Max Lucado Daily: Every Spiritual Blessing
You possess (get this!) every spiritual blessing possible. Ephesians 1:3 promises that "in Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms." This is the gift offered to the lowliest sinner on earth. Who could make such an offer but God? John 1:16 says, "From him we all received one gift after another."
Romans 11:33 asks, have you ever come upon anything quite like this extravagant love of God, this deep, deep, wisdom? It's way over our heads. We'll never figure it out. Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who's done him such a huge favor that God has to ask his advice? Everything comes from him. Everything comes through him. Everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes, yes, and yes!
From In the Grip of Grace
Mark 6:1-29
A Prophet Without Honor
Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.
8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying,[b] “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled[c]; yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of[d] Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Footnotes:
Mark 6:3 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph
Mark 6:14 Some early manuscripts He was saying
Mark 6:20 Some early manuscripts he did many things
Mark 6:22 Some early manuscripts When his daughter
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Proverbs 10:17-21
Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life,
but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
18 Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips
and spreads slander is a fool.
19 Sin is not ended by multiplying words,
but the prudent hold their tongues.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
21 The lips of the righteous nourish many,
but fools die for lack of sense.
Insight
Today’s reading focuses on how we use the words we speak. In verse 17, the emphasis is on the instruction and correction we receive; lying lips and slanderous words are the focus of verse 18. The point of verse 19 is that words can be so dangerous that we’re wiser to not speak than to speak too much, while verse 20 contrasts the speech of those with a right heart (which is like silver) against those whose heart is far from God (worthless). Finally, verse 21 describes how proper speech can be like food to the soul. In all of these sayings, we are challenged to carefully consider how we speak.
Our Daily Bread -- The Wise Old Owl
He who restrains his lips is wise. —Proverbs 10:19
Years ago an anonymous writer penned a short poem about the merits of measuring our words.
A wise old owl sat in an oak;
The more he saw the less he spoke;
The less he spoke the more he heard;
Why can’t we all be like that wise old bird?
There is a connection between wisdom and limiting what we say. Proverbs 10:19 says, “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.”
We are wise to be careful about what we say or how much we say in certain situations. It makes sense to guard our words when we are angry. James urged his fellow believers, “Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19). Restraining our words can also show reverence for God. Solomon said, “God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few” (Eccl. 5:2). When others are grieving, our silent presence may help more than abundant expressions of sympathy: “No one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great” (Job 2:13).
Although there is a time to be quiet and a time to speak (Eccl. 3:7), choosing to speak less allows us to hear more. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Dear Lord, please grant me wisdom to
know when to speak and when to listen.
I want to encourage others and to care
for them as You have cared for me.
Let your speech be better than silence; otherwise be silent.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, September 25, 2014
The “Go” of Relationship
Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two—Matthew 5:41
Our Lord’s teaching can be summed up in this: the relationship that He demands for us is an impossible one unless He has done a super-natural work in us. Jesus Christ demands that His disciple does not allow even the slightest trace of resentment in his heart when faced with tyranny and injustice. No amount of enthusiasm will ever stand up to the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His servant. Only one thing will bear the strain, and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ Himself— a relationship that has been examined, purified, and tested until only one purpose remains and I can truly say, “I am here for God to send me where He will.” Everything else may become blurred, but this relationship with Jesus Christ must never be.
The Sermon on the Mount is not some unattainable goal; it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has changed my nature by putting His own nature in me. Jesus Christ is the only One who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.
If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must be made disciples supernaturally. And as long as we consciously maintain the determined purpose to be His disciples, we can be sure that we are not disciples. Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you. . .” (John 15:16). That is the way the grace of God begins. It is a constraint we can never escape; we can disobey it, but we can never start it or produce it ourselves. We are drawn to God by a work of His supernatural grace, and we can never trace back to find where the work began. Our Lord’s making of a disciple is supernatural. He does not build on any natural capacity of ours at all. God does not ask us to do the things that are naturally easy for us— He only asks us to do the things that we are perfectly fit to do through His grace, and that is where the cross we must bear will always come.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, September 25, 2014
You Build It, He Starts It - #7229
Building a fire is just one of those things a man is supposed to know how to do. And frankly, I hate to have my fire fall apart in front of other people. So I can really empathize with my friend, Rich. It was winter, of course, and he set out to get a fire going in his fireplace. It was Sunday afternoon and we were at his place. He did all the right things. He rolled up the necessary amount of newspaper. He stacked logs with plenty of room for air circulation.
He didn't have much kindling; that was the only weakness in his fire. The fire flared and then it sputtered, and then it smoldered. So he quickly rolled up two or three tight newspaper logs, and it didn't do anything. Then finally he said, (I thought it was kind of strange, but he said) "I've done all I can do. Only God can start it now." Well, we talked for about an hour without a fire, and suddenly this little flame appeared. It grew steadily and it became this really cozy fire. Rich and I just looked at each other and smiled.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Build It, He Starts It."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Chronicles 7:14. A very familiar verse; well traveled. Here's what God said, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive their sins and I will heal their land." All right, you probably recognize this as the classic formula for spiritual revival; that Holy Spirit take-over of a life, a church, a community, or even a nation.
And God says, "I will make sure that your sins are dealt with, your relationships are restored, your prayers are answered, My power's released, the lost get swept into the kingdom. See, that's the history of revival. And I'll tell you what; I think a lot of us are restless for more. We just haven't seen that kind of power released. And there's a lot in our soul that really is crying out for revival, whether we know what to call it or not; this overwhelming sense of the personal presence and power of Jesus Christ.
But no man can start revival, in spite of the fact that sometimes it's scheduled in some churches – Revival This Week. Well, it's like Rich's fire. You might say, "Well, is there anything I can do to help it happen?" God says, "If you will, then I will send a fire." You can create the conditions in which God can spark revival. You can prepare it. He says, "Humble yourself." That means asking Him to bring you to a total sense of dependency on Him, a self-emptying, a personal powerlessness.
Then He says, "Pray." This is desperate prayer, recognizing where the power is; going to the Throne Room of God boldly and passionately. Then He says, "Seek My face." That's what a baby does. They want to touch your face to get to know you. They just want to touch your face. That's the intimate thing to do. This is beyond knowing about God. This is saying, "Lord, I want to touch you deeply, intimately."
And then He says, "Turn from your wicked ways." This is where a lot of us stop. See, in essence, we don't want to deal with our sin except to maybe feel sorry for it. But He says, "No, this is beyond feeling bad about it. This is turning from it. This is abandoning that sin. This is throwing it in the fire."
See, in essence, you want revival so much; you want this spiritual take over so much, you want this power so much that you will do whatever it takes to get God's best. Then the fire starts. God says, "Okay, then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive your sin now. I will heal your land." New beginnings, healing broken things-a great new start. So let's begin to talk to each other about getting the kindling together. Start to build that fire that we all really want and that we desperately need to get out of our spiritual sameness and mediocrity.
And then with the fervent prayer of people, who are tired of the cold spiritually, let's ask God to make that into a blazing fire.