Max Lucado Daily: USE A PORTABLE PRAYER
Some people excel in prayer. They are the SEAL Team 6 of intercession. They would rather pray than sleep. Why is it I sleep when I pray? It’s not that we don’t pray at all. We all pray some. Surveys indicate one in five unbelievers prays daily. Just in case, perhaps? When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He gave them a prayer…a quotable, repeatable, portable prayer. Could you use the same?
Father, You are good.
I need help. Heal me and forgive me.
They need help. Thank you.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Here is my challenge for you: Every day for 4 weeks, pray 4 minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before!
Read more Before Amen
Matthew 24:29-51
29 “Following those hard times,
Sun will fade out,
moon cloud over,
Stars fall out of the sky,
cosmic powers tremble.
30-31 “Then, the Arrival of the Son of Man! It will fill the skies—no one will miss it. Unready people all over the world, outsiders to the splendor and power, will raise a huge lament as they watch the Son of Man blazing out of heaven. At that same moment, he’ll dispatch his angels with a trumpet-blast summons, pulling in God’s chosen from the four winds, from pole to pole.
32-35 “Take a lesson from the fig tree. From the moment you notice its buds form, the merest hint of green, you know summer’s just around the corner. So it is with you: When you see all these things, you’ll know he’s at the door. Don’t take this lightly. I’m not just saying this for some future generation, but for all of you. This age continues until all these things take place. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won’t wear out.
36 “But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven’s angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.
37-39 “The Arrival of the Son of Man will take place in times like Noah’s. Before the great flood everyone was carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ark. They knew nothing—until the flood hit and swept everything away.
39-44 “The Son of Man’s Arrival will be like that: Two men will be working in the field—one will be taken, one left behind; two women will be grinding at the mill—one will be taken, one left behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show up. But you do know this: You know that if the homeowner had known what time of night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his dogs to prevent the break-in. Be vigilant just like that. You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up.
45-47 “Who here qualifies for the job of overseeing the kitchen? A person the Master can depend on to feed the workers on time each day. Someone the Master can drop in on unannounced and always find him doing his job. A God-blessed man or woman, I tell you. It won’t be long before the Master will put this person in charge of the whole operation.
48-51 “But if that person only looks out for himself, and the minute the Master is away does what he pleases—abusing the help and throwing drunken parties for his friends—the Master is going to show up when he least expects it and make hash of him. He’ll end up in the dump with the hypocrites, out in the cold shivering, teeth chattering.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, February 02, 2018
Read: Colossians 4:2–6
Further Instructions
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
INSIGHT
Paul’s normal pattern for writing letters to churches is well evidenced in this epistle to the Colossians. That pattern calls for the first half of the book to be primarily theological in nature, with the remainder providing practical application of that doctrinal teaching. The first two chapters of Colossians describe the relationship between Christ, the head of the church; and the church, the body of Christ. Chapters 3–4 then give the practical outworking of those realities. In today’s Scripture reading, we find clear counsel on how to live and function as the church body. This includes the need for intercessory prayer (vv. 2–3) and the importance of personal testimony, which includes graciously using the opportunities God gives us (vv. 5–6). This is wise counsel that is still needed today. - Bill Crowder
Stepping Into Opportunity
By Adam Holz
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Colossians 4:5
Like lots of people, I struggle to get enough exercise. So I recently got something to motivate myself to move: a pedometer that counts steps. It’s a simple thing. But it’s amazing how much difference this gadget makes in my motivation. Instead of grumbling when I have to get off the couch, I see it as an opportunity to get a few more steps. Mundane tasks, like getting one of my kids a cup of water, become opportunities that help me work toward a larger goal. In that sense, my pedometer has changed my perspective and my motivation. Now I look to get extra steps in whenever possible.
I wonder if our Christian life isn’t a bit like that. There are opportunities to love and serve and interact with people every day, as Paul exhorts in Colossians 4:5. But am I always aware of those moments? Am I paying attention to opportunities to be an encourager in seemingly mundane interactions? God is at work in the lives of every person I relate to, from my family and coworkers to a clerk at the grocery store. Each interaction offers a chance for me to pay attention to what God might be doing—even if it’s something as seemingly “small” as kindly asking a server at a restaurant how she’s doing.
Lord, please help us to become people who notice the needs of others.
