Max Lucado Daily: GOD BECAME A BABY
Prior to Bethlehem God gave us his messengers, his teachers, and his words. But in the manger, God gave us himself. Extraordinary, don’t you think?
I imagine even Gabriel scratched his head at the idea of “God with us.” Gabriel surely was not one to question his God-given missions. When God sent, Gabriel went. And when the word got out that God was to become a human, Gabriel was no doubt enthused. He could envision the moment! The Messiah in a blazing chariot. The King descending on a fiery cloud. An explosion of light from which the Messiah would emerge.
What he never expected, however, was a slip of paper with a Nazarene address. “God will become a baby,” it read. “Tell the mother to name the child Jesus. And tell her not to be afraid.”
Isaiah 2
The Message Isaiah got regarding Judah and Jerusalem:
There’s a day coming
when the mountain of God’s House
Will be The Mountain—
solid, towering over all mountains.
All nations will river toward it,
people from all over set out for it.
They’ll say, “Come,
let’s climb God’s Mountain,
go to the House of the God of Jacob.
He’ll show us the way he works
so we can live the way we’re made.”
Zion’s the source of the revelation.
God’s Message comes from Jerusalem.
He’ll settle things fairly between nations.
He’ll make things right between many peoples.
They’ll turn their swords into shovels,
their spears into hoes.
No more will nation fight nation;
they won’t play war anymore.
Come, family of Jacob,
let’s live in the light of God.
6-9 God, you’ve walked out on your family Jacob
because their world is full of hokey religion,
Philistine witchcraft, and pagan hocus-pocus,
a world rolling in wealth,
Stuffed with things,
no end to its machines and gadgets,
And gods—gods of all sorts and sizes.
These people make their own gods and worship what they make.
A degenerate race, facedown in the gutter.
Don’t bother with them! They’re not worth forgiving!
10 Head for the hills,
hide in the caves
From the terror of God,
from his dazzling presence.
11-17 People with a big head are headed for a fall,
pretentious egos brought down a peg.
It’s God alone at front-and-center
on the Day we’re talking about,
The Day that God-of-the-Angel-Armies
is matched against all big-talking rivals,
against all swaggering big names;
Against all giant sequoias
hugely towering,
and against the expansive chestnut;
Against Kilimanjaro and Annapurna,
against the ranges of Alps and Andes;
Against every soaring skyscraper,
against all proud obelisks and statues;
Against ocean-going luxury liners,
against elegant three-masted schooners.
The swelled big heads will be punctured bladders,
the pretentious egos brought down to earth,
Leaving God alone at front-and-center
on the Day we’re talking about.
18 And all those sticks and stones
dressed up to look like gods
will be gone for good.
19 Clamber into caves in the cliffs,
duck into any hole you can find.
Hide from the terror of God,
from his dazzling presence,
When he assumes his full stature on earth,
towering and terrifying.
20-21 On that Day men and women will take
the sticks and stones
They’ve decked out in gold and silver
to look like gods and then worshiped,
And they will dump them
in any ditch or gully,
Then run for rock caves
and cliff hideouts
To hide from the terror of God,
from his dazzling presence,
When he assumes his full stature on earth,
towering and terrifying.
22 Quit scraping and fawning over mere humans,
so full of themselves, so full of hot air!
Can’t you see there’s nothing to them?
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Colossians 4:2–6
Further Instructions
2 Devote yourselves to prayer,p being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a doorq for our message, so that we may proclaim the mysteryr of Christ, for which I am in chains.s 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wiset in the way you act toward outsiders;u make the most of every opportunity.v 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace,w seasoned with salt,x so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Insight
While under house arrest in Rome, Paul composed what are commonly referred to as his Prison Letters: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Although grouped together because all were written from Paul’s place of confinement, these four letters each have their own distinct audience and purpose. One of the Prison Letters (Philippians) was directed to Greece while the other three epistles were sent to Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Ephesians and Colossians present the theme of the body of Christ and Christ the head of the church (Christ’s headship)—though from different perspectives. Ephesians focuses on His headship, while Colossians looks more closely at the church. Philippians, written to the members of Paul’s first church plant on European soil, describes how believers can experience joy even in the midst of difficult circumstances. Philemon is the only personal letter of the group, encouraging his dear friend to deal kindly with a recently converted runaway slave, Onesimus.
Every Opportunity
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Colossians 4:5
Ever caught a dragon? I hadn’t until my son convinced me to download a game on my phone. Producing a digital map mirroring the real world, the game allows you to catch colorful creatures near you.
Unlike most mobile games, this one requires movement. Anywhere you go is part of the game’s playing field. The result? I’m doing a lot more walking! Anytime my son and I play, we strive to maximize every opportunity to nab the critters that pop up around us.
