Max Lucado Daily: DEFINED BY GOD’S GRACE
In Galatians 2:16 the Apostle Paul says, “No one will ever be saved by obeying the law.” We become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by trusting in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:4-9 explains how we are defined by God’s grace. “He gave us life” so we are spiritually alive. We are “seated with him in the heavenly realms”—heavenly positioned. We are “one with Christ,” connected to God. We are billboards of mercy because we are “examples of the incredible wealth of his favor and kindness toward us.” And we are honored children saved “by his special favor.”
Are you defined by God’s grace? Your deeds don’t save you. Your deeds don’t keep you saved. Grace does. Paul said, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”
Read more Come Thirsty
Proverbs 31
The words of King Lemuel,
the strong advice his mother gave him:
2-3 “Oh, son of mine, what can you be thinking of!
Child whom I bore! The son I dedicated to God!
Don’t dissipate your virility on fortune-hunting women,
promiscuous women who shipwreck leaders.
4-7 “Leaders can’t afford to make fools of themselves,
gulping wine and swilling beer,
Lest, hung over, they don’t know right from wrong,
and the people who depend on them are hurt.
Use wine and beer only as sedatives,
to kill the pain and dull the ache
Of the terminally ill,
for whom life is a living death.
8-9 “Speak up for the people who have no voice,
for the rights of all the down-and-outers.
Speak out for justice!
Stand up for the poor and destitute!”
10-31 A good woman is hard to find,
and worth far more than diamonds.
Her husband trusts her without reserve,
and never has reason to regret it.
Never spiteful, she treats him generously
all her life long.
She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
and enjoys knitting and sewing.
She’s like a trading ship that sails to faraway places
and brings back exotic surprises.
She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast
for her family and organizing her day.
She looks over a field and buys it,
then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden.
First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,
rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.
She senses the worth of her work,
is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She’s skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
diligent in homemaking.
She’s quick to assist anyone in need,
reaches out to help the poor.
She doesn’t worry about her family when it snows;
their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.
She makes her own clothing,
and dresses in colorful linens and silks.
Her husband is greatly respected
when he deliberates with the city fathers.
She designs gowns and sells them,
brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.
Her clothes are well-made and elegant,
and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
and she always says it kindly.
She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,
and keeps them all busy and productive.
Her children respect and bless her;
her husband joins in with words of praise:
“Many women have done wonderful things,
but you’ve outclassed them all!”
Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
The woman to be admired and praised
is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.
Give her everything she deserves!
Festoon her life with praises!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 35:1-10
Wilderness and desert will sing joyously,
the badlands will celebrate and flower—
Like the crocus in spring, bursting into blossom,
a symphony of song and color.
Mountain glories of Lebanon—a gift.
Awesome Carmel, stunning Sharon—gifts.
God’s resplendent glory, fully on display.
God awesome, God majestic.
3-4 Energize the limp hands,
strengthen the rubbery knees.
Tell fearful souls,
“Courage! Take heart!
God is here, right here,
on his way to put things right
And redress all wrongs.
He’s on his way! He’ll save you!”
5-7 Blind eyes will be opened,
deaf ears unstopped,
Lame men and women will leap like deer,
the voiceless break into song.
Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness,
streams flow in the desert.
Hot sands will become a cool oasis,
thirsty ground a splashing fountain.
Even lowly jackals will have water to drink,
and barren grasslands flourish richly.
8-10 There will be a highway
called the Holy Road.
No one rude or rebellious
is permitted on this road.
It’s for God’s people exclusively—
impossible to get lost on this road.
Not even fools can get lost on it.
No lions on this road,
no dangerous wild animals—
Nothing and no one dangerous or threatening.
Only the redeemed will walk on it.
The people God has ransomed
will come back on this road.
They’ll sing as they make their way home to Zion,
unfading halos of joy encircling their heads,
Welcomed home with gifts of joy and gladness
as all sorrows and sighs scurry into the night.
Insight
The promise in Isaiah 35:5—the blind and the deaf would be healed—was intended to help Israel recognize the Messiah when He arrived. In Mark 6–8, we see two cycles of events. Each has a miraculous feeding, a debate with the religionists, and a healing miracle. The first cycle ends with Jesus healing a deaf man and the second with Him healing a blind man. Little wonder, then, that Peter proclaims Jesus to be the Messiah (8:29), for He has fulfilled the promise of Isaiah 35.
Blooming in the Desert
They will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. Isaiah 35:2
The Mojave Desert includes the expected sand dunes, dry canyons, mesas, and mountains of most deserts. But American biologist Edmund Jaeger observed that every few years an abundance of rain results in “such a wealth of blossoms that almost every foot of sand or gravelly soil is hidden beneath a blanket of flowers.” The Mojave wildflower show isn’t a yearly phenomenon, though. Researchers confirm the dry earth needs to be soaked by storms and warmed by the sun, at just the right times, before blooms will cover the desert with vibrant colors.
