Matthew 8:18-34, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE SUPPORTING CAST - June 2, 2021

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). Quiet servants. The supporting cast of the kingdom of God. They seek to do what is right. They cook dinners. They visit the sick.

It was the servant spirit of Mary that led God to select her to be the mother of Jesus. She was simple. She said, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!” (Luke 1:38). When God wants to bring Christ into the world, he looks for servants. No diploma, specific bloodline, prestigious birthplace, or fat bank account required. Let all unassuming people of the world be reminded: God can use you. This is how happiness happens.

Matthew 8:18-34

Your Business Is Life, Not Death
18-19 When Jesus saw that a curious crowd was growing by the minute, he told his disciples to get him out of there to the other side of the lake. As they left, a religion scholar asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said.

20 Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.”

21 Another follower said, “Master, excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have my father’s funeral to take care of.”

22 Jesus refused. “First things first. Your business is life, not death. Follow me. Pursue life.”

* * *

23-25 Then he got in the boat, his disciples with him. The next thing they knew, they were in a severe storm. Waves were crashing into the boat—and he was sound asleep! They roused him, pleading, “Master, save us! We’re going down!”

26 Jesus reprimanded them. “Why are you such cowards, such faint-hearts?” Then he stood up and told the wind to be silent, the sea to quiet down: “Silence!” The sea became smooth as glass.

27 The men rubbed their eyes, astonished. “What’s going on here? Wind and sea stand up and take notice at his command!”

The Madmen and the Pigs
28-31 They landed in the country of the Gadarenes and were met by two madmen, victims of demons, coming out of the cemetery. The men had terrorized the region for so long that no one considered it safe to walk down that stretch of road anymore. Seeing Jesus, the madmen screamed out, “What business do you have giving us a hard time? You’re the Son of God! You weren’t supposed to show up here yet!” Off in the distance a herd of pigs was grazing and rooting. The evil spirits begged Jesus, “If you kick us out of these men, let us live in the pigs.”

32-34 Jesus said, “Go ahead, but get out of here!” Crazed, the pigs stampeded over a cliff into the sea and drowned. Scared to death, the swineherds bolted. They told everyone back in town what had happened to the madmen and the pigs. Those who heard about it were angry about the drowned pigs. A mob formed and demanded that Jesus get out and not come back.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Wednesday, June 02, 2021
Read: 1 Peter 2:9–12

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

INSIGHT
In bold fashion, the apostle Peter refers to both Jewish and gentile readers as a divinely “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, [and] God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9; see Exodus 19:5–6). Then comes the unexpected. Peter urges these same treasured people to bear their favored and exalted status with the humility of “foreigners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11–12). This contrast of being special and yet in exile (suffering) is important. From the beginning of time, God spoke of people like Adam, Eve, Abram, Isaac, and Jacob (later renamed Israel) as being chosen for the good of the world. Yet being “God’s elect” (1:1) meant more than special treatment. It meant being chosen to show a troubled humanity what it means to experience in Christ the presence, strength, and joy of God in weakness.

By Lisa Samra
A Remarkable Life

Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. 1 Peter 2:12 nlt

I came to learn about Catherine Hamlin, a remarkable Australian surgeon, through reading her obituary. In Ethiopia, Catherine and her husband established the world’s only hospital dedicated to curing women from the devastating physical and emotional trauma of obstetric fistulas, a common injury in the developing world that can occur during childbirth. Catherine is credited with overseeing the treatment of more than 60,000 women.

Still operating at the hospital when she was ninety-two years old, and still beginning each day with a cup of tea and Bible study, Hamlin told curious questioners that she was an ordinary believer in Jesus who was simply doing the job God had given her to do.

I was grateful to learn about her remarkable life because she powerfully exemplified for me Scripture’s encouragement to believers to live our lives in such a way that even people who actively reject God “may see your good deeds and glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12).

The power of God’s Spirit that called us out of spiritual darkness into a relationship with Him (v. 9) can also transform our work or areas of service into testimonies of our faith. In whatever passion or skill God has gifted us, we can embrace added meaning and purpose in doing all of it in a manner that has the power to point people to Him.

What has God called you to do? How might you do it today in Jesus’ name?

Jesus, may Your love and grace be evident in my words and deeds today.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, June 02, 2021
Are You Obsessed by Something?

