Max Lucado Daily: ENGAGE WITH THE BIBLE
Desire some growth? Engage with the Bible. Meditate on it. Think and rethink about God’s Word. Let it be your guide. Make it the ultimate authority in your life! The key to spiritual growth is not increased church attendance or involvement in spiritual activities. People don’t grow in Christ because they’re busy at church. They grow in Christ when they read and trust their Bibles.
The Bible says “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Set your sights on the unchanging principles of God. Let God’s Word be the authoritative word in your world!
From God is With You Every Day
Acts 19:1-20
Now, it happened that while Apollos was away in Corinth, Paul made his way down through the mountains, came to Ephesus, and happened on some disciples there. The first thing he said was, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Did you take God into your mind only, or did you also embrace him with your heart? Did he get inside you?”
“We’ve never even heard of that—a Holy Spirit? God within us?”
3 “How were you baptized, then?” asked Paul.
“In John’s baptism.”
4 “That explains it,” said Paul. “John preached a baptism of radical life-change so that people would be ready to receive the One coming after him, who turned out to be Jesus. If you’ve been baptized in John’s baptism, you’re ready now for the real thing, for Jesus.”
5-7 And they were. As soon as they heard of it, they were baptized in the name of the Master Jesus. Paul put his hands on their heads and the Holy Spirit entered them. From that moment on, they were praising God in tongues and talking about God’s actions. Altogether there were about twelve people there that day.
8-10 Paul then went straight to the meeting place. He had the run of the place for three months, doing his best to make the things of the kingdom of God real and convincing to them. But then resistance began to form as some of them began spreading evil rumors through the congregation about the Christian way of life. So Paul left, taking the disciples with him, and set up shop in the school of Tyrannus, holding class there daily. He did this for two years, giving everyone in the province of Asia, Jews as well as Greeks, ample opportunity to hear the Message of the Master.
Witches Came out of the Woodwork
11-12 God did powerful things through Paul, things quite out of the ordinary. The word got around and people started taking pieces of clothing—handkerchiefs and scarves and the like—that had touched Paul’s skin and then touching the sick with them. The touch did it—they were healed and whole.
13-16 Some itinerant Jewish exorcists who happened to be in town at the time tried their hand at what they assumed to be Paul’s “game.” They pronounced the name of the Master Jesus over victims of evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus preached by Paul!” The seven sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were trying to do this on a man when the evil spirit talked back: “I know Jesus and I’ve heard of Paul, but who are you?” Then the possessed man went berserk—jumped the exorcists, beat them up, and tore off their clothes. Naked and bloody, they got away as best they could.
17-20 It was soon news all over Ephesus among both Jews and Greeks. The realization spread that God was in and behind this. Curiosity about Paul developed into reverence for the Master Jesus. Many of those who thus believed came out of the closet and made a clean break with their secret sorceries. All kinds of witches and warlocks came out of the woodwork with their books of spells and incantations and made a huge bonfire of them. Someone estimated their worth at fifty thousand silver coins. In such ways it became evident that the Word of the Master was now sovereign and prevailed in Ephesus.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Read: Mark 14:32–42
Gethsemane
They came to an area called Gethsemane. Jesus told his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him. He plunged into a sinkhole of dreadful agony. He told them, “I feel bad enough right now to die. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”
35-36 Going a little ahead, he fell to the ground and prayed for a way out: “Papa, Father, you can—can’t you?—get me out of this. Take this cup away from me. But please, not what I want—what do you want?”
37-38 He came back and found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, you went to sleep on me? Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert, be in prayer, so you don’t enter the danger zone without even knowing it. Don’t be naive. Part of you is eager, ready for anything in God; but another part is as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”
39-40 He then went back and prayed the same prayer. Returning, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn’t keep their eyes open, and they didn’t have a plausible excuse.
41-42 He came back a third time and said, “Are you going to sleep all night? No—you’ve slept long enough. Time’s up. The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up. Let’s get going. My betrayer has arrived.”
INSIGHT:
The garden of Gethsemane was the starting point of the sufferings of Christ, and it could not have been more appropriately named. In Aramaic, the word Gethsemane means “olive press.” In olive tree orchards, it was normal to have a press where the harvested olives would be placed so that a heavy stone could be rolled over them—crushing the olives and removing the valuable oil from the fruit. That imagery precisely describes what Christ would undergo in His own “olive press.” Imagine the sinless Son loaded down with the weight of all the sins of the entire world from all the ages!
Watch and Pray
By Keila Ochoa
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. Mark 14:38
From my window I can see a 1,700-meter hill called the Cerro del Borrego or “Hill of the Sheep.” In 1862, the French army invaded Mexico. While the enemy camped in the central park of Orizaba, the Mexican army established its position at the top of the hill. However, the Mexican general neglected to guard access to the top. While the Mexican troops were sleeping, the French attacked and killed 2,000 of them.
This reminds me of another hill, the Mount of Olives, and the garden at its foot where a group of disciples fell asleep. Jesus rebuked them, saying, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38).
Lord, help me to watch and pray today for myself and for others.
