Max Lucado Daily: An Unearthly Love - March 10, 2022
I have a feeling most people who defy and deny God do so more out of fear than conviction. For all our chest pumping and braggadocio, we’re anxious folk. We can’t see a step into the future, can’t hear the one who owns us. No wonder we try to bite the hand that feeds us.
But God reaches and touches. If he’s touching you, let him. Mark it down: God loves you with an unearthly love. You can’t win it by being winsome. You can’t lose it by being a loser. But you can be blind enough to resist it. Don’t. For heaven’s sake, don’t! For your sake, don’t. Others demote you. God claims you. Let the definitive voice of the universe say, “You are part of my plan!”
Luke 5:17-39
One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and religion teachers were sitting around. They had come from nearly every village in Galilee and Judea, even as far away as Jerusalem, to be there. The healing power of God was on him.
18-20 Some men arrived carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They were looking for a way to get into the house and set him before Jesus. When they couldn’t find a way in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof, removed some tiles, and let him down in the middle of everyone, right in front of Jesus. Impressed by their bold belief, he said, “Friend, I forgive your sins.”
21 That set the religion scholars and Pharisees buzzing. “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemous talk! God and only God can forgive sins.”
22-26 Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking and said, “Why all this gossipy whispering? Which is simpler: to say ‘I forgive your sins,’ or to say ‘Get up and start walking’? Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both.?.?.?.” He now spoke directly to the paraplegic: “Get up. Take your bedroll and go home.” Without a moment’s hesitation, he did it—got up, took his blanket, and left for home, giving glory to God all the way. The people rubbed their eyes, stunned—and then also gave glory to God. Awestruck, they said, “We’ve never seen anything like that!”
27-28 After this he went out and saw a man named Levi at his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” And he did—walked away from everything and went with him.
29-30 Levi gave a large dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other disreputable characters as guests at the dinner. The Pharisees and their religion scholars came to his disciples greatly offended. “What is he doing eating and drinking with misfits and ‘sinners’?”
31-32 Jesus heard about it and spoke up, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting outsiders, not insiders—an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out.”
33 They asked him, “John’s disciples are well-known for keeping fasts and saying prayers. Also the Pharisees. But you seem to spend most of your time at parties. Why?”
34-35 Jesus said, “When you’re celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to exercise moderation, but this isn’t the time. As long as the bride and groom are with you, you have a good time. When the groom is gone, the fasting can begin. No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come!
36-39 “No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don’t put wine in old, cracked bottles; you get strong, clean bottles for your fresh vintage wine. And no one who has ever tasted fine aged wine prefers unaged wine.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, March 10, 2022
Today's Scripture
Philippians 4:1–7
(NIV)
Instructions
4 So then, my brothers and sisters, how dear you are to me and how I miss you! How happy you make me, and how proud I am of you! This then, dear brothers and sisters, is how you should stand firm in your life in the Lord.
2 Euodia and Syntyche, please, I beg you, try to agree as sisters in the Lord. 3And you too, my faithful partner, I want you to help these women; for they have worked hard with me to spread the gospel, together with Clement and all my other fellow-workers, whose names are in God’s book of the living.
4 May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice!
5 Show a gentle attitude towards everyone. The Lord is coming soon. 6Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. 7And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.
Insight
As Paul begins to bring his letter to a close, he emphasizes two important thoughts that underlie all he’s written to the Philippians. First, he’s repeatedly lifted up their shared partnership and mission (1:1–7, 27–30). Second, over and over he’s also urged them to embrace the attitudes of humility, joy, and love that reflect the spirit of Jesus and make their shared calling credible and good for others (vv. 9–11; 2:1–11). These two basics—mission and attitude—show up in the first few sentences of his introduction. In referring to his readers as “holy,” he used a word that reminded them that they’ve been “set apart” to represent Christ to their world (1:1–5). In praying that their love would continue to grow “in knowledge and depth of insight” (vv. 9–11), he signaled how important it was for them to help and care for one another. By: Mart DeHaan
Revelation and Reassurance
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6
Baby-gender reveals in 2019 were dramatic. In July, a video showed a car emitting blue smoke to indicate, “It’s a boy!” In September, a crop-duster plane in Texas dumped hundreds of gallons of pink water to announce, “It’s a girl!” There was another “reveal,” though, that uncovered significant things about the world these children will grow up in. At the conclusion of 2019, YouVersion revealed that the most shared, highlighted, and bookmarked verse of the year on its online and mobile Bible app was Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
That’s quite the revelation. People are anxious about many things these days—from the needs of our sons and daughters, to the myriad ways family and friends are divided, to natural catastrophes and wars. But in the middle of all these worries, the good news is that many people cling to a verse that says, “Do not be anxious about anything.” Furthermore, those same people encourage others as well as themselves to present every request to God “in every situation.” The mindset that doesn’t ignore but faces life’s anxieties is one of “thanksgiving.”
