Max Lucado Daily: FULLY TRUSTING IN GOD’S WORD
Are you fully trusting in God’s Word? The day-in, day-out, sunshine-and-storm kind of trusting? Whose voice do you heed?
Reaching our own Promise Land life requires an ongoing trust in God’s Word. Wilderness people trust Scripture just enough to escape Egypt. Canaan dwellers, on the other hand, make the Bible their go-to book for life. As God told Joshua, “Meditate in it day and night” (Joshua 1:8). The image is one of a person reciting, rehearsing, reconsidering God’s Word over and over again.
Canaan is loud with enemy voices. The Devil megaphones doubt and death into our ears. Take heed to the voice you heed. Scripture says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another” (Colossians 3:16).
From God is With You Every Day
Hebrews 6
1-3 So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on “salvation by self-help” and turning in trust toward God; baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. God helping us, we’ll stay true to all that. But there’s so much more. Let’s get on with it!
4-8 Once people have seen the light, gotten a taste of heaven and been part of the work of the Holy Spirit, once they’ve personally experienced the sheer goodness of God’s Word and the powers breaking in on us—if then they turn their backs on it, washing their hands of the whole thing, well, they can’t start over as if nothing happened. That’s impossible. Why, they’ve re-crucified Jesus! They’ve repudiated him in public! Parched ground that soaks up the rain and then produces an abundance of carrots and corn for its gardener gets God’s “Well done!” But if it produces weeds and thistles, it’s more likely to get cussed out. Fields like that are burned, not harvested.
9-12 I’m sure that won’t happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.
God Gave His Word
13-18 When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, “I promise that I’ll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!” Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they’ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.
18-20 We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Read: 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
I, Paul, together here with Silas and Timothy, send greetings to the church at Thessalonica, Christians assembled by God the Father and by the Master, Jesus Christ. God’s amazing grace be with you! God’s robust peace!
Convictions of Steel
2-5 Every time we think of you, we thank God for you. Day and night you’re in our prayers as we call to mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in following our Master, Jesus Christ, before God our Father. It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special. When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn’t just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions.
5-6 You paid careful attention to the way we lived among you, and determined to live that way yourselves. In imitating us, you imitated the Master. Although great trouble accompanied the Word, you were able to take great joy from the Holy Spirit!—taking the trouble with the joy, the joy with the trouble.
7-10 Do you know that all over the provinces of both Macedonia and Achaia believers look up to you? The word has gotten around. Your lives are echoing the Master’s Word, not only in the provinces but all over the place. The news of your faith in God is out. We don’t even have to say anything anymore—you’re the message! People come up and tell us how you received us with open arms, how you deserted the dead idols of your old life so you could embrace and serve God, the true God. They marvel at how expectantly you await the arrival of his Son, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescued us from certain doom.
INSIGHT:
The story of the Thessalonians’ changed lives—according to Paul—went “viral.” Paul recalls the story of how Jewish and Gentile people turned from ancestral beliefs to personal faith in Christ. Such conversions were bound to be controversial. Decisions to leave the faith of our fathers (and mothers) seldom sound like good news to families, friends, and co-workers. But these Thessalonians gave their world something to talk about. Their lives gave substance to the faith, hope, and love of Jesus. It is easier to tell someone about our own experience rather than jumping into a controversial “answer” for them. Why not share your story?
The Viral Gospel
By David McCasland
The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. 1 Thessalonians 1:8
The Viral Texts project at Northeastern University in Boston is studying how printed content in the 1800s spread through newspapers—the social media network of that day. If an article was reprinted 50 times or more, they considered that “viral” for the Industrial Age. Writing in Smithsonian magazine, Britt Peterson noted that a nineteenth-century news article describing which followers of Jesus were executed for their faith appeared in at least 110 different publications.
When the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica, he commended them for their bold and joyful witness to Jesus. “The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere” (1 Thess. 1:8). The message of the gospel went viral through these people whose lives had been transformed by Jesus Christ. In spite of difficulties and persecution, they could not remain silent.
Lord Jesus, help us to live boldly and tell others about You today.
We convey the story of forgiveness and eternal life in Christ through kind hearts, helping hands, and honest words from all of us who know the Lord. The gospel transforms us and the lives of those we meet.
