Max Lucado Daily: Our Redeemer
See the cross on the hill? Can you hear the soldiers pound the nails? Jesus' enemies smirk. "This time," Satan whispers. "This time I will win." For a sad Friday and a silent Saturday it appeared he had.
What Satan intended as the ultimate evil, God used for the ultimate good. God rolled the rock away and Jesus walked out on Sunday morning. And if you look closely, you can see Satan scampering from the cemetery with his forked tail between his legs. "Will I ever win?" he grumbles. No…he won't.
Do you believe no evil is beyond God's reach? That He can redeem every pit, including the one in which you find yourself? Trust God. He will get you through this. Will it be easy or quick? I hope so, but it seldom is. Yet, God will make good out of this mess. That's His job.
From You'll Get Through This
John 6:41-71
Then the people[a] began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43 But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. 44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. 45 As it is written in the Scriptures,[b] ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)
47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48 Yes, I am the bread of life! 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. 50 Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”
52 Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.
53 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54 But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”
59 He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Many Disciples Desert Jesus
60 Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”
61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) 65 Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”
66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”
68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.[c]”
70 Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.” 71 He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would later betray him.
Footnotes:
6:41 Greek Jewish people; also in 6:52.
6:45 Greek in the prophets. Isa 54:13.
6:69 Other manuscripts read you are the Christ, the Holy One of God; still others read you are the Christ, the Son of God; and still others read you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Read: Ezekiel 36:22-31
“Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. 23 I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. 24 For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.
25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.[a] 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.
28 “And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land. 30 I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines. 31 Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did.
Footnotes:
36:26 Hebrew a heart of flesh.
Insight:
Today’s text gives two reasons why God is going to rescue and redeem the people of Israel. He will do it for the sake of His holy name (v. 22) and so the nations will know He is the Lord (v. 23).
Transformed Hearts
By Lawrence Darmani
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. —Proverbs 4:23
During the early 1970s in Ghana, a poster titled “The Heart of Man” appeared on walls and public notice boards. In one picture, all kinds of reptiles—symbols of the vile and despicable—filled the heart-shaped painting with the head of a very unhappy man on top of it. In another image, the heart-shape was clean and serene with the head of a contented man. The caption beneath the images read: “What is the condition of your heart?”
In Matthew 15:18-19, Jesus explained what pollutes a person. “The things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (niv). That is the condition of a heart separated from God—the situation ancient Israelites found themselves in when their sins forced them into exile (Ezek. 36:23).
God’s promise in Ezekiel 36:26 is beautiful: “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart” (nlt; see also 11:19). God will take away our stubborn hearts that have been corrupted by all kinds of evil and give to us a clean heart that is responsive to Him. Praise God for such a wonderful gift.
Father in heaven, thank You that when we confess our sin to You, You give us a new heart and a new life. I pray that the life I live reflects the goodness of Your gift and that others may see the difference a new heart has made in me.
For a new start, ask God for a new heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
My Life’s Spiritual Honor and Duty
I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians… —Romans 1:14
Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding every unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of my life that has value I owe to the redemption of Jesus Christ. Am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His redemption into evident reality in the lives of others? I will only be able to do this as the Spirit of God works into me this sense of indebtedness.
I am not a superior person among other people— I am a bondservant of the Lord Jesus. Paul said, “…you are not your own…you were bought at a price…” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ and he said, in effect, “I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His.” That is the characteristic of a Christian’s life once this level of spiritual honor and duty becomes real. Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine in real life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
ONE LITTLE WORD—AND YOUR FOREVER - #7438
I've had the privilege to being on a lot of Native American reservations. And somewhere along the way, I heard the story of that little boy. A missionary was visiting a series of villages and he came on this little boy who was actually taking care of a large flock of sheep. The missionary learned that the boy's dad had died and left him and his mother with the care of the sheep. The little guy was doing his best to be a lot more grown up than you'd expect a boy his age to be.
The missionary shared the story of Jesus with the boy and ultimately the little shepherd opened his heart to Jesus. Just before he left, the missionary taught the boy his first Bible memory verse, "The Lord is my shepherd." He did it by showing him how the fingers on his right hand could each represent a word beginning with your thumb. "The-(now wrap around your second finger) Lord-is-my-Shepherd." Then he left one last encouragement with the little guy. He said, "When you get to that fourth word, wrap your left hand around the fourth finger of your right hand." "The Lord is my Shepherd." And the little boy did.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "One Little Word and Your Forever."
It was a year later before the missionary could return to that village, and he didn't see the little shepherd. So he went to the trailer where he and his mother lived. Mom came to the door, and the missionary said, "Where's your son?" She said, "Oh, you didn't hear? Last winter a terrible blizzard hit us very suddenly and my son was out in the hills trying to bring in the sheep. He never made it back. It took them three days before they found him. He froze to death."
Then she told the missionary, "You know, there was something really unusual about the way they found my boy. When they brushed the snow off of him, they found him with his left hand wrapped around the fourth finger of his right hand." The Lord is my Shepherd.
I wonder, is He yours? That little two-letter word is the difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus. And, therefore, it's the difference between heaven and hell. The word is "my". It was the difference for Thomas; one of Jesus' closest friends. Maybe he was like you. He was a spiritual veteran; someone who had heard a lot of the teachings of Jesus, someone who believed those teachings, someone who had worked for Jesus, but someone who apparently was still without Jesus in his heart.
Thomas was the one disciple missing when Jesus appeared to His men after the resurrection. He said he couldn't believe in a living Christ unless he touched the wounds of the cross. In John 20:28, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus appears to Thomas, shows Him His nail-scarred hands, and then it says, "Thomas said to Him. ‘My Lord and my God.'"
The question is, has there ever been a time when you have consciously said, "Jesus, here I am. I'm putting all my trust in You to be my Savior from my sin." Have you ever in your heart stood at Jesus' cross and said those two words that are the difference between heaven and hell? "For me. This is for me."
If you've never really begun your personal relationship with Jesus, if you're not sure you have, would you let this be your Jesus-Day? It's the only day we're guaranteed. Tell Him that you're His...beginning right here...right now.
I'd love to help you be sure you have opened up to His love; be sure you truly belong to Him. Our website is there for that reason. Would you go there? ANewStory.com. Or if you'd like to talk with someone about beginning this wonderful, never-ending, unloseable love relationship with Jesus Christ, would you text us? It's 442-244-WORD.
What a way to live and what a way to die - being able to say, with total confidence, "The Lord is my Shepherd. The Lord is my Savior!"