Max Lucado Daily: THE GREAT GIVER - October 1, 2024
Scrooge didn’t create the world, God did. Giving characterizes God’s creation. Psalm 104 celebrates this lavish creation with twenty-three verses of blessings: the heavens and the earth, the water and streams and trees and birds and oil and bread. The Scripture says God is the source of “innumerable teeming things, living things both great and small…These all wait for him, that he may give them their food in due season” (Psalm 104:25, 27).
And he does. God is the great giver, the great provider, the fount of every blessing. Absolutely generous, utterly dependable. The resounding and recurring message of Scripture is clear: God owns it all, and God shares it all.
Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear
1 John 1
From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.
3–4 We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!
Walk in the Light
5 This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him.
6–7 If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.
8–10 If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, October 01, 2024
Today's Scripture
Ephesians 6:10-18
A Fight to the Finish
10–12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
13–18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
Insight
In Ephesians 4-6, Paul exhorts believers in Jesus “to live a life worthy of [God’s calling]” (4:1) and not to live like unbelievers (v. 17) whose lives are characterized by “fruitless deeds of darkness” (5:11). Believers are to live a life filled with love as “children of light” (v. 8) because “the days are evil” (v. 16). Concluding his letter, Paul warns his readers of a dangerous, powerful enemy who seeks to destroy them. In combating Satan and his evil forces, believers can stand firm and be victorious if they remain “strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (6:10). They will be strengthened by God when they “put on the full armor of God” (vv. 11, 13). Most of this armor is defensive, except for “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (v. 17). Christ used the Scriptures to defeat the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). By: K. T. Sim
God’s Provided Protection
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand. Ephesians 6:11
My wife and I put hundreds of miles on our bikes each year, pedaling the trails around West Michigan. To enhance the experience, we have some accessories that we’ve attached to our bikes. Sue has a front light, a back light, an odometer, and a bike lock. My bike has a water-bottle holder. In reality, we could ride our route successfully every day and rack up all those miles without the extras. They’re helpful but optional.
In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul writes about another set of accessories—but these aren’t optional. He said we must “put on” these things to be successful in living out our faith in Jesus. Our lives aren’t easy rides. We’re in a battle in which we must “stand against the devil’s schemes” (6:11), so we must be well equipped.
Without the wisdom of Scripture, we can be swayed to accept error. Without Jesus helping us live out His “truth,” we’ll give in to lies (v. 14). Without the “gospel,” we’ll have no “peace” (v. 15). Without “faith” shielding us, we’ll succumb to doubt (v. 16). Our “salvation” and the Holy Spirit anchor us to live well for God (v. 17). This is our armor.
How vital that we travel the pathways of life protected from its real dangers. We do that when Christ equips us for the challenges along the way—when we “put on” the armor God provides. By: Dave Branon
Reflect & Pray
What does it mean for you to “put on” God’s armor? What situations are you facing that require His armor the most?
Dear Father, thank You for reminding me in Scripture how I can stand against Satan’s attacks.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 01, 2024
The Sphere of Exaltation
After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain. — Mark 9:2
We’ve all had times on the mountain, when we’ve seen from God’s viewpoint and have wanted to stay on high. But God will never allow this. The test of our spiritual life lies in our ability to keep the vision God gives on the mountain in our sights as we descend. If we only have the power to rise, something is wrong.
It’s a great thing to be up on the mountain with our Lord, but he only takes us up with him for one reason—so that we may go down again into the valley and lift up those around us. We aren’t built for the mountains and the dawns and the breathtaking views; they are for moments of inspiration, nothing else. We’re built for the valley, for the ordinary stuff of daily life. That is where we have to prove our mettle.
Spiritual selfishness always wants to get back to the mountaintop. When we are spiritually selfish, we are always claiming that of course we’d live like angels—if we could stay on high. We have to learn that moments of exaltation are exceptional. They have meaning in our life with God, but we have to make sure that spiritual selfishness doesn’t cause us to want them all the time.
We tend to think that everything that happens is meant to teach us something. A mountaintop experience isn’t meant to teach us anything; it’s meant to make us something new. God wants our experiences to develop our character.
When it comes to spiritual matters, there’s a great trap in asking, “What’s the point of this?” It isn’t for us to know the point. The moments on the mountaintop are rare, and they are meant for something in God’s own purpose.
Isaiah 11-13; Ephesians 4
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
It is not what a man does that is of final importance, but what he is in what he does. The atmosphere produced by a man, much more than his activities, has the lasting influence.
Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, October 01, 2024
Grace for Every Need - #9842
Honestly I dislike shopping for clothes. Looking for a suit would rank right up there with a root canal or something. As far as the pleasure factor is, I'd say. The problem is that they just don't have suits for guys who are shaped like me. Maybe there just aren't many guys who are shaped like me; maybe that's the problem.
See, if the coat looks good on me, then the pants don't. If the waist is a good fit, then they're baggy in the back. If it fits well in the back, then the waist is tight enough to affect my respiration. Now, there is a way to get a perfect fit - it's called custom tailoring, I can't afford that, so I guess I'm just going to have to stick to one size that's supposed to fit all bodies about that shape. There is a perfect fit that you need right now and so do I, and it's yours for free.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Grace for Every Need."
Our word for today from the Word of God, Deuteronomy 33:25 - six words full of encouragement. "Your strength will equal your days." That's just six words, but it says so much about the need, the crisis, the crunch, and the unanswered question that you may be facing right now. God promises strength that is custom tailored for what that day requires; no more strength than you'll need for that day, and no less strength than you'll need for that day.
It's the same kind of promise that He gave in 2 Corinthians 12:9 where He says, "My grace is sufficient for you." Sufficient grace - always grace enough. We've sung the hymn many times about God's amazing grace, and it is amazing. It reaches down, forgives every sin, and gives me a royal place in God's family. But His grace is the gift that keeps on giving.
Gary's company was on the edge of bankruptcy. I called him and I said, "How are you holding up with everything that you've built at risk?" He said, "You know what? God's peace is making it." I talked to some friends not long ago who lost a loved one in a tragic auto accident, and here was their report, "God's promises are holding us up. He is enough." Yeah, He is.
The wonderful truth in scripture is this, that God gives grace customized for every experience that He sends or He allows in your life. There is dying grace - you say, "I don't know how I would ever handle dying." Well, of course, you're not doing it now; you don't need it now. But haven't you seen people with dying grace? You get it when you need it.
There's suffering grace. For whatever suffering may be ahead, God will give you grace to meet that challenge. There's lonely grace for lonely times in your life. There's heartbreak grace. You don't have it now unless you need it, but at the time the heartbreak comes, the grace comes. There's waiting grace if you're having to wait for God to act in your life. You don't have it until you need it. When you need it, you've got it.
Maybe you fear your ability to handle some situation right now, but just when you need it, grace will fill your heart - grace that's designed just to fit that moment. Grace may come in the form of a person, or surprising inner strength, a Bible verse, an ability to release something you've held for so long, but the grace is there if you go get it. Boldly, the Bible says, go to the throne of grace and obtain it there.
God has measured the situation like a spiritual tailor, and He has fitted His grace exactly to your need - custom-tailored designer grace to cover you.
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