Max Lucado Daily: The Winner's Circle
For all we don't know about the next life-this much is certain. The day Christ comes will be a day of reward. A day in the winner's circle! Those who went unknown on earth will be known in heaven. Those who never heard the cheers of men will hear the cheers of angels. Those who missed the blessing of a father will hear the blessing of their heavenly Father. The small will be great. The forgotten will be remembered. The unnoticed will be crowned and the faithful will be honored!
Ephesians 6:8 says, "The Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he or she does, whether slave or free." The winner's circle is not reserved for a handful of the elite, but for a heaven full of God's children who "will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him!" (James 1:12).
From Grace for the Moment
Ecclesiastes 1
These are the words of the Teacher,[a] King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.
Everything Is Meaningless
2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. 6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. 7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. 10 Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. 11 We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.
The Teacher Speaks: The Futility of Wisdom
12 I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. 13 I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. 14 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.
15 What is wrong cannot be made right.
What is missing cannot be recovered.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.” 17 So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.
18 The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.
To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
Footnotes:
1:1 Hebrew Qoheleth; this term is rendered “the Teacher” throughout this book.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, December 01, 2015
Read: Matthew 1:18-25
The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement[a] quietly.
20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,[b] for he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,[c]
which means ‘God is with us.’”
24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Footnotes:
1:19 Greek to divorce her.
1:21 Jesus means “The Lord saves.”
1:23 Isa 7:14; 8:8, 10 (Greek version).
INSIGHT:
Joseph is a popular biblical name. The first Joseph in the Bible is Jacob’s son who, after being sold into slavery by his brothers, rose to great influence in Egypt (Gen. 37–50). Two other Josephs are mentioned in the Old Testament period: a musician (1 Chron. 25:2, 9) and one in the lineage of Christ (see Luke 3:24, 30). In the New Testament we begin with the earthly father of Jesus (Luke 2; Matt. 1). Next is Joseph of Arimathea, who assisted in Jesus’ burial (Matt. 27:57). Finally, we read of Joseph Barsabbas (Acts 1:23), who was considered to fill Judas’ vacated apostolic office; and Joseph the encourager, better known as Barnabas (Acts 4:36).
The Meaning of a Name
By David McCasland
You are to give him the name Jesus.
Matthew 1:21
According to a New York Times article, children in many African countries are often named after a famous visitor, special event, or circumstance that was meaningful to the parents. When doctors told the parents of one child that they could not cure the infant’s illness and only God knew if he would live, the parents named their child Godknows. Another man said he was named Enough, because his mother had 13 children and he was the last one! There’s a reason for everyone’s name, and in some cases it also conveys a special meaning.
Before Jesus was born, an angel of the Lord told Joseph, “[Mary] will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means “the Lord saves.” In that day and culture, many children would have been named Jesus, but only one came into this world to die so that all who receive Him might live eternally, forgiven and freed from the power of sin.
In Jesus we see God's loving purpose & boundless #grace.
Charles Wesley wrote these words we often sing as Christmas nears: “Come, Thou long-expected Jesus, born to set Thy people free; from our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in Thee.”
Jesus came to turn our darkness into light, to transform our despair into hope, and to save us from our sins.
Heavenly Father, in Jesus we see Your loving purpose and boundless grace. We humbly acknowledge Your Son as the One who came to save us from our sins.
Jesus’ name and mission are the same—He came to save us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, December 01, 2015
The Law and the Gospel
Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. —James 2:10
The moral law does not consider our weaknesses as human beings; in fact, it does not take into account our heredity or infirmities. It simply demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never changes, either for the highest of society or for the weakest in the world. It is enduring and eternally the same. The moral law, ordained by God, does not make itself weak to the weak by excusing our shortcomings. It remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we are not aware of this, it is because we are less than alive. Once we do realize it, our life immediately becomes a fatal tragedy. “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Romans 7:9). The moment we realize this, the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a person gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Christ remains absurd to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful, confining sense of the law. It makes a person hopeless— “…sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). I, a guilty sinner, can never work to get right with God— it is impossible. There is only one way by which I can get right with God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the underlying idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience. Who of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection!