How easy it is to sleep or become careless in our Christian walk. Temptation strikes when we are most vulnerable. When we neglect certain areas of our spiritual lives—such as prayer and Bible study—we become drowsy and let our guard down, making us easy targets for our enemy, Satan, to strike (1 Peter 5:8).
We need to be alert to the possibilities of an attack and pray to maintain vigilance. If we remain watchful and pray—for ourselves and for others—the Spirit will enable us to resist temptation.
Lord Jesus, I know my spirit is willing, but my body is weak. Help me to watch and pray today for myself and for others.
Satan is powerless against the power of Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? —Matthew 7:9
e illustration of prayer that our Lord used here is one of a good child who is asking for something good. We talk about prayer as if God hears us regardless of what our relationship is to Him (see Matthew 5:45). Never say that it is not God’s will to give you what you ask. Don’t faint and give up, but find out the reason you have not received; increase the intensity of your search and examine the evidence. Is your relationship right with your spouse, your children, and your fellow students? Are you a “good child” in those relationships? Do you have to say to the Lord, “I have been irritable and cross, but I still want spiritual blessings”? You cannot receive and will have to do without them until you have the attitude of a “good child.”
We mistake defiance for devotion, arguing with God instead of surrendering. We refuse to look at the evidence that clearly indicates where we are wrong. Have I been asking God to give me money for something I want, while refusing to pay someone what I owe him? Have I been asking God for liberty while I am withholding it from someone who belongs to me? Have I refused to forgive someone, and have I been unkind to that person? Have I been living as God’s child among my relatives and friends? (see Matthew 7:12).
I am a child of God only by being born again, and as His child I am good only as I “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). For most of us, prayer simply becomes some trivial religious expression, a matter of mystical and emotional fellowship with God. We are all good at producing spiritual fog that blinds our sight. But if we will search out and examine the evidence, we will see very clearly what is wrong— a friendship, an unpaid debt, or an improper attitude. There is no use praying unless we are living as children of God. Then Jesus says, regarding His children, “Everyone who asks receives…” (Matthew 7:8).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. Our Brilliant Heritage
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Your Inevitable Appointment - #7728
It's a good thing that over the years I haven't had to wear a nametag when I went to see the dentist. Yeah, I'm doing better now. But, you know, for years I didn't really anxiously await my opportunity to spend time in the dentist's chair. I'm not sure you do either. I mean, look, we all have a tendency to avoid appointments that may be unpleasant, don't we? And, in most cases, you could put off-even cancel-meetings you don't want to have. In most cases.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Inevitable Appointment."
In our word for today from the Word of God, God announces an appointment. It's in His Book; it's not in yours. Hebrews 9:27, "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." God makes it very clear: we have an appointment with our Creator-or, as the old-timers used to say, "meet our Maker".
Now that final reality is something that, well, we'd rather run from than face a lot of times. One alternative idea we hear a lot about is reincarnation. Of course, that's not really a new idea. Reincarnation proposes that we can escape this day of reckoning indefinitely through this endless cycle of starting over. Of course, the only One who knows for sure what happens beyond death is God Himself. And He leaves absolutely no room for us going around again when it says man's destiny is to, "die once and after that to face judgment."
When God talks about facing judgment, He says you and I will have to account to Him for our life; a life that, according to the Bible, that has been lived outside our Creator's plans. In God's own words, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Nobody has lived up to God's standards. Everybody has the death penalty of sin to deal with.
That's why so many people become religious and try to do good. We hope we can somehow pay off our sins. But again, our way of getting ready for our appointment with God is useless. The Bible says that at the time of judgment, "Every mouth will be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore, no one will be declared righteous (that means right with God...qualified to go to heaven) by observing the law" (or doing all the right things).
There's no way you can pay your sin-bill with your religion, your generosity, or your goodness. The only way this eternal bill could be paid was by God's eternal Son, Jesus Christ. The next verses say we are "justified (That means made right with God.) freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Hebrews 9:28) The payment we're trying to make with our goodness was already made by Jesus when He took our death penalty on His cross. The only question God's going to ask you when you keep your appointment with Him is, "What did you do with My Son?"
Years ago when prairie fires would sweep across Indian lands, Native Americans would literally fight fire with fire. They would actually set a fire in a trench around their village. When the prairie fire hit that already burned area, it stopped. The principle of stopping the fire was simple: the fire cannot go where the fire has already been.
The fire of God's judgment for the sinning we've all done has already fallen on His Son at the cross. If you put your trust in Jesus to be your Savior from your sin, your judgment is canceled, because the fire cannot go where the fire has already been.
Other appointments can be postponed or canceled, but not your appointment with your God. Denying it, ignoring it, running from it won't change it. The only thing to do is be prepared for it! You can do that by telling Jesus right where you are that you want to begin this life-saving relationship with Him.
You say, "Ron, how does that work?" All the information you need to begin that relationship is at our website. And I ask you; I urge you to go there as soon as you can today – ANewStory.com.
Somewhere in this country someone is going to keep their appointment with God today. And just like you, no one thinks it will be him or her. Someone will be wrong. Please be sure that you've settled your relationship with the Man who died so you could live. Then whenever your appointment with God is, you'll have nothing to fear.
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