Max Lucado Daily: Not So Common
The next time your life feels ordinary, take your cue from Christ! Jesus' obedience began in a small town carpentry shop. His uncommon approach to his common life groomed him for his uncommon call. In order for Jesus to change the world, he had to say good-bye to his world. 1 Peter 1:20 says, "God chose him for this purpose long before the world began."
Every ounce of suffering had been scripted-it just fell to him to play the part. When you come up with a word for such love, give it to Christ. For the day he left Nazareth is the day he declared his devotion for you and me. But God, immense in mercy and with an incredible love-embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. Perhaps we're not so common after all!
From Next Door Savior
James 5
Warning to Rich Oppressors
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.[a] 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
Patience in Suffering
7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.
The Prayer of Faith
13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Footnotes:
James 5:5 Or yourselves as in a day of feasting
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Read: Philippians 3:17-21
Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. 18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. 20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
INSIGHT:
Philippians 3 is a chapter bookended by dramatic contrast. The chapter opens with Paul sharing his credentials within the realm of Judaism: his circumcision, his bloodline as a Jew, his lineage as a Benjamite, his position as a Pharisee, his rigid obedience to Moses’ law, and his commitment to persecuting followers of Christ whom he saw as a threat to the faith of Israel (vv. 5–6). The contrast is found in verse 20, where he declares that because of Christ his “citizenship is in heaven.” From seeking to protect the earthly Israel to being part of a heavenly kingdom is, indeed, a dramatic contrast.
Real People, Real God
By Dave Branon
Join together in following my example. Philippians 3:17
Several years ago I received a letter from an Our Daily Bread reader after I had written about a family tragedy. “When you told about your tragedy,” this person wrote, “I realized that the writers were real people with real problems.” How true that is! I look across the list of men and women who pen these articles, and I see cancer and wayward children and unfulfilled dreams and many other kinds of loss. We are indeed just regular, real people writing about a real God who understands our real problems.
The apostle Paul stands out in the Real People Hall of Fame. He had physical problems. He had legal issues. He had interpersonal relationship struggles to deal with. And in all of this messy reality, he was setting an example for us. In Philippians 3:17, he said, “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.”
God welcomes all people to come to Him for salvation.
Those around us who need the gospel—who need Jesus—are looking for believable people who can point them to our perfect Savior. And that means we must be real.
You, Lord, are perfection. Yet You welcome us imperfect people to come to You for salvation. You sent Your perfect Son to earth to die for us. Help us to be real and genuine as we seek to point people to You.
If we are true to God, we will not be false to people.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Are You Fresh for Everything?
Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." —John 3:3
Sometimes we are fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?
Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, “I have to do this thing or it will never get done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us “in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7).
Jealously guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We are one” — with nothing in between (John 17:22). Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone.
Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6). The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Control Freaks and Chronic Worry - #7573
I had a mountain of work to do to prepare for some radio programs that I was scheduled to record, and the way things worked out I ended up doing it on the road. I was traveling by van about 12 hours with two of our team members. Now, let me make one thing clear. I like to drive; a guy thing maybe. I'm not the greatest passenger. I don't really like to ride, but I had so much work to do, I needed all the time we were driving on the trip to get it done. So they actually set up this little office for me in the back of the van, and they brought along a little power pack that would allow me to use my computer all the way. Very reluctantly, I climbed into the back of the van and settled in to work and watch someone else drive. At first it drove me nuts. But by the end of the trip, I realized how much creative work I'd gotten done in my office on wheels. What a productive day I had! All because I let someone else drive.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Control Freaks and Chronic Worry."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 6, beginning at verse 25. Now, Jesus is describing what happens when we live as a passenger instead of a driver. "Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body what you will wear." Then He says in verse 26, "Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them."
He says in verse 32, "Pagans run after all these things. But your Heavenly Father knows you need them. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." See, when it comes to the important needs and issues in our life, we control freaks want to make sure we're handling it. Jesus says, "You're not driving. Get in the back seat. Your needs are your Father's job."
Worrying, which He cautions against three times here, if not commands against, is a sure sign that you're driving. Yes, worry says you're driving. You obviously have not turned over your trip to the Lord. In fact, Driver wouldn't be a bad synonym for Lord. We follow the Driver, Jesus Christ.
People without a relationship with the Heavenly Father have to hang onto the wheel, spending the best of their energies and their time looking out for their agenda. But Jesus nailed that controlling approach to life with these simple words, "Your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. Quit trying to meet your own needs; it's His job." Then Jesus says you'll be able to focus on God's agenda, "seeking first His kingdom" to really get His work done, to live for what matters to Him. Why? For the same reason I was able to get so much done that day of a long drive. Someone else was driving.
When we're focused on driving our own life, driving those relationships, driving our ministry, driving our business, driving our children, driving our mate, we can't focus on serving and saving others. No, we're too busy driving.
It could be that the Lord right now is trying to pry your hands off that steering wheel of your life or some areas of your life that you've just got to control. He's inviting you to do what my team members invited me to do that day in the van. Just go to the back. Let someone else drive and focus your efforts on your Master and His work.
Life can be so much more productive if you relinquish the wheel. God has so much He wants to do in you and through you, but you've just been too busy driving. Take it from a driver who's finally learning to ride. It's so much better being a passenger in a life that Jesus is driving.
You know, actually the whole essence of our broken relationship with God is the wrong person has been driving. I guess that's why the middle letter of sin is "I". Because I'm running a life God was supposed to run. And when we relinquish that wheel and give it to the One who died for us, we begin a relationship with God that now starts to take our life where it was created to be.
Maybe you've never made that choice and you're intrigued with it. Would you check out our website and find out how you can begin to have a life that is driven by the One who gave it to you in the first place? Our website is ANewStory.com.
Jesus won't fall asleep at the wheel, He won't ever let go on turns, and He will never crash. And you? You'll finally enjoy the blessed peace and productivity of being the passenger. That's the passenger advantage.