Max Lucado Daily: A Fountain of Love
You’ve had enough of human love…haven’t you? Enough tabloids telling you that true love is just a diet away. Enough mornings smelling like the mistakes you made while searching for love the night before. Don’t you need a fountain of love that won’t run dry?
You’ll find one on a stone-cropped hill outside Jerusalem’s walls where Jesus hangs, cross-nailed and thorn-crowned. When you feel unloved, ascend this mount. Meditate long and hard on heaven’s love for you. Both eyes beaten shut, shoulders as raw as ground beef, lips bloody and split. Fists of hair yanked from his beard. Gasps of air escaping his lungs. As you peer into the crimsoned face of heaven’s only Son, remember this: “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8).
Read more Grace for the Moment II
Psalm 34
A David Psalm, When He Outwitted Abimelech and Got Away
34 I bless God every chance I get;
my lungs expand with his praise.
2 I live and breathe God;
if things aren’t going well, hear this and be happy:
3 Join me in spreading the news;
together let’s get the word out.
4 God met me more than halfway,
he freed me from my anxious fears.
5 Look at him; give him your warmest smile.
Never hide your feelings from him.
6 When I was desperate, I called out,
and God got me out of a tight spot.
7 God’s angel sets up a circle
of protection around us while we pray.
8 Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
how good God is.
Blessed are you who run to him.
9 Worship God if you want the best;
worship opens doors to all his goodness.
10 Young lions on the prowl get hungry,
but God-seekers are full of God.
11 Come, children, listen closely;
I’ll give you a lesson in God worship.
12 Who out there has a lust for life?
Can’t wait each day to come upon beauty?
13 Guard your tongue from profanity,
and no more lying through your teeth.
14 Turn your back on sin; do something good.
Embrace peace—don’t let it get away!
15 God keeps an eye on his friends,
his ears pick up every moan and groan.
16 God won’t put up with rebels;
he’ll cull them from the pack.
17 Is anyone crying for help? God is listening,
ready to rescue you.
18 If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there;
if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.
19 Disciples so often get into trouble;
still, God is there every time.
20 He’s your bodyguard, shielding every bone;
not even a finger gets broken.
21 The wicked commit slow suicide;
they waste their lives hating the good.
22 God pays for each slave’s freedom;
no one who runs to him loses out.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, December 04, 2018
Read: Matthew 16:13–21
Son of Man, Son of God
13 When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 He pressed them, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17-18 Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
19 “And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”
20 He swore the disciples to secrecy. He made them promise they would tell no one that he was the Messiah.
You’re Not in the Driver’s Seat
21-22 Then Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it was now necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious leaders, be killed, and then on the third day be raised up alive. Peter took him in hand, protesting, “Impossible, Master! That can never be!”
INSIGHT
Who was Matthew, the writer of the gospel by the same name? Matthew (also known as Levi) was one of Jesus’s twelve disciples. Prior to Jesus’s call, Matthew served as a despised tax collector (9:9). Tax collectors were particularly loathed because they exacted taxes from their own people, the Jews, to pay the Romans (the oppressive rulers of Israel). And they often collected far more than required. Matthew wrote his gospel primarily to the Jews to prove that Jesus is the Messiah (Savior), the eternal King. We see Matthew’s emphasis clearly in today’s passage. When Jesus asked His disciples about His identity, Peter declared, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16:15–16). Alyson Kieda
Alyson Kieda
Questions at Christmas
By Tim Gustafson
“But what about you?” [Jesus] asked. “Who do you say I am?” Matthew 16:15
Well before the calendar flips to December, Christmas cheer begins to bubble up in our northern town. A medical office drapes its trees and shrubs in close-fitting strings of lights, each a different color, illuminating a breathtaking nighttime landscape. Another business decorates its building to look like an enormous, extravagantly wrapped Christmas present. It’s difficult to turn anywhere without seeing evidence of Christmas spirit—or at least seasonal marketing.
Some people love these lavish displays. Others take a more cynical view. But the crucial question isn’t how others observe Christmas. Rather, we each need to consider what the celebration means to us.
