Max Lucado Daily: Standing on His Promises
We come to Christ in an hour of deep need. We realize that all the good works in the world are puny when laid before the Perfect One. So we beg for help. Then we hear his voice; and step out in fear, hoping that our little faith will be enough. With precious, wobbly steps, we draw close to him.
We stand upon his promises. It doesn't make sense that we're able to do this. We don't claim to be worthy of such an incredible gift. When people ask how in the world we can keep our balance during such stormy times, we don't boast. We point to the One who makes it possible. "Nothing in my hand I bring; Simply to They cross I cling," we sing. "Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved," we declare. And we never look back! May that be the anthem of your life.
From In the Eye of the Storm
Exodus 30
The Altar of Incense
“Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. 2 It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high[e]—its horns of one piece with it. 3 Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. 4 Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding—two on each of the opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. 5 Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law—before the atonement cover that is over the tablets of the covenant law—where I will meet with you.
7 “Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. 8 He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come. 9 Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. 10 Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering[f] for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord.”
Atonement Money
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. 13 Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel,[g] according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. 14 All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord. 15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. 16 Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.”
Basin for Washing
17 Then the Lord said to Moses, 18 “Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 20 Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the Lord, 21 they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.”
Anointing Oil
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels[h] of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels[i] of fragrant calamus, 24 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin[j] of olive oil. 25 Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. 26 Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law, 27 the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, 28 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.
30 “Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 32 Do not pour it on anyone else’s body and do not make any other oil using the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from their people.’”
Incense
34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, 35 and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. 36 Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from their people.”
Exodus 30:2 That is, about 1 1/2 feet long and wide and 3 feet high or about 45 centimeters long and wide and 90 centimeters high
Exodus 30:10 Or purification offering
Exodus 30:13 That is, about 1/5 ounce or about 5.8 grams; also in verse 15
Exodus 30:23 That is, about 12 1/2 pounds or about 5.8 kilograms; also in verse 24
Exodus 30:23 That is, about 6 1/4 pounds or about 2.9 kilograms
Exodus 30:24 That is, probably about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, August 29, 2014
Read: Luke 6:27-37
Love for Enemies
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Judging Others
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
New International Version (NIV)
Insight
In Luke 6:20-49, Luke recorded a sermon by Jesus that is similar to the sermon recorded in Matthew 5–7. Some scholars believe it was the same sermon, while others say that Jesus taught in two different settings. In Matthew, he taught it “on a mountain” (5:1), while here, Jesus taught these same truths “on a level place” (Luke 6:17).
Terms Of Service
By Julie Ackerman Link
Forgive, and you will be forgiven. —Luke 6:37
If you’re like me, you seldom read the full text of contracts for online services before you agree to them. They go on for pages, and most of the legal jargon makes no sense to ordinary people like me.
I was quite surprised, therefore, when a friend from Africa made me aware of this one-of-a-kind service agreement for online software. Instead of a wordy license telling people how not to use it, the developer offers a simple blessing urging people to use it for good:
May you do good and not evil. May you find forgiveness for yourself and forgive others. May you share freely, never taking more than you give.
At first I thought, Wow. Imagine if more terms of service agreements were written as blessings instead of legal documents. Then I thought, The agreement Jesus makes with us is like that. He offers us forgiveness of sin, peace with God, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. In return, all He asks is that we do good (Gal. 6:10), forgive as we’ve been forgiven (Luke 6:37), and love others as He loves us (John 13:34).
The beauty of Jesus’ agreement with us is that even though we fail to live up to the terms, we still receive the blessing.
Bestowed with benefits daily,
Sent from the Father above;
Mercies and blessings abounding,
Gifts of His marvelous love. —Anon.
As we have opportunity, let us do good to all. —Galatians 6:10
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, August 29, 2014
The Unsurpassed Intimacy of Tested Faith
Jesus said to her, ’Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’ —John 11:40
Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith. But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture out with courage on the words of Jesus Christ, while the realities of your commonsense life continue to shout, “It’s all a lie”? When you are on the mountaintop, it’s easy to say, “Oh yes, I believe God can do it,” but you have to come down from the mountain to the demon-possessed valley and face the realities that scoff at your Mount-of-Transfiguration belief (see Luke 9:28-42). Every time my theology becomes clear to my own mind, I encounter something that contradicts it. As soon as I say, “I believe ’God shall supply all [my] need,’ ” the testing of my faith begins (Philippians 4:19). When my strength runs dry and my vision is blinded, will I endure this trial of my faith victoriously or will I turn back in defeat?
