Max Lucado Daily: BRIDGE BUILDER - June 11, 2021
Brian Reed served in a military unit in Baghdad, Iraq, in the fall of 2003. He and his unit went on regular street patrols to protect neighborhoods and build peace. It was often a thankless, fruitless assignment. Brian said his unit battled low morale daily.
An exception came in the form of a church service his men stumbled upon. It was filled with Arabic-speaking Coptic Christians who invited the soldiers to partake in the Lord’s Supper with them. Brian wrote, “Celebrating the Lord’s Supper and remembering Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins was the most important bridge builder and wall destroyer we could have experienced.”
Opposite yous, brought together by the cross of Christ. This is how happiness happens.
Job 14
If We Die, Will We Live Again?
We’re all adrift in the same boat:
too few days, too many troubles.
We spring up like wildflowers in the desert and then wilt,
transient as the shadow of a cloud.
Do you occupy your time with such fragile wisps?
Why even bother hauling me into court?
There’s nothing much to us to start with;
how do you expect us to amount to anything?
Mortals have a limited life span.
You’ve already decided how long we’ll live—
you set the boundary and no one can cross it.
So why not give us a break? Ease up!
Even ditchdiggers get occasional days off.
For a tree there is always hope.
Chop it down and it still has a chance—
its roots can put out fresh sprouts.
Even if its roots are old and gnarled,
its stump long dormant,
At the first whiff of water it comes to life,
buds and grows like a sapling.
But men and women? They die and stay dead.
They breathe their last, and that’s it.
Like lakes and rivers that have dried up,
parched reminders of what once was,
So mortals lie down and never get up,
never wake up again—never.
Why don’t you just bury me alive,
get me out of the way until your anger cools?
But don’t leave me there!
Set a date when you’ll see me again.
If we humans die, will we live again? That’s my question.
All through these difficult days I keep hoping,
waiting for the final change—for resurrection!
Homesick with longing for the creature you made,
you’ll call—and I’ll answer!
You’ll watch over every step I take,
but you won’t keep track of my missteps.
My sins will be stuffed in a sack
and thrown into the sea—sunk in deep ocean.
18-22 “Meanwhile, mountains wear down
and boulders break up,
Stones wear smooth
and soil erodes,
as you relentlessly grind down our hope.
You’re too much for us.
As always, you get the last word.
We don’t like it and our faces show it,
but you send us off anyway.
If our children do well for themselves, we never know it;
if they do badly, we’re spared the hurt.
Body and soul, that’s it for us—
a lifetime of pain, a lifetime of sorrow.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, June 11, 2021
Read: 1 Peter 1:3–9
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
INSIGHT
The Greek word for hope in the New Testament (elpis) is used in much the same way as the Old Testament words for hope—to emphasize waiting in expectation for God’s promised future (see Psalm 39:7). But the New Testament emphasizes Jesus as the ultimate source for hope and the ultimate demonstration of God’s goodness and faithfulness. In 1 Peter 1, the author describes believers’ “living hope” as rooted securely in the future accomplished by Christ’s death and resurrection (v. 3). It’s this hope that helps believers survive times of great hardship in expectation of the final “salvation” (v. 5) that will “be revealed in the last time.” Here, “salvation” refers to the final and complete deliverance from evil and death that will be accomplished at Jesus’ final return.
By Mart DeHaan
Unseen Wonder
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him. 1 Peter 1:8
In the twilight of her years, Mrs. Goodrich’s thoughts came in and out of focus along with memories of a challenging and grace-filled life. Sitting by a window overlooking the waters of Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay, she reached for her notepad. In words she soon wouldn’t recognize as her own she wrote: “Here I am in my favorite chair, with my feet on the sill, and my heart in the air. The sun-struck waves on the water below, in constant motion—to where I don’t know. But thank You—dear Father above—for Your innumerable gifts and Your undying love! It always amazes me—How can it be? That I’m so in love with One I can’t see.”
The apostle Peter acknowledged such wonder. He had seen Jesus with his own eyes, but those who would read his letter had not. “Though you have not seen him . . . you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8). We love Jesus not because we’re commanded to, but because with the help of the Spirit (v. 11) we begin to see how much He loves us.
It’s more than hearing that He cares for people like us. It’s experiencing for ourselves the promise of Christ to make the wonder of His unseen presence and Spirit real to us at every stage of life.
Read 1 Peter 1:3–9 again. In what ways do these words show you how our God makes the inexpressible real to us? How open are you to the Spirit of Jesus, who lives in and among us?
