Max Lucado Daily: LISTEN TO THE BOOK OF ACTS
You want your life to matter. You want to live in such a way that the world will be glad you did. But how can you? How can I? I have one hundred and twenty answers to that question. One hundred and twenty residents of ancient Israel. They were the charter members of the Jerusalem church. Fishermen, some; revenue reps, others. A former streetwalker and a converted revolutionary or two.
Thanks to Luke we know how they fared. Listen to the book of Acts, a great book to listen to. Listen to the doors opening, walls collapsing. Doors into palaces, prisons, and Roman courts. The thick and spiked division between Jew and gentile—crash! Petitions that quarantined male and female, master from slave—crash! Acts announces, “God is afoot!” Would God do with us today what he did with his first followers then? You bet your sweet July he will! We just need to ask him.
From God is With You Every Day
2 Corinthians 3
1-3 Does it sound like we’re patting ourselves on the back, insisting on our credentials, asserting our authority? Well, we’re not. Neither do we need letters of endorsement, either to you or from you. You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God’s living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it.
4-6 We couldn’t be more sure of ourselves in this—that you, written by Christ himself for God, are our letter of recommendation. We wouldn’t think of writing this kind of letter about ourselves. Only God can write such a letter. His letter authorizes us to help carry out this new plan of action. The plan wasn’t written out with ink on paper, with pages and pages of legal footnotes, killing your spirit. It’s written with Spirit on spirit, his life on our lives!
Lifting the Veil
7-8 The Government of Death, its constitution chiseled on stone tablets, had a dazzling inaugural. Moses’ face as he delivered the tablets was so bright that day (even though it would fade soon enough) that the people of Israel could no more look right at him than stare into the sun. How much more dazzling, then, the Government of Living Spirit?
9-11 If the Government of Condemnation was impressive, how about this Government of Affirmation? Bright as that old government was, it would look downright dull alongside this new one. If that makeshift arrangement impressed us, how much more this brightly shining government installed for eternity?
12-15 With that kind of hope to excite us, nothing holds us back. Unlike Moses, we have nothing to hide. Everything is out in the open with us. He wore a veil so the children of Israel wouldn’t notice that the glory was fading away—and they didn’t notice. They didn’t notice it then and they don’t notice it now, don’t notice that there’s nothing left behind that veil. Even today when the proclamations of that old, bankrupt government are read out, they can’t see through it. Only Christ can get rid of the veil so they can see for themselves that there’s nothing there.
16-18 Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Read: Isaiah 61:1–4
Announce Freedom to All Captives
The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me
because God anointed me.
He sent me to preach good news to the poor,
heal the heartbroken,
Announce freedom to all captives,
pardon all prisoners.
God sent me to announce the year of his grace—
a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies—
and to comfort all who mourn,
To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,
give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,
Messages of joy instead of news of doom,
a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.
Rename them “Oaks of Righteousness”
planted by God to display his glory.
They’ll rebuild the old ruins,
raise a new city out of the wreckage.
They’ll start over on the ruined cities,
take the rubble left behind and make it new.
You’ll hire outsiders to herd your flocks
and foreigners to work your fields,
But you’ll have the title “Priests of God,”
honored as ministers of our God.
You’ll feast on the bounty of nations,
you’ll bask in their glory.
Because you got a double dose of trouble
and more than your share of contempt,
Your inheritance in the land will be doubled
and your joy go on forever.
INSIGHT:
Having warned the Israelites of exile in Babylon (Isa. 39:6–7), Isaiah now offers comforts that God will restore them (chapters 40–66). Isaiah 61 speaks of God’s grace as He delivers His people from bondage (vv. 1–3) and of God’s glory as He blesses them (vv. 4–11). In today’s passage, Isaiah writes about the identity and ministry of the Deliverer (vv. 1–3). At the start of His public ministry, Jesus read from this passage (Luke 4:18–19) and publicly affirmed that He is the Messiah Isaiah spoke of (v. 21). Already anointed by the Spirit (3:21–22; 4:1), Jesus came to preach the good news, to heal, to deliver, to restore, and to bless (Isa. 61:1–3) so that we can live holy lives that display “his splendor” (v. 3).
