Max Lucado Daily: GOD’S LOVE FOR THE NATIONS - April 5, 2024
Pentecost was the busiest day of the year in Jerusalem, and Jesus’ followers were gathered in prayer. Not separated from society, but smack-dab in the center of it. Once God had them where he needed them, the Holy Spirit came upon them suddenly. First as wind, then as individual tongues of fire. Individual flames hovering over each person. “And they began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4 NKJV). People from all over the world heard the wonderful works of God.
Whatever could this miracle mean? God loves the nations. He has a red-hot passion, to reach every people group on the planet. He loves everybody. And that includes you my friend.
Colossians 1
I, Paul, have been sent on special assignment by Christ as part of God’s master plan. Together with my friend Timothy, I greet the Christians and stalwart followers of Christ who live in Colosse. May everything good from God our Father be yours!
Working in His Orchard
3–5 Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can’t quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.
5–8 The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn’t diminish or weaken over time. It’s the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you’ve been hungry for more. It’s as vigorous in you now as when you learned it from our friend and close associate Epaphras. He is one reliable worker for Christ! I could always depend on him. He’s the one who told us how thoroughly love had been worked into your lives by the Spirit.
9–12 Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.
13–14 God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.
Christ Holds It All Together
15–18 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
18–20 He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.
21–23 You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.
24–25 I want you to know how glad I am that it’s me sitting here in this jail and not you. There’s a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church’s part of that suffering. When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God’s way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth.
26–29 This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, April 05, 2024
Today's Scripture
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
There’s a Right Time for Everything
1 3 There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
2–8 A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.
9–13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going.
Insight
Ecclesiastes is different from other Wisdom Literature books of the Old Testament. It’s filled with skepticism, as life is described in terms that are often dark and cynical. Ecclesiastes contains several key ideas. The word meaningless (1:2) is used repeatedly and means “empty” or “futile.” Another term is under the sun (v. 3). It means “according to this world’s system or values.” Another repeated expression is “chasing after the wind” (v. 14). This phrase is a word picture describing “effort expended with no results gained since no one can catch the wind” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary). By: Bill Crowder
God’s Presence
[God] has . . . set eternity in the human heart. Ecclesiastes 3:11
Monique was struggling. She had friends who were believers in Jesus, and she respected how they handled life’s struggles. She was even a bit jealous of them. But Monique didn’t think she could live the way they did; she thought having faith in Christ was about following rules. Finally, a fellow college student helped her see that God wasn’t out to spoil her life; instead, He wanted the best for her amidst her ups and downs. Once she understood this, Monique was ready to trust Jesus as her Savior and embrace the magnificent truth about God’s love for her.
King Solomon could have given Monique similar advice. He acknowledged that this world does have its sorrows. Indeed, there’s a “time for everything” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)—“a time to mourn and a time to dance” (v. 4). But there’s more. God “has also set eternity in the human heart” (v. 11). An eternity meant to be lived in His presence.
Monique gained life “to the full,” as Jesus said (John 10:10), when she trusted Him. But she gained so much more! Through faith, the “eternity in [her] heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) became the promise of a future when life’s struggles will be forgotten (Isaiah 65:17) and God’s glorious presence will be an eternal reality. By: Dave Branon
Reflect & Pray
How have you experienced the fulfilling life Jesus offers? What are some things about your life in Him that you’re thankful for?
Dear Jesus, Solomon was right. Life is a rollercoaster. Thank You for making this life valuable and worth the effort. And thank You for the eternal joys that await.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, April 05, 2024
His Agony and Our Access
Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples…."Stay here and watch with Me." —Matthew 26:36, 38
We can never fully comprehend Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, but at least we don’t have to misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and man in one Person, coming face to face with sin. We cannot learn about Gethsemane through personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary represent something totally unique— they are the gateway into life for us.