Our Father in heaven, please help me to see the miracle of Your love and presence in Your Son and to believe in Your Spirit.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, June 11, 2021
Getting There (1)
Come to Me… —Matthew 11:28
Where sin and sorrow stops, and the song of the saint starts. Do I really want to get there? I can right now. The questions that truly matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words— “Come to Me.” Our Lord’s words are not, “Do this, or don’t do that,” but— “Come to me.” If I will simply come to Jesus, my real life will be brought into harmony with my real desires. I will actually cease from sin, and will find the song of the Lord beginning in my life.
Have you ever come to Jesus? Look at the stubbornness of your heart. You would rather do anything than this one simple childlike thing— “Come to Me.” If you really want to experience ceasing from sin, you must come to Jesus.
Jesus Christ makes Himself the test to determine your genuineness. Look how He used the word come. At the most unexpected moments in your life there is this whisper of the Lord— “Come to Me,” and you are immediately drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything. Be “foolish” enough to come and commit yourself to what He says. The attitude necessary for you to come to Him is one where your will has made the determination to let go of everything and deliberately commit it all to Him.
“…and I will give you rest”— that is, “I will sustain you, causing you to stand firm.” He is not saying, “I will put you to bed, hold your hand, and sing you to sleep.” But, in essence, He is saying, “I will get you out of bed— out of your listlessness and exhaustion, and out of your condition of being half dead while you are still alive. I will penetrate you with the spirit of life, and you will be sustained by the perfection of vital activity.” Yet we become so weak and pitiful and talk about “suffering” the will of the Lord! Where is the majestic vitality and the power of the Son of God in that?
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: Ezra 1-2; John 19:23-42
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, June 11, 2021
Don't Count On An Extension - #8980
Teenagers are chronic procrastinators. It really shows up when you're trying to get them to register for a camp or a retreat, which I've done plenty of. Oh, they're planning to go, but you wouldn't know it by their registration. They'll wait until they hear the bus to start signing up. That happened at a retreat we had. There was this deadline, but many of the kids we most wanted to go, particularly for spiritual reasons, missed the deadline. Oh, we still had room. So did we take their registrations late? You bet we did. But you know, deadlines are often flexible, and it seems like you can usually get an extension. But don't count on that extension when it really, really counts.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Don't Count On An Extension."
Our word for today from the Word of God, Proverbs 27:1. Basically it says, "Don't count on an extension." God's words go like this: "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." Now, I think that counsel from the Scriptures is most urgent when it comes to that tug in your heart that seems to be pulling you in the direction of Jesus. Maybe you've felt that. Well, that's the Holy Spirit of God making it possible for you to surrender yourself to your Savior. According to the Scripture, if He stops calling you, you'll never know Christ. You'll never see heaven.
Now, in a world of flexible deadlines, we feel like there'll always be, "Hey, one more chance to sign up." Right? Well, when it comes to choosing Christ, that's deadly logic. In the book of Genesis God says, "My Spirit will not always strive with man." In the book of Isaiah He says, "Call upon the Lord while He is near; while He may be found." See, if He's ready, and you know He's ready because you feel a pull toward Jesus, you'd better receive Him now. And of course death, well that's a non-negotiable deadline. Someone your age, however old or young you are, died unexpectedly today. That's a fact. And for them, there are no more chances. Someday that will be you.
Dr. Erwin Lutzer, who was Pastor of Moody Church, told the story that is frequently told, he said, in the Middle East. A wealthy merchant sent his servant to Baghdad on some errands, and while the servant was there he met Lady Death. He was frightened, he ran back, told his master he wanted to run as far and as fast as he could, because he didn't want to run into Lady Death again. So he asked for his master's fastest horse. He said, "I'm going to ride all day. I'm not going to stop until I reach Samara tonight." Well, that night, according to the story, the merchant himself met Lady Death, and he asked her, "Why did you startle my servant?" Lady Death said, "Well, actually, he startled me. He confused me when I met him in Baghdad. See, I have an appointment with him tonight in Samara."
The Bible says, "It is appointed to man once to die, and after this the judgment." Hell is populated with people for whom Christ died, who didn't ever have to go there, but people
who were maybe counting on one more chance to put their faith in Him. And they had passed by unknowingly their last chance because the Spirit moved on or their life suddenly ended.
So, perhaps for you, this is a chance provided by God, His Holy Spirit, for you to finally know you belong to Jesus; to get this done; to get it settled. There's eternity at stake here. This is urgent; it's life or death! If there's never been a moment when you've said, "Jesus, I am putting all my trust in You and Your death on the cross for my sins. I'm Yours." Make it today.
Listen, get to our website. There you'll find a way to be sure you've begun your relationship with Him. That's ANewStory.com. Don't count on an extension.
The Bible says, "Now is the acceptable time! Today is your day of salvation."
