Max Lucado Daily: WEARING JESUS
Paul said, “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27 NIV). We wear Jesus! And those who don’t believe in Jesus note what we do. They make decisions about Christ by watching us. When we are kind, they assume Christ is kind. When we’re gracious, they assume Christ is gracious.
But if we are brash, what will people think of our King? Our Master? No wonder Paul says, “Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers, making the most of every opportunity. When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should” (Colossians 4:5-6).
Common courtesy honors God and his children. “Do your best,” the Scriptures say, “to live in peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18). Just do your best. You can’t control their attitude, but you can manage yours.
From A Love Worth Giving
1 Peter 2
1-3 So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God.
The Stone
4-8 Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you’ll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God. The Scriptures provide precedent:
Look! I’m setting a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone in the place of honor.
Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation
will never have cause to regret it.
To you who trust him, he’s a Stone to be proud of, but to those who refuse to trust him,
The stone the workmen threw out
is now the chief foundation stone.
For the untrusting it’s
. . . a stone to trip over,
a boulder blocking the way.
They trip and fall because they refuse to obey, just as predicted.
9-10 But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
11-12 Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.
13-17 Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God’s emissaries for keeping order. It is God’s will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you’re a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government.
The Kind of Life He Lived
18-20 You who are servants, be good servants to your masters—not just to good masters, but also to bad ones. What counts is that you put up with it for God’s sake when you’re treated badly for no good reason. There’s no particular virtue in accepting punishment that you well deserve. But if you’re treated badly for good behavior and continue in spite of it to be a good servant, that is what counts with God.
21-25 This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.
He never did one thing wrong,
Not once said anything amiss.
They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Read: Zechariah 3
Fourth Vision: Joshua’s New Clothes
1-2 Next the Messenger-Angel showed me the high priest Joshua. He was standing before God’s Angel where the Accuser showed up to accuse him. Then God said to the Accuser, “I, God, rebuke you, Accuser! I rebuke you and choose Jerusalem. Surprise! Everything is going up in flames, but I reach in and pull out Jerusalem!”
3-4 Joshua, standing before the angel, was dressed in dirty clothes. The angel spoke to his attendants, “Get him out of those filthy clothes,” and then said to Joshua, “Look, I’ve stripped you of your sin and dressed you up in clean clothes.”
5 I spoke up and said, “How about a clean new turban for his head also?” And they did it—put a clean new turban on his head. Then they finished dressing him, with God’s Angel looking on.
6-7 God’s Angel then charged Joshua, “Orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: ‘If you live the way I tell you and remain obedient in my service, then you’ll make the decisions around here and oversee my affairs. And all my attendants standing here will be at your service.
8-9 “‘Careful, High Priest Joshua—both you and your friends sitting here with you, for your friends are in on this, too! Here’s what I’m doing next: I’m introducing my servant Branch. And note this: This stone that I’m placing before Joshua, a single stone with seven eyes’—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—‘I’ll engrave with these words: “I’ll strip this land of its filthy sin, all at once, in a single day.”
10 “‘At that time, everyone will get along with one another, with friendly visits across the fence, friendly visits on one another’s porches.’”
INSIGHT:
In today’s passage Satan is not rebuked because he has no grounds to accuse Joshua. Satan is rebuked because Joshua’s current condition (dressed in dirty clothes—symbolic of judgment and sin) was not his final condition. God changed his situation by clothing him with clean garments, symbolic of God’s righteousness.
Clothed by God
By Amy Boucher Pye
See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you. Zechariah 3:4
When my kids were toddlers, they would play outside in our sodden English garden and quickly become covered in mud and dirt. For their good and the good of my floor, I’d remove their clothes at the door and wrap them in towels before sticking them in the bath. They’d soon move from dirty to clean with the addition of soap, water, and hugs.
In a vision given to Zechariah, we see Joshua, a high priest, covered in rags that represent sin and wrongdoing (Zech. 3:3). But the Lord makes him clean, removing his filthy clothes and covering him in rich garments (3:5). The new turban and robe signify that the Lord has taken his sins from him.
Lord Jesus, through Your saving death on the cross we can find acceptance and love.
