Max Lucado Daily: GRACE GIVES MORE
Grace goes beyond mercy. Mercy gave Ruth some food. Grace gave her a husband and a home. Mercy gave the prodigal son a second chance, but grace threw him a party. Mercy prompted the Samaritan to bandage the wounds of a victim, but grace prompted him to leave his credit card as a payment for the victim’s care. Mercy forgave the thief on the cross but grace escorted him into paradise.
Let me spell it out. God has resolved to romance your heart. Through sunsets…through the kindness of a friend…through whispers of Scripture…perhaps even through a message from Max. Marginalized and discarded? Others may think so. You may think so. But God sees in you a masterpiece about to happen.
From God is With You Every Day
Isaiah 63
Who Goes There?
The watchmen call out,
“Who goes there, marching out of Edom,
out of Bozrah in clothes dyed red?
Name yourself, so splendidly dressed,
advancing, bristling with power!”
“It is I: I speak what is right,
I, mighty to save!”
2 “And why are your robes so red,
your clothes dyed red like those who tread grapes?”
3-6 “I’ve been treading the winepress alone.
No one was there to help me.
Angrily, I stomped the grapes;
raging, I trampled the people.
Their blood spurted all over me—
all my clothes were soaked with blood.
I was set on vengeance.
The time for redemption had arrived.
I looked around for someone to help
—no one.
I couldn’t believe it
—not one volunteer.
So I went ahead and did it myself,
fed and fueled by my rage.
I trampled the people in my anger,
crushed them under foot in my wrath,
soaked the earth with their lifeblood.”
All the Things God Has Done That Need Praising
7-9 I’ll make a list of God’s gracious dealings,
all the things God has done that need praising,
All the generous bounties of God,
his great goodness to the family of Israel—
Compassion lavished,
love extravagant.
He said, “Without question these are my people,
children who would never betray me.”
So he became their Savior.
In all their troubles,
he was troubled, too.
He didn’t send someone else to help them.
He did it himself, in person.
Out of his own love and pity
he redeemed them.
He rescued them and carried them along
for a long, long time.
10 But they turned on him;
they grieved his Holy Spirit.
So he turned on them,
became their enemy and fought them.
11-14 Then they remembered the old days,
the days of Moses, God’s servant:
“Where is he who brought the shepherds of his flock
up and out of the sea?
And what happened to the One who set
his Holy Spirit within them?
Who linked his arm with Moses’ right arm,
divided the waters before them,
Making him famous ever after,
and led them through the muddy abyss
as surefooted as horses on hard, level ground?
Like a herd of cattle led to pasture,
the Spirit of God gave them rest.”
14-19 That’s how you led your people!
That’s how you became so famous!
Look down from heaven, look at us!
Look out the window of your holy and magnificent house!
Whatever happened to your passion,
your famous mighty acts,
Your heartfelt pity, your compassion?
Why are you holding back?
You are our Father.
Abraham and Israel are long dead.
They wouldn’t know us from Adam.
But you’re our living Father,
our Redeemer, famous from eternity!
Why, God, did you make us wander from your ways?
Why did you make us cold and stubborn
so that we no longer worshiped you in awe?
Turn back for the sake of your servants.
You own us! We belong to you!
For a while your holy people had it good,
but now our enemies have wrecked your holy place.
For a long time now, you’ve paid no attention to us.
It’s like you never knew us.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Read: Hebrews 11:32–12:3
I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . . Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn’t deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.
39-40 Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.
Discipline in a Long-Distance Race
12 1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
INSIGHT:
The target audience for the book of Hebrews is Jews who had trusted Jesus as their Messiah. But due to persecution, in some cases imprisonment, and through confiscation of personal property, they were tempted to forsake their faith in Jesus and return to Judaism.
The Twelfth Man
By David McCasland
Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1
A large sign at the Texas A&M University football stadium says “HOME OF THE 12TH MAN.” While each team is allowed eleven players on the field, the 12th Man is the presence of thousands of A&M students who remain standing during the entire game to cheer their team on. The tradition traces its roots to 1922 when the coach called a student from the stands to suit up and be ready to replace an injured player. Although he never entered the game, his willing presence on the sideline greatly encouraged the team.