Faith must be tested, because it can only become your intimate possession through conflict. What is challenging your faith right now? The test will either prove your faith right, or it will kill it. Jesus said, “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” Matthew 11:6). The ultimate thing is confidence in Jesus. “We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end . . .” (Hebrews 3:14). Believe steadfastly on Him and everything that challenges you will strengthen your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith up to the point of our physical death, which is the last great test. Faith is absolute trust in God— trust that could never imagine that He would forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5-6).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, August 29, 2014
The Name on the Reservation - #7210
Sometimes it's just fun to surprise people. But not when you're trying to check into a hotel. It didn't work out so well for me in Houston. Chuck had contacted me on behalf of an organization to fly to Houston and film a training video. He told me what hotel to go to, and I strolled in with my suitcase. I was confident I'd be greeted with a room number and a key. Instead I was greeted with, "Uh, I never heard of you." They had no record of me! Well, finally, after some frustration I tried one more thing. I gave them Chuck's name. Bingo! The reservation was not in my name; it was in the name of the one who was paying for it.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Name on the Reservation."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 4:12; very important words. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." And the name referred to two verses earlier is "the name of Jesus Christ, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead."
The verse starts out with the word "...salvation is found in no one else." What is this salvation thing? Well, obviously it implies that someone needs rescuing. Well, you and I do, because we have messed up the greatest life-or-death choice there is. We have decided the wrong person will run our lives. We've ripped our life away from the God who gave it to us and we just said, "God, I'll run it myself." According to the Bible, the One who gave you your life is supposed to run your life. But, no, each of us has defied our Creator. You have and I have.
The Bible says, "All of us have sinned and come short of God's glorious ideal." We've chosen to do what we want to do with our body, and our mind, and our sexuality, and our future, and our money, etc. Well, God's diagnostic name for that rebellion is sin. And it's terminal. We're away from God; we're separated by a wall of sin, which you can probably feel in your soul. If we die like this, we literally get the hell of never-ending separation from God and His love.
Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sin is death." But then there's good news; the best news. "But the gift of God is eternal life." How do we get that? The Bible says there's only one name in which you can get that-the name of Jesus. See, you and I are going to keep our appointment with God someday. We all hope we're going to go to heaven. But if the reservation is in your name, you're not getting in. The reservation has to be in Jesus' name, because He paid for it. He paid for you to go there.
There are going to be some tragic surprises on Judgment Day. Someone will walk up to God and give their name and say, "Hey, look at all the good things I've done, Lord. Here are my references; all the people who will vouch for me." That's not going to be enough to get you in. Or, "Maybe, Lord, it's in my church's name, or my husband's name, or my wife's name. They're real good Christians. My parent's name." And then will come the agony of realizing that we've been depending on a name that cannot get us into heaven.
Only the name of Jesus Christ can get you in, because it took His death on the cross. He is the only Savior there is. There are other religious teachers, there are religious systems. There are a lot of good works. None of which can satisfy a perfect God. Only Jesus paid the price with His life. And God says, "What will you do with Him? Salvation is in no other name." So we need to walk up to God and say, "Lord, look under Jesus. I know that He died on that cross for me. I've accepted His death for me as my only hope. I've made Him my Savior and my Lord. My reservation is in Jesus' name."
If you've been depending on anything else to get you to heaven, this is your day to pin all your hopes on the only one who can take you there. That is God's Son, Jesus. Get this settled, for tomorrow is never guaranteed. I'd love to help you get this settled. If you'd just go to our website, it's what it's there for - AnewStory.com. I will meet you there and tell you how to get started with Him.
I'll tell you, if your heaven reservation is in Jesus' name, I'll tell you what you're going to hear from God, "Welcome home!"