Who knows how God might work in those moments when we’re alert to the opportunities He sends our way.
Lord, there are so many opportunities to love, listen, and serve those around us each day. Please help us to become people who notice the needs of others.
Take every opportunity to serve someone.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 02, 2018
The Compelling Force of the Call
Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! —1 Corinthians 9:16
Beware of refusing to hear the call of God. Everyone who is saved is called to testify to the fact of his salvation. That, however, is not the same as the call to preach, but is merely an illustration which can be used in preaching. In this verse, Paul was referring to the stinging pains produced in him by the compelling force of the call to preach the gospel. Never try to apply what Paul said regarding the call to preach to those souls who are being called to God for salvation. There is nothing easier than getting saved, because it is solely God’s sovereign work— “Look to Me, and be saved…” (Isaiah 45:22). Our Lord never requires the same conditions for discipleship that he requires for salvation. We are condemned to salvation through the Cross of Christ. But discipleship has an option with it— “If anyone…” (Luke 14:26).
Paul’s words have to do with our being made servants of Jesus Christ, and our permission is never asked as to what we will do or where we will go. God makes us as broken bread and poured-out wine to please Himself. To be “separated to the gospel” means being able to hear the call of God (Romans 1:1). Once someone begins to hear that call, a suffering worthy of the name of Christ is produced. Suddenly, every ambition, every desire of life, and every outlook is completely blotted out and extinguished. Only one thing remains— “…separated to the gospel…” Woe be to the soul who tries to head in any other direction once that call has come to him. The Bible Training College exists so that each of you may know whether or not God has a man or woman here who truly cares about proclaiming His gospel and to see if God grips you for this purpose. Beware of competing calls once the call of God grips you.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, February 02, 2018
Everyone's First Class - #8105
The bad news that I got at the airport was that my flight had been canceled, and the airline I was booking on couldn't get me to my destination in time for the meeting I was supposed to speak for. But the good news was that they found me a seat on another airline. But the bad news was that it was an airline I had barely heard of; I wasn't sure what to expect. But the good news was, it was an airline with a wonderful difference from all the others. There was no first class section, but every seat was as wide as a first class seat! And instead of the plastic plates, and paper napkins, and average food--or any food--I was used to in economy class, I got (well, we all got) china plates, cloth napkins, a real meal. I mean like they usually get in first class. That was the kind of treatment you would only get if you've paid for those expensive seats up front. But what a great concept this particular airline had: treat everyone as if they're first class!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Everyone's First Class."
That kind of treatment may be unique for an airline, but it's supposed to be standard operating procedure for people who belong to Jesus Christ! After all, we're followers of a Lord who, according to the Bible, is "no respecter of persons."
This kind of non-discriminating way of treating people is illustrated and encouraged in our word for today from the Word of God, beginning in James 2:1. "As believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, 'Here's a good seat for you,' but say to the poor man, 'You stand there' or 'Sit on the floor by my feet,' have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? ...If you keep the royal law found in Scripture, (James says) 'Love your neighbor as yourself, ' you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin." When you love your neighbor as you love yourself, when you treat each person as you would want to be treated, you'll be giving everyone first class treatment.
The challenge is to make sure we don't have people in our life divided into two categories like airplanes do. OK, over here are the people I treat special, and here are the people I give them something less than my best. See, our human nature tends to turn it on a little more when the person has some money, or when they're physically attractive, when they're 'important', when they've got a great personality, when they're like us, when they can help us in some way to look good or to feel good.
And there's also something in our human nature that sometimes wants to do as little as possible with the people society classifies as maybe 'losers', or with the unattractive, or with the needy, or the different. We're surrounded by people who feel ignored, passed over, rejected, unheard, unnoticed, uncared for. Those are the very people Jesus seemed the most attracted to. As you read the Gospels, you get the distinct feeling that every person Jesus was with felt very, very important when they were with Him. And you follow this Jesus.
It's part of developing Christlikeness to examine our heart for any pockets of discriminating between people, to identify the people we've been assigning to second-class treatment. When you're like Jesus, every person is made to feel like they're the only person in your world at that point because they're with you.
Whether it's an airline or a person like you, when everyone is treated like they're first class, you'll be remembered. Make sure there's only one section for all the passengers in your life...that's first-class.
