Max Lucado Daily: GOD IS ALWAYS SOVEREIGN
I love what Chuck Swindoll always says. That “God is not sometimes sovereign. He is always sovereign.” The challenge that awaits us is to not give in to despair…to not do foolish things, but to trust.
The key question that we all need to be asking right now is, “What is God saying to us?” I think He’s talking to the whole world. I think He’s telling us that our priorities have gotten misplaced. We need to dislodge those priorities and return to our heavenly Father. I think He’s calling us back to Himself. I do…I do.
Is this a signal of end times as some people are saying? I do not know. But I do know God is doing something in the world and He’s calling upon us. He’s talking to the whole world. And we are going to get through this. It may not be quick. It may not be easy. But God is going to use this for good.
Acts 20:17-38
From Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the leaders of the congregation. When they arrived, he said, “You know that from day one of my arrival in Asia I was with you totally—laying my life on the line, serving the Master no matter what, putting up with no end of scheming by Jews who wanted to do me in. I didn’t skimp or trim in any way. Every truth and encouragement that could have made a difference to you, you got. I taught you out in public and I taught you in your homes, urging Jews and Greeks alike to a radical life-change before God and an equally radical trust in our Master Jesus.
22-24 “But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.
25-27 “And so this is good-bye. You’re not going to see me again, nor I you, you whom I have gone among for so long proclaiming the news of God’s inaugurated kingdom. I’ve done my best for you, given you my all, held back nothing of God’s will for you.
28 “Now it’s up to you. Be on your toes—both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people—God’s people they are—to guard and protect them. God himself thought they were worth dying for.
29-31 “I know that as soon as I’m gone, vicious wolves are going to show up and rip into this flock, men from your very own ranks twisting words so as to seduce disciples into following them instead of Jesus. So stay awake and keep up your guard. Remember those three years I kept at it with you, never letting up, pouring my heart out with you, one after another.
32 “Now I’m turning you over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends.
33-35 “I’ve never, as you so well know, had any taste for wealth or fashion. With these bare hands I took care of my own basic needs and those who worked with me. In everything I’ve done, I have demonstrated to you how necessary it is to work on behalf of the weak and not exploit them. You’ll not likely go wrong here if you keep remembering that our Master said, ‘You’re far happier giving than getting.’”
36-38 Then Paul went down on his knees, all of them kneeling with him, and prayed. And then a river of tears. Much clinging to Paul, not wanting to let him go. They knew they would never see him again—he had told them quite plainly. The pain cut deep. Then, bravely, they walked him down to the ship.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Ephesians 1:3–14
Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,g who has blessed us in the heavenly realmsh with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose usi in him before the creation of the worldj to be holy and blamelessk in his sight. In lovel 5 heb predestinedm us for adoption to sonshipc n through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasureo and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace,p which he has freely given us in the One he loves.q 7 In him we have redemptionr through his blood,s the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the richest of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 hed made known to us the mysteryu of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposedv in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillmentw—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.x
11 In him we were also chosen,e having been predestinedy according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purposez of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.a 13 And you also were included in Christb when you heard the message of truth,c the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal,d the promised Holy Spirit,e 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritancef until the redemptiong of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Insight
Ephesians 1:3–14 praises God for His work of creation and redemption. Paul goes to great lengths to describe and celebrate the goodness of God for His grace and promise. Twice Paul mentions that our salvation is in accordance with His good pleasure or “according to the purpose of His will” (vv. 5, 9 esv). God made the decision to lavish grace on those who would be saved in Jesus Christ, and He took delight in extending that grace.
Inheritance Isn’t Earned
He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. Ephesians 1:5
“Thanks for dinner, Dad,” I said as I set my napkin on the restaurant table. I was home on a break from college and, after being gone for a while, it felt strange to have my parents pay for me. “You’re welcome, Julie,” my dad replied, “but you don’t have to thank me for everything all the time. I know you’ve been off on your own, but you’re still my daughter and a part of the family.” I smiled. “Thanks, Dad.”
In my family, I haven’t done anything to earn my parents’ love or what they do for me. But my dad’s comment reminds me that I haven’t done anything to deserve to be a part of God’s family either.
In the book of Ephesians, Paul tells his readers that God chose them “to be holy and blameless in his sight” (1:4), or to stand without blemish before Him (5:25–27). But this is only possible through Jesus, in whom “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (1:7). We don’t have to earn God’s grace, forgiveness, or entrance into His family. We simply accept His free gift.
When we turn our lives over to Jesus, we become children of God, which means we receive eternal life and have an inheritance waiting for us in heaven. Praise God for offering such a wonderful gift! By: Julie Schwab
Reflect & Pray
In what ways do you feel or act as if you have to earn God’s love? How can you practice living in the freedom of His love?
