Max Lucado Daily: JUST JESUS
Is Peter speaking to us when he urges, “Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it” (1 Peter 2:11)?
We know our Father’s name, and he has claimed us, but he has yet to come for us. So here we are. Caught between what is and what will be. No longer orphans but not yet home. What do we do in the meantime? Indeed, it can be just that—a mean time. Time made mean with disease, deceit, death, and debt. How do we live in the meantime? How do we keep our hearts headed home?
“Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect” (Hebrews 12:2). Look to Jesus. Ponder his life. Consider his ways. Meditate on his words. Jesus….just Jesus.
Joel 3
“In those days, yes, at that very time
when I put life back together again for Judah and Jerusalem,
I’ll assemble all the godless nations.
I’ll lead them down into Judgment Valley
And put them all on trial, and judge them one and all
because of their treatment of my own people Israel.
They scattered my people all over the pagan world
and grabbed my land for themselves.
They threw dice for my people
and used them for barter.
They would trade a boy for a whore,
sell a girl for a bottle of wine when they wanted a drink.
4-8 “As for you, Tyre and Sidon and Philistia,
why should I bother with you?
Are you trying to get back at me
for something I did to you?
If you are, forget it.
I’ll see to it that it boomerangs on you.
You robbed me, cleaned me out of silver and gold,
carted off everything valuable to furnish your own temples.
You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem
into slavery to the Greeks in faraway places.
But I’m going to reverse your crime.
I’m going to free those slaves.
I’ll have done to you what you did to them:
I’ll sell your children as slaves to your neighbors,
And they’ll sell them to the far-off Sabeans.”
God’s Verdict.
9-11 Announce this to the godless nations:
Prepare for battle!
Soldiers at attention!
Present arms! Advance!
Turn your shovels into swords,
turn your hoes into spears.
Let the weak one throw out his chest
and say, “I’m tough, I’m a fighter.”
Hurry up, pagans! Wherever you are, get a move on!
Get your act together.
Prepare to be
shattered by God!
12 Let the pagan nations set out
for Judgment Valley.
There I’ll take my place at the bench
and judge all the surrounding nations.
13 “Swing the sickle—
the harvest is ready.
Stomp on the grapes—
the winepress is full.
The wine vats are full,
overflowing with vintage evil.
14 “Mass confusion, mob uproar—
in Decision Valley!
God’s Judgment Day has arrived
in Decision Valley.
15-17 “The sky turns black,
sun and moon go dark, stars burn out.
God roars from Zion, shouts from Jerusalem.
Earth and sky quake in terror.
But God is a safe hiding place,
a granite safe house for the children of Israel.
Then you’ll know for sure
that I’m your God,
Living in Zion,
my sacred mountain.
Jerusalem will be a sacred city,
posted: ‘no trespassing.’
18-21 “What a day!
Wine streaming off the mountains,
Milk rivering out of the hills,
water flowing everywhere in Judah,
A fountain pouring out of God’s Sanctuary,
watering all the parks and gardens!
But Egypt will be reduced to weeds in a vacant lot,
Edom turned into barren badlands,
All because of brutalities to the Judean people,
the atrocities and murders of helpless innocents.
Meanwhile, Judah will be filled with people,
Jerusalem inhabited forever.
The sins I haven’t already forgiven, I’ll forgive.”
God has moved into Zion for good.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, March 05, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight: Acts 16:6–10
Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia
6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygiaz and Galatia,a having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.b 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesusc would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.d 9 During the night Paul had a visione of a man of Macedoniaf standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, weg got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospelh to them.
Insight
In Paul’s vision in Acts 16:9–10, the man from Macedonia isn’t identified. However, we learn something about him in verse 9. The word translated “help” (boetheo) means “come to the aid of” and indicates the need for assistance, showing the man needed someone to physically come to him. It seems to refer to someone who doesn’t know the gospel or even how he can be helped.
It’s interesting to note there’s a pronoun shift from they (vv. 6–9) to we in verse 10: “After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia.” Most scholars believe this indicates that Luke (the author of Acts) had now joined the group.
For further study, read The Book of Acts at discoveryseries.org/q0418.
Plans Disrupted
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21
Jane’s plans to become a speech therapist ended when an internship revealed the job was too emotionally challenging for her. Then she was given the opportunity to write for a magazine. She’d never seen herself as an author, but years later she found herself advocating for needy families through her writing. “Looking back, I can see why God changed my plans,” she says. “He had a bigger plan for me.”
The Bible has many stories of disrupted plans. On his second missionary journey, Paul had sought to bring the gospel into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus stopped him (Acts 16:6–7). This must have seemed mystifying: Why was Jesus disrupting plans that were in line with a God-given mission? The answer came in a dream one night: Macedonia needed him even more. There, Paul would plant the first church in Europe. Solomon also observed, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21).
It’s sensible to make plans. A well-known adage goes, “Fail to plan, and you plan to fail.” But God may disrupt our plans with His own. Our challenge is to listen and obey, knowing we can trust God. If we submit to His will, we’ll find ourselves fitting into His purpose for our lives.