It was not death on the cross that Jesus agonized over in Gethsemane. In fact, He stated very emphatically that He came with the purpose of dying. His concern here was that He might not get through this struggle as the Son of Man. He was confident of getting through it as the Son of God— Satan could not touch Him there. But Satan’s assault was that our Lord would come through for us on His own solely as the Son of Man. If Jesus had done that, He could not have been our Savior (see Hebrews 9:11-15). Read the record of His agony in Gethsemane in light of His earlier wilderness temptation— “…the devil…departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). In Gethsemane, Satan came back and was overthrown again. Satan’s final assault against our Lord as the Son of Man was in Gethsemane.
The agony in Gethsemane was the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Savior of the world. The veil is pulled back here to reveal all that it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony was the basis for the simplicity of our salvation. The Cross of Christ was a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When we no longer seek God for His blessings, we have time to seek Him for Himself. The Moral Foundations of Life, 728 L
Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 1-3; Luke 8:26-56
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, April 05, 2024
Stuck in the Eclipse - #9715
It's the Super Bowl of the Skies! No ticket required.
In a world of people addicted to screens, countless millions of us are stopping everything to see a spectacle in the skies. When a celestial switch is flipped and the lights go out.
The solar eclipse of 2024.
Millions are traveling to be in the path of the total blackout known as totality. Towns in the path of full eclipse are getting rich quick. Hotel rooms, usually $150, are going for $600 and $700 a night.
If we didn't know better, a lot of us would likely freak out as the sun disappeared. The ancient Mayans did. They thought the sun had been eaten - and they had some pretty elaborate rituals to stay safe.
Now our rituals will be simpler. Weird glasses and everyone looking reverently at the sky.
Now from our side of things the eclipse is a not-to-be-missed big event, but its galactic explanation is remarkably simple. Something comes between Earth and the Sun, its source of light. The moon is that "something." In totality, it gets totally dark.
Now while solar eclipses are relatively rare, we experience eclipse personally a lot more frequently than we realize. Not in the sky. But in ourselves.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stuck in the Eclipse."
We all know those times when life turns dark. When our heart is broken. A relationship is broken. Our dream is broken.
Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint the reason for the darkness we feel in our soul. But there is this unrelenting loneliness... this unexplainable sadness... this uneasy fear... this unsettling despair. And it turns dark.
It's easy to get lost in the dark. To make choices that only deepen the darkness. To let our thoughts go to dangerous places. To believe lies about our worth... our life... our future.
There are a lot of factors can contribute to our emotional darkness, but I think much, if not most, of our darkness has a source beyond our circumstances.
Something has come between us and our Source of light.
And that source is revealed in the Bible in these words. Speaking of our Creator, the orbit we were made for, it says, "All things were created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). In just six words, God gives us the answer to life's big question - "Why am I here?" Answer: I'm created by God and for God. Not a religion about God, but for a relationship with God.
Then why the spiritual eclipse we live in so much of the time? It must be that something has come between us and Him. But He loves us enough to tell us what it is. Because He's the source of all the light in our life - lasting love... purpose... security... a peace stronger than our storms... a strength greater than our fears.
Here's God says has come between us. "Your sins have separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59:2). Sin - that's me doing my life my way instead of His way. Me saying, "God, you run the universe - I'll do me."
And the Sun stops shining. When it goes dark in my soul, I've let some sin come between me and my God. I can try everything to dispel the darkness, but nothing can bring back the Sun until the spiritual obstruction between us is forgiven and forsaken.
Listen to the hope Jesus talks about our word for today from the Word of God in John 8:12 - "I am the light of the world. He that follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
On Good Friday, I was thinking eclipse as I read again the account of Jesus' death on the cross. It says, "From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over all the land." Just as He was saying, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:45-46).
At that moment Jesus was carrying all our sins in His soul (1 Peter 2:24). All the garbage of my life and yours. Paying my spiritual death penalty.
And all the darkness of all our sin came between God the Father and God the Son. God was turning His back on His Son so He would never have to turn His back on us.
And why? The Bible says, "He loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
Without Him, the eclipse will last forever. With Him, the Light floods my soul. Sin is forgiven. Guilt is gone. Death has no fear. I am safe. I am never alone again.
The Sun has risen. Never to set again.