Max Lucado Daily: A Portable Prayer
Some people excel in prayer. They are the SEAL Team 6 of intercession. They would rather pray than sleep. Why is it I sleep when I pray? It's not that we don't pray at all. We all pray some. Surveys indicate one in five unbelievers prays daily. Just in case, perhaps? When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He gave them a prayer. Not a lecture on prayer. A quotable, repeatable, portable prayer. Could you use the same?
Father, You are good.
I need help. Heal me and forgive me.
They need help. Thank you.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Let this prayer punctuate your day!
Here's my challenge for you! Sign on at BeforeAmen com. Every day for 4 weeks, pray 4 minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before!
Mark 7:1-13
That Which Defiles
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.[a])
5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’[b]
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”
9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe[c] your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[d] and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[e] 11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”
Footnotes:
Mark 7:4 Some early manuscripts pitchers, kettles and dining couches
Mark 7:7 Isaiah 29:13
Mark 7:9 Some manuscripts set up
Mark 7:10 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
Mark 7:10 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, October 02, 2014
Read: Mark 4:35-41
Jesus Calms the Storm
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Insight
Today’s passage from Mark recounts an incredible display of Jesus’ power. As the Lord of creation (Col. 1:15-17), Christ had the right and the authority to instruct the wind and the waves and have them obey Him. Yet this miracle caused the disciples to fear greatly, which prompted Jesus’ statement in verse 40. The disciples feared the storm more than they trusted the one who was with them in the boat. Jesus tells them (and us) to trust what we have seen in Him to get us through both the literal and metaphorical storms of life.
In The Storm
By Poh Fang Chia
[Jesus] said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” —Mark 4:39
A storm was brewing—not just on the horizon but also in a friend’s home. “When I was in Hong Kong,” she shared, “the local meteorological service announced that there was a superstorm approaching. But more than the storm that was looming outside my window, there was a storm brewing at home. While my dad was in the hospital, family members were trying to balance their home and work responsibilities while also traveling to and from the hospital. They were so tired that patience was wearing thin, and the situation at home was tense.”
Life can feel like a storm—tossing us around with winds of misfortune, grief, or stress. Where can we turn? When Jesus’ disciples were caught in a great windstorm and wondered if He cared, they still knew where to turn. He demonstrated His power by calming the howling storm (Mark 4:38-39).
But often He does not calm the storm immediately. And, like the disciples, we may feel that He doesn’t care. To calm our fears, we can cling to faith in who God is and what He can do. We can take shelter in Him (Ps. 91:1). We can find His help to relate to others with grace. We can rest in an all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving God. He is with us in the storm and cradles us through the storm.
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or whatever it be
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of the ocean, and earth, and skies. —Baker
One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think. —Brother Lawrence
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 02, 2014
The Place of Exaltation
. . . Jesus took . . . them up on a high mountain apart by themselves . . . —Mark 9:2
We have all experienced times of exaltation on the mountain, when we have seen things from God’s perspective and have wanted to stay there. But God will never allow us to stay there. The true test of our spiritual life is in exhibiting the power to descend from the mountain. If we only have the power to go up, something is wrong. It is a wonderful thing to be on the mountain with God, but a person only gets there so that he may later go down and lift up the demon-possessed people in the valley (see Mark 9:14-18). We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life— those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength. Yet our spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mountain. We feel that we could talk and live like perfect angels, if we could only stay on the mountaintop. Those times of exaltation are exceptional and they have their meaning in our life with God, but we must beware to prevent our spiritual selfishness from wanting to make them the only time.
We are inclined to think that everything that happens is to be turned into useful teaching. In actual fact, it is to be turned into something even better than teaching, namely, character. The mountaintop is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something. There is a terrible trap in always asking, “What’s the use of this experience?” We can never measure spiritual matters in that way. The moments on the mountaintop are rare moments, and they are meant for something in God’s purpose.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, October 02, 2014
Don't Forget the 'Meta' In Your Morphosis - #7234
Caterpillars? Let's face it; don't tell them what I said, but they're ugly. Butterflies are beautiful. Now, I have known people with butterfly collections. I've never known anyone with a caterpillar collection. I guess it's just that every caterpillar gets fed up inching along instead of flying. They get fed up with being hairy and ugly instead of being colorful and eye-catching. But fed up won't do it. No, that caterpillar has to get into this cocoon and get metamorphed. That's a word I learned for that miraculous process. It means changing your form-metamorphosis, right? There's something, actually, for you in that cocoon, especially if you're tired of crawling spiritually or if your spiritual experience gets pretty hairy sometimes.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Don't Forget the 'Meta' In Your Morphosis."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 7 beginning at verse 9. Paul says of some early Christians, "I am happy now, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance." Now, here is one of the most misunderstood words probably in the Christian vocabulary. And it's one of the most neglected experiences in the Christian life.
Repentance – It's vital if you want Christ's peace and Christ's power. It's the key. It's what releases His power. Repent! Now, obviously it means more than, "I'm sorry, God. I did something bad." Because these people said they were sorry, but Paul said here that repentance is more than that. Listen to verses 10 and 11, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.
Now, when you repent of a sin, you're not just saying, "Oh, I feel bad about it." You're saying, "I feel so bad about my sin that I'll stop doing it. In fact, I'm going to set up my life so I cannot and will not do it again." That's called abandoning the sin; forsaking it; throwing it in the fire so you can't do it any more. The Greek word for repentance is metanoeó. When you see meta on a word, it usually reflects change; a change of shape in the case of a caterpillar. Metabolism – that's what changes your food, right? So metanoeó-repentance-you're talking change here, not just feeling guilty.
The caterpillar might say, "I'm sick of feeling ugly. I don't like being like this any more. I want to be different." That's not enough, caterpillar. He has to submit to a transforming process that makes him something totally new.
Now, maybe you've told God you're sorry, but maybe it's time to go a step further and say, "Go ahead, God, and break my heart over my sin." See, when Peter realized what he'd done to Jesus in denying Him, that's when he looked in Jesus' eyes and Jesus turned and looked at him. He went out and he wept bitterly. When's the last time you've had that kind of passion over hurting Jesus. It's not because you broke a rule, but because you broke Jesus' heart.
And then you repent specifically. Not, "Lord, forgive my many sins whatever they are." No, name it. Repent emotionally and passionately. Get in that cocoon where sorry leads to a change. That's when the power of God is released. You've got to burn your bridges to all the things that have helped you do that sin and the people who've helped you do that sin and the influences. You need to go back and make it right with the people who've been affected by that sin and ask their forgiveness. Look around for some accountability people and ask for some help from some people who will hold you to the commitment you've made.
See, God is as tired of your crawling spiritually as you are. He wants you to fly, and repentance is the missing difference. Ask God right now to forgive that sin and to change you. Don't forget that 'meta' in your morphosis and become in Jesus a new person.