This image of God bringing forth life despite the arid terrain reminds me of the prophet Isaiah. He shared an encouraging vison of hope after delivering God’s message of judgment on all nations (Isaiah 35). Describing a future time when God will make all things right, the prophet said, “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom” (v. 1). He declared God’s rescued people will enter His kingdom “with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (v. 10).
With our eternal future secured by God’s promises, we can trust Him through life’s seasons of drought and drenching storms. Deeply rooted in His love, we can grow, blooming into His likeness until, at just the right time, Jesus returns and sets all things right. By Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
What storms of life have you been facing? How is God showing you His presence? Look! He’s there.
Loving Father, thank You for assuring us You’re with us and working to grow us through every stormy moment of our lives.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
“Work Out” What God “Works in” You
…work out your own salvation…for it is God who works in you… —Philippians 2:12-13
Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a nature that renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord initially comes in contact with our conscience, the first thing our conscience does is awaken our will, and our will always agrees with God. Yet you say, “But I don’t know if my will is in agreement with God.” Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time. What causes you to say “I will not obey” is something less deep and penetrating than your will. It is perversity or stubbornness, and they are never in agreement with God. The most profound thing in a person is his will, not sin.
The will is the essential element in God’s creation of human beings— sin is a perverse nature which entered into people. In someone who has been born again, the source of the will is Almighty God. “…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” With focused attention and great care, you have to “work out” what God “works in” you— not work to accomplish or earn “your own salvation,” but work it out so you will exhibit the evidence of a life based with determined, unshakable faith on the complete and perfect redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposing will up against God’s will— God’s will is your will. Your natural choices will be in accordance with God’s will, and living this life will be as natural as breathing. Stubbornness is an unintelligent barrier, refusing enlightenment and blocking its flow. The only thing to do with this barrier of stubbornness is to blow it up with “dynamite,” and the “dynamite” is obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Do I believe that Almighty God is the Source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances. Not Knowing Whither, 900 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Bad Ways to Do Good Things - #8454
When our friends got married some years ago, they decided they wanted to live and farm in a largely undeveloped area of the Ozark Mountains. They had some interesting neighbors - one in particular. He looked and talked and smelled like a true man of the mountains who had little use for "civilization." After they declined his invitation to dinner a few times, they finally consented. It was a memorable night. They stood on the porch of his cabin as he pointed to the hens running around the yard and said, "Tell me which chicken you want for dinner." They did and then they got to participate in executing the lucky winner. The conditions in which dinner was prepared would have given chest pains to any health inspector.
As they sat down at the table, they noticed a dark covering on one dish that they were about to eat. It turned out it was flies! After dinner, the two men sat in the living room and visited. My friend commented on the big holes all along the bottom of the cabin walls. His host explained that those holes were from the mice. He said, "They must be mighty big mice and there must be a lot of them." That's what my friend said. The host just smiled and said, "Oh, the holes are from me killing 'em. I just sit here with my old .22 and shoot 'em when they poke their head out!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Bad Ways to Do Good Things."
Getting rid of mice - that's a good thing. Shooting up the house to get rid of them - that's a bad thing. But then, there are lots of bad ways to do good things. In fact, the Bible is full of examples from Moses killing an Egyptian to help free his people from slavery to Abraham trying to fulfill God's promise of a son by having a baby through his wife's servant.
There's a particularly haunting story about bad ways to do a good thing in our word for today from the Word of God. It's haunting because it exposes some of the most common mistakes we make in trying to get what we believe to be a good result. Just before Rebekah has her twin boys, Jacob and Esau, God promises her that, contrary to what usually happened in a Jewish family, "the older will serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23). Jacob, the second-born, will receive the blessing that she would expect Esau, the firstborn, to get.
But now father Isaac, who gives that blessing, is nearly blind and he appears to be dying. It looks like Esau's going to get the blessing, not Jacob. In Genesis 26, beginning with verse 14, Rebekah schemes to pass off smooth-skinned Jacob as Esau the hairy outdoorsman. The Bible says, "Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau...and put them on her younger son Jacob. She also covered his hands...with the goatskins." She also gives Jacob his father's favorite meal to deliver. When Isaac asked, "Are you really my son Esau?" Jacob replied, "I am." And it worked! Jacob got the blessing. That's a good thing - the thing God promised. But it was done through manipulation and deception.
Here's the sobering question for you and me: do I sometimes manipulate people and situations to get a good thing to happen? The first syllable of manipulation tells the whole ugly story - man. I can't wait for God to do it His way. Human manipulation aborts the perfect processes of God. And it almost always demands some sacrifice of the truth, making things sound or look different than they really are.
By the way, Isaac didn't die for a lot more years. Rebekah's scheme ripped her family apart and made one brother ready to kill the other. Her favorite son, Jacob, had to leave for 20 years, during which he was repeatedly deceived and manipulated himself. And Rebekah never sees her precious son again. There's such a high price when you use a bad way to do a good thing! You may get what you want, but you'll lose more than you could ever imagine. Just ask Rebekah.
Christian writer Warren Wiersbe has an awesome insight on all of this. He says, "Faith is the absence of scheming." Here's the equation you can't afford to forget: a good thing + a bad way of getting it = a price too high to pay.
