Max Lucado Daily: VOICES IN OUR HEAD
Voices in our head whisper, “You aren’t good enough!” “You’ll never improve.” “You failed—again!” Voices in our world. Voices in our head.
Who is this morality patrolman who issues a citation at every stumble? Does he ever shut up? No. Because Satan never shuts up! Revelation 12:9-10 says, “For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth, the one who accused our brothers and sisters before our God day and night.” Satan is relentless, tireless. The Accuser makes a career out of accusing. But he will not have the last word.
Jesus has acted on our behalf. He stooped. Low enough to be spat upon, nailed, and speared. Low…low enough to be buried.
And then he stood…he stood up! Romans 8:34 promises He is in the presence of God at this very moment standing up for us. We have a clean record. Grace!
Read more GRACE
Acts 10:1-26
There was a man named Cornelius who lived in Caesarea, captain of the Italian Guard stationed there. He was a thoroughly good man. He had led everyone in his house to live worshipfully before God, was always helping people in need, and had the habit of prayer. One day about three o’clock in the afternoon he had a vision. An angel of God, as real as his next-door neighbor, came in and said, “Cornelius.”
4-6 Cornelius stared hard, wondering if he was seeing things. Then he said, “What do you want, sir?”
The angel said, “Your prayers and neighborly acts have brought you to God’s attention. Here’s what you are to do. Send men to Joppa to get Simon, the one everyone calls Peter. He is staying with Simon the Tanner, whose house is down by the sea.”
7-8 As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two servants and one particularly devout soldier from the guard. He went over with them in great detail everything that had just happened, and then sent them off to Joppa.
9-13 The next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray. It was about noon. Peter got hungry and started thinking about lunch. While lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the skies open up. Something that looked like a huge blanket lowered by ropes at its four corners settled on the ground. Every kind of animal and reptile and bird you could think of was on it. Then a voice came: “Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.”
14 Peter said, “Oh, no, Lord. I’ve never so much as tasted food that was not kosher.”
15 The voice came a second time: “If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.”
16 This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the skies.
17-20 As Peter, puzzled, sat there trying to figure out what it all meant, the men sent by Cornelius showed up at Simon’s front door. They called in, asking if there was a Simon, also called Peter, staying there. Peter, lost in thought, didn’t hear them, so the Spirit whispered to him, “Three men are knocking at the door looking for you. Get down there and go with them. Don’t ask any questions. I sent them to get you.”
21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I think I’m the man you’re looking for. What’s up?”
22-23 They said, “Captain Cornelius, a God-fearing man well-known for his fair play—ask any Jew in this part of the country—was commanded by a holy angel to get you and bring you to his house so he could hear what you had to say.” Peter invited them in and made them feel at home.
23-26 The next morning he got up and went with them. Some of his friends from Joppa went along. A day later they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had his relatives and close friends waiting with him. The minute Peter came through the door, Cornelius was up on his feet greeting him—and then down on his face worshiping him! Peter pulled him up and said, “None of that—I’m a man and only a man, no different from you.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Kings 6:8-17
Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.
11 And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in (A)Dothan.” 14 So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, (B)for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please (C)open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of (D)horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Insight
In the Old Testament, Aram (2 Kings 6:8) was the territory that today is known as Syria. Its capital, Damascus, was one of the great cities of ancient times and continued to be prominent in the New Testament. It was the destination of Saul of Tarsus when on a mission to persecute believers in Jesus (Acts 9).
Unseen Realities
Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” 2 Kings 6:17
Stephen Cass, an editor at Discover magazine, was determined to investigate some of the invisible things that are part of his daily life. As he walked toward his office in New York City, he thought: “If I could see radio waves, the top of the Empire State Building [with its host of radio and TV antennas] would be lit like a kaleidoscopic flare, illuminating the entire city.” He realized he was surrounded by an invisible electromagnetic field of radio and TV signals, Wi-Fi, and more.
Elisha’s servant learned about another kind of unseen reality one morning—the invisible spiritual world. He awoke to find himself and his master surrounded by the armies of Aram. As far as his eyes could see, there were soldiers mounted on powerful warhorses (2 Kings 6:15)! The servant was afraid, but Elisha was confident because he saw the army of angels that surrounded them. He said: “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (v. 16). Then he asked the Lord to open his servant’s eyes so he too could see that the Lord had surrounded their enemy and He was in control (v. 17).
