Max Lucado Daily: Love is a Decision
When we look at the love of Christ, we make a wonderful discovery. Love is more a decision than an emotion! Christ-like love applauds good behavior. At the same time Christ-like love refuses to endorse misbehavior. Jesus loved his apostles, but he wasn’t silent when they were faithless. Jesus loved the people in the temple, but he didn’t sit still when they were hypocritical.
Love does whatever is in the best interest of a person. The cheating husband says to his wife, “If you loved me, you’d forget what has happened and let me come home.” That may not be true. Love does what’s in the best interest of a person. Love sets boundaries and seeks counsel.
The love of Christ is no sweet sentiment—but rather a heartfelt resolve to do what’s in the best interest of another person. Sometimes that means dying on a cross!
From Max on Life
Luke 7:1-30
The Faith of a Roman Officer
When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. 2 At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer[a] was sick and near death. 3 When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. 4 So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, 5 “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”
6 So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. 7 I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 8 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” 10 And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
11 Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. 12 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. 14 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” 15 Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” 17 And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.
Jesus and John the Baptist
18 The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing. So John called for two of his disciples, 19 and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting,[b] or should we keep looking for someone else?”
20 John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’”
21 At that very time, Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and he restored sight to many who were blind. 22 Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. 23 And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.[c]’”
24 After John’s disciples left, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? 25 Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people who wear beautiful clothes and live in luxury are found in palaces. 26 Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. 27 John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,
‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
and he will prepare your way before you.’[d]
28 I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”
29 When they heard this, all the people—even the tax collectors—agreed that God’s way was right,[e] for they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them, for they had refused John’s baptism.
Footnotes:
7:2 Greek a centurion; similarly in 7:6.
7:19 Greek Are you the one who is coming? Also in 7:20.
7:23 Or who are not offended by me.
7:27 Mal 3:1.
7:29 Or praised God for his justice.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Deuteronomy 8:11-18
“But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. 12 For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, 13 and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! 14 Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 15 Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! 16 He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. 17 He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ 18 Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.
INSIGHT: Deuteronomy records a significant moment in Old Testament history. At the end of Israel’s wilderness wanderings, Moses reaffirmed the laws of God. A generation had died in the wilderness and the new generation needed these lessons to prepare them for entry into the land of promise. The challenges that awaited them in Canaan made it important to remind the people of both God’s provisions and God’s instructions.
Pointing To God
By Lawrence Darmani
Remember now your Creator . . . before the difficult days come. —Ecclesiastes 12:1
“God bless our homeland, Ghana” is the first line of Ghana’s national anthem. Other African anthems include: “O Uganda, may God uphold thee,” “Lord, bless our nation” (South Africa), and “O God of creation, direct our noble cause” (Nigeria). Using the anthems as prayers, founding fathers called on God to bless their land and its people. Many national anthems in Africa and others from around the world point to God as Creator and Provider. Other lines of anthems call for reconciliation, transformation, and hope for a people often divided along ethnic, political, and social lines.
Yet today, many national leaders and citizens tend to forget God and do not live by these statements—especially when life is going well. But why wait until war, disease, storms, terrorist attacks, or election violence occurs before we remember to seek God? Moses warned the ancient Israelites not to forget God and not to stop following His ways when life was good (Deut. 8:11). Ecclesiastes 12:1 urges us to “remember now your Creator . . . before the difficult days come.”
Getting close to God while we are strong and healthy prepares us to lean on Him for support and hope when those “difficult days” in life come.
Father, I always need You. Forgive me for
thinking I am sufficient in myself. Help me to
follow You and Your ways whether life is easy
or difficult. Thank You for caring for me.
Remembering our Creator can be our personal anthem.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Recall What God Remembers
Thus says the Lord: "I remember…the kindness of your youth…" —Jeremiah 2:2
Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Does everything in my life fill His heart with gladness, or do I constantly complain because things don’t seem to be going my way? A person who has forgotten what God treasures will not be filled with joy. It is wonderful to remember that Jesus Christ has needs which we can meet— “Give Me a drink” (John 4:7). How much kindness have I shown Him in the past week? Has my life been a good reflection on His reputation?
