Max Lucado Daily: SATAN’S DESTRUCTIVE LIES
Satan’s condemnation brings no repentance or resolve…just regret! Satan has come to steal, kill, and destroy. To steal your peace, to kill your dreams, to destroy your future. Satan has deputized people to peddle his poison. Friends dredge up your past. Preachers proclaim all guilt and no grace. And parents, “Why can’t you grow up?” they say. “When are you going to make me proud?” they say. But your accusers will not have the last word.
Jesus has acted on your behalf. Jesus has risen to your defense. Hebrews 10:22 says, “…let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, because we have been made free from a guilty conscience.” Not just for our past mistakes but also for our future ones. Behold the fruit of grace: saved by God, raised by God, seated with God! Gifted, equipped, and commissioned!
Read more GRACE
Ecclesiastes 10
Dead flies in perfume make it stink,
And a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.
2 Wise thinking leads to right living;
Stupid thinking leads to wrong living.
3 Fools on the road have no sense of direction.
The way they walk tells the story: “There goes the fool again!”
4 If a ruler loses his temper against you, don’t panic;
A calm disposition quiets intemperate rage.
5-7 Here’s a piece of bad business I’ve seen on this earth,
An error that can be blamed on whoever is in charge:
Immaturity is given a place of prominence,
While maturity is made to take a backseat.
I’ve seen unproven upstarts riding in style,
While experienced veterans are put out to pasture.
8 Caution: The trap you set might catch you.
Warning: Your accomplice in crime might double-cross you.
9 Safety first: Quarrying stones is dangerous.
Be alert: Felling trees is hazardous.
10 Remember: The duller the ax the harder the work;
Use your head: The more brains, the less muscle.
11 If the snake bites before it’s been charmed,
What’s the point in then sending for the charmer?
12-13 The words of a wise person are gracious.
The talk of a fool self-destructs—
He starts out talking nonsense
And ends up spouting insanity and evil.
14 Fools talk way too much,
Chattering stuff they know nothing about.
15 A decent day’s work so fatigues fools
That they can’t find their way back to town.
16-17 Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup,
And whose princes party all night.
Lucky the land whose king is mature,
Where the princes behave themselves
And don’t drink themselves silly.
18 A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack;
A lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof.
19 Laughter and bread go together,
And wine gives sparkle to life—
But it’s money that makes the world go around.
20 Don’t bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath,
And don’t abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.
Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.
Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:John 10:11-15
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Insight
In literature, when a phrase is repeated at the beginning and end of a section, it’s called an inclusio. We see this in John 10:11–15: “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (v. 11); “I lay down my life for the sheep” (v. 15). This inclusio provides an interesting picture of a shepherd.
When we think of a shepherd protecting his sheep, we may think of David’s statement about killing the lion and the bear who attacked the sheep (1 Samuel 17:34–36). But in today’s passage, instead of saying that the good shepherd defends the sheep against the wolf, the picture is more of offering Himself in place of the sheep. The good shepherd is one who is willing to sacrifice His life.
Football and Shepherds
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11
An intriguing element of English football is the team anthem sung by the fans at the start of each match. These songs range from the fun (“Glad All Over”) to the whimsical (“I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles”) to the surprising. “Psalm 23,” for instance, is the anthem of the club from West Bromwich Albion. The words of that psalm appear on the façade inside the team’s stadium, declaring to everyone who comes to watch the “West Brom Baggies” the care of the good, great, and chief Shepherd.
In Psalm 23, David made his timeless statement, “The Lord is my shepherd” (v. 1). Later, the gospel writer Matthew would tell us, “When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). And in John 10, Jesus declared His love and concern for the human “sheep” of His generation. “I am the good shepherd,” He said. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (v. 11). Jesus’s compassion drove His interactions with the crowds, His responses to their needs, and, ultimately, His sacrifice on their (and our) behalf.
“The Lord is my shepherd” is far more than an ancient lyric or a clever slogan. It’s the confident statement of what it means to be known and loved by our great God—and what it means to be rescued by His Son. By Bill Crowder
Reflect & Pray
In what ways have you seen God’s care for you? Who can you tell about Him today?