Do you feel overpowered and helpless? Remember that God is in control and fights for you. He “will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11). By Poh Fang Chia
Reflect & Pray
How can you learn to trust God’s supernatural help? How would trusting Him more change the way you face difficulties?
Fear not for God is with us and for us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
The Spiritually Lazy Saint
Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together… —Hebrews 10:24-25
We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward Christ-realization, not the initiative toward self-realization. To live a distant, withdrawn, and secluded life is diametrically opposed to spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.
The true test of our spirituality occurs when we come up against injustice, degradation, ingratitude, and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritually lazy. While being tested, we want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of finding a quiet retreat. We use God only for the sake of getting peace and joy. We seek only our enjoyment of Jesus Christ, not a true realization of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things we are seeking are simply effects, and yet we try to make them causes.
“Yes, I think it is right,” Peter said, “…to stir you up by reminding you…” (2 Peter 1:13). It is a most disturbing thing to be hit squarely in the stomach by someone being used of God to stir us up— someone who is full of spiritual activity. Simple active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work can actually be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The real danger in spiritual laziness is that we do not want to be stirred up— all we want to hear about is a spiritual retirement from the world. Yet Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement— He says, “Go and tell My brethren…” (Matthew 28:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6). The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Your Line in the Sand - #8478
Some say it's legend. Some say it's history, but it's one of the most inspiring stories from America's past. The scene: a tiny mission near San Antonio, Texas. You know, a small band of Texas Freedom Fighters is taking their stand against the invading Mexican Army, and they're vastly outnumbered. There's a brief window during which the men of the Alamo have a choice between leaving or staying to fight. Col. William Travis is in command of the garrison, and according to some accounts, he gathered the defenders in the courtyard of the Alamo. With his sword, he drew a line in the sand and he called his men to a destiny choice: cross the line as your pledge to fight or stay where you are as an announcement that you are leaving. They all crossed the line to heroism, to immortality, and to honor that has endured some 200 years.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Line in the Sand."
Two thousand years ago, a spiritual line was drawn in the sand and it's still there. And every person who belongs to Jesus Christ has to make their choice.
To understand that choice, we go back 20 centuries to the first Christians who had to make it. Their story is found in Acts 4, beginning with verse 12. It's our word for today from the Word of God. The scene is Jerusalem - the city where Jesus has been put to death only weeks before. Peter and John have just been proclaiming Jesus in the temple area. Now, they're facing a hostile crowd of powerful rulers, and they make this bombshell announcement: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved."
At that point, some of the same people who had arranged for Jesus' crucifixion "called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus." There is the line in the sand. Talk about whatever you want, but don't talk about Jesus! The Christian's answer? "We cannot help but speaking about what we have seen and heard." Later, the Bible says, "With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus." They made their choice. They would talk about Jesus, whatever it cost.
So, what about you and me? We face the same choice in situation after situation. Will we talk about Jesus at a time and in a culture where it's okay to talk about anything you want except Jesus? Actress Patricia Heaton has publicly professed her faith in Christ. A while back in People Magazine, she said: "Most people have some kind of faith. However, I think Jesus is a scary subject. 'God' you can make into anything you want. But confronted with Jesus you have to say I believe that or I don't, and that's very powerful."
Yes, it is, and the devil knows it. That's why he made you and me choke so often, think about it, when we get to that name. We'll talk about God, family values, church, faith, but when it comes to Jesus, we unwittingly obey the 2,000-year-old order from hell, "Do not mention Jesus." But there's no other name by which people can be rescued from an awful eternity. Of course, Satan does everything he can do to have us chicken out on talking that name.
So the line is in the sand. Are you going to stay where it's "safe," hiding Jesus behind you. Or are you going to cross the line and join the heroes who say, "I will tell them about Jesus, whatever it costs." The people who think nothing of Jesus aren't ashamed to freely speak His name in disrespect.
What about you - someone whose life, whose eternity has been changed by Jesus? Will you talk about Him because you love Him and because they need Him? Or will you be ashamed of Jesus? On that brutal cross, Jesus was not ashamed of you.