Max Lucado Daily: Let the Storm Turn You Upward - May 20, 2022
We’d rather be spared the storm. Or if the storm comes, let it be mild and our deliverance be quick. Let the job dismissal come with a severance package and an offer of a better position. Let the marital strife turn quickly to romance. Sometimes it does. But when it doesn’t, when we are thorax-deep in turbulence, Jesus wants us to know his name and hear him say, “I AM coming.”
Such was the experience of the disciples. The moment they invited Christ into their boat was the moment they reached their destination. “So they gladly took him aboard, and at once the boat reached the shore they were making for” (John 6:21).
Follow the example of the disciples. Welcome Jesus into the midst of this turbulent time. Don’t let the storm turn you inward. Let it turn you upward. Remember, my friend, you are never alone.
Luke 14:25-35
Figure the Cost
25-27 One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.
28-30 “Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’
31-32 “Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?
33 “Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.
34-35 “Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it’s useless, good for nothing.
“Are you listening to this? Really listening?”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, May 20, 2022
Today's Scripture
1 Corinthians 16:15–18
Would you do me a favor, friends, and give special recognition to the family of Stephanas? You know, they were among the first converts in Greece, and they’ve put themselves out, serving Christians ever since then. I want you to honor and look up to people like that: companions and workers who show us how to do it, giving us something to aspire to.
17–18 I want you to know how delighted I am to have Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus here with me. They partially make up for your absence! They’ve refreshed me by keeping me in touch with you. Be proud that you have people like this among you.
Insight
In the conclusion of his letter to the Corinthians, Paul reemphasized a central theme of his message to them—to “do everything in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). One example of what love looks like in action is found in the service of the household of Stephanas, the “first converts in Achaia” (v. 15), who were also baptized by Paul (1:16). Stephanas and his companions had come to Paul delivering a letter from the Corinthians along with an update on the church, and they were also likely the ones to deliver this return letter from Paul. By pointing to Stephanas and his companions’ character as examples of love—“devoted . . . to the service of the Lord’s people” (16:15), Paul could help ensure they’d be received with welcome and respect (vv. 16–18). By: Monica La Rose
Refreshed at Simon’s House
They refreshed my spirit and yours also.
1 Corinthians 16:18
My trip to Simon’s house was unforgettable. Under the cover of a starlit sky in Nyahururu, Kenya, we made our way to his modest home for dinner. The dirt floor and the lantern light reflected Simon’s limited means. What was on the menu, I don’t recall. What I can’t forget was Simon’s joy that we were his guests. His gracious hospitality was Jesus like—selfless, life-touching, and refreshing.
In 1 Corinthians 16:15–18, Paul mentioned a family—the household of Stephanas (v. 15)—who had a reputation for their caregiving. They’d “devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people” (v. 15). While their service likely included tangible things (v. 17), the impact was such that Paul wrote, “they refreshed my spirit and yours also” (v. 18).
When we have opportunities to share with others, we rightly give attention to matters of food, setting, and other things that are fitting for such occasions. But we sometimes forget that although “the what” and “the where” matter, they’re not the most important things. Memorable meals are great and pleasant settings have their place, but food is limited in its capacity to fully nourish and encourage. True refreshment flows from God and is a matter of the heart; it reaches the hearts of others, and it continues to nourish long after the meal is over. By: Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
What occasions stand out where you were memorably refreshed by the hospitality or welcome of others? How can you change the way you serve others to make such occasions more spiritually meaningful?
Father, forgive me for the times I’ve made welcoming others more about me than those I seek to serve. Help me to extend myself in ways that truly refresh others.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, May 20, 2022
Taking Possession of Our Own Soul
By your patience possess your souls. —Luke 21:19
When a person is born again, there is a period of time when he does not have the same vitality in his thinking or reasoning that he previously had. We must learn to express this new life within us, which comes by forming the mind of Christ (see Philippians 2:5). Luke 21:19 means that we take possession of our souls through patience. But many of us prefer to stay at the entrance to the Christian life, instead of going on to create and build our soul in accordance with the new life God has placed within us. We fail because we are ignorant of the way God has made us, and we blame things on the devil that are actually the result of our own undisciplined natures. Just think what we could be when we are awakened to the truth!
