Max Lucado Daily: OUR INHERITANCE
Scripture says, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16-17).
If we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, why do we struggle through life? Our inheritance is perfect peace, yet we feel like a perfect mess. God promises to meet every need, yet we worry and fret. Why? We don’t know about our inheritance. It’s what Paul refers to in the Book of Ephesians as “the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe” (1:19). Some Christians never live out of their inheritance because they don’t know they have one. But now you do!
There is a reason for your redemption. God brought you out so he could lead you in. He set you free so he could raise you up. The gift has been given. You are an heir of God and co-heir with Christ. Will you trust your inheritance?
From God is With You Every Day
2 Corinthians 4
Present Weakness and Resurrection Life
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[b] Since we have that same spirit of[c] faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Footnotes:
2 Corinthians 4:6 Gen. 1:3
2 Corinthians 4:13 Psalm 116:10 (see Septuagint)
2 Corinthians 4:13 Or Spirit-given
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Read: Psalm 27:1–8
A David Psalm
Light, space, zest—
that’s God!
So, with him on my side I’m fearless,
afraid of no one and nothing.
2 When vandal hordes ride down
ready to eat me alive,
Those bullies and toughs
fall flat on their faces.
3 When besieged,
I’m calm as a baby.
When all hell breaks loose,
I’m collected and cool.
4 I’m asking God for one thing,
only one thing:
To live with him in his house
my whole life long.
I’ll contemplate his beauty;
I’ll study at his feet.
5 That’s the only quiet, secure place
in a noisy world,
The perfect getaway,
far from the buzz of traffic.
6 God holds me head and shoulders
above all who try to pull me down.
I’m headed for his place to offer anthems
that will raise the roof!
Already I’m singing God-songs;
I’m making music to God.
7-9 Listen, God, I’m calling at the top of my lungs:
“Be good to me! Answer me!”
When my heart whispered, “Seek God,”
my whole being replied,
“I’m seeking him!”
Don’t hide from me now!
INSIGHT:
Old Testament scholar Willem A. VanGemeren points out that Psalms 26 and 27 share four common themes: concern for God’s tabernacle, dependence on God, prayer for vindication, and hope for deliverance.
He Understands
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
The Lord is my light and my salvation. Psalm 27:1
Some young children have trouble falling asleep at night. While there may be many reasons for this, my daughter explained one of them as I turned to leave her bedroom one evening. “I’m afraid of the dark,” she said. I tried to relieve her fear, but I left a nightlight on so she could be sure that her room was monster-free.
I didn’t think much more about my daughter’s fear until a few weeks later when my husband went on an overnight business trip. After I settled into bed, the dark seemed to press in around me. I heard a tiny noise and jumped up to investigate. It turned out to be nothing, but I finally understood my daughter’s fear when I experienced it myself.
Jesus is our light in the darkest night.
Jesus understands our fears and problems because He lived on the earth as a human and endured the same types of trouble we face. “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain” (Isa. 53:3). When we describe our struggles to Him, He doesn’t brush us aside, minimize our feelings, or tell us to snap out of it—He relates to our distress. Somehow, knowing that He understands can dispel the loneliness that often accompanies suffering. In our darkest times, He is our light and our salvation.
Dear Jesus, I believe that You hear my prayers and that You understand my situation. You are the One who lights my darkness.
Jesus is our light in the darkest night.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Dependent on God’s Presence
Those who wait on the Lord…shall walk and not faint. —Isaiah 40:31
There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all of our steady and enduring qualities. To “walk and not faint” is the highest stretch possible as a measure of strength. The word walk is used in the Bible to express the character of a person— “…John…looking at Jesus as He walked…said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” (John 1:35-36). There is nothing abstract or obscure in the Bible; everything is vivid and real. God does not say, “Be spiritual,” but He says, “Walk before Me…” (Genesis 17:1).
