Max Lucado Daily: THE PURE IN HEART WILL SEE GOD
Scripture says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). Note the order of this beatitude. First, purify the heart, then you will see God. You change your life by changing your heart.
How do you do that? Jesus gave the plan in the beatitudes. You admit sin—you get saved. You confess weakness—you receive strength. You say you are sorry—you find forgiveness. Now you have something positive, and you want more. Then comes mercy; and the more you receive, the more you give. And you can bet that He who made you knows how to purify you—from the inside out. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Read more Applause of Heaven
Proverbs 20
Wine makes you mean, beer makes you quarrelsome—
a staggering drunk is not much fun.
2 Quick-tempered leaders are like mad dogs—
cross them and they bite your head off.
3 It’s a mark of good character to avert quarrels,
but fools love to pick fights.
4 A farmer too lazy to plant in the spring
has nothing to harvest in the fall.
5 Knowing what is right is like deep water in the heart;
a wise person draws from the well within.
6 Lots of people claim to be loyal and loving,
but where on earth can you find one?
7 God-loyal people, living honest lives,
make it much easier for their children.
8-9 Leaders who know their business and care
keep a sharp eye out for the shoddy and cheap,
For who among us can be trusted
to be always diligent and honest?
10 Switching price tags and padding the expense account
are two things God hates.
11 Young people eventually reveal by their actions
if their motives are on the up and up.
12 Ears that hear and eyes that see—
we get our basic equipment from God!
13 Don’t be too fond of sleep; you’ll end up in the poorhouse.
Wake up and get up; then there’ll be food on the table.
14 The shopper says, “That’s junk—I’ll take it off your hands,”
then goes off boasting of the bargain.
15 Drinking from the beautiful chalice of knowledge
is better than adorning oneself with gold and rare gems.
16 Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger;
beware of accepting what a transient has pawned.
17 Stolen bread tastes sweet,
but soon your mouth is full of gravel.
18 Form your purpose by asking for counsel,
then carry it out using all the help you can get.
19 Gossips can’t keep secrets,
so never confide in blabbermouths.
20 Anyone who curses father and mother
extinguishes light and exists benighted.
21 A bonanza at the beginning
is no guarantee of blessing at the end.
22 Don’t ever say, “I’ll get you for that!”
Wait for God; he’ll settle the score.
23 God hates cheating in the marketplace;
rigged scales are an outrage.
24 The very steps we take come from God;
otherwise how would we know where we’re going?
25 An impulsive vow is a trap;
later you’ll wish you could get out of it.
26 After careful scrutiny, a wise leader
makes a clean sweep of rebels and dolts.
27 God is in charge of human life,
watching and examining us inside and out.
28 Love and truth form a good leader;
sound leadership is founded on loving integrity.
29 Youth may be admired for vigor,
but gray hair gives prestige to old age.
30 A good thrashing purges evil;
punishment goes deep within us.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Zechariah 7:1-10
On the fourth day of the ninth month, in the fourth year of the reign of King Darius, God’s Message again came to Zechariah.
2-3 The town of Bethel had sent a delegation headed by Sarezer and Regem-Melech to pray for God’s blessing and to confer with the priests of the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, and also with the prophets. They posed this question: “Should we plan for a day of mourning and abstinence next August, the seventieth anniversary of Jerusalem’s fall, as we have been doing all these years?”
4-6 God-of-the-Angel-Armies gave me this Message for them, for all the people and for the priests: “When you held days of fasting every fifth and seventh month all these seventy years, were you doing it for me? And when you held feasts, was that for me? Hardly. You’re interested in religion, I’m interested in people.
7-10 “There’s nothing new to say on the subject. Don’t you still have the message of the earlier prophets from the time when Jerusalem was still a thriving, bustling city and the outlying countryside, the Negev and Shephelah, was populated? [This is the message that God gave Zechariah.] Well, the message hasn’t changed. God-of-the-Angel-Armies said then and says now:
“‘Treat one another justly.
Love your neighbors.
Be compassionate with each other.
Don’t take advantage of widows, orphans, visitors, and the poor.
Don’t plot and scheme against one another—that’s evil.’
Insight
Time references in the book of Zechariah (1:1, 7; 7:1) indicate that Zechariah lived during the reign of Darius, the Persian king who ruled from 522–486 BC. This time period in Israel’s history followed seventy years of captivity in Babylon (7:5). The message to prioritize faithfulness to God over fasting (a form of worship) had also been proclaimed centuries earlier by the prophet Isaiah. Using similar words, Isaiah had called God’s people to honor the Lord by not ignoring those in need: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6).
The Heart of Fasting
The fasts . . . will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace. Zechariah 8:19
Hunger pangs gnawed at my nerves. My mentor had recommended fasting as a way to focus on God. But as the day wore on, I wondered: How did Jesus do this for forty days? I struggled to rely on the Holy Spirit for peace, strength, and patience. Especially patience.
If we’re physically able, fasting can teach us the importance of our spiritual food. As Jesus said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Yet, as I learned firsthand, fasting on its own doesn’t necessarily draw us closer to God!
In fact, God once told His people through the prophet Zechariah that their practice of fasting was useless since it wasn’t leading to service for the poor. “Was it really for me that you fasted?” God asked pointedly (Zechariah 7:5).
God’s question revealed that the primary problem wasn’t their stomachs; it was their cold hearts. By continuing to serve themselves, they were failing to draw closer to God’s heart. So He urged them, “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor” (vv. 9–10).
