Max Lucado Daily: SIMPLY CHURCH
The church names we banter about? They don’t exist in heaven. Because it’s not the denomination that saves you. And I wonder, if there’re no denominations in heaven, why do we have denominations on earth?
I know this is a crazy thought—but what would happen if all the churches agreed, on a given day, to change their names simply to “church?” And then when people chose which church to attend, they wouldn’t do so by the sign outside, they’d do so by the hearts of the people inside. And then when people were asked what church they attended, their answer wouldn’t be a label but just a location. And then we Christians wouldn’t be known for what divides us; instead we’d be known for what unites us—our common Father.
Crazy idea? Perhaps. But I think God would like it. It was His idea to begin with!
From Lucado Inspirational Reader
Matthew 9:18-38
Just a Touch
18-19 As he finished saying this, a local official appeared, bowed politely, and said, “My daughter has just now died. If you come and touch her, she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, his disciples following along.
20-22 Just then a woman who had hemorrhaged for twelve years slipped in from behind and lightly touched his robe. She was thinking to herself, “If I can just put a finger on his robe, I’ll get well.” Jesus turned—caught her at it. Then he reassured her: “Courage, daughter. You took a risk of faith, and now you’re well.” The woman was well from then on.
23-26 By now they had arrived at the house of the town official, and pushed their way through the gossips looking for a story and the neighbors bringing in casseroles. Jesus was abrupt: “Clear out! This girl isn’t dead. She’s sleeping.” They told him he didn’t know what he was talking about. But when Jesus had gotten rid of the crowd, he went in, took the girl’s hand, and pulled her to her feet—alive. The news was soon out, and traveled throughout the region.
Become What You Believe
27-28 As Jesus left the house, he was followed by two blind men crying out, “Mercy, Son of David! Mercy on us!” When Jesus got home, the blind men went in with him. Jesus said to them, “Do you really believe I can do this?” They said, “Why, yes, Master!”
29-31 He touched their eyes and said, “Become what you believe.” It happened. They saw. Then Jesus became very stern. “Don’t let a soul know how this happened.” But they were hardly out the door before they started blabbing it to everyone they met.
32-33 Right after that, as the blind men were leaving, a man who had been struck speechless by an evil spirit was brought to Jesus. As soon as Jesus threw the evil tormenting spirit out, the man talked away just as if he’d been talking all his life. The people were up on their feet applauding: “There’s never been anything like this in Israel!”
34 The Pharisees were left sputtering, “Hocus-pocus. It’s nothing but hocus-pocus. He’s probably made a pact with the Devil.”
35-38 Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. “What a huge harvest!” he said to his disciples. “How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, November 02, 2017
Read: Romans 12:1–13
A Living Sacrifice
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Humble Service in the Body of Christ
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Love in Action
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Footnotes:
Romans 12:6 Or the
Romans 12:8 Or to provide for others
INSIGHT
In the letter to the church at Rome, Paul was writing to Jesus-followers he had never met and was one day hoping to visit (see Rom. 1:8–11). In this message he challenged them to serve with humility and love.
For further study on the book of Romans, check out this free resource at christianuniversity.org/NT225. - J.R. Hudberg
Living Anonymously
By David C. McCasland
Let us have real warm affection for one another as between [family]. Romans 12:10 Phillips
My well-worn and often-read copy of Jane Yolen’s essay “Working Up to Anon” (Anonymous) was clipped from The Writer magazine many years ago. “The best writers,” she says, “are the ones who really, in their heart of hearts, aspire to the byline Anon. The story told is important, not the storyteller.”
The story we tell is about Jesus, the Savior, who gave His life for us. Together with other believers we live for Him and share His love with others.
“He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30)
Romans 12:3–21 describes the attitude of humility and love that should permeate our relationships with each other as followers of Jesus. “Don’t cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given to you all. . . . Let us have real warm affection for one another as between [family], and a willingness to let the other [person] have the credit” (vv. 3, 10 J.B. Phillips New Testament).
Pride in our past accomplishments can blind us to the gifts of others. Arrogance can poison the future.
John the Baptist, whose mission was to pave the way for Jesus, said, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).
