Max Lucado Daily: PAID IN FULL
“It is finished” Jesus declared as recorded in John 19:30. Tetelestai. Three words in English, only one word in Greek. Remove your hat, take off your shoes, silence all chatter, lower your eyes. This is a holy word, a sacred moment.
When Jesus was twelve years of age his parents found him in the temple, talking with the rabbis. “Did you not know I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49). Even as a boy, Jesus had a sense of the family business – the work of redemption. Indeed, the Greek word tetelestai carries overtones of a business term. It was used to signify “paid in full” on debts, such as levies or a tribute. The term indicates a finalized transaction. Christ’s word on the cross declares the same. No further offering is needed. Heaven awaits no additional sacrifice. And if that doesn’t qualify as a miracle, what does? Remember, friend, you are never alone.
Ezekiel 2
Ezekiel’s Call to Be a Prophet
He said to me, “Son of man,[c] stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” 2 As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
3 He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. 4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ 5 And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. 7 You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
9 Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, 10 which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Exodus 13:17–18
Crossing the Sea
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.[a] The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.
Insight
After more than four hundred years of slavery in Egypt, the march to the Promised Land for the children of Israel begins in Exodus 13. In this act of departure, both a prophecy and a request are fulfilled. The prophecy was delivered by God to Abraham at the establishment of His covenant with the patriarch. In Genesis 15:13, God warns that “for four hundred years” Abraham’s descendants would be “strangers in a country not their own and . . . enslaved and mistreated there”—but God would deliver them from that oppression. That deliverance is realized here in Exodus 13. In Genesis 50:25, Joseph requested that his remains be taken to the land of promise and be buried there. Exodus 13:19 tells us that this request hadn’t been forgotten by his people. Joshua 24:32 records the burial.
The Long Way
God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. Exodus 13:17
As his peers were promoted one by one, Benjamin couldn’t help but feel a little envious. “How come you’re not a manager yet? You deserve it,” friends told him. But Ben decided to leave his career to God. “If this is God’s plan for me, I’ll just do my job well,” he replied.
Several years later, Ben was finally promoted. By then, his added experience enabled him to do his job confidently and won him the respect of subordinates. Some of his peers, meanwhile, were still struggling with their supervisory responsibilities, as they had been promoted before they were ready. Ben realized God had taken him the “long way around” so that he would be better prepared for his role.
When God led the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 13:17–18), He chose a longer way because the “shortcut” to Canaan was fraught with risk. The longer journey, note Bible commentators, also gave them more time to strengthen themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually for subsequent battles.
The shortest way isn’t always the best. Sometimes God lets us take the longer route in life, whether it’s in our career or other endeavors, so that we’ll be better prepared for the journey ahead. When things don’t seem to happen quickly enough, we can trust in God—the One who leads and guides us. By: Leslie Koh
Reflect & Pray
How might God be strengthening you by letting you take the “longer way” in life? How can you remind yourself to keep trusting Him?
Loving God, You know how I feel when things don’t seem to happen quickly enough. Grant me the patience to trust in You and in Your sovereign plan and purpose.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, November 12, 2020
The Changed Life
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17
What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.
What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13 , or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When a man’s heart is right with God the mysterious utterances of the Bible are spirit and life to him. Spiritual truth is discernible only to a pure heart, not to a keen intellect. It is not a question of profundity of intellect, but of purity of heart. Bringing Sons Unto Glory, 231 L
Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 51-52; Hebrews 9
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Your All-Access Pass - #8829
It was a major youth event I was speaking at, and they had several very popular contemporary Christian bands there. And teenagers love to get close to their heroes, even to find a way to get backstage or to their ready room. Let me assure you, speakers have no such problem. It's the bands they want to meet. Anyway, the organizers had to think through security - like who would be allowed to go into which area. Well, because I was a speaker, I wore one of those coveted trophies at any stage event. I had the all-access pass. Security people would glance at those door-opening words "all access" and they'd wave me right through. You can go anywhere and everywhere with one of those things!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your All-Access Pass."
You may never have worn an all-access pass in your life, but if you belong to Jesus Christ, you possess the most valuable all-access pass in the universe. God has hung a pass around your neck that allows you to walk into the Throne Room from which the universe is governed...any time. In fact, you have priority clearance.
The door to God, the door to His Throne Room, is called prayer. And when Jesus tore down the wall between God and us when He died on the cross, He opened the way for total access to all the resources of heaven! But often our prayers sound as if we've forgotten the awesome position we're in. We pray these lame, predictable, earth-sized prayers that sound like we only have access to some little spiritual closet!
Hebrews 4:16 says we can "come boldly to God's throne of grace." And our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Corinthians 9:8, describes the incredible resources that gives us access to. It says, "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." Talk about comprehensive coverage! Access to all of God's grace so you can have everything you need in every situation to do what's right. Are you praying like that? Or are you worrying, scheming, hesitating, even disobeying instead of using your all-access pass?
What does that give you access to? Listen to Philippians 4:19, "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." You have a pass to the unlimited resources of the Jesus Fund in heaven, which has all the resources your situation requires financially, emotionally, relationally, physically. How about James 1:5, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all..." For every phone call, every email, every text, every parental challenge, every decision, every response, your all-access pass opens up the very wisdom of God Himself to guide you to the right thing. Or Hebrews 4:16, the "come boldly" verse, that promises "grace to help you in your time of need." All you need, man, to make it through your storm.
Yes, Jesus has given you an all-access pass to the resources of heaven. (Isn't it awesome?) But we live in such unnecessary poverty because we underutilize what He's made available. Isn't it time to quit praying in the same old box, coming to God like a beggar instead of a son or daughter?
When you pray, remember who you are, remember the awesome God you're with, and dare to trust Him for what the Bible calls "great and mighty things you do not know" (Jeremiah 33:3).
From my daily reading of the bible, Our Daily Bread Devotionals, My Utmost for His Highest and Ron Hutchcraft "A Word with You" and occasionally others.