Max Lucado Daily: MADE PERFECT - February 24, 2023
If people love you at 6 am, one thing is sure: they love you. No makeup, no power tie, no status jewelry, no layers of images. They see unkempt honesty. Just you. “Love,” wrote one forgiven soul, “covers over a multitude of sins.”
Sounds like God’s love. Hebrews 10:14 says, “He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Note that the word is not “improving.” God doesn’t improve; he perfects. He doesn’t enhance; he completes. When it comes to our position before God, we’re perfect.
And when he sees each of us, he sees one who has been made perfect through the One who is perfect—Jesus Christ. He sees perfection. Not perfection earned by us, mind you, but perfection paid by him. Scripture says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Acts 11
God Has Broken Through
The news traveled fast and in no time the leaders and friends back in Jerusalem heard about it—heard that the non-Jewish “outsiders” were now “in.” When Peter got back to Jerusalem, some of his old associates, concerned about circumcision, called him on the carpet: “What do you think you’re doing rubbing shoulders with that crowd, eating what is prohibited and ruining our good name?”
4-6 So Peter, starting from the beginning, laid it out for them step-by-step: “Recently I was in the town of Joppa praying. I fell into a trance and saw a vision: Something like a huge blanket, lowered by ropes at its four corners, came down out of heaven and settled on the ground in front of me. Milling around on the blanket were farm animals, wild animals, reptiles, birds—you name it, it was there. Fascinated, I took it all in.
7-10 “Then I heard a voice: ‘Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.’ I said, ‘Oh, no, Master. I’ve never so much as tasted food that wasn’t kosher.’ The voice spoke again: ‘If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.’ This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the sky.
11-14 “Just then three men showed up at the house where I was staying, sent from Caesarea to get me. The Spirit told me to go with them, no questions asked. So I went with them, I and six friends, to the man who had sent for me. He told us how he had seen an angel right in his own house, real as his next-door neighbor, saying, ‘Send to Joppa and get Simon, the one they call Peter. He’ll tell you something that will save your life—in fact, you and everyone you care for.’
15-17 “So I started in, talking. Before I’d spoken half a dozen sentences, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he did on us the first time. I remembered Jesus’ words: ‘John baptized with water; you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So I ask you: If God gave the same exact gift to them as to us when we believed in the Master Jesus Christ, how could I object to God?”
18 Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. “It’s really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!”
19-21 Those who had been scattered by the persecution triggered by Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, but they were still only speaking and dealing with their fellow Jews. Then some of the men from Cyprus and Cyrene who had come to Antioch started talking to Greeks, giving them the Message of the Master Jesus. God was pleased with what they were doing and put his stamp of approval on it—quite a number of the Greeks believed and turned to the Master.
22-24 When the church in Jerusalem got wind of this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to check on things. As soon as he arrived, he saw that God was behind and in it all. He threw himself in with them, got behind them, urging them to stay with it the rest of their lives. He was a good man that way, enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit’s ways. The community grew large and strong in the Master.
25-26 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. He found him and brought him back to Antioch. They were there a whole year, meeting with the church and teaching a lot of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were for the first time called Christians.
27-30 It was about this same time that some prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem. One of them named Agabus stood up one day and, prompted by the Spirit, warned that a severe famine was about to devastate the country. (The famine eventually came during the rule of Claudius.) So the disciples decided that each of them would send whatever they could to their fellow Christians in Judea to help out. They sent Barnabas and Saul to deliver the collection to the leaders in Jerusalem.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, February 24, 2023
Today's Scripture
Psalm 61
God, listen to me shout,
bend an ear to my prayer.
When I’m far from anywhere,
down to my last gasp,
I call out, “Guide me
up High Rock Mountain!”
3-5 You’ve always given me breathing room,
a place to get away from it all,
A lifetime pass to your safe-house,
an open invitation as your guest.
You’ve always taken me seriously, God,
made me welcome among those who know and love you.
6-8 Let the days of the king add up
to years and years of good rule.
Set his throne in the full light of God;
post Steady Love and Good Faith as lookouts,
And I’ll be the poet who sings your glory—
and live what I sing every day.
Insight
The background of Psalm 61 is difficult to ascertain because the superscription only gives a brief musical instruction: “For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.” What do we know? The content of the psalm itself is worshipful and—with the heavy emphasis on the singer being the king himself—clearly qualifies as a royal psalm. Additionally, some see in this song the characteristics of lament, especially in verse 2 where we read, “as my heart grows faint.” This statement seems to speak of a heart that’s overwhelmed with the circumstances of life and needs safety, hence the references to God as “refuge” and “tower” (vv. 3–4). The song may have been written during the season when David was driven from the kingdom by his son Absalom because the references to his role as king wouldn’t have applied when he was being pursued by King Saul. By: Bill Crowder
Praying in Difficult Times
From the ends of the earth I call to you . . . as my heart grows faint. Psalm 61:2
Author and theologian Russell Moore described noticing the eerie silence in the Russian orphanage where he adopted his boys. Someone later explained that the babies had stopped crying because they learned that no one would respond to their cries.
When we face difficult times, we too can feel that no one hears. And worst of all, we can feel that God Himself doesn’t listen to our cries or see our tears. But He does! And that’s why we need the language of petition and protest found especially in the book of Psalms. The psalmists petition for God’s help and also protest their situation to Him. In Psalm 61, David brings his petitions and protests before his Creator, stating, “I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (v. 2). David cries out to God because he knows that only He is his “refuge” and “strong tower” (v. 3).
