Max Lucado Daily: LEAVE OR LINGER? - June 28, 2022
In Romans 8:28 Paul writes, “In everything God works for the good of those who love him.” Does everything include tumors and tests and tempers and terminations? John would answer yes. John did not know that Friday’s tragedy would be Sunday’s triumph. You’d think he would have left. Who was to say that the men who crucified Christ wouldn’t come after him? To others, Jesus was a miracle worker, a master teacher, and the hope of Israel. But to John, he was all of these and more. To John, Jesus was a friend, and you don’t abandon a friend—even when that friend is dead.
When you are somewhere between yesterday’s tragedy and tomorrow’s triumph, what do you? Do you leave God, or do you linger near him? John chose to linger. And because he lingered on Saturday, he was around on Sunday to see the miracle. May you do the same.
Luke 20:1-26 One day he was teaching the people in the Temple, proclaiming the Message. The high priests, religion scholars, and leaders confronted him and demanded, “Show us your credentials. Who authorized you to speak and act like this?”
3-4 Jesus answered, “First, let me ask you a question: About the baptism of John—who authorized it, heaven or humans?”
5-7 They were on the spot, and knew it. They pulled back into a huddle and whispered, “If we say ‘heaven,’ he’ll ask us why we didn’t believe him; if we say ‘humans,’ the people will tear us limb from limb, convinced as they are that John was God’s prophet.” They agreed to concede that round to Jesus and said they didn’t know.
8 Jesus said, “Then neither will I answer your question.”
The Story of Corrupt Farmhands
9-12 Jesus told another story to the people: “A man planted a vineyard. He handed it over to farmhands and went off on a trip. He was gone a long time. In time he sent a servant back to the farmhands to collect the profits, but they beat him up and sent him off empty-handed. He decided to try again and sent another servant. That one they beat black-and-blue, and sent him off empty-handed. He tried a third time. They worked that servant over from head to foot and dumped him in the street.
13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘I know what I’ll do: I’ll send my beloved son. They’re bound to respect my son.’
14-15 “But when the farmhands saw him coming, they quickly put their heads together. ‘This is our chance—this is the heir! Let’s kill him and have it all to ourselves.’ They killed him and threw him over the fence.
15-16 “What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? Right. He’ll come and get rid of everyone. Then he’ll assign the care of the vineyard to others.”
Those who were listening said, “Oh, no! He’d never do that!”
17-18 But Jesus didn’t back down. “Why, then, do you think this was written:
That stone the masons threw out— It’s now the cornerstone!?
“Anyone falling over that stone will break every bone in his body; if the stone falls on anyone, he’ll be smashed to smithereens.”
19 The religion scholars and high priests wanted to lynch him on the spot, but they were intimidated by public opinion. They knew the story was about them.
Paying Taxes
20-22 Watching for a chance to get him, they sent spies who posed as honest inquirers, hoping to trick him into saying something that would get him in trouble with the law. So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you’re honest and straightforward when you teach, that you don’t pander to anyone but teach the way of God accurately. Tell us: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23-24 He knew they were laying for him and said, “Show me a coin. Now, this engraving, who does it look like and what does it say?”
25 “Caesar,” they said.
Jesus said, “Then give Caesar what is his and give God what is his.”
26 Try as they might, they couldn’t trap him into saying anything incriminating. His answer caught them off guard and left them speechless.
Our Daily Bread
Today's Scripture:
Matthew 10:1–11, 40–42 The Twelve Harvest Hands
1–4 10 The prayer was no sooner prayed than it was answered. Jesus called twelve of his followers and sent them into the ripe fields. He gave them power to kick out the evil spirits and to tenderly care for the bruised and hurt lives. This is the list of the twelve he sent:
Simon (they called him Peter, or “Rock”),
Andrew, his brother,
James, Zebedee’s son,
John, his brother,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
Thomas,
Matthew, the tax man,
James, son of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeus,
Simon, the Canaanite,
Judas Iscariot (who later turned on him).
5–8 Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge:
“Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.
9–10 “Don’t think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.
11 “When you enter a town or village, don’t insist on staying in a luxury inn. Get a modest place with some modest people, and be content there until you leave.
40–42 “We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God’s messenger. Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help. This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing.” Insight
When Jesus sent His disciples out to preach, He sent them without extra clothes, food, or money (Matthew 10:9–10). They were to entrust their message to those who cared for them and in response to any that wouldn’t, they were to leave that home or town (vv. 13–14). Jesus said the “sheep and goats” (the righteous who put faith into action and others who don’t) would be judged on how they treated “the least of these brothers and sisters of mine” (25:31–40). Those who cared for Christ’s disciples welcomed Jesus Himself.
By: Jed Ostoich A Friend of God’s Friends Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
Matthew 10:40 Something so cordial can happen in first introductions when two persons discover that they have a friend in common. In what may be its most memorable form, a big-hearted host welcomes a guest with something like, “So nice to meet you. Any friend of Sam’s, or Samantha’s, is a friend of mine.”