When we are in an unhealthy condition either physically or emotionally, we always look for thrills in life. In our physical life this leads to our efforts to counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit; in our emotional life it leads to obsessions and to the destruction of our morality; and in our spiritual life, if we insist on pursuing only thrills, on mounting up “with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31), it will result in the destruction of our spirituality.
Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence. The experience the psalmist speaks of— “We will not fear, even though…” (Psalm 46:2)— will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the reality of God’s presence, not just a simple awareness of it, but an understanding of the reality of it. Then we will exclaim, “He has been here all the time!” At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, “Oh, Lord, direct me in this, and in that.” Of course He will, and in fact, He is doing it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We begin our Christian life by believing what we are told to believe, then we have to go on to so assimilate our beliefs that they work out in a way that redounds to the glory of God. The danger is in multiplying the acceptation of beliefs we do not make our own. Conformed to His Image, 381 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Living A Globally Positioned Life - #7703
When you've got a God like ours, even a parade can turn out to be a place for Him to amaze you. What I'm about to tell you is not Uncle Ronnie's Story Time. It's really a story about a God that you may really need right now. I was scheduled to speak at a Native camp in Canada, and our hosts wanted me to bring a few of the Native young people that God used so mightily on our reservation teams that summer. They've been so excited about being spiritual rescuers that they asked me, "Is there a reservation near the camp?" They wanted to continue the outreach of the summer. There was a reservation, or as they say in Canada, reserve. But we knew no one there who could help us. My wife and I got to the area a couple days early and we decided to take in a parade in the nearby town. We prayed about God directing us where to sit. Basically, we just wanted a shady spot. Our neighbors in the spot we chose turned out to be a Native family.
As my wife struck up a conversation with the Native lady sitting next to her, the lady wanted to know what we did. As my wife described our summer with a Native team, the woman put her hand over her heart in amazement and said, "Are you On Eagles' Wings?" Now it was our turn to be flabbergasted. It turned out that Rochelle, this precious Native woman, was from that nearby reserve. Two years ago, she lost her son to suicide there. Not knowing where to go for hope or for help, she went to the Internet, and she happened to end up at our Native website, OnEaglesWings.com. She said that's where she found the help she needed to make it through.
Since then, she's been saving all the On Eagles' Wings Summer of Hope reports and all the transcripts of this radio program-never thinking she'd ever have any personal contact. As the parade went by, Rochelle and my wife sat, hands clasped together, praying. Rochelle proceeded to get a place on her reserve for our team members to do two afternoon outreaches later that week, and two-thirds of the reservation young people who attended gave their hearts to Christ. One of them was Rochelle's surviving son. Exactly one week after we sat down next to a woman in a town we've never been in, just to watch a parade.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Living a Globally Positioned Life."
I just want to tell you, what God did for us at that parade turned out to be a vivid example of what He's doing day after day for every child in His family. He is globally positioning us through our everyday circumstances. He's positioning us to be the right person at the right place at the right time to carry out His awesome plans, if we'll live our life looking for His divine match-ups and listening for His gentle direction.
When Samuel told Saul God had picked him to be the first king of Israel, Saul thought it was a mistake. Samuel told Saul that as he headed home, he would first meet men who would have a message from his father, then men with goats, bread and wine; and finally, he'd meet a parade of prophets who would prophesy about God's anointing on him. 1 Samuel 10:9, our word for today from the Word of God says, "God changed Saul's heart and all these signs were fulfilled that day." A God-planned itinerary, leading Saul right into the middle of God's will. That's what He's wanting to do for you every new day.
My challenge to you is to wake up each morning, expecting a God-planned day; expecting divine match-ups and divine intervention. If you are submitting to the inner leading of His Spirit and His Word, He'll continually be positioning you to meet the people you need, people who need you, to confirm what He wants you to do, to open doors, to start a chain of amazing events, and to answer prayer. There just isn't any more exciting way to live. So, don't settle for less. Pray through your day. Look for the tapestry of God in your day. Obey those Spirit-nudges in your heart. You'll continually find yourself in the middle of that bigger thing God is doing.