A little more than thirty years after His birth, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13). They gave responses others had given: John the Baptist, Elijah, maybe another prophet. Then Jesus made it personal: “Who do you say I am?” (v. 15). Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (v. 16).
Many will celebrate Christmas without a thought about who the Baby really is. As we interact with them, we can help them consider these crucial questions: Is Christmas just a heartwarming story about a baby born in a stable? Or did our Creator visit His creation and become one of us?
Father in heaven, may our Christmas celebrations this year, whether lavish or small, honor the Messiah who came to redeem His creation.
For more on the life of Christ, see christianuniversity.org/NT111.
Who do you say Jesus is?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, December 04, 2018
The Law of Opposition
To him who overcomes… —Revelation 2:7
Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life.
Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I am alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead. If I have enough inner strength to fight, I help to produce the balance needed for health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a strong and active mental life, I have to fight. This struggle produces the mental balance called thought.
Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.
And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation…” (John 16:33). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, “…but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.
Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.
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
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Whose Stuff Do You Have? - #8322
Tuesday, December 04, 2018
We were having a fabulous time sailing across Long Island Sound on a large sailboat. The sky was blue with little puffy white clouds, there was a warm, steady breeze moving us along and the kids were making memories. As for me, the sun and the water had me feeling like totally relaxed, or collapsed maybe. Suddenly, Dave, our skipper and host, said, "We're heading into the harbor." Everything in me wanted to scream, "Whaaattt? Why? Why would we do that?" But I didn't. It was his boat. It was his right to do what he wanted with it of course. By the way, he had heard a little static in the radio, but that told this veteran sailor that bad weather was on the way. I can't believe it! Sure enough, just as we sailed into the harbor, the skies opened up with a really nasty storm.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Whose Stuff Do You Have?"
Once upon a time there was another sailor, a professional fisherman, who was ready to go tie up his boat for the day. His name was Simon Peter. He had just had possibly the worst night of his fishing career; he fished all night and literally did not bring back a single fish.
The story continues in our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 5, beginning with verse 3. The Bible says, "(Jesus) got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat." OK, it's Simon's boat. But Simon lets it be Jesus' boat that day to be His floating pulpit. But then the plot thickens. Jesus tells Simon to "...put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch." Okay, now if you haven't caught anything all night, how in the world are you going to catch anything at noon? Besides, Simon's just finished the tedious, yucky job of cleaning his nets. Why would he want to get them dirty again?
"Simon answered, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and we haven't caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.'" Again, it's Simon's boat, but Simon lets Jesus do what He wants to do with it. Why? Because of a life-changing principle of God's Word and of following Jesus. Jesus has the right to command anything we have for His purposes.
On Palm Sunday, He sent two of His men into the city to find a colt that had never been ridden. His instructions were to simply tell the owner, "The Lord needs it." That colt became part of the great celebration of the Kingship of Jesus Christ because someone recognized Jesus' right to command anything we have for His purposes. Even a little boy knew that when Jesus asks for your lunch, you give it to Him. When he did, that lunch became the miracle that fed 5,000 people.
So whose house is that you live in? Whose vehicle is that you drive? If the word "Lord" means anything, it means that what you have is owned by Jesus, on loan to you. Whose talent is that you have? Whose body is that to decide what's done with it? Your Bible says your body is nothing less than the "...temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20) which means you don't do anything with your body that would degrade or dishonor it. Here's a tough one. Whose child is that in your home? Samuel's mother, Hannah, knew. She said of this baby she had yearned for so long, "For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord." (1 Samuel 1:28) God made our children. God gave us our children. They are His, on loan to us. Should God call a son or daughter of yours into His service, don't make the mistake of standing in their way.
The consistent pattern in Scripture is that when Jesus commands the use of something that we have for His purposes, He does so much more with it than we ever could. So what is there that He's loaned to you that you've been holding on tightly as if it were yours. That's called hijacking; taking from the owner what belongs to them, to be used for what you want instead of what they want. Surrender it all to Him. He died for you. He gave His life for you. He has a right to everything you have. And you can be sure that someone who loved you enough to die for you will never do you wrong.
