Max Lucado Daily: THE REWARD OF CHRISTIANITY IS CHRIST
Do you visit the Grand Canyon for the T-shirt or the snow globe? No. The reward of the Grand Canyon is the Grand Canyon! It’s the wide-eyed realization you’re part of something ancient, splendid, powerful and greater than you!
The cache of Christianity is Christ! Not money in the bank or a car in the garage or a better self-image. The Fort Knox of faith is Christ. It is fellowship with Him. It’s walking with Him and pondering Him. It’s the heart-stopping realization that in Him you’re part of something endless, unstoppable, unfathomable! And that He, who can dig the Grand Canyon with His pinkie, thinks you’re worth His death on Roman timber. Christ is the reward of Christianity.
Read more Next Door Savior
Luke 24:36-53
While they were saying all this, Jesus appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you.” They thought they were seeing a ghost and were scared half to death. He continued with them, “Don’t be upset, and don’t let all these doubting questions take over. Look at my hands; look at my feet—it’s really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn’t have muscle and bone like this.” As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. They still couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true.
41-43 He asked, “Do you have any food here?” They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. He took it and ate it right before their eyes.
You’re the Witnesses
44 Then he said, “Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled.”
45-49 He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, “You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You’re the first to hear and see it. You’re the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high.”
50-51 He then led them out of the city over to Bethany. Raising his hands he blessed them, and while blessing them, took his leave, being carried up to heaven.
52-53 And they were on their knees, worshiping him. They returned to Jerusalem bursting with joy. They spent all their time in the Temple praising God. Yes.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Read: Colossians 1:15–23
Christ Holds It All Together
15-18 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
18-20 He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.
21-23 You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.
INSIGHT
The New Testament concept of “image” (Colossians 1:15) involves three things: “exact likeness” (2 Corinthians 4:4 nlt), “exact representation” (Hebrews 1:3), and complete revelation (John 1:18). Man is created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), but Jesus “is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The writer of Hebrews says the Son “is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (1:3) or “expresses the very character of God” (nlt). Jesus in His very essence and nature is God (Colossians 2:9; Philippians 2:5–6). The apostle John (John 1:18) says Jesus “has made [God] known” (niv) or “has explained Him” to us (nasb). - K. T. Sim
The Highest Place
By Keila Ochoa
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17
My husband invited a friend to church. After the service his friend said, “I liked the songs and the atmosphere, but I don’t get it. Why do you give Jesus such a high place of honor?” My husband then explained to him that Christianity is a relationship with Christ. Without Him, Christianity would be meaningless. It’s because of what Jesus has done in our lives that we meet together and praise Him.
Who is Jesus and what has He done? The apostle Paul answered this question in Colossians 1. No one has seen God, but Jesus came to reflect and reveal Him (v. 15). Jesus, as the Son of God, came to die for us and free us from sin. Sin has separated us from God’s holiness, so peace could only be made through someone perfect. That was Jesus (vv. 14, 20). In other words, Jesus has given us what no one else could—access to God and eternal life (John 17:3).
Why does He deserve such a place of honor? He conquered death. He won our hearts by His love and sacrifice. He gives us new strength every day. He is everything to us!
We give Him the glory because He deserves it. We lift Him up because that is His rightful place. Let’s give Him the highest place in our hearts.
Jesus, You are my Savior and my Lord, and I want to give You the highest place of honor in my life.
Read God at the Center at discoveryseries.org/hp152.
Jesus is the center of our worship.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Where the Battle is Won or Lost
"If you will return, O Israel," says the Lord… —Jeremiah 4:1
Our battles are first won or lost in the secret places of our will in God’s presence, never in full view of the world. The Spirit of God seizes me and I am compelled to get alone with God and fight the battle before Him. Until I do this, I will lose every time. The battle may take one minute or one year, but that will depend on me, not God. However long it takes, I must wrestle with it alone before God, and I must resolve to go through the hell of renunciation or rejection before Him. Nothing has any power over someone who has fought the battle before God and won there.
I should never say, “I will wait until I get into difficult circumstances and then I’ll put God to the test.” Trying to do that will not work. I must first get the issue settled between God and myself in the secret places of my soul, where no one else can interfere. Then I can go ahead, knowing with certainty that the battle is won. Lose it there, and calamity, disaster, and defeat before the world are as sure as the laws of God. The reason the battle is lost is that I fight it first in the external world. Get alone with God, do battle before Him, and settle the matter once and for all.
In dealing with other people, our stance should always be to drive them toward making a decision of their will. That is how surrendering to God begins. Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point— a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go toward a more and more slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
If a man cannot prove his religion in the valley, it is not worth anything. Shade of His Hand, 1200 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Children Who Expect Too Much - #8339
My friend, Bill, was talking to me about his son's expectations. He called them microwave expectations. Bill was in his early 50s, and his son Ken had been married for about a year, and his son wanted everything fast-like a microwave. Bill said, "I can't believe it. They want all this stuff immediately! They've been married one year and they want a home, they want furniture, and they want a new car. They want in a year what it took us 20 years to get!" That's not unusual; the child expects more than the father had.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Children Who Expect Too Much."
Our Heavenly Father deals with this all the time - children of His who feel entitled to have certain things and to have them now. Jesus addressed this issue of expectations right up front when people said they wanted to follow Him.
It's in our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 9:57-58. It says, "As they were walking along the road, a man said to Him, 'I will follow You wherever You go.' Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.'" I distinctly remember one night when this statement of Jesus came storming into my heart. I was speaking in Denver. My hosts had put me up in this beautiful hotel room with a view looking out over the city and the Rocky Mountains. And for some reason it suddenly hit me. I said, "Lord, I am living so much better than you did when you were here."
It's true. I mean, I have a place to live, a vehicle to drive, decent clothes to wear - so much more than the Son of God had when He was here. We start to develop attitude problems when we start comparing what we have with what others have, but that's the wrong measure. How are you doing compared to what your Lord had - the King of kings?
Jesus told us "the servant is not better than his master" (John 13:16). But a lot of times we expect a lot better life than our Master had. Jesus taught us what our expectations should be, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). The problem comes when we expect more than this day's provision; when we demand more than that.
Maybe you're wrestling with discontentment right now because you've been expecting too much. You've looked around at a greedy world and you've started wanting what other worldlings have. But remember, it's all they've got! God has promised you rich rewards in heaven, but there's no promise of heaven on earth. Basically, Jesus said, "Expect a few years of sacrifice for an eternity of great wealth."
But you won't seek first His Kingdom if you're expecting or trying to get a lot of earth's kingdom. When our Heavenly Father gave His one and only Son, He didn't even have an earth address! Are you living better than your Lord did? Well, I am, and I'll bet you are. Then I guess we should be deeply and profoundly grateful for it. Thank Him for it! Ask Him to make you content with it. 1 Timothy says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." One man said, "Contentment is not getting everything you ever wanted, it's realizing how much you already have."
Consider that your Lord has given you unexpected bonuses to the real joy - which is having Him. Live your life like a two-legged thank you card to Jesus. And look forward to the wealth that He told you that you can expect - literally an eternity of enjoying His endless riches with Him forever.