The verse that didn’t make “verse of the year” but follows it is—“And the peace of God . . . will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (v. 7). That’s quite the reassurance!
Reflect & Pray
What are two or three situations you’re worried about? How might reflecting on the ways God’s peace has carried you in the past be helpful?
Jesus, some days and weeks and years feel overwhelming. Thank You for Your peace, which guards me yesterday, today, and forever.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 10, 2022
Being an Example of His Message
Preach the word! —2 Timothy 4:2
We are not saved only to be instruments for God, but to be His sons and daughters. He does not turn us into spiritual agents but into spiritual messengers, and the message must be a part of us. The Son of God was His own message— “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). As His disciples, our lives must be a holy example of the reality of our message. Even the natural heart of the unsaved will serve if called upon to do so, but it takes a heart broken by conviction of sin, baptized by the Holy Spirit, and crushed into submission to God’s purpose to make a person’s life a holy example of God’s message.
There is a difference between giving a testimony and preaching. A preacher is someone who has received the call of God and is determined to use all his energy to proclaim God’s truth. God takes us beyond our own aspirations and ideas for our lives, and molds and shapes us for His purpose, just as He worked in the disciples’ lives after Pentecost. The purpose of Pentecost was not to teach the disciples something, but to make them the incarnation of what they preached so that they would literally become God’s message in the flesh. “…you shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8).
Allow God to have complete liberty in your life when you speak. Before God’s message can liberate other people, His liberation must first be real in you. Gather your material carefully, and then allow God to “set your words on fire” for His glory.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
When you are joyful, be joyful; when you are sad, be sad. If God has given you a sweet cup, don’t make it bitter; and if He has given you a bitter cup, don’t try and make it sweet; take things as they come. Shade of His Hand, 1226 L
Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 11-13; Mark 12:1-27
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 10, 2022
Running Red Lights - #9174
Okay, we didn't have much of a car in the first place. It was less of a car by the end of the day. We hadn't been married very long, and our used car was pretty humble, but it was ours. We were in heavy traffic in downtown Chicago about five o'clock one afternoon, sitting in the middle of one of those Rush Hour blood clots they call a "traffic jam." I'd stopped for a red light not far from the Art Institute on Michigan Boulevard. I can still picture this. To our right, was a city bus that pretty much blocked my view of the traffic on the intersecting street. The light turned green. I drove out into the intersection. Bam! Suddenly we were hit very hard, stopped cold, and left with a crumpled hood with smoke coming from underneath. A delivery truck had run the red light and into us. Thankfully, we weren't hurt. Our little car was, though! It wouldn't move. So we just went to the curb and stood on the sidewalk, waiting for help to come, and we watched as one driver after another pulled up to this car of ours that was obviously wrecked, unoccupied, disabled, and they honked. Weird!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Running Red Lights."
Bad things can happen when you run a red light, especially if it's one of God's red lights. All too often, we are racing to get where we want to go and we blow right by a red light that God is flashing to stop us. The results are going to be damaging, and they're going to be costly.
I love it when God gives us a flesh-and-blood picture of a principle, and He gives us a good one about His red lights in our word for today from the Word of God in Numbers 22, beginning with verse 21. The Moabites are not friends of God's people, the Jews, and they're mucho concerned when the Jews start to get close to their territory. So Balak, Moab's king, calls for a prophet named Balaam and he offers him big bucks to come and put a curse on this people that God blesses.
So Balaam sets out toward Moab on his donkey. The Bible says, "God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him...When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field." Did Balaam turn back? Oh no. No, it says, he "beat her to get her back on the road." The angel of the Lord stands in his way for a second time, seen only by the donkey who tries to stop again, and she gets whipped again. "The angel of the Lord," the Bible says, "moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn." This time the donkey just lies down and gets it again.
Finally, God actually speaks to Balaam through his donkey. (I guess because the donkey's obviously smarter than the prophet.) By the way, God still speaks through donkeys. I know. The Lord opens Balaam's eyes and he falls face down before the Lord saying, "I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me."
I wonder how many times your Lord has tried to stop you on the road you're on, and how many times have you just kept going the way you want to go, running God's red lights? I'm a donkey when I do that. And here again God is trying to stand in your way, right here today even through our little visit together, trying to turn you around from those choices you've been making; that direction you're going. Because He loves you too much to let you end up where He knows this road will take you.
It's just plain foolish not to stop when the God of the universe says to. If you run the red light, one of two hurtful things is going to happen. Either God will do something more drastic and more painful to stop you, or He'll get out of your way and He'll let you walk right into the very unhappy ending down the road. But today He's giving you one more chance to stop before that cliff up ahead. Don't choose the pain of running God's red light. Stop before you get hit.
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.