God is saying to His people, “You are not in love with Me now, but I remember a time when you were.” He says, “I remember…the love of your betrothal…” (Jeremiah 2:2). Am I as filled to overflowing with love for Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning, when I went out of my way to prove my devotion to Him? Does He ever find me pondering the time when I cared only for Him? Is that where I am now, or have I chosen man’s wisdom over true love for Him? Am I so in love with Him that I take no thought for where He might lead me? Or am I watching to see how much respect I get as I measure how much service I should give Him?
As I recall what God remembers about me, I may also begin to realize that He is not what He used to be to me. When this happens, I should allow the shame and humiliation it creates in my life, because it will bring godly sorrow, and “godly sorrow produces repentance…” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
The "I Can Handle It" Trap - #7313
Our local high school football team back East had a history of championships. And the guys worked very hard to get a starting position. Spending time in the weight room, one of the things they had to do. Two of our sons played for that team, and I'll tell you, they knew they had to be in that weight room a lot. For one thing, the coach sees you there, he knows you're working hard, and that's what coaches like. Now, you've also got your spotters there. These are the guys who stand by you while you're lifting to help lift that bar off of you just in case you get in trouble because you lifted more than you can handle.
That's what Chris was missing that day. See, Chris had a weight bench in his basement. And he didn't have anyone around, but he wanted to do his lifting. He was trying to increase the amount that he could bench press all alone. Now it's not smart to be pushing it when there's nobody there to help, and he lost it and all of that weight came down on top of him. So here is Chris, struggling. Finally, he was able to roll it off of him, and naturally he was pretty lucky because he escaped with just a few bruises. But some guys have gotten badly hurt that way. See, if you're not careful, you could end up trapped under what you thought you could lift.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The 'I Can Handle It' Trap."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Corinthians 10:11-12. Here's what it says, "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do not fall." Verse 13, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
Now, if there's a message in those verses, it's this: Don't underestimate temptation and don't over-estimate your strength. Our friend who was weight lifting, he got trapped, and he was almost crushed because of a very common miscalculation. "Hey, I can handle it!" When it comes to temptation, the Devil loves it when you think like that. The words "I can handle this" usually come right before the Devil pins you good.
Maybe you've already been crushed or trapped by some sin or some weakness, and you've carried the guilt and the shame and the weight; that sense of defeat, sooner or later you also face the consequences. And worst of all, you can't seem to stop it. It's like you're a prisoner. Right now, maybe you're flirting with a compromise. You're playing with some wrong thinking. And you're saying, "Hey, you know what? I can handle it." Perhaps you're involved with some physical intimacy and you say, "oh it's okay. I can control this."
You know how many people have lost what they always intended to keep with that kind of thinking? Maybe you're flirting, literally flirting with someone and thinking, even as a married person, "I'm just playing around. I can handle this." Really? Maybe there are some compromises you're making with the truth. You may think you're deceiving others but it's deceiving you. You say, "Well I can stop this any time." You're hanging around the edges of sin. You're saying, "Just a little." You don't ever expect to end up trapped, or pinned, or hurt.
Neither did Chris, the weight lifter. And he lost. That's why 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, "If you think you're standing firm, be careful you don't fall." That arrogance can kill you. 2 Timothy 2:22 says, "Flee sinful desires." It doesn't say resist them. It says avoid them. The Devil never tells you where he's going to take you until it's too late.
So what's the strategy here? Admit that you can't handle it. Give that temptation battle to Jesus. And choose your exit before you get to the temptation. God promised there would be a way of escape. But you have to choose your exit before you get anywhere close to it. Be careful of underestimating the power of sin to trap you. Don't be a victim of the "I can handle it" trap. You can't handle it. And the Lord is coming into your weight room right now to warn you not to try it.
Listen to His warning and avoid the pain of ending up trapped under what you thought you could handle.