That’s a good motto for us all.
I admit, Lord, that I have a lot to learn about humility. Help me to see You for who You are so You and others have their rightful place in my life.
Always be humble before God and allow Him to be your all in all. Oswald Chambers
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, November 02, 2017
Obedience or Independence?
If you love Me, keep My commandments. —John 14:15
Our Lord never insists on obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an “If,” meaning, “You do not need to do this unless you desire to do so.” “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Luke 9:23). In other words, “To be My disciple, let him give up his right to himself to Me.” Our Lord is not talking about our eternal position, but about our being of value to Him in this life here and now. That is why He sounds so stern (see Luke 14:26). Never try to make sense from these words by separating them from the One who spoke them.
The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself. Jesus Christ will not force me to obey Him, but I must. And as soon as I obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. But if I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God. Then, when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When God’s redemption brings a human soul to the point of obedience, it always produces. If I obey Jesus Christ, the redemption of God will flow through me to the lives of others, because behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God.
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, November 02, 2017
Finally Clean - #8039
My wife and I had been on the road for quite a while, and company was coming as soon as we got home. Frankly, with the whirlwind that preceded our departure, there was some unfinished work that we left behind at home. And, thankfully, a friend came over while we were gone and pitched in. One job my wife had asked her to tackle was to get some stubborn food and melted wax spots out of our nice red tablecloth. Well, one of the first things we noticed when we walked in the door after our trip was that tablecloth spread out on the dining room table, looking as good as new. And it had a handwritten note on it. It simply said: "I'm clean. I've been washed, and all my dirty spots came out." Pretty amazing - a note from a tablecloth. That could only happen at our house.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Finally Clean."
Not long after I read that note on the tablecloth, I thought to myself, "Ron, you should have a note like that on you." Because those words describe what Jesus Christ did for me; something no religion could have ever done. "I'm clean. I've been washed, and all my dirty spots came out. You know, actually, that's the testimony of every person who has ever trusted Jesus to forgive their sins, based on what He did on the cross for them. And you know, it could describe you before this day is over.
In 2 Kings 5, beginning with verse 10, our word for today from the Word of God, God tells the true story of a man who is a revealing example of how this dirty-to-clean miracle works. Naaman is a Syrian military leader who, for all his fame and success, can't do a thing about the terminal leprosy he suddenly developed. Hearing about Elisha, God's prophet, Naaman travels to Israel with his entourage to try to find a cure. He tries to buy the cure with the big money he brings with him, and the man of God won't touch the money.
Then, speaking through His prophet, God tells Naaman, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed." Naaman is not about to humble himself and bathe in the muddy Jordan River. He tells his servants he should just go home and do it his way. But they urge him to give this strange prescription a try, and here's the outcome: "So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy." Wow!
Well, here's the point: if you'll go to the place where God says you can be cured of your terminal sin-cancer and do what He says, He'll make you clean, He'll make you new. You can't buy His forgiveness by giving Him money. You can't earn His forgiveness by doing great things. You can only receive His forgiveness by going, in your heart, to Jesus' cross and throwing yourself on His mercy and His love. He's the only One who can make you clean because He's the only One who could or would pay the death penalty for all your sin.
So, this can be the day you can bring to Jesus all those mistakes, all the wreckage, the regrets of a lifetime, so you can be clean inside for the first time in your life. Doesn't that sound good? He's waiting to hear from you. You can talk to Him something like this: "Jesus, You died on that cross to pay for my sin, and you know, I have never really grabbed you in total trust to be my Rescuer from my sin. But beginning today, Jesus, I'm pinning all my hopes on You, because I know you're alive. Starting today, Jesus, I'm yours."
You know, if you want that new beginning that only Jesus can give you, I want to invite you to go, as many folks have gone, to kind of get the information you need from God's Word to make sure you've begun that relationship with Him. It's our website, and it's ANewStory.com. And that's a pretty good name for it, because that's where your new story could begin. Let me invite you to go there today.
See, there's no greater peace, no greater freedom than to be able to say from this day on, "I'm clean! I've been washed, and all my dirty spots came out!"