Max Lucado Daily: A CLOSET CHAT WITH GOD
Religious leaders loved to make theater out of their prayers. The show nauseated Jesus. In Matthew 6:6 He said, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and He will reward you.”
The words surely stunned Jesus’ audience. The people were simple farmers and stonemasons. They couldn’t enter the temple. But they could enter their closets. The point? He’s low on fancy, high on accessibility. You need not woo him with location or wow him with eloquence. It’s the power of a simple prayer.
Every day for four weeks, pray four minutes…a simple prayer. Then, get ready to connect with God like never before.
Psalm 131
A Pilgrim Song
God, I’m not trying to rule the roost,
I don’t want to be king of the mountain.
I haven’t meddled where I have no business
or fantasized grandiose plans.
2 I’ve kept my feet on the ground,
I’ve cultivated a quiet heart.
Like a baby content in its mother’s arms,
my soul is a baby content.
3 Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope.
Hope now; hope always!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Mark 10:46–52
en they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Insight
The story of blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46–52) isn’t the only account in Mark’s gospel where Jesus healed physical blindness. The other is in 8:22–26 where He healed an unnamed man in Bethsaida. But physical blindness wasn’t the only “sight” issue that Mark highlights. Spiritual blindness was prevalent. Just before Jesus healed the blind man in Bethsaida He rebuked His disciples saying, “Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear” (vv. 17–18). And just before He healed Bartimaeus, Jesus reminded His disciples that He was destined for suffering and death, but they didn’t get it (vv. 31–33; 9:30–32; 10:32–34). It wasn’t until after Christ’s resurrection that their spiritual blindness was banished. By: Arthur Jackson
True, Deep Desire
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. Mark 10:51
A mouse with a shrill voice, Reepicheep is perhaps The Chronicles of Narnia’s most valiant character. He charged into battle swinging his tiny sword. He rejected fear as he prodded on the Dawn Treader toward the Island of Darkness. The secret to Reepicheep’s courage? He was deeply connected to his longing to get to Aslan’s country. “That is my heart’s desire,” he said. Reepicheep knew what he truly wanted, and this led him toward his king.
Bartimaeus, a blind man from Jericho, sat in his normal spot jingling his cup for coins when he heard Jesus and the crowd approaching. He yelled out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47). The crowd tried to silence him, but Bartimaeus couldn’t be stopped.
“Jesus stopped,” Mark says (v. 49). In the midst of the throng, Jesus wanted to hear Bartimaeus. “What do you want?” Jesus asked (v. 51).
The answer seemed obvious; surely Jesus knew. But He seemed to believe there was power in allowing Bartimaeus to express his deep desire. “I want to see,” Bartimaeus said (v. 51). And Jesus sent Bartimaeus home seeing colors, beauty, and the faces of friends for the first time.
Not all desires are met immediately (and desires must be transformed), but what’s essential here is how Bartimaeus knew his desire and took it to Jesus. If we’ll pay attention, we’ll notice that our true desires and longings always lead us to Him. By: Winn Collier
Reflect & Pray
What do you truly desire? How might this desire lead you to Jesus?
Jesus, help me to bring my desires to You. What I’m ultimately seeking can only be satisfied by what You alone can provide.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
“When He Has Come
When He has come, He will convict the world of sin… —John 16:8
Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned…” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.
Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God.
Not Knowing Whither
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Beauty in Out-of-the-Way Places - #8570
I have an inspiring view out of my office window. I look out at a mountain with this rolling field in between me and the mountain. The field dips down into a hollow, or a "holler" as they call it in the South. In the spring, some of the trees in the hollow start to bloom in living color. The redbud, the dogwood, they just start setting out their blossoms in all their glory. Well, one spring, someone walked into my office, glanced out that window, and said, "Well, look at those beautiful trees down there." They are beautiful, but you know what? They're in a spot where very few people ever see that beauty.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Beauty in Out-of-the-Way Places."
God doesn't reserve His beauty for places where lots of people can appreciate it. He also plants some beautiful things in out-of-the-way places. Hey, maybe you're one of them. Not many see beauty when it's in an unlikely or a little known place, but it's no less beautiful.
