Max Lucado Daily: NEED A SPIRITUAL MRI?
What would an X-ray—an MRI—of your soul reveal? Regrets over teenage relationships? Remorse over a poor choice? You become moody, cranky…angry or irritable. That’s understandable if you have shame lodged in your soul.
Interested in an extraction? Confess! Request a spiritual MRI. Psalm 139: 23-24 is just that:
“Search me, O God and know my heart;
try me, and know my anxieties;
see if there’s any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”
We need a grace-based confession. God, I’ve done what You say is wrong. Would you wash away my guilt and make me clean again? No chant, no candle needed. Just a prayer of honest confession. Try it.
Read more GRACE
Acts 14
1-3 When they got to Iconium they went, as they always did, to the meeting place of the Jews and gave their message. The Message convinced both Jews and non-Jews—and not just a few, either. But the unbelieving Jews worked up a whispering campaign against Paul and Barnabas, sowing mistrust and suspicion in the minds of the people in the street. The two apostles were there a long time, speaking freely, openly, and confidently as they presented the clear evidence of God’s gifts, God corroborating their work with miracles and wonders.
4-7 But then there was a split in public opinion, some siding with the Jews, some with the apostles. One day, learning that both the Jews and non-Jews had been organized by their leaders to beat them up, they escaped as best they could to the next towns—Lyconia, Lystra, Derbe, and that neighborhood—but then were right back at it again, getting out the Message.
8-10 There was a man in Lystra who couldn’t walk. He sat there, crippled since the day of his birth. He heard Paul talking, and Paul, looking him in the eye, saw that he was ripe for God’s work, ready to believe. So he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Up on your feet!” The man was up in a flash—jumped up and walked around as if he’d been walking all his life.
11-13 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they went wild, calling out in their Lyconian dialect, “The gods have come down! These men are gods!” They called Barnabas “Zeus” and Paul “Hermes” (since Paul did most of the speaking). The priest of the local Zeus shrine got up a parade—bulls and banners and people lined right up to the gates, ready for the ritual of sacrifice.
14-15 When Barnabas and Paul finally realized what was going on, they stopped them. Waving their arms, they interrupted the parade, calling out, “What do you think you’re doing! We’re not gods! We are men just like you, and we’re here to bring you the Message, to persuade you to abandon these silly god-superstitions and embrace God himself, the living God. We don’t make God; he makes us, and all of this—sky, earth, sea, and everything in them.
16-18 “In the generations before us, God let all the different nations go their own way. But even then he didn’t leave them without a clue, for he made a good creation, poured down rain and gave bumper crops. When your bellies were full and your hearts happy, there was evidence of good beyond your doing.” Talking fast and hard like this, they prevented them from carrying out the sacrifice that would have honored them as gods—but just barely.
19-20 Then some Jews from Antioch and Iconium caught up with them and turned the fickle crowd against them. They beat Paul unconscious, dragged him outside the town and left him for dead. But as the disciples gathered around him, he came to and got up. He went back into town and the next day left with Barnabas for Derbe.
21-22 After proclaiming the Message in Derbe and establishing a strong core of disciples, they retraced their steps to Lystra, then Iconium, and then Antioch, putting muscle and sinew in the lives of the disciples, urging them to stick with what they had begun to believe and not quit, making it clear to them that it wouldn’t be easy: “Anyone signing up for the kingdom of God has to go through plenty of hard times.”
23-26 Paul and Barnabas handpicked leaders in each church. After praying—their prayers intensified by fasting—they presented these new leaders to the Master to whom they had entrusted their lives. Working their way back through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia and preached in Perga. Finally, they made it to Attalia and caught a ship back to Antioch, where it had all started—launched by God’s grace and now safely home by God’s grace. A good piece of work.
27-28 On arrival, they got the church together and reported on their trip, telling in detail how God had used them to throw the door of faith wide open so people of all nations could come streaming in. Then they settled down for a long, leisurely visit with the disciples.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 85
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah
Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.
Insight
Psalm 85 begins with a reference to Jacob (v. 1). Some translations say “Israel,” since the songwriter is referring not just to the nation’s ancestral father but to his descendants as well. The psalmist’s word choice of “Jacob” is worth noting. When God’s people realized that once again they were in need of mercy, they often referred to themselves as “the house of Jacob.” As humbling as it was, the family likeness was the point. It was common knowledge that Jacob seemed to be destined to be remembered as an incurable liar and schemer until God changed his heart and renamed him Israel.
From the beginning, God Himself had taught His people to think of Him as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 50:24; Exodus 3:15; Acts 7:32). This was a way of reminding them that—then and now—their only hope was in a God good enough to forgive and change them.
Ready for Restoration
Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Psalm 85:6
While stationed in Germany in the army I purchased a brand-new 1969 Volkswagen Beetle. The car was a beauty! The dark green exterior complemented the brown leatherette interior. But as the years took their toll, stuff began to happen, including an accident that ruined the running board and destroyed one of the doors. With more imagination, I could have thought, “My classic car was a perfect candidate for restoration!” And with more money, I could have pulled it off. But that didn’t happen.
