Max Lacado daily devotional
THE INFECTION OF SIN - June 8, 2023 October 1347. A fleet returning from the Black Sea carries its death sentence for Europe. Most of the sailors are dead. The few who survive wish they hadn’t. Before it’s over, one-third of Europe’s population will be dead from bubonic plague.
25 million people died. No cure was know; no hope was offered. The healthy quarantined the infected; the infected counted their days. But was it humanity’s deadliest scourge? No. Scripture reserves that title for a darker blight.
It makes the plague seem like a cold sore. Sin sees the world with no God in it. The Bible says God made him who had no sin to be sin for us. Christ became that sin offering. He overcame the punishment for sin—death—through his glorious resurrection from the dead.
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Come Thirsty
Psalm 117
Praise the Lord, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
2
For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord.
Our Daily Bread
Today's Scripture:
Romans 5:1–5
Developing Patience
By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
3-5 There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
Insight
The New Testament reveals much about the Holy Spirit. When we repent and receive Jesus as our Savior, God gifts us with the Spirit (Acts 2:38). Through Him, God pours His love into our hearts (Romans 5:5 (https://biblia.com/bible/niv/Rom%205.5)). In this way, our bodies become the Holy Spirit’s temple and He lives in us (1 Corinthians 6:19 . The Spirit gives us love, joy, peace (Galatians 5:22, encouragement (Acts 9:31) and hope (Romans 15:13) He also teaches us and guides us. Jesus told His disciples, “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”
John 14:26. The Spirit enables us, like Peter, to speak boldly about Christ (
Acts 4:8. He also warns us (20:23) and gives us spiritual gifts (
Hebrews 2:4. The Spirit of truth, our Advocate, is with us forever (
John 14:16–17
By:Alyson Kieda
Strengthened through Trials
We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:3–4
The memories flooded back when I rustled through some envelopes and glimpsed a sticker that said, “I’ve had an eye test.” In my mind I saw my four-year-old son proudly wearing the sticker after enduring stinging eyedrops. Because of weak eye muscles, he had to wear a patch for hours each day over his strong eye—thereby forcing the weaker eye to develop. He also needed surgery. He met these challenges one by one, looking to us as his parents for comfort and depending on God with childlike faith. Through these challenges he developed resilience.
People who endure trials and suffering are often changed by the experience. But the apostle Paul went further and said to “glory in our sufferings” because through them we develop perseverance. With perseverance comes character; and with character, hope (Romans 5:3–4 (https://biblia.com/bible/niv/Rom%205.3%E2%80%934)). Paul certainly knew trials—not only shipwrecks but imprisonment for his faith. Yet he wrote to the believers in Rome that “hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (v. 5). The apostle recognized that God’s Spirit keeps our hope in Jesus alive when we put our trust in Him.
Whatever hardships you face, know that God will pour out His grace a
nd mercy on you. He loves you.
By:Amy Boucher Pye
Reflect & Pray
How have trials and challenges actually helped you trust God more? How could you commit yourself to His care in what you currently face?
Ever-loving God, You promise that You’ll never leave me. Help me to hold on to Your promises even when I’m struggling.
For further study, read A Better Way to Live
.
My Utmost devotional By Oswald Chambers
What’s Next To Do?
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. —John 13:17
Be determined to know more than others. If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and your eyes will be opened. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself— begin to have spiritual discernment.
When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more. Examine where you have become sluggish, where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do. You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it. But now you have no insight or discernment, and at a time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled. It is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more.
The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create your own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1-2. It is much better to fulfill the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than it is to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…” (1 Samuel 15:22. Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, w
hen God wants you to be something that you have never been. “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know…” (
John 7:17
).
A Word with You by Ron Hutchcraft
No Discount Disciples - #9499
I had 18 hours in the city of Rome. That's how long it was between my flight connections to Africa. I decided not to waste that time sleeping in the airport when I could be seeing one of the world's great cities. Right? And, my missionary friend, Dave, was kind enough to be my chauffeur and guide. With his help, I got a whirlwind tour that included the Coliseum, the Sistine Chapel, and some beautiful piazzas. But the highlight of my day in Rome was my visit to the Catacombs, those ancient caverns that wind beneath the streets of Rome. Dave's been there many times so he said he'd wait while I went in. Well, here were the caverns where some of the first Christians hid from the Roman soldiers who would take them to their execution for believing in Christ. And here's where they carved in the walls the ancient symbols of their faith - like the cross and the sign of the fish. Those symbols are still there as a silent testimony to their faithfulness. And here in the walls, they buried countless loved ones who'd been torn to pieces by lions in the Coliseum all because they would not renounce Christ for Caesar. As I emerged from those Catacombs, Dave said, "Well, what did you think?" All I could say was, "Our faith is very, very expensive."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Discount Disciples."
The way of Jesus that we claim to walk today was, indeed, very expensive for those first Christians; for millions who have suffered or died for the name of Jesus in every generation as well, including our own. And it cost Jesus everything. So who am I - who are we - that we should get off so cheap?
Jesus made it clear that there would be no discount disciples; those who could request a commitment to Him that didn't cost too much. What an insult to the man for whom it cost everything! Or to our brothers and sisters across the generations who've paid such a high price for following this same Savior. Jesus put the cost of following Him right up front in Luke 14:2, our word for today from the Word of God: "Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple." In Luke 9:23 , He made clear that joining Jesus in carrying your cross was not a once-for-all decision, but one that has to be renewed every day. He said, "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me."
Notice, He didn't say, "Take up your couch and follow Me." Somewhere we've gotten the twisted idea that following Jesus just means going to some of His meetings, believing His beliefs, throwing a little money His way, maybe taking on a couple of jobs for Him, and maybe even being called a couple of names because of Him. If the price tag gets much higher, we start to complain, to feel sorry for ourselves, to think about quitting. We are here today because of some real disciples who refused to quit, no matter what the cost. Because of a Savior who refused to quit, even when it meant the agony and humiliation of a cross.
Those who have experienced Jesus most deeply, most sweetly, are those who walk the way of the cross with Him. Don't be afraid to make the choices for Him that may cost you something. That's what taking up a cross means - expensive choices. That's what taking up a cross meant for Jesus. He is worth any price you pay for following Him, because as much as it may cost to follow Him, it costs a whole lot more not to follow Him.
After the Allied forces stormed ashore at Normandy on D-Day, charging into deadly German fire and land mines, General Eisenhower said, "There are no victories at discount prices." It was true at Normandy, and It's true in following Jesus. Beginning at the cross, it's always bee
n expensive and victorious. The hymn writer nailed it when he said: "Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease, when others fought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas?"