Max Lucado Daily: To Be Born Again - March 1, 2022
Jesus said, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Born again? You must be kidding. Put life in reverse? We can’t be born again. Oh, but wouldn’t we like to? A try-again. A reload. How can this be?
Jesus answers in John 3:16—the hope diamond of the Bible: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
A twenty-six word parade of hope! If you know nothing in the Bible—start here. If you know everything about the Bible—return here. He loves. He gave. We believe. We live! John 3:16.
Deuteronomy 13
When a prophet or visionary gets up in your community and gives out a miracle-sign or wonder, and the miracle-sign or wonder that he gave out happens and he says, “Let’s follow other gods” (these are gods you know nothing about), “let’s worship them,” don’t pay any attention to what that prophet or visionary says. God, your God, is testing you to find out if you totally love him with everything you have in you. You are to follow only God, your God, hold him in deep reverence, keep his commandments, listen obediently to what he says, serve him—hold on to him for dear life!
5 And that prophet or visionary must be put to death. He has urged mutiny against God, your God, who rescued you from Egypt, who redeemed you from a world of slavery and put you on the road on which God, your God, has commanded you to walk. Purge the evil from your company.
6-10 And when your brother or son or daughter, or even your dear wife or lifelong friend, comes to you in secret and whispers, “Let’s go and worship some other gods” (gods that you know nothing about, neither you nor your ancestors, the gods of the peoples around you near and far, from one end of the Earth to the other), don’t go along with him; shut your ears. Don’t feel sorry for him and don’t make excuses for him. Kill him. That’s right, kill him. You throw the first stone. Take action at once and swiftly with everybody in the community getting in on it at the end. Stone him with stones so that he dies. He tried to turn you traitor against God, your God, the one who got you out of Egypt and the world of slavery.
11 Every man, woman, and child in Israel will hear what’s been done and be in awe. No one will dare to do an evil thing like this again.
12-17 When word comes in from one of your cities that God, your God, is giving you to live in, reporting that evil men have gotten together with some of the citizens of the city and have broken away, saying, “Let’s go and worship other gods” (gods you know nothing about), then you must conduct a careful examination. Ask questions, investigate. If it turns out that the report is true and this abomination did in fact take place in your community, you must execute the citizens of that town. Kill them, setting that city apart for holy destruction: the city and everything in it including its animals. Gather the plunder in the middle of the town square and burn it all—town and plunder together up in smoke, a holy sacrifice to God, your God. Leave it there, ashes and ruins. Don’t build on that site again. And don’t let any of the plunder devoted to holy destruction stick to your fingers. Get rid of it so that God may turn from anger to compassion, generously making you prosper, just as he promised your ancestors.
18 Yes. Obediently listen to God, your God. Keep all his commands that I am giving you today. Do the right thing in the eyes of God, your God.
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Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 01, 2022
Today's Scripture
Ephesians 6:18–20
(NIV)
In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
19–20 And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.
Insight
Paul’s instructions on prayer in Ephesians 6:18–20 addressed the reality of spiritual warfare and the Ephesian believers’ need for spiritual armor. The spiritual conflict before them was made all the more daunting because of the rampant idolatry and occult practices that prevailed in their community (see Acts 19:19, 25–27). In Ephesians 6:10–17, the apostle described for this church family the challenges they faced and the resources available to them. Nevertheless, even with the elements of spiritual armor in place, Paul made it clear that prayer is a key component for living out their faith in such a harsh place. In battling spiritual forces, we need to enlist the aid of the greatest spiritual power in the universe—the true and living God Himself. By: Bill Crowder
A Friendly Conversation
[Pray for me] that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.
Ephesians 6:19
Catherine and I were good friends in high school. When we weren’t talking on the phone, we were passing notes in class to plan our next sleepover. Sometimes we rode horses together and partnered on school projects.
One Sunday afternoon, I started to think about Catherine. My pastor had spoken that morning about how to have eternal life, and I knew my friend didn’t believe the Bible’s teachings the way I did. I felt a burden to call her and explain how she could have a relationship with Jesus. I hesitated, though, because I was afraid she would reject what I said and distance herself from me.
I think this fear keeps a lot of us quiet. Even the apostle Paul had to ask people to pray that he would “fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19). There’s no getting around the risk involved with sharing the good news, yet Paul said he was “an ambassador”—someone speaking on behalf of God (v. 20). We are too. If people reject our message, they’re also rejecting the One who sent the message. God experiences the sting along with us.
So what compels us to speak up? We care about people, like God does (2 Peter 3:9). That’s what led me to finally call Catherine. Amazingly, she didn’t shut me down. She listened. She asked questions. She asked Jesus to forgive her sin and decided to live for Him. The risk was worth the reward. By: Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
Whom might God want you to speak to on His behalf? What’s stopping you? What effect would prayer have on this situation?