Thankfully the God of perfect vision and unlimited resources doesn’t give up so easily on battered and broken people. Psalm 85 describes people who were perfect candidates for restoration and the God who is able to restore. The setting is likely after the Israelites had returned from seventy years of exile (their punishment for rebellion against God). Looking back, they were able to see His favor—including His forgiveness (vv. 1–3). They were motivated to ask God for His help (vv. 4–7) and to expect good things from Him (vv. 8–13).
Who among us doesn’t occasionally feel battered, bruised, broken? And sometimes it’s because of something we’ve done to ourselves. But because the Lord is the God of restoration and forgiveness, those who humbly come to Him are never without hope. With open arms He welcomes those who turn to Him; and those who do, find safety in His arms. By Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
Are there signs in your life that restoration is in order? What’s your response to the God of restoration?
Lord, help me not to ignore the signs that restoration is needed in my life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
The Teaching of Disillusionment
Jesus did not commit Himself to them…, for He knew what was in man. —John 2:24-25
Disillusionment means having no more misconceptions, false impressions, and false judgments in life; it means being free from these deceptions. However, though no longer deceived, our experience of disillusionment may actually leave us cynical and overly critical in our judgment of others. But the disillusionment that comes from God brings us to the point where we see people as they really are, yet without any cynicism or any stinging and bitter criticism. Many of the things in life that inflict the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts, seeing each other as we really are; we are only true to our misconceived ideas of one another. According to our thinking, everything is either delightful and good, or it is evil, malicious, and cowardly.
Refusing to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering of human life. And this is how that suffering happens— if we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total perfection and righteousness from that person, and when we do not get it we become cruel and vindictive; yet we are demanding of a human being something which he or she cannot possibly give. There is only one Being who can completely satisfy to the absolute depth of the hurting human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is so obviously uncompromising with regard to every human relationship because He knows that every relationship that is not based on faithfulness to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The truth is we have nothing to fear and nothing to overcome because He is all in all and we are more than conquerors through Him. The recognition of this truth is not flattering to the worker’s sense of heroics, but it is amazingly glorifying to the work of Christ. Approved Unto God, 4 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
The Wound is the Battle - #8492
If an American soldier gets wounded in combat these days, his chances for recovery just got a whole lot better than they've ever been because of the beads. Yeah. It's actually a new technology that's being used to treat wounds - combat wounds. These dissolvable beads are applied to the wound and I guess they go deeper than any previous cleansing agents have ever gone. In fact, they can even penetrate bone. One of the doctors who helped develop this new treatment made a pretty interesting observation about the battle to head off infection in a soldier's wound. Here's what he said, "The wound is the battle; the infection is the war."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Wound is the Battle."
If you can win the battle by cleansing the wound right away, then you can win the war by heading off the infection. It's a strategy more of us should be using to prevent the kind of spiritual infection that poisons your joy, your peace, and your closeness to God. The wound is any point in your life where sin has been able to get in - it's that first detour from what you know is right. The infection is the widespread loss of spiritual health and power that damages so much that we care about, and it can be prevented by a prompt cleansing - a cleansing that goes deep...and there is such a cleansing.
God talks about it in 1 John 1:7-9. It's our word for today from the Word of God. It could be the very thing you need right now to heal your heart and restore you to the spiritual health that you once enjoyed. God says, "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Man, what a promise this is! Total cleansing and total restoring if you confess that sin, which means calling it what God calls it.
You might say, "Well, not after what I've done. You don't know how awful it is." No, but God knows. And He's the One who said, "The blood of Jesus...purifies us from all sin." That includes whatever you've done, no matter how deep and no matter how frequent the sin. The cleansing agent is "the blood of Jesus" it says. The blood that He shed on the cross as the payment for every wrong thing we have ever done. Because, in the Bible's words, "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:22). What no ritual can do, no religion could do, no church, Jesus can do because the shedding of His blood paid for every sin.
But to head off spiritual infection, you need to treat that sin-wound promptly. Don't let your sins pile up, unconfessed, uncleansed. As soon as you realize you've blown it, deal with it immediately, call it sin and then bring it to the cross of Jesus. And just because you've fallen down doesn't mean you have to stay down and start some cycle of repeated sin. I know Satan may be telling you, "Hey, you blew it, man! It's over." That's a lie. Jesus died so you could get forgiven, get right up, and keep on walking! This very day you may need to bring some of your recent junk under the blood of Jesus which, remember, "purifies us from all sin."
And look, maybe you've never given your life to this One who gave His life for you and for your sin. Let this be the day that you trust Him to be your Rescuer, your Savior from your sin - the only One who can forgive it because He's the only One who paid for it. Tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
You want to begin a relationship with Him? What you need to know about beginning that is at our website. And it's well named - ANewStory.com. I hope you'll check that out. Maybe your new beginning starts there.
Jesus paid the ultimate price so the wound of our sin need never become an eternally fatal infection. Today, you could experience that wonderful feeling of being clean and going to bed tonight forgiven.
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