We only begin to realize the power of the moral law once we see that it comes with a condition and a promise. But God never coerces us. Sometimes we wish He would make us be obedient, and at other times we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God’s will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. And when we deliberately choose to obey Him, He will reach to the remotest star and to the ends of the earth to assist us with all of His almighty power.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Bible is the only Book that gives us any indication of the true nature of sin, and where it came from. The Philosophy of Sin, 1107 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, December 01, 2015
The Power of a Lasered Life - #7537
I've seen several Presidents come and go in my lifetime. But during that time there's been only one Queen of England – Queen Elizabeth II – and she recently celebrated a milestone. She became Britain's longest reigning monarch, surpassing Queen Victoria. It's pretty amazing when you think about it. Over 63 years as Queen.
Compare what the world was like say in 1952 when her father's sudden death made her queen overnight and what the world is like now. Elizabeth has been as one leader said, "a constant in a changing world."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Power of a Lasered Life."
Now Elizabeth is not my queen, but she is an example who inspires me and a lot of other people. Really, anyone who wants to know the secret of a life that's well-lived, well-respected and stable through the storms. Well, there's an example here.
Her subjects celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 2012 in what was called "splendid fashion". There were celebrations, speeches, parades, and special events where you could see the Queen. Even news shows in America – the "colonies" – seemed pretty taken with the celebration, the pageantry, and the extraordinary woman being honored.
It's not like she's had an easy go of it: economic disasters in her country, political upheaval, wars, terrorism, family heartbreaks, the death of Diana, brutal attacks by the press. But through it all, Queen Elizabeth has always been Queen Elizabeth – dignity, duty, leadership.
During all the TV coverage of the Jubilee, I saw an old black-and-white video of the pledge that she broadcast to the Commonwealth in 1947, on her 21st birthday. That's five years before she would be thrust into being queen. Her words have turned out to be her biography. "I declare before you that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great Imperial family to which we all belong." While, in our day, her position carries no significant authority, her person has commanded enormous respect and affection.
In the words of a USA Today story, "The queen can say she made good on her promise." In the words of her grandson – and the future king, Prince William – "she's done everything she can for the country...she has not let anyone down."
That's the power of living for only one thing. Which, by the way, is how we're all wired to live. You make promises you can keep and you keep them. You remain focused no matter what. You know what you need to do when everything's going crazy around you and you are the calm in everyone's chaos.
That's why David would pray in the Bible, "O Lord, give me an undivided heart" (Psalm 86:11). God has promised "I will give them an undivided heart" (Ezekiel 11:19). The Bible contrasts an "undivided heart" with the lives of fragmented focus that most of us live: "A double-minded man (is) unstable in all he does" (James 1:8).
There's something magnetic about a person who's learned and who lives the secret of a powerful life. Finding that one thing that will govern everything you do; the sun around which all the "planets" of your life will revolve; the North Star that guides every choice, every response, every priority.
The Bible tells us clearly the cause for which we were created. It says, "Live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord" (1 Corinthians 7:35). Not Jesus as a compartment in your life, with you doing pretty much what you want with the rest of the compartments. No, Jesus like Paul talked about Him in our word for today from the Word of God, in Philippians 1:21 where he simply says, "For, to me, to live is Christ". He says, "Christ, who is our life" in Colossians 3:8. Not just your belief, not just part of your life. Your life. Period. Everything: my love, my spending, my vocation, my recreation, my commitments must revolve around Him.
A fragmented life is a powerless life. A focused life is a powerful life. A wide river is lazy and often stagnant. But a river in narrow banks rises forceful and swift. Diffused light cannot begin to do what the concentrated light of a laser beam can do. A life that's diffused over too many commitments and fragmented by trying to do everything is frantic, not peaceful; frustrating more than fulfilling and always up for grabs rather than "steady as she goes."
Why don't you focus on laser living? That's what makes a difference. That's what makes life make sense and will make you "a constant in a changing world."