Praying the petitions and protests of the psalms is a way of affirming God’s sovereignty and appealing to His goodness and faithfulness. They’re proof of the intimate relationship we can experience with God. In difficult moments, we can all be tempted to believe the lie that He doesn’t care. But He does. He hears us and is with us. By: Glenn Packiam
Reflect & Pray
How does it encourage you to know that God hears your desperate prayers? What petitions and protests will you share with Him today?
Dear Jesus, help me to offer You my petitions, protests, and praise.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 24, 2023
The Delight of Sacrifice
I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls… —2 Corinthians 12:15
Once “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,” we deliberately begin to identify ourselves with Jesus Christ’s interests and purposes in others’ lives (Romans 5:5). And Jesus has an interest in every individual person. We have no right in Christian service to be guided by our own interests and desires. In fact, this is one of the greatest tests of our relationship with Jesus Christ. The delight of sacrifice is that I lay down my life for my Friend, Jesus (see John 15:13). I don’t throw my life away, but I willingly and deliberately lay it down for Him and His interests in other people. And I do this for no cause or purpose of my own. Paul spent his life for only one purpose— that he might win people to Jesus Christ. Paul always attracted people to his Lord, but never to himself. He said, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).
When someone thinks that to develop a holy life he must always be alone with God, he is no longer of any use to others. This is like putting himself on a pedestal and isolating himself from the rest of society. Paul was a holy person, but wherever he went Jesus Christ was always allowed to help Himself to his life. Many of us are interested only in our own goals, and Jesus cannot help Himself to our lives. But if we are totally surrendered to Him, we have no goals of our own to serve. Paul said that he knew how to be a “doormat” without resenting it, because the motivation of his life was devotion to Jesus. We tend to be devoted, not to Jesus Christ, but to the things which allow us more spiritual freedom than total surrender to Him would allow. Freedom was not Paul’s motive at all. In fact, he stated, “I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren…” (Romans 9:3). Had Paul lost his ability to reason? Not at all! For someone who is in love, this is not an overstatement. And Paul was in love with Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed. So Send I You, 1330 L
Bible in a Year: Numbers 9-11; Mark 5:1-20
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, February 24, 2023
THE QUEEN - AND THE KING...OF KINGS - #9425
When my wife Karen was a girl, a lot of people said she looked like Queen Elizabeth. I know this for sure - Karen was always my queen. Karen and the Queen shared a more important resemblance - a selfless dedication to a life of service to God and others. So Queen Elizabeth was always a little special to us.
Not long ago, we all watched the incredible outpouring of respect and affection since Queen Elizabeth's passing. And she obviously had a special place in the hearts of millions. During the funeral, hundreds of thousands of people in the streets of London - in total silence. Did you see it? People waiting in a five-mile line to have one moment of paying their respects. In the center of it all, the flag-draped coffin with the jeweled crown on top.
As members of the Royal Guard carried the coffin out of Westminster Cathedral, a very different picture flashed in my mind. Of a ragtag group of weeping friends, hurriedly carrying the brutalized body of Jesus to a garden tomb. Jesus, the One of whom the Bible says, they "crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:9). God's "one and only Son" the Bible says (John 3:16). The "King of kings" the book of Revelation says (Revelation 19:16).
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Queen - and the King...of Kings"
No cheering crowds, just His jeering crucifiers. No lines of weeping mourners - just mockers who came to watch Him die. No royal finery, just a linen robe torn to pieces as soldiers made a game of it. No jeweled crown. His was made of thorns. The Queen was buried in an ornate chapel. My Savior was hastily sealed in a borrowed tomb.
But this battered man on a criminal's cross was, according to the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Queen's service, "Who she followed." "Her service," he said, "had its foundation in following Christ." And he cited the words of the Christmas carol that says, "Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in."
I was moved as he quoted her concluding words in a national speech during the Covid lockdown: "We will meet again." "We can all share the Queen's hope - which inspired her servant leadership. Serving in life, hope in death. All who follow the Queen's example of trust and faith in God can say with her - 'We will meet again.'" Because "Christ arose from the dead and offered life to all - abundant life now. Life with God in eternity."
The Queen had bowed to the King. And after all the adulation and celebration of her life, that's really all that mattered, huh? When it is our eulogy being read, that's all that will matter for you and me. Did we pin our hopes on the One who died for our sins, not by the cruelty of men, but by His loving choice? Wow!
If you've never reached out to Him who gave His life for you, to forgive your sins and give you eternal life to be with Him in heaven forever, why don't you get that done? It doesn't make sense to wait another day when eternity's at stake. Tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm yours."
Boy, I'd love to help you be sure you belong to Him. Just go to our website. That's what it's there for. That's ANewStory.com. I hope you check it out as soon as you can.
You know, in her "final journey," they called it, the Queen was surrounded by military escort. And hailed by loyal subjects. Her funeral could have been one of the most-watched events in human history.
But the event that everyone will see is yet to come. When the crucified - and resurrected - King returns, it says "every eye will see Him!" (Revelation 1:7). And He will come "with the armies of heaven, riding on a white horses." And on His robe, He will "have this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!" (Revelation 19:14, 16).
And in our word for today from the Word of God in Philippians 2:10-11, "At the name of Jesus every knee will bow...and every tongue will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:10-11).
There will be no need to shout, "God save the King," because the King came to save us!