As we continue to make plans, we can add a new twist: Plan to listen. Listen to God’s plan. By: Leslie Koh
Reflect & Pray
How can you submit your plans to God today? How can you listen to His plans?
All-knowing God, give me the faith to listen to You when my plans are disrupted, knowing that You have a greater purpose for my life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 05, 2020
Is He Really My Lord?
…so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus… —Acts 20:24
Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing. The joy our Lord experienced came from doing what the Father sent Him to do. And He says to us, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). Have you received a ministry from the Lord? If so, you must be faithful to it— to consider your life valuable only for the purpose of fulfilling that ministry. Knowing that you have done what Jesus sent you to do, think how satisfying it will be to hear Him say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). We each have to find a niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive a ministry from the Lord. To do this we must have close fellowship with Jesus and must know Him as more than our personal Savior. And we must be willing to experience the full impact of Acts 9:16 — “I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
“Do you love Me?” Then, “Feed My sheep” (John 21:17). He is not offering us a choice of how we can serve Him; He is asking for absolute loyalty to His commission, a faithfulness to what we discern when we are in the closest possible fellowship with God. If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is not the same as the call— the need is the opportunity to exercise the call. The call is to be faithful to the ministry you received when you were in true fellowship with Him. This does not imply that there is a whole series of differing ministries marked out for you. It does mean that you must be sensitive to what God has called you to do, and this may sometimes require ignoring demands for service in other areas.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We have no right to judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is fitting us for. God engineers everything; wherever He puts us, our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him in that particular work. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” My Utmost for His Highest, April 23, 773 L
Bible in a Year: Numbers 34-36; Mark 9:30-50
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 05, 2020
Fear Goes Viral - #8649
North Dakota's a long way from Wuhan, China. But our friend Wes has been seeing more and more customers wearing masks in the local Walmart. He says he's going to start telling them "to calm down." Then, thinking of how fear can spook the stock market, he said, "Then I'm going to thank them for destroying my 401(k)."
Well that may not be the best response but it is a reflection of the increasing fear that a whole lot of people are feeling right now. I mean, you think about the impact of this one virus - cities shut down and economies slowing down. Travel cancellations. Wall Street in freefall. Major events being cancelled.
Some are calling it a pandemic, which means it's everywhere. But beyond any medical pandemic there is another pandemic. Fear.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Fear Goes Viral."
You know as bad as the Coronavirus scare is, this anxiety thing is even bigger than that. I was with some mission leaders from around the world recently and they basically summed up what's going on in the world this way - "The nations are being shaken." And they are.
So many peoples. So many places. And now we've got this ominous cloud of Coronavirus hanging over us. So many unknowns. So many disturbing possibilities. And, so much fear.
Now, Precautions are good but panic and paralysis...no, they're not. But we feel vulnerable - and it's more than a feeling. We really are vulnerable. You think, for example, what happens when we have an extended power outage. Or with the pervasive dependence we have on technology, what happens if there's a cyber meltdown or attack? There's a lot to fear. Or maybe not.
The most repeated command in the world's best-selling book, the Bible, is this... "Do not be afraid."
Really? Do not be afraid? With runaway viruses...metastasized terror threats...and political storm clouds...financial storm clouds and mass shootings...and then even our personal crises like getting bad news from the doctor.
Is it reasonable to ask us to "not be afraid"? Well, not if our security is something vulnerable. Something we could lose.
The Bible says in Psalm 11, "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Well that's a fascinating question because our foundations are shaking right now. And then it goes on to say this, "The Lord is in His holy temple. The Lord is on His heavenly throne" (Psalm 11:3-4). In other words, when everything's out of control, God is still ultimately in control. So He says in our word for today form the Word of God in Isaiah 43 beginning with verse 1, "Do not fear…when you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you…for I am the Lord your God…I love you".
I've been in several life-threatening situations on airlines, I've heard a doctor say my wife was "Code Blue." Thinking I would lose the love of my life that day. In many situations like that, God has come along with this supernatural peace.
Because my Anchor held. Here's how it's described in Romans 8, "Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord". That's my anchor. It's a Relationship that's disease-proof, it's disaster-proof, it's death-proof. I don't deserve this love but I can't lose it. It was proven when Jesus died on the cross to absorb the death penalty for me, for you, rejecting God's rule of our life. And then, He was resurrected three days later and He validated His power to beat even death. Let me tell you, that's an anchor that holds.
And as for our loved ones. The Bible says, "I know the One in whom I trust, and I am sure that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him" (2 Timothy 1:12). This relationship is life's one anchor that holds.
Several years ago there were monster tornadoes in Oklahoma and I read about this mother and daughter who barely got the door on their safe room closed in
time. A couple hours later they went out to find their neighborhood gone - their house gone. They lost a lot that day. But they were okay because they had one place that could survive the storm.
Millions of people have found that in Jesus. I'm one of them. And you can be.
You want to know how to get started in that relationship with Him? Go to our website - ANewStory.com. Because Jesus, in this world, is your one safe place.