He has sent me . . . to bestow on [those who grieve] a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning. Isaiah 61:1, 3
“We’re cutting your job.” A decade ago those words sent me reeling when the company I worked for eliminated my position. At the time, I felt shattered, partly because my identity was so intertwined with my role as editor. Recently I felt a similar sadness when I heard that my freelance job was ending. But this time I didn’t feel rocked at my foundation, because over the years I have seen God’s faithfulness and how He can turn my mourning to joy.
Though we live in a fallen world where we experience pain and disappointment, the Lord can move us from despair to rejoicing, as we see in Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming of Jesus (Isa. 61:1–3). The Lord gives us hope when we feel hopeless; He helps us to forgive when we think we can’t; He teaches us that our identity is in Him and not in what we do. He gives us courage to face an unknown future. When we wear the rags of “ashes,” He gently gives us a coat of praise.
God can bring times of growth out of our times of heartache.
When we face loss, we shouldn’t run from the sadness, but neither do we want to become bitter or hardened. When we think about God’s faithfulness over the years, we know that He’s willing and able to turn our grief to dancing once again—to give us sufficient grace in this life and full joy in heaven.
Father God, You turned Jesus’s pain on the cross into our best gift ever. Deepen my faith that I may welcome Your life-changing love into my life.
God can bring times of growth out of our times of heartache.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Suffering Afflictions and Going the Second Mile
I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. —Matthew 5:39
This verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but you must make it an opportunity to exhibit the Son of God in your life. And you cannot imitate the nature of Jesus— it is either in you or it is not. A personal insult becomes an opportunity for a saint to reveal the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not, “Do your duty,” but is, in effect, “Do what is not your duty.” It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things. We will not say, “Oh well, I just can’t do any more, and I’ve been so misrepresented and misunderstood.” Every time I insist on having my own rights, I hurt the Son of God, while in fact I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I will take the blow myself. That is the real meaning of filling “up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24). A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor.
Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is— Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ reveals, not an embarrassed God, not a confused God, not a God who stands apart from the problems, but One who stands in the thick of the whole thing with man. Disciples Indeed, 388 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Priorities You'll Never Regret - #7699
Some years ago, my wife had a very serious case of hepatitis. Later, the specialist told her that the battle for her liver was so acute he could hear the blood rushing to save it; just like Niagara Falls, he said. Thank God, she recovered fully with no trace today of that disease or any of its effects. But it took a while – seven months of bed rest. That was an interesting time for Daddy – suddenly known as Mr. Mom – and for our three children. Thankfully, our church brought dinner to our home almost every night. God bless them! It's a good thing. I mean, if it had been up to me to feed the kids, they probably would have been on the cover of something like World Vision magazine. But tough as it was, my wife said she had so much to praise God for in her recovery from hepatitis. For one thing, no one could really look to her or count on her for seven months. Here's what she said about it. "God gave me the gift of cleansing my schedule!" He had weeded out a lot that she said didn't matter after all and left only what did.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Priorities You'll Never Regret."
If you look at many of our calendars, they're packed on the edges. Some days the date book boxes are just too small to write everything in. Our life is congested with places to go and things to do and we're overdosing on stress. We could all use a priority check. We could all use a little schedule cleansing so we can focus our time on the things that really, really matter.
Now I'm no magician. I can't make your responsibilities disappear, but I can give you a simple grid that may make your life a little more doable. It's not my idea. It's actually Martin Luther's idea. He said he had only two days on his calendar – one of those is Judgment Day. He tried to evaluate everything in light of the Judgment Day that's coming for all of us. God actually talks about that great values-clarifier in 1 Corinthians 4, beginning with verse 2, our word for today from the Word of God.
Paul writes: "It is required that those who have been given a trust (I just want to add, "we all have") must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court...It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God."
If it's not going to matter there, how much should it matter here? Earlier, Paul talked about things that are just "wood, hay, and straw" that will burn on that day when we see Jesus. That's a priority check.
Luther said he had only two days on his calendar: Judgment Day and this day. It's the only day I can live right now. I don't need to be weighed down with yesterday. It can't be changed. I don't need to be fretting about the future. I'm not there yet and I can't control it anyway.
What I have is today, one 24-hour slice of life in which to honor my Lord in everything I do. So this day will count on that day! Maybe that's what Paul had in mind when he said: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14) Keep your eyes on the prize, all day long and each new day.
God will take a life that you have lived for Him with His priorities, one day at a time, and He will stitch that together and make a life out of those days that will fulfill you and glorify Him. It's a great way to live – two days on your calendar: Judgment Day and this day.