Max Lucado Daily: GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD
Can a holy God overlook our mistakes? Should a kind God punish our mistakes? From our perspective there are only two equally unappealing solutions. But from God’s perspective there’s a third. It’s called “the Cross of Christ.” The cross is where God forgave his children without lowering his standards.
How could he do this? In a sentence: God put our sin on his Son and punished it there. “God put on him the wrong who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 MSG). Why did he do it? Because “God so loved the world that he gave his only son” (John 3:16 NLT). Aren’t you glad the verse doesn’t read: “For God so loved the rich”? Or “For God so loved the famous?” No we simply (and happily) read: “For God so loved the world!” And you are included in that love!
From He Chose the Nails
Ezekiel 2
It said, “Son of man, stand up. I have something to say to you.”
2 The moment I heard the voice, the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. As he spoke to me, I listened.
3-7 He said, “Son of man, I’m sending you to the family of Israel, a rebellious nation if there ever was one. They and their ancestors have fomented rebellion right up to the present. They’re a hard case, these people to whom I’m sending you—hardened in their sin. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they’ll know that a prophet’s been here. But don’t be afraid of them, son of man, and don’t be afraid of anything they say. Don’t be afraid when living among them is like stepping on thorns or finding scorpions in your bed. Don’t be afraid of their mean words or their hard looks. They’re a bunch of rebels. Your job is to speak to them. Whether they listen is not your concern. They’re hardened rebels.
8 “Only take care, son of man, that you don’t rebel like these rebels. Open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
9-10 When I looked he had his hand stretched out to me, and in the hand a book, a scroll. He unrolled the scroll. On both sides, front and back, were written lamentations and mourning and doom.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Read: Matthew 26:36–46
Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, “This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”
39 Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”
40-41 When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”
42 He then left them a second time. Again he prayed, “My Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I’m ready. Do it your way.”
43-44 When he came back, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn’t keep their eyes open. This time he let them sleep on, and went back a third time to pray, going over the same ground one last time.
45-46 When he came back the next time, he said, “Are you going to sleep on and make a night of it? My time is up, the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the hands of sinners. Get up! Let’s get going! My betrayer is here.”
INSIGHT:
The circumstances that took place on the night of Jesus’s betrayal seemed to be confused, chaotic, and out of control. But our Lord’s measured words in facing His betrayer showed His understanding of the big picture of God’s sovereign plan. Without the cross we could not be redeemed.
Forsaken for Our Sake
By Amy Peterson
God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Does having a friend nearby make pain more bearable? Researchers at the University of Virginia conducted a fascinating study to answer that question. They wanted to see how the brain reacted to the prospect of pain, and whether it behaved differently if a person faced the threat of pain alone, holding a stranger’s hand, or holding the hand of a close friend.
Researchers ran the test on dozens of pairs, and found consistent results. When a person was alone or holding a stranger's hand while anticipating a shock, the regions of the brain that process danger lit up. But when holding the hand of a trusted person, the brain relaxed. The comfort of a friend’s presence made the pain seem more bearable.
Because of God’s love, we are never truly alone.
Jesus needed comfort as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew what He was about to face: betrayal, arrest, and death. He asked His closest friends to stay and pray with Him, telling them that His soul was “overwhelmed with sorrow” (Matt. 26:38). But Peter, James, and John kept falling asleep.
Jesus faced the agony of the garden without the comfort of a hand to hold. But because He bore that pain, we can be confident that God will never leave or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). Jesus suffered so that we will never have to experience separation from the love of God (Rom. 8:39). His companionship makes anything we endure more bearable.
Jesus, thank You for bearing the pain and isolation of the Garden of Gethsemane and the cross for us. Thank You for giving us a way to live in communion with the Father.