We too can receive God’s cleansing as we become free of our wrongdoing through the saving work of Jesus. As a result of His death on the cross, we can have the mud and sins that cling to us washed away as we receive the robes of God’s sons and daughters. No longer are we defined by what we’ve done wrong (whether lying, gossiping, stealing, coveting, or other), but we can claim the names God gives to those He loves—restored, renewed, cleansed, free.
Ask God to remove any filthy rags you’re wearing so you too can put on the wardrobe He has reserved for you.
Lord Jesus, through Your saving death on the cross we can find acceptance and love. May we receive this gift for Your glory.
Who can wash away my sin? Jesus!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Living Simply— Yet Focused
Look at the birds of the air….Consider the lilies of the field… —Matthew 6:26, 28
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin”— they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars, and the moon— all of these simply are as well— yet what a ministry and service they render on our behalf! So often we impair God’s designed influence, which He desires to exhibit through us, because of our own conscious efforts to be consistent and useful. Jesus said there is only one way to develop and grow spiritually, and that is through focusing and concentrating on God. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Do not worry about being of use to others; simply believe on Me.” In other words, pay attention to the Source, and out of you “will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense and reasoning, and Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows our circumstances, and if we will stay focused on Him, instead of our circumstances, we will grow spiritually— just as “the lilies of the field.”
The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and “the lilies of the field”— simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.
If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live— yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….” So Send I You, 1325 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Keeping Your Feet Moving - #7919
You may not be able to tell it over the radio, but I'm not a very big guy. Oh, I'm big inside. But outside, I'm more of like a Volkswagen than a semi. Which makes it amazing that both my sons ended up playing line in football. That's usually where they put the monsters. But we used to joke that the linemen wore their IQs on their jerseys - you know, like 75. But it was brawn more than brains they needed anyway to either hold the line while their opponents were trying to move them or to break through those gorillas on the other side of the line. There are just a few simple instructions that every coach wants every lineman to learn and live by. In fact, our guys heard this one all the time, "Keep your feet moving. No matter what." Even if it feels like you're going nowhere. Even if you're getting hammered. Even if you think it's doing no good. As long as you keep driving, as long as you keep your feet moving, you're making a difference. There is an alternative. It's called getting knocked down maybe by one of those gorillas on the other side.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Keeping Your Feet Moving."
The Divine Coach has assigned you a position to play right now. And He has a word for you today from the Word of God. Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Or in the words of a football coach to the guys on the line, "Keep your feet moving, no matter what." It's true in football. It's true in following Christ. If you stop driving, if you stand still, you're going to get knocked down and you'll stop making a difference.
It could be you've been taking some pretty hard hits lately. Don't become weary in doing good. Keep your feet moving. Maybe you feel like nothing's moving; you're not seeing much in the way of results. The good you're doing doesn't seem to be doing much good. Your Coach's word, "Keep playing your position. Keep your feet moving in God's direction. This isn't about results. It's about faithfulness at your position." That's why the commendation of Jesus is, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
I believe there was a point where you knew God was leading you in this direction...when you felt motivated to make a difference or to start living God's way. But you've been hit hard a few times, maybe thrown for a loss. Maybe things seem to have gotten worse instead of better. Or it could be that there has not been much appreciation for what you've done...or much progress. The feeling isn't there like it was at the beginning. You're tired of driving in the direction God led you. Your feet are slowing down, you're standing still. You're tempted to give up on your ministry, on your marriage, on financial freedom, on conquering the old you, or you might be tempted to give up on the miracle that you've been praying for.
And along comes God today saying, "The payoff is coming. You will break through if you keep driving in this direction - even when you feel like quitting." He likens it to a farmer waiting for his harvest. There's a lot of work and investment without any visible result for a long time. And then one day, that crop appears if he doesn't give up on it. The harvest of all you've put in so far depends on one very big if, "...if, (as God says,) you do not give up." In the words of a wise old man of God, "Never doubt in the darkness what God has told you in the light."
There's no standing still on this Jesus road. If you do, you get knocked down. There are some wonderful victories, there are some powerful breakthroughs later in the game if you keep your feet moving.
