Max Lucado Daily: Why Did He Do It?
Why did Jesus live on the earth as long as He did? To take on our sins is one thing; to experience death, yes, but to put up with long roads and long days? Why did He do it? Because He wants you to trust Him. Even His final act on earth was intended to win your trust.
Mark 15:22.says, "They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha where they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified Him." Why? Why did He endure all this suffering-all these feelings? Because He knew you'd be weary, disturbed, and angry. He knew you'd be grief-stricken, and hungry, that you'd face pain.
A pauper knows better than to beg from another pauper. He knows he needs someone who's stronger than he is. Jesus' message from the Cross is this: I am that Person. Trust Me.
From He Chose the Nails
Judges 2
The Lord’s Messenger Comes to Bokim
The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said to the Israelites, “I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you. 2 For your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. But you disobeyed my command. Why did you do this? 3 So now I declare that I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides,[g] and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.”
4 When the angel of the Lord finished speaking to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. 5 So they called the place Bokim (which means “weeping”), and they offered sacrifices there to the Lord.
The Death of Joshua
6 After Joshua sent the people away, each of the tribes left to take possession of the land allotted to them. 7 And the Israelites served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived him—those who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.
8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. 9 They buried him in the land he had been allocated, at Timnath-serah[h] in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
Israel Disobeys the Lord
10 After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.
11 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. 12 They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord. 13 They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth. 14 This made the Lord burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions. He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them. 15 Every time Israel went out to battle, the Lord fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned. And the people were in great distress.
The Lord Rescues His People
16 Then the Lord raised up judges to rescue the Israelites from their attackers. 17 Yet Israel did not listen to the judges but prostituted themselves by worshiping other gods. How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands.
18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people from their enemies throughout the judge’s lifetime. For the Lord took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
20 So the Lord burned with anger against Israel. He said, “Because these people have violated my covenant, which I made with their ancestors, and have ignored my commands, 21 I will no longer drive out the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. 22 I did this to test Israel—to see whether or not they would follow the ways of the Lord as their ancestors did.” 23 That is why the Lord left those nations in place. He did not quickly drive them out or allow Joshua to conquer them all.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 06, 2015
Read: Romans 5:1-11
Faith Brings Joy
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace[a] with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Footnotes:
5:1 Some manuscripts read let us have peace.
INSIGHT: An inclusio is a writing device where an idea or word is repeated at the beginning and end of a passage, but the idea in the middle is the author’s primary focus. In today’s passage, an inclusio is formed with the word “rejoice” (vv. 2,11). The emphasis is directly in the middle of the passage in verse 6: “Christ died for the ungodly.”
Solving The Mystery
By Bill Crowder
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8
One of the most popular tourist attractions in England is the giant stone pillars of Stonehenge. These massive pieces of granite are also a great source of mystery. Every year, people travel to Stonehenge with questions such as: Why were they erected? Who accomplished this extraordinary engineering marvel? And perhaps we wonder most of all how they did it. But visitors leave having received no answers from the silent stones. The mystery remains.
The Scriptures speak of a greater mystery—the fact that God came to live among us as a man. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3:16, “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.”
This brief overview of the life of Christ—the mystery of godliness—is remarkable. What prompted the Creator of the universe to come and live and die for His creation, however, is not a mystery. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). God’s great love for us is at the root of the mystery of godliness, and the cross has made it plain for all to see.
Lord, we may not understand everything You have done for us, or how You have done it. But we know You love us and sent Jesus to die for us, and that is all we need to know.
How Christ became a human being may be a mystery, but God’s love isn’t.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 06, 2015
Taking the Next Step
…in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses. —2 Corinthians 6:4
When you have no vision from God, no enthusiasm left in your life, and no one watching and encouraging you, it requires the grace of Almighty God to take the next step in your devotion to Him, in the reading and studying of His Word, in your family life, or in your duty to Him. It takes much more of the grace of God, and a much greater awareness of drawing upon Him, to take that next step, than it does to preach the gospel.
Every Christian must experience the essence of the incarnation by bringing the next step down into flesh-and-blood reality and by working it out with his hands. We lose interest and give up when we have no vision, no encouragement, and no improvement, but only experience our everyday life with its trivial tasks. The thing that really testifies for God and for the people of God in the long run is steady perseverance, even when the work cannot be seen by others. And the only way to live an undefeated life is to live looking to God. Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to discourage you. Never allow yourself to think that some tasks are beneath your dignity or too insignificant for you to do, and remind yourself of the example of Christ inJohn 13:1-17.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 06, 2015
Installing A Dedicated Line - #7345
Over the years I've been accused of having a case of technophobia. Well, that's probably true. I remember the first time somebody got me a computer, which was very nice. That's how they got me into the computer age. I have to say it scared me to death. Now, look, I'm living in a world of computers, and so I grudgingly at that time said, "I've got to make friends with this computer by learning a little more about it. Some of my non-technophobic friends were explaining computer installation to me and one of them said, "Ron, I guess we'll have to install a dedicated line." Wait a minute! Wait, that's a word I understood - dedicated line. Sure! In fact, I understand it even better now thanks to, yep, computers.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Installing A Dedicated Line."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Timothy 2-I'll begin reading at verse twenty, "In a large house there are articles, not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble and some for ignoble purposes. If a man cleanses himself from the latter," in other words things that aren't noble purposes, "he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." Paul says here that God is looking for vessels that will be reserved for special use.
You know, when something has been used by someone famous, it sells for way more than it really seems to be worth. It might sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars because somebody famous used this everyday thing. Things skyrocket in value when someone important has used them. This is talking about how to be someone that God will use. You talk about your life skyrocketing in value? If you're useful to the Master, and He decides to use you for His purposes, whoa! What just happened to the value of your life?
Now, let's go back to that dedicated line as the man explained it to me. He said, "Ron, I think you'll understand this: We have a lot of undedicated lines in the house." Of course we all have those. An undedicated electrical line is one that you use for lots of purposes. We have a line in our house that could run a hairdryer, lights and a toaster oven. But a computer needs a dedicated line-reserved for a singular use-a direct line between the computer and the power supply so there's no interference, no competition, no intrusion.
Paul, of course, didn't know about computers. His word processor was some guy taking dictation over in the corner, but he knew about things being reserved for a special purpose. Actually, people being reserved for a special purpose. You are meant to be a dedicated line through whom God can send His love, His thoughts, His power without any interference and any competition. How are you doing?
Maybe you've allowed your dedicated body to do things that could not be called noble. Maybe your mouth expresses what a dedicated mouth should never talk about. Maybe your hands have touched what dedicated hands should never have touched. Maybe your eyes have been looking at what dedicated eyes should never have looked at. Maybe you've allowed your dedicated mind to collect garbage and while you're trying to live pure your mind just keeps flashing back to those sinful scenes and pictures and punch lines.
You're too special for that. Christ gave His life not just to give you a free ticket to heaven but to make you clean in a polluted world. He made you with His hands. He paid for you with His life. And now He wants to send His best through you to other people's lives. You're reserved for Him, bought and paid for with His blood. But God can't use a dirty instrument. He's a holy God.
It's like there's a sign on you that says, "Reserved for holy purposes-reserved for the Master." Your body, your mind, your mouth, your talents are all His. You are the Lord's dedicated line.