Hebrews 11 describes heroes of the faith who faced great trials and remained loyal to God. Chapter 12 begins, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (v. 1).
Lord, give us strength to run our race of faith today.
We are not alone on our journey of faith. The great saints and ordinary people who have been faithful to the Lord encourage us by their example and also by their presence in heaven. They are a spiritual 12th Man standing with us while we are still on the field.
As we fix our eyes on Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (12:2), we are spurred on by all those who followed Him.
Lord, may we be aware of those in heaven who are cheering us on. Give us strength to run our race of faith today.
Faithful Christians from the past encourage us today.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Still Human!
…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31
In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.
We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience, and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a great woman of devotion she is!” If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the lofty height where no one would ever notice you personally. All that is noticed is the power of God coming through you all the time.
We want to be able to say, “Oh, I have had a wonderful call from God!” But to do even the most humbling tasks to the glory of God takes the Almighty God Incarnate working in us. To be utterly unnoticeable requires God’s Spirit in us making us absolutely humanly His. The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life “hidden with Christ in God” in our everyday human conditions (Colossians 3:3). Our human relationships are the very conditions in which the ideal life of God should be exhibited.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of pronouncing any verdict on the life of faith if you are not living it. Not Knowing Whither, 900 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
When You're Tired of a Small, Small World - #7788
If you've been to Disneyland or Disney World with children, they made sure you got on this cute little ride called "Small World". It's this little boat that takes you on a trip down this winding little canal where these precious little dolls sing to you. They're dressed like children from all over the world, and they're singing this little song to you, which I will not sing. This is not a musical program. But you will remember maybe, it goes, "It's a small world after all." And it's cute – for a while. The problem is they keep singing it to you, around every bend, from every side. By the end of that ride, you are sick of a small, small world!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You're Tired of a Small, Small World."
There's a man in the Bible who was. And maybe you are. Oh, it isn't that your life isn't full. I mean, it's just not fulfilling. You're restless, feeling a little claustrophobia, and you know there must be more than this.
That's where this man in the Bible named Jabez was. If you've never heard of Jabez, that's OK, most people haven't. He's only mentioned once in the Bible and he's in the middle of nine chapters of genealogies. In this endless list of people who are only remembered because (the King James word) they "begat" someone, God suddenly stops the list to tell us about one man who stood out in this sea of mediocrity. And all we know about him is that he prayed. But in this simple prayer of Jabez – which obviously really impressed God – is a launching pad for the larger life you're restless for. Guess who made you restless. God did, because He's got more for you.
That prayer is found in our word for today from 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. "Jabez was more honorable than his brothers...Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, 'Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm'..." And then this little footnote, "And God granted His request." Then it goes right back to the begatters. Obviously, God responds to a prayer like the prayer of Jabez.
Why? Well, first, because it's impassioned. It's not just a casual "Dear God" thing. "Jabez cried out" to God. See, God responds to desperate, heartfelt, "O Lord!" prayers. Secondly, life-enlarging prayer recognizes that everything depends on the blessing of God, "Oh, that You would bless me." There is nothing worth losing the blessing of God for; no sacrifice too great to have the blessing of God. One great Christian leader used to pray this way, "Lord, we ask not that You bless what we do, but that we do what You bless." That's great!
Thirdly, the prayer that blows the walls off your small, small world trusts God to enlarge the impact of your life. "Enlarge my territory." You dare to dream a big dream, planted by God in your heart. You reach out to Him and say, "Lord, I want to make a greater difference with the rest of my life than I've ever made before."
Finally, life-enlarging prayer dares to go where you've never gone because the hand of God is upon you. "Let Your hand be with me and keep me from harm." You dare to risk because you're trusting God to guide you with His hand where you're supposed to go and you know you'll be safe because He is protecting you and you're exactly where you were meant to be.
I'll bet there's a voice inside of you right now and he's whispering, "You're made for more. You're made for more." Go for that more you were made for.
God's been waiting for you to get tired of your small, small world – so tired that you would fall on your knees before Him and trust Him to make your life so much bigger; bigger than you ever thought it could be.