It’s easy to focus on, even obsess over, a game that’s crafted to captivate users. But as I played the game, I was convicted with this question: Am I this intentional about maximizing the spiritual opportunities around me?
Paul knew the need to be alert to God’s work around us. In Colossians 4, he asked for prayer for an opportunity to share the gospel (v. 3). Then he challenged, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity” (v. 5). Paul didn’t want the Colossians to miss any chance of influencing others toward Christ. But doing so would require truly seeing them and their needs, then engaging in ways “full of grace” (v. 6).
In our world, far more things vie for our time and attention than a game’s imaginary dragons. But God invites us to navigate a real-world adventure, every day seeking opportunities to point to Him. By: Adam R. Holz
Reflect & Pray
When did God use someone in an unexpected way to bring you into deeper relationship with Him? When has He used you to impact someone’s life during an ordinary day?
Jesus, thank You that You’re constantly at work in the people around me. Help me to make the most of every opportunity I have to demonstrate Your love and grace.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Total Surrender
Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." —Mark 10:28
Our Lord replies to this statement of Peter by saying that this surrender is “for My sake and the gospel’s” (Mark 10:29). It was not for the purpose of what the disciples themselves would get out of it. Beware of surrender that is motivated by personal benefits that may result. For example, “I’m going to give myself to God because I want to be delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy.” Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying, “No, Lord, I don’t want you; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, ‘This is what God has done for me.’ ” Gaining heaven, being delivered from sin, and being made useful to God are things that should never even be a consideration in real surrender. Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.
Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships? Most of us will desert Him with this excuse— “Yes, Lord, I heard you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can’t go any further” (see Luke 9:57-62). “Then,” Jesus says, “you ‘cannot be My disciple’ ” (see Luke 14:26-33).
True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
God engineers circumstances to see what we will do. Will we be the children of our Father in heaven, or will we go back again to the meaner, common-sense attitude? Will we stake all and stand true to Him? “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” The crown of life means I shall see that my Lord has got the victory after all, even in me. The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 530 L
Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 17-19; Mark 13:1-20
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 12, 2020
No Torpedoes in the Harbor - #8654
My oldest son was always a challenging child: creative, active, a mind of his own, a different drummer he marched to than his sister or brother. But we had our share of tender moments, too. Some of the ones I treasure in the photo album in my mind are the times he'd slow down a little and climb into his Daddy's lap. And we'd just cuddle for a while. Sometimes I wasn't sure how he could breathe, he had his head so buried in my chest. And then he'd look up at me with those big blue eyes and he'd say something I've obviously never forgotten, "When I'm in your arms, Daddy, I feel so safe."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Torpedoes in the Harbor."
So safe. That's not only how a child is supposed to feel with his father, it's how a wife is supposed to feel with her husband. When a man is really a man (at least as God defines manhood) his wife can always say, "When I'm with you, I feel so safe." Sadly, a lot of the time the one we promised to cherish or protect feels anything but safe with us, guys. She feels wounded, attacked, criticized and devalued. And that's just wrong.
Listen to our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Colossians 3:19 - "Husbands, love your wives." Now we might be OK if it stopped there. We could pipe up and say, "Hey, no problemo. I love my wife." Sorry, but the verse doesn't stop there. It goes on to say, "...and do not be harsh with them." It's pretty plain, isn't it? Love and harshness don't go together. Love makes a woman feel safe. Harshness makes a woman feel anything but safe.
I wonder if maybe you've gotten so busy, so stressed, so uptight that you've been spilling all over the one you love the most. She gets the meanness that you can't let other people see, and she doesn't deserve it! You stood at an altar one day, man, and you pledged before God that you would honor her and protect her. But you're not protecting her from you! Sometimes, we just get all self-absorbed. I tend to drift into self-absorption when I'm feeling really squeezed by all I've got to do, when I'm really tired, when I'm on overload. And that's when the harsh words are most likely to come.
Which is the total opposite of God's directive on how a man is supposed to treat his lifetime partner. In 1 Peter 3:7, He tells us, "Husbands...be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers." God cares so much about how you treat your wife that it can literally be the difference in whether or not He responds to your prayers!
Certain packages carry a sign that says "Handle with care." Wives should come with a sign like that. That's what they need. It's what they're supposed to get. It's the treatment God expects us to give them. Frankly, a woman who is being spoken to or treated harshly by her husband has an understandable feeling of betrayal. Why? Because her husband's love was supposed to be the harbor for which the heart of a woman truly longs. That's harbor as in the one place wher
e you're finally safe - the one place you won't be attacked.
No woman should be hit with torpedoes in the harbor because the man who loves her is being harsh with her. Man, when she's with you, would you let her know that she is really safe.
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