Faithful God, thank You for freely giving Your Son so I can be a part of Your family. Help me to honor You in all You’ve done for me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Heedfulness or Hypocrisy in Ourselves?
If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. —1 John 5:16
If we are not heedful and pay no attention to the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other people are failing, and then we take our discernment and turn it into comments of ridicule and criticism, instead of turning it into intercession on their behalf. God reveals this truth about others to us not through the sharpness of our minds but through the direct penetration of His Spirit. If we are not attentive, we will be completely unaware of the source of the discernment God has given us, becoming critical of others and forgetting that God says, “…he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” Be careful that you don’t become a hypocrite by spending all your time trying to get others right with God before you worship Him yourself.
One of the most subtle and illusive burdens God ever places on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning others. He gives us discernment so that we may accept the responsibility for those souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them (see Philippians 2:5). We should intercede in accordance with what God says He will give us, namely, “life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” It is not that we are able to bring God into contact with our minds, but that we awaken ourselves to the point where God is able to convey His mind to us regarding the people for whom we intercede.
Can Jesus Christ see the agony of His soul in us? He can’t unless we are so closely identified with Him that we have His view concerning the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelmingly satisfied with us as intercessors.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The attitude of a Christian towards the providential order in which he is placed is to recognize that God is behind it for purposes of His own. Biblical Ethics, 99 R
Bible in a Year: Judges 11-12; Luke 6:1-26
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
The Difference Between Life and Death - #8667
The cable news people called it a miracle. So did the man who is alive today because of what happened. He'd gone out for an afternoon on his boat off the coast of California. He didn't expect that sudden high wind that hit his vessel. Threw him catapulting over the rail and into the water. The boat continued moving with its propellers nearly cutting him to pieces. He escaped that danger with relatively minor cuts, but now he was alone and adrift in these cold waters, knowing that hypothermia would soon set in. He was unable to sustain himself in that water, and he prayed for divine help. And at that moment, he saw a balloon floating on the water nearby. He grabbed the balloon, put it under his shirt to keep him buoyant. There's one problem with balloons - they tend to lose air. And slowly, the balloon that was holding him up just did that.
With hypothermia beginning to set in, he was at the end of his ability to stay alive or to stay afloat. He closed his eyes, knowing death was going to be near. He said, "All I could do was begin to say the 23rd Psalm out loud, 'The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.' When I got to the part that says, 'Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me,' (He said) I opened my eyes. And there, floating in front of me, was a board. I grabbed it. I hung on tight. Then, in front of me, I saw a large buoy. I paddled to that buoy, only to be challenged by a huge sea lion." That's when he was sure he was going to die. But that was when, five hours after he'd gone overboard, his brother arrived in a search boat and saved his life. Wow!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Difference Between Life and Death."
Here's a man facing a seemingly deadly situation, a series of amazing intervention, and the arrival of the rescuer who was his only hope...just in the nick of time. For someone listening today, that's not just a story. It's actually your story, or it's about to be. It's my story. It's a story of millions of others whose only hope was a rescue - a spiritual rescue.
Our word for today from the Word of God is really just eight powerful words from Zephaniah 3:17. It simply says, "The Lord your God is mighty to save." He really is. He has both the love and the power to do whatever it takes to save you from the emptiness and the turbulence of a life away from God, and more importantly, from the awful agony of an eternity without God. He's in the saving business.
Like that man overboard, the Bible says that we're all in a deadly situation from which we can't save ourselves, and often we don't even know the danger we're in. The Bible says we are "without hope and without God in this world" (Ephesians 2:12) - away from the Source of our life because we've hijacked our life from Him. It's called sin. It's a lifetime of willful choices that have ignored and disobeyed God's laws. And the Bible says, "The wages of (that) sin is death" (Romans 6:23). We're overboard, we're drifting, and we're dying.
Along the way, though, the One who is "mighty to save" has sent you some "boards" and "balloons" that would keep you afloat until you could find the real Rescuer. You are alive today by His grace and His intervention in ways you don't even know. He's wanted you to have a chance to grab the hand of His Son, His rescuer from heaven. Because one day you will "walk through that valley of the shadow of death," and your only hope is those four words, "You are with me." If Jesus isn't with you when you enter eternity, you're without hope. If He is with you, you're in heaven forever.
Today, the nail-pierced hand of heaven's Rescuer is reaching for you. The nail prints are there because He had to die so you could live; took the penalty for your sin. And this day, you have to make your choice about Him. How do you grab His hand? You say, "Jesus, I've done it my way. I'm done. You died for my sin. I am Yours." In that moment, you're saved, you're rescued, and you're safe.
Our website will help you cross over. All the information you need is there. ANewStory.com. Because none of us knows how much longer we have to choose life. So, would you let today be the day that you grab the hand of that One who is mighty to save?