Our goal in any spiritual discipline is to draw closer to Jesus. As we grow in likeness to Him, we’ll gain a heart for those He loves. By Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
How can God use spiritual disciplines as tools to break up the rocky soil of our hearts? What’s helped you draw closer to Jesus recently?
God, I am so prone to seek my own pleasure and the approval of others. Help my life please You as I serve others.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
The Explanation For Our Difficulties
…that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us… —John 17:21
If you are going through a time of isolation, seemingly all alone, read John 17 . It will explain exactly why you are where you are— because Jesus has prayed that you “may be one” with the Father as He is. Are you helping God to answer that prayer, or do you have some other goal for your life? Since you became a disciple, you cannot be as independent as you used to be.
God reveals in John 17 that His purpose is not just to answer our prayers, but that through prayer we might come to discern His mind. Yet there is one prayer which God must answer, and that is the prayer of Jesus— “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22). Are we as close to Jesus Christ as that?
God is not concerned about our plans; He doesn’t ask, “Do you want to go through this loss of a loved one, this difficulty, or this defeat?” No, He allows these things for His own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, and nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and fault-finding, and more insistent on our own way. The things that happen either make us evil, or they make us more saintly, depending entirely on our relationship with God and its level of intimacy. If we will pray, regarding our own lives, “Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42), then we will be encouraged and comforted by John 17, knowing that our Father is working according to His own wisdom, accomplishing what is best. When we understand God’s purpose, we will not become small-minded and cynical. Jesus prayed nothing less for us than absolute oneness with Himself, just as He was one with the Father. Some of us are far from this oneness; yet God will not leave us alone until we are one with Him— because Jesus prayed, “…that they all may be one….”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I learning how to use my Bible? The way to become complete for the Master’s service is to be well soaked in the Bible; some of us only exploit certain passages. Our Lord wants to give us continuous instruction out of His word; continuous instruction turns hearers into disciples. Approved Unto God, 11 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Fighting For Lives When the Shots Rang Out - #8443
It's happened too often. I've seen it a lot but I guess I remember this one in particular. Flags flying at half-staff, national leaders pausing for a moment of silence at the White House, on the Capitol steps, and even seasoned news reporters that day struggled with the pain and anguish of these devastating moments when a mall parking lot suddenly became a killing field.
The heart rending toll of a lone gunman's rampage. It was in Tucson, Arizona. Six people dead, 14 others wounded. And then in that Tucson hospital, Representative Gabrielle Giffords, apparently the intended target, battled for her life with a critical head wound.
As horrific as the losses were, thank God she recovered to some extent, we now know that there could have been many more. When the shots began, as often happens, the everyday heroes stepped up.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Fighting For Lives When the Shots Rang Out."
Gabby Giffords' 20-year-old intern, Daniel Hernandez, ignored the bullets to reach the side of the wounded. And when he saw the Congresswoman contorted on the ground, he sat her upright to keep her from asphyxiating. Then, with his bare hands, he applied the pressure to her head wound that may have saved her life. As he ran by her gurney to a waiting ambulance, he was covered with her blood.
Patricia Maisch, described as looking like a "storybook grandmother," first hit the ground, and then dove for the second ammunition magazine the shooter was about to load - with 31 more shots. That act of selfless bravery allowed two survivors to tackle and subdue that assailant. We will never know how many lives they saved.
And then the doctor in the crowd pitched in. Followed by a flood of first responders. Whatever each person's plans had been for that destiny Saturday morning, suddenly only one thing mattered. Saving the people whose lives hung in the balance. I mean, does anything else really matter when people are dying? You drop everything to do what you can to save them. It's that life-saving instinct that could be the difference between life or death for people all around me, all around you. Eternal life or death, that is.
The need for life-saving action is so blatantly obvious when the danger is physical. But the Bible leaves no doubt that there are so many people in a mortal danger that is not visible, but still horrifically real. It's a life-threat that can cost a person much more than another thirty or forty more years on earth. This threat can cost you heaven forever.
God's Word tells us that "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:11-12). Since only Jesus died to pay for the sin that keeps us from God and from heaven, only those who "have the Son" are ready for eternity when it comes.
God uses some sobering and unmistakable language to open our eyes to the condition of the people around us. They are "lost" the Bible says (Luke 19:10). They are "perishing" (2 Corinthians 2:15), the Bible says, "without hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). Those who will, in the Bible's words, "be shut out from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thessalonians 1:9). The Bible reveals the mortal danger of people around us who don't belong to Jesus - and, in so doing, it summons us who know Him to do whatever we can to save them.
That's why the Bible commands us to "snatch others from the fire and save them" (Jude 23) and to "rescue those being led away to death" (Proverbs 24:11). Each Jesus-follower - you - each one is a divinely positioned person to be the life-saving difference for the people they know.
My prayer needs to be, "Jesus, help me see the people around me through Your eyes." He sees so much more than neighbors or coworkers or teammates or friends. He sees them as the future inhabitants of eternity. In heaven or in hell.
There is a life-saving emergency right in front of each of us who knows Jesus. We can't wait for a "rescue professional" to get there. If you're with a person in danger of dying, you're responsible.
If anything stops us, you know what it's going to be, it's going to be fear. As Daniel Hernandez reflected on taking action while the bullets were still flying, he said, "Of course, you're afraid. But you have to do what you can."
Yes, you do. Especially when someone's eternity is in the balance.