cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.
Footnotes:
Psalm 147:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verse 20
Insight
The book of Psalms concludes with five hymns of praise (Psalms 146–150) that begin and end with the refrain, “Praise the Lord!” (Hebrew, Hallelujah). In Psalm 147, the psalmist calls for grateful worship (vv.1,7) as he reflects on the goodness of God to Israel (vv.2-3,6) and on His greatness in creation (vv.4-5,8-9). The psalmist celebrates God’s loving faithfulness in caring and blessing His chosen people individually (vv.2-3,7) and in displaying His mighty power in creating and sustaining His creation generally (vv.4-5,8-9). Focusing not only on God’s greatness but also on His closeness, goodness, and kindness, the psalmist affirms that it is God alone who provides security and prosperity (vv.13-14).
He Calls The Stars By Name
By David C. McCasland
He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. —Psalm 147:4
On a plateau high above the Atacama Desert in Chile, the world’s largest radio telescope is giving astronomers a view of the universe never seen before. In an Associated Press article, Luis Andres Henao spoke of scientists from many countries “looking for clues about the dawn of the cosmos—from the coldest gases and dust where galaxies are formed and stars are born to the energy produced by the Big Bang.”
The Bible celebrates the mighty power and infinite understanding of God who “counts the number of the stars” and “calls them all by name” (Ps. 147:4). Yet the Creator of the universe is not a remote, uncaring force, but a loving heavenly Father who “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (v.3). “The Lord lifts up the humble” (v.6) and “takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy” (v.11).
He loves us so much that “He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
British author J. B. Phillips called Earth “the visited planet,” where the Prince of Glory is still working out His plan.
Our hope for today and forever lies in the loving mercy of God who calls each star by name.
The God who made the firmament,
Who made the deepest sea,
The God who put the stars in place
Is the God who cares for me. —Berg
God, who knows the name of every star, knows all our names as well.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 24, 2014
His Nature and Our Motives
. . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven —Matthew 5:20
The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right-doing is right-being. Jesus Christ came to place within anyone who would let Him a new heredity that would have a righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus is saying, “If you are My disciple, you must be right not only in your actions, but also in your motives, your aspirations, and in the deep recesses of the thoughts of your mind.” Your motives must be so pure that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke. Who can stand in the eternal light of God and have nothing for Him to rebuke? Only the Son of God, and Jesus Christ claims that through His redemption He can place within anyone His own nature and make that person as pure and as simple as a child. The purity that God demands is impossible unless I can be remade within, and that is exactly what Jesus has undertaken to do through His redemption.
No one can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations— He gives us His teachings which are truths that can only be interpreted by His nature which He places within us. The great wonder of Jesus Christ’s salvation is that He changes our heredity. He does not change human nature— He changes its source, and thereby its motives as well.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 24, 2014
TELLING ISN'T TRUSTING - #7184
Okay, I've got to admit this. When something's wrong with our car, you're not going to usually find me under the hood. I'm not really that good at that, so I head for the gas station. Now, Dave has worked on our car for years, and he does a very good job. So I would tell Dave the symptoms of what seems to be wrong with the car; the noise, the starting problem, or the loss of power. And then Dave talks back to me. He tells me what he thinks it might be, what he thinks it might cost and how long it might take to fix it. What do I do? Do I say, "Thanks, Dave!" and then chug away in my ailing car? Well, duh, no! I leave it there.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Telling Isn't Trusting."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 7 beginning at verse 2. "A certain Centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The Centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with Him." Now at this point they're telling Jesus about the problem just like I tell the mechanic about my car's problem. In this case it's a very valued servant.
Now, Jesus responds and the Centurion sends a message back and says, "'I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, "Go," and he goes; and that one, "Come," and he comes. I say to my servant, "Do this," and he does it.' When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him He said, 'I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.' Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well."
Look at those words, "such great faith." Now, why does Jesus say that? Well, see, this Centurion didn't just tell Jesus about the problem. He didn't just bring it to His attention. He trusted Jesus with it totally. That's why he got the miracle he needed.
See, it doesn't do any good if I just go to my mechanic and tell him about the problem. I have to leave my car in his hands; I've got to turn it over to him. I drive away in another car. I leave my car there because I trust the one I've taken it to.
Maybe you're looking at a problem or a need that really needs the touch of God right now. He's the Master Mechanic. He's the ultimate fixer. You say, "Well, I've prayed about it a lot, Ron." We always say, "I've prayed so much about it." Well, you've prayed about it, but have you left it with Him? You told Him, but have you trusted Him?
Notice the Centurion said, "Just say the word and it will be done." See, great faith recognizes the total authority of Jesus over this impossible situation and acts as if it's totally in Jesus' hands. He's the Lord of the outcome. He'll decide the outcome. That's great faith. And that's how you are when you pray about someone or something if you're exercising great faith. "Lord, if you say 'come' it will come. If you say 'go' it will go. If you say 'do this' it will be done."
When Jesus has the problem, you don't have it any more. When you tell Jesus about it, you walk in all bent over carrying this big load, but you walk out of that Throne Room... still bent over? No. When you've really trusted Him with it, you walk in bent over, but you walk out standing tall because you left your load in Jesus' hands. Relax in His total authority over your situation. Exercise that faith that brings down the supernatural; such great faith.
It's like the old song says, "I must tell Jesus all of my troubles." Let's upgrade that, "I must trust Jesus with all of my troubles." So, drive it to Jesus and then leave it there.