As Jesus is evaluating each of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, He seems pretty unimpressed with the ones that look beautiful to everyone else. Like the church at Sardis that "has a reputation of being alive" but Jesus says to them, "You are dead" (Revelation 3:1). Or the rich and powerful Christians at Laodicea who Jesus says are actually "pitiful, poor, blind and naked" (Revelation 3:17).
But then there's this church - this out-of-the-way, little known church that Jesus thinks is beautiful. He says in our word for today from the Word of God in Revelation 3, beginning in verse 8, "I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept My word." Then He promises them something that He offers to none of the other, highly visible churches, "I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut." He's going to give them special blessings and opportunities because of their quiet faithfulness.
For someone listening today, that's exactly how He feels about you. You've been asked to serve Him, to be faithful to Him in a little place, maybe a hard place, a place where you receive little or no appreciation or affirmation. Maybe you work or live in a situation where no one appreciates the beauty of Christ in you. But God wants you to know today He loves to look at you. He thinks you're beautiful!
Think about Hannah in the Old Testament. She was a childless woman who kept on trusting the Lord. She had beauty that no one saw except God. And He made her the mother of Samuel, the greatest spiritual leader of his time. And then there's Mary, the little known girl from a ridiculed, backwater village called Nazareth, but God knew all about her and He looked to her when it came time to find a mother to carry and raise His Son. God seems to have special rewards for quiet, unnoticed faithfulness. Maybe like yours.
It's easy to get discouraged. It's easy to get down on yourself when you've been asked to bloom for God in a place where few can see you, where few appreciate your service, few appreciate your sacrifice. But God sees you. You are His "something beautiful" in an out-of-the-way place. And although there aren't many who see you blooming there, like those glorious trees hidden in the hollow outside my window, your life is no less beautiful.
Nailing Your Colors - #8572
You may not remember much of your World History class, but you probably at least remember the nations of Europe fought it out for a long time to see who was going to be Number One. For many years, their biggest way to fight it out was with their big navies. So, if a ship from England saw a ship from France, you could expect some fireworks. Of course, the way you knew what country a ship was from was that flag they flew from the top of the mast - their colors. When they would see a ship approaching on the horizon, they usually lowered their colors until they could see whether that other guy was a friend or an enemy. But occasionally there was a ship that approached those encounters in a radically different way. There were a few courageous captains who would give a simple six-word order to their crew, "Nail our colors to the mast!" But you could just hear the first mate saying, "Captain, that means we can't lower our colors, no matter what." To which the captain would say something like this. "That's right."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Nailing Your Colors."
Our word for today from the Word of God starts with one follower of Jesus who lowered his colors when enemies appeared on his horizon. It's found in Luke 22:60. Jesus is under arrest and moving toward His crucifixion. Peter is hanging out in the high priest's courtyard but not getting too close. Already two people have asked him if he was associated with Jesus and twice he has denied his Lord. Now a third person asks him and it says "Peter replied, 'Man, I don't know what you're talking about!' Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter...he went outside and wept bitterly." The pressure was on. He dumped Jesus. He's not alone.
But here's some hope for any of us who have lowered our Jesus-colors when the pressure was on. Acts 2:14 - Peter, it's only a few weeks later. He is now standing on the street in downtown Jerusalem, the same city that had recently crucified Jesus. And, no doubt, some of the people who yelled "Crucify Him" are in the crowd that day. And it says, "Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd..." Listen to what he said, "Let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (vs. 36). Man! God has worked a miracle in Peter - a chicken has suddenly turned into a tiger!
In fact, when the very authorities who arranged for Jesus' death call Peter in front of them and demand that he not preach about that Name anymore, here's his answer in Acts 4:12. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Isn't that encouraging? The same Lord who forgave Peter's past betrayals and empowered him to nail his colors to the mast. That same Lord could do that for you and me.
We all know the temptations to get by or to get ahead by covering up our relationship with Jesus. And when the world starts to like us and we start to like the world, it's often at the expense of the One who would not deny us even when it meant a cross. We forget whose we are.
But maybe those days of surrendering your Jesus-identity are almost over. Maybe you're ready to finally stand publicly for the One who died publicly for you. It all begins when you decide that you will not lower your Jesus-colors for anyone, for anything. He is who you belong to, He is who you will always belong to, and He's the best thing that's ever happened to you in your life or ever will happen.
You are who you are, you are whose you are, and no one can get you to change that once you nail your Jesus-colors to the mast.