Who is the man that fears the Lord? —Psalm 25:12

Are you obsessed by something? You will probably say, “No, by nothing,” but all of us are obsessed by something— usually by ourselves, or, if we are Christians, by our own experience of the Christian life. But the psalmist says that we are to be obsessed by God. The abiding awareness of the Christian life is to be God Himself, not just thoughts about Him. The total being of our life inside and out is to be absolutely obsessed by the presence of God. A child’s awareness is so absorbed in his mother that although he is not consciously thinking of her, when a problem arises, the abiding relationship is that with the mother. In that same way, we are to “live and move and have our being” in God (Acts 17:28), looking at everything in relation to Him, because our abiding awareness of Him continually pushes itself to the forefront of our lives.

If we are obsessed by God, nothing else can get into our lives— not concerns, nor tribulation, nor worries. And now we understand why our Lord so emphasized the sin of worrying. How can we dare to be so absolutely unbelieving when God totally surrounds us? To be obsessed by God is to have an effective barricade against all the assaults of the enemy.

“He himself shall dwell in prosperity…” (Psalm 25:13). God will cause us to “dwell in prosperity,” keeping us at ease, even in the midst of tribulation, misunderstanding, and slander, if our “life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). We rob ourselves of the miraculous, revealed truth of this abiding companionship with God. “God is our refuge…” (Psalm 46:1). Nothing can break through His shelter of protection.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes.  The Highest Good, 544 R

Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 17-18; John 13:1-20

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, June 02, 2021
Walls Come Down When You Stop Caring - #8973

Jens Reich was an East German biologist, and a very unlikely revolutionary. He was a leader in that amazing, almost mind-boggling change that happened in Germany decades ago, just as all of the communist empire seemed to be falling apart. His story was told to Newsweek Magazine. He was quoted as saying, "I was always sympathizing with people, and watching, and going to church to talk with others. But I wasn't speaking out."

Now, Dr. Reich was not a party member; he did not even join the communist party. And because of that authorities wouldn't allow him any promotions, even though he deserved them. But finally, on September 17, 1989, he and 30 other intellectuals founded a group called New Forum, and they helped organize these mass demonstrations in East Germany. Pretty daring thing. In less than two months, the Berlin Wall was coming down. But here's what he said, "You don't need courage to speak out against a régime. You just need to not care any more; not to care about being punished or beaten." And he said, "We finally reached the point where enough people just didn't care any more what would happen if they spoke up."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Walls Come Down When You Stop Caring."

Our word for today from the Word of God is John 19:38. It's right after the death of Jesus on the cross for us, and Joseph of Arimathea goes to the Roman Governor, Pilate. Here's what it says: "Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now, Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission he came and took the body away." Okay, well we know from that point on he's going to be forever publicly identified with Jesus Christ.

See, I believe what happened was this: he saw what Jesus did on the cross, and it made him come out of hiding. Now he goes public for Christ, and everyone's going to always know that Jesus was buried in the tomb of a man who once was his secret disciple. This is a man who stopped caring about what people thought. Why is it there are so many Christians right now making like so little difference? Could it be we're intimidated by what others will think of us if we clearly, openly, publicly stand for Christ?

And that fear keeps us from giving people the key to everything they're looking for. There's a wall between God and us called sin. Jesus died to remove it, and it comes down when you pin all your hopes on Him. The one who walked out of his grave on resurrection morning. All His peace, all His love and all his power become yours at that point. But we're afraid to tell them that. It's like Scripture says in Proverbs 29:25, "The fear of man brings a snare." We're literally tangled up in this fear of what might happen to us if we give them the message their eternity depends on.

Dr. Reich in East Germany said, "We finally reached the point where we just didn't care any more what would happen if we spoke out." Are you getting tired of your own cowardice? Of your silence? Ask the Lord to give you courage to jump over that obstacle once and for all, "Lord, make me care about them, and stop caring about what they'll think about me." Someone wisely has said, "Courage is not the absence of fear. It's the disregard of it." Yeah, I'm scared, but I'm going in anyway.

Christ hung exposed on a cross for you. I guess that's what melted Joseph's fear. If he can do that, surely I can pay much less of a price for Him and at least go public. Seeing Jesus on the cross set Joseph free to be Jesus' follower no matter who knew or what they thought of him. Is that where you are? "Lord, I'm tired of holding back. I don't care any more what would happen if I spoke out." I care about what will happen to them if I don't.

If you can get to that point, that's powerful stuff...powerful enough to make walls come down.