Jesus said something similar. He’d been attracting crowds by healing many. But He’d also been making enemies of local religious leaders by disagreeing with the way they were commercializing the temple and misusing their influence. In the middle of a growing conflict, He made a move to multiply the joy, cost, and wonder of His presence. He gave His disciples the ability to heal others and sent them out to announce that the kingdom of God was at hand. He assured the disciples: “Anyone who welcomes you, welcomes me” (Matthew 10:40), and, in turn, welcomes His Father who sent Him as well.
It’s hard to imagine a more life-changing offer of friendship. For anyone who would open their house, or even give a cup of cold water to one of His disciples, Jesus assured a place in the heart of God. While that moment happened a long time ago, His words remind us that in big and little acts of kindness and hospitality there are still ways of welcoming, and being welcomed, as a friend of the friends of God.
By: Mart DeHaan Reflect & Pray
What could you do through the Holy Spirit’s leading that might give others a chance to open their hearts to you? How could this point them to the Savior?
Father, thank You for giving us a chance to be part of the good news that has its source in You.
My Utmost for His Highest
Held by the Grip of God
By Oswald Chambers I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. —Philippians 3:12 Never choose to be a worker for God, but once God has placed His call on you, woe be to you if you “turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). We are not here to work for God because we have chosen to do so, but because God has “laid hold of” us. And once He has done so, we never have this thought, “Well, I’m really not suited for this.” What you are to preach is also determined by God, not by your own natural leanings or desires. Keep your soul steadfastly related to God, and remember that you are called not simply to convey your testimony but also to preach the gospel. Every Christian must testify to the truth of God, but when it comes to the call to preach, there must be the agonizing grip of God’s hand on you— your life is in the grip of God for that very purpose. How many of us are held like that?
Never water down the Word of God, but preach it in its undiluted sternness. There must be unflinching faithfulness to the Word of God, but when you come to personal dealings with others, remember who you are— you are not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace.
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do…I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.” The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R
Bible in a Year: Job 11-13; Acts 9:1-21
A Wor with You by Ron Hutchcraft
VERBAL CHAINSAWS CUTTING DEEP - #9252
I was a young teenager when I faced my first issue with gun control. My dad took me out hunting pheasants. I was a rookie with that 12-gauge shotgun. The first time a pheasant roared out of those cornstalks, it scared me so much, I couldn't fire a shot. I had no gun control.
But so much deadly violence and so many heart-wrenching deaths of innocent victims have now catapulted gun control issues seriously to center stage. And this isn't a forum for debating those questions; there are other places for that.
I do know that my Bible commands me to pray for "all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness" (1 Timothy 2:2). That's always a good reminder. But while our political leaders work on what to do with guns, I've got another issue to deal with on a much more personal level - chainsaws. Long before there were guns, there were chainsaws - the kind we carry in our mouth.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Verbal Chainsaws Cutting Deep."
Because, as the Bible says, "Reckless words pierce like a sword" (Proverbs 12:18). Our words alone can cut a person to the heart. No blood on the outside, but all over on the inside. God goes on to say that "the tongue has the power of life and death" (Proverbs 18:21). It's true. Words can either make a person feel more alive or more dead inside.
The chainsaw called the tongue cuts long and cuts deep. We all know that from our personal experience. Think about the ugly names, the scarring words, the crippling put downs that we've never forgotten. Chances are, the person who spewed those words doesn't even remember them, but you sure do. And yet, we who are the wounded are also the wound-ers.
God's pretty blunt about our verbal chainsaw. He describes it in our word for today in the Word of God in James 3. He calls the tongue "a world of evil...set on fire by hell...full of deadly poison" (James 3:2, 5-8). I wonder how many times I have left - to borrow the name of a dark chapter in Native American history - a "trail of tears" behind me. From my careless words, my critical words? All the nice words don't erase the nasty words. James 3 again says, "Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing...this should not be" (James 3:10). "No man can tame the tongue" it says. We don't want to keep wounding people with our words. But, honestly, we just keep doing it.
The disarming of the human tongue requires nothing short of divine intervention; a "Savior," to use the Bible word, asking Jesus to take control of an out-of-control tongue. When we, like an addict in rehab, admit to Him that we're powerless to tame our tongue, we take the first step to changing.
Of course, our words are only the symptom, they're not the problem. Jesus' diagnosis cuts right to the heart of the issue literally. He says, "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34). Dark words are really the toxic radiation emitting from the waste dump in our heart. That's why only Jesus can tame a tongue, because only Jesus can change a heart. His game-changing sacrifice for our sin on a cross means that "sin shall not be your master" (Romans 6:14) including the relentless sins of the tongue.
Jesus can clean out a heart that's full of anger and resentment, the pain of the past, and turn a life-robbing chainsaw into a life-giving river. That's why I need to make King David's prayer my prayer each day. He says, "Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips." After all, the man who conquered death should have no problem taming my tongue.
If you've never begun that cleansing,power-giving, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ and you would like to, tell Him that today, "Jesus, I'm yours." If you're ready for this kind of life change that only He can make possible, visit our website, ANewStory.com. And today, make Him not just the Savior , But a personal savior for you