May the message ring out from us for all to hear today!
Lord Jesus, help us to live boldly and tell others about You today.
Share with others at Facebook.com/ourdailybread how you have been able to live boldly for the Lord.
There’s no better news than the gospel—spread the word!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Do You Really Love Him?
She has done a good work for Me. —Mark 14:6
If what we call love doesn’t take us beyond ourselves, it is not really love. If we have the idea that love is characterized as cautious, wise, sensible, shrewd, and never taken to extremes, we have missed the true meaning. This may describe affection and it may bring us a warm feeling, but it is not a true and accurate description of love.
Have you ever been driven to do something for God not because you felt that it was useful or your duty to do so, or that there was anything in it for you, but simply because you love Him? Have you ever realized that you can give things to God that are of value to Him? Or are you just sitting around daydreaming about the greatness of His redemption, while neglecting all the things you could be doing for Him? I’m not referring to works which could be regarded as divine and miraculous, but ordinary, simple human things— things which would be evidence to God that you are totally surrendered to Him. Have you ever created what Mary of Bethany created in the heart of the Lord Jesus? “She has done a good work for Me.”
There are times when it seems as if God watches to see if we will give Him even small gifts of surrender, just to show how genuine our love is for Him. To be surrendered to God is of more value than our personal holiness. Concern over our personal holiness causes us to focus our eyes on ourselves, and we become overly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, out of fear of offending God. “…but perfect love casts out fear…” once we are surrendered to God (1 John 4:18). We should quit asking ourselves, “Am I of any use?” and accept the truth that we really are not of much use to Him. The issue is never of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. Once we are totally surrendered to God, He will work through us all the time.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes. The Highest Good, 544 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Your Final Payment - #7857
There are some things that are just tough to advertise – like things people need but don't want to think about. Like insurance to pay your funeral expenses some day. Well, a local insurance agency gave it a good try in the newspaper ad they ran. In bold letters it said, "FINAL PAYMENT". It went on to make a case for doing something now to take care of the last obligation of your life. Of course, that ad had a serious inaccuracy.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Final Payment."
According to the Bible, there is still one more bill to pay after the funeral. It's the payment for all those me-first life choices that the Bible calls "sin". In God's words, "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). The payment for running our own lives is an eternal payment. But like that final payment for your funeral expenses, you can do something now to take care of that awful obligation once and for all.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, and it graphically explains the terrible final payment for sin, and it suggests the way to remove it. These are sobering words from the One who will be your Judge and mine. It says, "The Lord Jesus will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power."
Everlasting destruction-shut out from God's presence. I know we don't like the idea of hell, but it doesn't change the reality of it. If you don't have life forever, there's just one alternative–living death forever. But that's not what God wants for you. It's not what He wants for anyone.
He says in the Bible, "This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:9, 10). In other words, God loves you so much that He sent His Son to take on all the punishment for every sin you have ever done. Your final payment was paid by Jesus Christ on His cross!
That's the "Gospel", the good news. God said the ones who would never see Him (never see heaven) are those who "do not obey the Gospel (the good news) of our Lord Jesus". That Gospel calls upon us to grab Jesus as our Savior like a drowning person would grab a lifeguard to save them.
That's why the Bible bottom lines the most important decision you will ever make in these words, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." That's believe as in totally trusting Him as your only hope for having your sins forgiven, for going to heaven someday.
Have you ever consciously given yourself to Jesus to be your Savior from your sins? If not, does it make any sense to wait any longer? Not when eternity's at stake, and eternity can begin any time. If you want to trust Jesus as your rescuer from your sin and it's from its' penalty-the One who died for you-would you tell Him you're His from this day on; that you're pinning all your hopes on Him to be the forgiver of your sins and a guarantee of you having eternal life someday?
Only He can rescue you. That's why we've really dedicated our website to helping you know and be sure that you have begun this life-saving, eternity-changing relationship with Him. It's ANewStory.com. I hope you'll go there as soon as you can today.
The final payment is one God doesn't want you to pay. He sent His Son to pay it for you. But He leaves the choice in your hands, and that choice will determine your eternity.