Dear Father, give me the courage to reach out to people who don’t know You. Give me wisdom to know when and how to start conversations about You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 01, 2022
The Piercing Question
Do you love Me? —John 21:17
Peter’s response to this piercing question is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35; also see Matthew 26:33-34). Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks out and declares its feelings. But the true love within our inner spiritual self can be discovered only by experiencing the hurt of this question of Jesus Christ. Peter loved Jesus in the way any natural man loves a good person. Yet that is nothing but emotional love. It may reach deeply into our natural self, but it never penetrates to the spirit of a person. True love never simply declares itself. Jesus said, “Whoever confesses Me before men [that is, confesses his love by everything he does, not merely by his words], him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).
Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we have hindered the work of the Word of God in our lives. The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses. But this question of the Lord intensifies our sensitivities to the point that this hurt produced by Jesus is the most exquisite pain conceivable. It hurts not only on the natural level, but also on the deeper spiritual level. “For the Word of God is living and powerful…, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit…”— to the point that no deception can remain (Hebrews 4:12). When the Lord asks us this question, it is impossible to think and respond properly, because when the Lord speaks directly to us, the pain is too intense. It causes such a tremendous hurt that any part of our life which may be out of line with His will can feel the pain. There is never any mistaking the pain of the Lord’s Word by His children, but the moment that pain is felt is the very moment at which God reveals His truth to us.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus. Facing Reality, 34 R
Bible in a Year: Numbers 23-25; Mark 7:14-37
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 01, 2022
The Thrill of Feeding Yourself - #9167
You probably wouldn't think it's any big deal that you could turn over by yourself, or burp yourself, or feed yourself. Hey, but it's a big deal when your grandson starts doing it, and he's kind of new. Yeah, I remember when he was, and that first time he turned over...that was a milestone! In fact, Mom called and said, "I wish you could see him now. He's feeding himself Cheerios!" Yeah, that was another milestone. What? Well, yeah. You know, I guess I was dancing in the streets! I was so happy. Now, see, he had just been studying his hand for months. He would sit there going, ahhhh looking at his hand, flexing those fingers, eventually trying to grab available targets like noses and glasses. But now, boy, he had it together. He was sitting in a high chair with Cheerios on a tray and he was reaching to one of those O's, wrapping his fingers around it, and putting it in his mouth all by himself! And then he smiled and laughed real big. What a guy!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Thrill of Feeding Yourself."
I know I sound like a grandfather, or something else, but the fact is that all of us grownup types know what a big deal the accomplishment of being able to finally feed yourself really is. We know this is the beginning of lots of times that he will do that in his life! Right? He's moved from needing someone else to feed him to being able to feed himself. Did you know God is wishing that some of us would get to that point?
Too many of us depend way too much on getting fed spiritually by somebody else. We're living on the nourishment that's given to us by someone on Christian radio, or TV, or a pastor or youth leader or Bible study leader, some Christian concert, or conference, retreats. And that's all good stuff. But if you've known Jesus for very long, what others feed you should be supplemental to what you're getting directly from God and His Word. That's fundamental.
That's OK for a baby to be fed by someone else in his early days - we expect that. And many new followers of Jesus are really dependent on an older Christian feeding them spiritually. But just like with our grandson, it shouldn't always be that way. Many people who have belonged to Jesus for many years are still kind of babies when it comes to feeding themselves. Listen, it's time now to take this big step toward growing up in God.
You want to be able to get most of what you need spiritually directly from God Himself, especially as He speaks to you personally through His Word, the Bible. You need to know that like if you were marooned on an island, and cut off from every Christian you know and every Christian meeting you attend, you'd be OK spiritually as long as you've got your Bible.
As you sit there with God's words in your lap, there's a special prayer you need to pray. It's in Psalm 119:17-18, and it's our word for today from the Word of God. David says it this way: "I will obey Your word. Open my eyes (I pray this so many times!) that I may see wonderful things in Your law." This is going direct, without anyone between you and God. You ask God to open your eyes to help you see some wonderful things in His Book. Feeding yourself spiritually? Well, it begins when you first set a non-negotiable daily time with the Lord. Then offer Him your heart, offer Him your mind as a blank piece of paper to show you whatever He wants. And ask the Holy Spirit to show you something in your life that you can immediately, that day, apply God's words to. Learn something from God, and then live it that day.
It's really exciting to experience God taking something that's in His heart and planting it in your heart with no one in between. Don't abandon those great opportunities to hear from Him through others, like your pastor, for example. It's great to have a special meal, prepared by someone who really knows how to cook spiritually. But there's no substitute for you opening your Lord's love letter each new day and finding your own personal message from Him.
I remember our grandson got really excited when he finally started feeding himself. And he should. That's an important step in growing into all a child is created to be, especially if you're a child of God.
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.