Max Lucado Daily: God Makes His Point
There are certain things everyone knows not to do. You don't try to lasso a tornado. You don't fight a lion with a toothpick. You don't sneeze into the wind. You don't go bear hunting with a cork gun. And you don't send a shepherd boy to battle a giant. You don't, that is, unless you're out of options. Saul was. And it's when we're out of options that we are most ready for God's surprises.
Was Saul ever surprised! The king tried to give David some equipment. What do you want, boy? Shield? Sword? Grenades? Rifles? A helicopter?" David had something else in mind. Five smooth stones and an ordinary leather sling. The soldiers gasped. Saul sighed. Goliath jeered. David swung. And God made His point. Anyone who underestimates what God can do with the ordinary has rocks in his head!
From The Applause of Heaven
John 12:27-50 New Living Translation (NLT)
27 “Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! 28 Father, bring glory to your name.”
Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.” 29 When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.
30 Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. 32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” 33 He said this to indicate how he was going to die.
34 The crowd responded, “We understood from Scripture[a] that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?”
35 Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. 36 Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.”
After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.
The Unbelief of the People
37 But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him. 38 This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted:
“Lord, who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?”[b]
39 But the people couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said,
40 “The Lord has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts—
so that their eyes cannot see,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and have me heal them.”[c]
41 Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory. 42 Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.
44 Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. 45 For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. 47 I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. 48 But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. 49 I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”
Footnotes:
12:34 Greek from the law.
12:38 Isa 53:1.
12:40 Isa 6:10.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Read: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27
Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. 20 When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. 21 When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law,[a] I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.
22 When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 23 I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.
24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
Footnotes:
9:21 Greek those without the law.
INSIGHT:
To illustrate his unwavering resolve to preach the gospel to as many people as possible (1 Cor. 9:18-23), Paul used two athletic metaphors—a runner who keeps his eye on the finish line, and the targeted and precise punches of a boxer. These examples picture the passion, focus, commitment, dedication, and hard work needed to carry out his resolve. In 2 Timothy 4:7-8, Paul used the same two metaphors. While athletes compete to win a prize bestowed by men, Paul sought to win an eternal crown awarded by Jesus. Faithful believers will receive various types of crowns as their reward (2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4; Rev. 2:10). J.R. Hudberg
Purpose in Routine
By David McCasland
I run with purpose in every step. —1 Corinthians 9:26 nlt
A rolling-ball clock in the British Museum struck me as a vivid illustration of the deadening effects of routine. A small steel ball traveled in grooves across a tilted steel plate until it tripped a lever on the other side. This tilted the plate back in the opposite direction, reversed the direction of the ball and advanced the clock hands. Every year, the steel ball traveled some 2,500 miles back and forth, but never really went anywhere.
It’s easy for us to feel trapped by our daily routine when we can’t see a larger purpose. The apostle Paul longed to be effective in making the gospel of Christ known. “I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air” (1 Cor. 9:26 niv). Anything can become monotonous—traveling, preaching, teaching, and especially being confined in prison. Yet Paul believed he could serve Christ his Lord in every situation.
Routine becomes lethal when we can’t see a purpose in it. Paul’s vision reached beyond any limiting circumstance because he was in the race of faith to keep going until he crossed the finish line. By including Jesus in every aspect of his life, Paul found meaning even in the routine of life.
And so can we.
Lord, give us renewed vision and energy to pursue the goal of making Christ known in the midst of our daily routine.
Jesus can transform our routine into meaningful service for Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Living Your Theology
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you… —John 12:35
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. “If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.
The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.
Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, “…unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of pronouncing any verdict on the life of faith if you are not living it. Not Knowing Whither, 900 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, August 27, 2015
The Drumbeat of a Satisfied Life - #7469
Some people get a lot of recognition at their high school graduation. I got a lot of recognition at my graduation practice. We were out on this athletic field. I still remember it was a beautiful June day. We were lined up in alphabetical order like we would be at commencement. Now, the idea is to march up to the platform in step to the familiar strains of the traditional graduation march "Pomp and Circumstance."
Sounds easy enough, right? Sure! I was listening to the same music as everyone else; I just had my own original cadence. All I can remember from that commencement rehearsal is the faculty coordinator yelling, "Hutchcraft, will you please get in step!" Life is tough for klutzes.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Drumbeat of a Satisfied Life."
That cry that echoes from my graduation practice is actually a voice every one of us hears throughout our lifetime, "Will you please get in step!" It comes from your friends, your family, your culture, your coworkers, your boss; generally from the people you want to please. "Would you get in step?"
Now, the tune I heard that day in high school was the tune I should have been marching to. The tune you're being asked to march to by your world may very well be a tune you should not get in step with, even though the whole class seems to be marching to it.
Our word for today from the Word of God, Romans 12:2. It follows God's command to respond to His love by offering "your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship." Then verse 2, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world," (Okay, that's the tune most people are marching to.), "but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
God says, "I've got a different beat for you to march to; a better beat." And what happens when you march to the beat of the heavenly drummer? It says, "Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is; His good, pleasing and perfect will." Living in God's will? Well, that's the goal of every serious Jesus follower. It's the best, the most pleasing, it's the most perfect way you can spend your years on planet earth.
But there's another beat, often much louder than the beat of God's way of living. And most of the people around you, they're in step with it, often even other believers. But conforming to what we can call the world beat will ultimately cause you to miss how you were born to live and what you were born to be. It's called God's will.
Look, I know you feel the pressure to conform to what the important people in your world expect you to be and expect you to do. The world beat tells you what you have to do to in order to have friends, to get ahead, to be their definition of success, you've got to do what they say is fun, what they say is normal. The world beat says divorce is okay if things get tough. Sex is okay without a lifetime commitment. Security is a good job, a good income, money in the bank.
And then along comes the radical beat of the Lord Jesus, who's got a totally different definition of success, of security, of fun, of cool, of commitment, of love. And as you spend time with this Jesus in His love letter, the Bible, He renews your mind and replaces the cadence of "world think" with His better beat - "eternity think". What's going to be there forever - live for that.
Maybe you are missing the will of God right now because you've not taken a risk to leave the beat everyone around you says you should march to. And they're shouting to you, "Will you please get in step!" All the while, your Savior is whispering to your heart, "Will you please get in step with Me?"
Isn't it time you stepped out and you start marching to the beat that you were created to follow?