Because of God’s love, we are never truly alone.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, April 13, 2017
What To Do When Your Burden Is Overwhelming
Cast your burden on the Lord… —Psalm 55:22
We must recognize the difference between burdens that are right for us to bear and burdens that are wrong. We should never bear the burdens of sin or doubt, but there are some burdens placed on us by God which He does not intend to lift off. God wants us to roll them back on Him— to literally “cast your burden,” which He has given you, “on the Lord….” If we set out to serve God and do His work but get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility we feel will be overwhelming and defeating. But if we will only roll back on God the burdens He has placed on us, He will take away that immense feeling of responsibility, replacing it with an awareness and understanding of Himself and His presence.
Many servants set out to serve God with great courage and with the right motives. But with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, they are soon defeated. They do not know what to do with their burden, and it produces weariness in their lives. Others will see this and say, “What a sad end to something that had such a great beginning!”
“Cast your burden on the Lord….” You have been bearing it all, but you need to deliberately place one end on God’s shoulder. “…the government will be upon His shoulder” (Isaiah 9:6). Commit to God whatever burden He has placed on you. Don’t just cast it aside, but put it over onto Him and place yourself there with it. You will see that your burden is then lightened by the sense of companionship. But you should never try to separate yourself from your burden.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.” The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Leaving It Buried - #7894
I've had to pay my sister-in-law handsomely so I could tell you this story about when she was a little girl. She and her older sister - who you know I married - grew up on a little farm in the Ozarks. One day the family was blessed with the arrival of some new kittens. And my three-year-old sister-in-law loved them so much. So much that she wanted to make sure they had something to drink. So she put them in their full rain barrel. Yeah, I'm sorry to say, the kittens couldn't swim and the kittens drowned. I'm sorry. Her parents asked her why she did such a cruel thing. Turns out, she didn't know it was cruel. She said, "They were thirsty." Well, some cousin insisted that they have a funeral for the kittens, so he lined them up in a shoebox coffin and they gave the kittens a Christian burial. Unfortunately, that was not the end for my dear sister-in-law. She kept wanting to dig them up. And when she was told she couldn't, she just cried and said, "Wanna see kitties." No, you don't!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Leaving It Buried."
Unfortunately, it's not just little kids who want to dig up something that should stay buried. We do it all the time. That's why our word for today from the Word of God is from Philippians 3:13-14. Paul says, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Now, Paul is revealing here a big secret of emotional and spiritual health - leave the past in the past and don't keep digging it up.
Maybe you've got some wounds from the past; most of us do. There's people that hurt you or let you down. Maybe you were wounded by your mom or dad, the person you married, by your church or ministry, a friend or associate, your employer or your co-workers. It maybe happened 30 years ago; maybe it happened 30 days ago or 30 minutes ago. But you still feel the pain of the wound.
And how can you start to move beyond that pain? I know you don't want to live in it. Well, by doing what God calls us to do in Colossians 3:13, "Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." And how was that? "Who is a God like You, (the Bible says) who pardons sin and forgives...You will hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:19). Even though we have hurt God deeply with our sins, He forgives those sins and He buries them! We're called to treat people, not as they have treated us, but as Jesus has treated us!
But there are people who are into lifelong dredging operations - dredging up their grievances over and over again. And, frankly, they're not much fun to be around. There's a darkness, a negativity, a cynicism that develops in a person who keeps digging up the past. It's about as ugly and foul as those dead kittens would have been after they were buried. And nobody wants to be around that stink for long.
How about asking Jesus, the Great Forgiver, for the grace to let the painful past go once and for all? If you need the help of a pastor or counselor to work through that pain one last, decisive time, do it soon. Dig it up one more time so you don't have to dig it up ever again.
It may not be sins committed against you that you keep digging up; it might be sins committed by you. You're living with this feeling of being condemned, you're ashamed, you're no-good, and you feel like you're outside of God's love. But if you have brought those sins to the cross of Jesus, then God says, "I will remember your sins no more." They're gone. Live like it! "Forgetting what is behind...press on toward the goal."
If you had been there when that little girl wanted to dig up those kittens, I know what you would have told her, "Leave them buried!" If you've been going back and digging up sins and wounds from the past, that's what God is telling you, "Leave them buried!" They're ugly, they stink, and good news - they're gone.