What a gift our Shepherd is to us, Father! Help us to respond to His voice—and draw nearer to You.
Read The Lord Is My Shepherd at discoveryseries.org/hp952.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 11, 2019
The Spiritually Vigorous Saint
…that I may know Him… —Philippians 3:10
A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him. The Holy Spirit is determined that we will have the realization of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives, and He will bring us back to the same point over and over again until we do. Self-realization only leads to the glorification of good works, whereas a saint of God glorifies Jesus Christ through his good works. Whatever we may be doing— even eating, drinking, or washing disciples’ feet— we have to take the initiative of realizing and recognizing Jesus Christ in it. Every phase of our life has its counterpart in the life of Jesus. Our Lord realized His relationship to the Father even in the most menial task. “Jesus, knowing…that He had come from God and was going to God,…took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet…” (John 13:3-5).
The aim of a spiritually vigorous saint is “that I may know Him…” Do I know Him where I am today? If not, I am failing Him. I am not here for self-realization, but to know Jesus Christ. In Christian work our initiative and motivation are too often simply the result of realizing that there is work to be done and that we must do it. Yet that is never the attitude of a spiritually vigorous saint. His aim is to achieve the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.
Not Knowing Whither
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Treasure in the Trash - #8479
My mom didn't know it, but boy, did she make a mistake! I know that now because of my son's long-time interest in baseball card collecting...actually, baseball card investing. Oh yeah, he's always known what those cards are worth - especially the rare ones. One little card can be worth many hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. I think I had some of those valuable cards when I was a kid. I had players like Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams! Cards like that are worth big bucks today! Of course, I don't have them anymore. Sometime when we were moving, my mother threw them away!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Treasure in the Trash."
My mother had no idea of the value of what she was throwing away. A lot of people make that same mistake, because they don't know how much they're worth. When you've been put down, left out, mistreated, abandoned, you can battle feelings of worthlessness your whole life no matter how successful you may become. Maybe that's a feeling you know all too well. And, tragically, those of us who don't know what we're worth have a tendency to throw ourselves away on bad relationships, low goals and self-destructive choices.
But this very day, the person who created you wants to remind you of how much you are worth. In Matthew 13:44, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus is telling one of His parables. He says, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." The parable right before this indicates that the field is this world we live in and the man in the field is Jesus. And the buried treasure? That's you and me.
It's very possible you've been such a buried treasure that you don't even know you're a treasure. But Jesus thinks so! I love one thought that George W. Bush expressed in his Inaugural Address. He said, "No insignificant person was ever born." Well, God would agree with that! He says in Ephesians 2:10 that "we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." So all those people who have treated you like you're worthless...they don't know who you really are. You are God's workmanship, my friend!
And here's the ultimate proof of how much Jesus values you. In the words of His parable, "He went out and sold all He had" so you could belong to Him. The reason we feel like we're worth so little is ultimately because we're away from the One who gave us our worth. The Bible describes us as being "without God" (Ephesians 2:12) because we've taken over the running of our own lives. I mean, the middle letter of sin is "I." All our sinning has put a wall between us and the God who made us for himself.
But when Jesus was dying on that cross, He was giving "all He had" to pay the price for all the wrong things you have ever done. In your heart, for just a moment, would you walk up that hill the Bible calls Skull Hill and just stand there quietly at the foot of that cross where the Son of God is pouring out His life for you. Look at Him dying for you! You are not worthless!
But you'll never know how valuable you are until you give yourself to the One who died to buy you back, and you could do that right now, right where you are. Tell Him, "Jesus I want to belong to you. I believe the only way I can is for you to forgive my sin. And only you can, because you died for it. I turn from that sinning and ask you to come into my life. You're alive! You walked out of your grave. Please come into my life today; the rest of my life is yours."
Boy, at this crossroads moment, this is what we made our website for is for you at a time like this. Go there and check it out. It will really help you know you belong to Him. That's ANewStory.com.
See, Jesus doesn't want to lose you. That's why He paid for you with His life. This could be the day that you finally belong to the One who loves you like you've never been loved before.