There are certain things in life that we need not pray about— moods, for instance. We will never get rid of moodiness by praying, but we will by kicking it out of our lives. Moods nearly always are rooted in some physical circumstance, not in our true inner self. It is a continual struggle not to listen to the moods which arise as a result of our physical condition, but we must never submit to them for a second. We have to pick ourselves up by the back of the neck and shake ourselves; then we will find that we can do what we believed we were unable to do. The problem that most of us are cursed with is simply that we won’t. The Christian life is one of spiritual courage and determination lived out in our flesh.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
The place for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says nothing, but prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to get into contact with God, and the “greater works” will be done by prayer (see John 14:12–13). Baffled to Fight Better, 56 R
Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 10-12; John 6:45-71
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, May 20, 2022
That Voice In Your Heart - #9225
My son's dream was finally coming true. He was going to play football as a freshman in high school. Now, they have a lot of scrimmages to get ready for the season, and the coach, of course, he uses those scrimmages to try different players at different positions. And every guy was sitting on the bench all dressed, all bruised from the practices, hoping he'd have his chance to get into the scrimmage.
Now that's what was so curious about Scott's response - one of the players. When the coach called his name, he didn't come. The coach called his name again. Scott didn't come. When I heard the story, I thought, "Well, was he preoccupied? Was he in disbelief? What was he thinking, "I can't believe he's calling my name?" Finally the coach issued one last, exasperated call, "Scott, what do you want me to do...send you a telegram?" Well, finally Scott went into the scrimmage, but he almost missed the coach's call. I hope you don't.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "That Voice In Your Heart."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Genesis 6, and I'm going to read to you from the early days of the human race - what God said then and what He still feels now. I'm reading from verse 3, "My spirit will not always strive with man." That's kind of a chilling statement don't you think? God says, "I won't always call your name. I won't always knock on your door." In essence God is saying to you and me, "I've been wooing you, I've been calling you. I've been sending people to get your attention. I'm working in your life, but there is a limit."
Isaiah 55 says, "Call upon the Lord while He is near; seek the Lord while He may be found." The implication is that He won't always be there; He won't always be found. Could it be that God's been calling your name lately, just as surely as the coach was calling Scott's name at that scrimmage? He's sent people to you to draw you to Christ; to show you what Jesus did for you when He gave His life for you in exchange for yours on the cross. But you've been so busy; you've been too disinterested, and maybe afraid.
But you know what? There's a poem called The Hound of Heaven about God's pursuit of us. He pursues us wherever we are, because He loves us too much to leave us lost." And do you know what? Somehow through this radio program today, guess what? He's calling you again. But He won't always. He said, "My spirit will not always strive with man." You say, "Well, I'll come to Christ when I'm ready." No, you see, you have to come when He's ready.
Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father draws him." And if you feel that tug in your heart today - that drawing - that's the Father making it possible for you to come to Christ. You can't even come to Christ without His help. That's why it's important to move when God is moving in your life. It's like a ringing telephone. Maybe you've heard the phone ring a number of times, and finally you say, "Oh, nuts! I'll answer it!" And you run over to the phone, and by the time you get around to answering, there's no one there - they've hung up.
God's ringing your number today. You really want to be sure you go and answer His call. Like the Bible says, "while He is near." How do you do that? Well, you need to find a place where you can quietly be just you and Jesus and say, "Jesus, I'm Yours. I'm sorry for all the wrong things I've done. I believe that when You bled and died on that cross You were choosing to give up Your life in exchange for mine; paying my eternal death penalty. You did my hell so I could go to Your heaven. And I want to love you back. I'm putting all my trust in You. I'm grabbing You like a drowning person would grab a rescuer as my only hope."
Our website is so much about helping you step across that line, and I really invite you to check it out today. I've done my best to put the information there that you'll need from the Bible - from God's own words as to how you can be sure you belong to Jesus Christ. That website is ANewStory.com.
If you're feeling the tug of God on your heart today, please say yes to the person who died for you while He's still calling your name.
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.