Max Lucado Daily: Uncommon Use
Uncommon Use
“He gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
Heaven may have a shrine to honor God’s uncommon use of the common.
It’s a place you won’t want to miss. Stroll through and see Rahab’s rope, Paul’s bucket, David’s sling, and Samson’s jawbone. Wrap your hand around the staff that split the sea and smote the rock. Sniff the ointment that soothed Jesus’ skin and lifted his heart . . .
I don’t know if these items will be there. But I am sure of one thing—the people who used them will.
Hebrews 3
The Centerpiece of All We Believe
1–6 3 So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He’s the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. Moses was also faithful, but Jesus gets far more honor. A builder is more valuable than a building any day. Every house has a builder, but the Builder behind them all is God. Moses did a good job in God’s house, but it was all servant work, getting things ready for what was to come. Christ as Son is in charge of the house.
6–11 Now, if we can only keep a firm grip on this bold confidence, we’re the house! That’s why the Holy Spirit says,
Today, please listen;
don’t turn a deaf ear as in “the bitter uprising,”
that time of wilderness testing!
Even though they watched me at work for forty years,
your ancestors refused to let me do it my way;
over and over they tried my patience.
And I was provoked, oh, so provoked!
I said, “They’ll never keep their minds on God;
they refuse to walk down my road.”
Exasperated, I vowed,
“They’ll never get where they’re going,
never be able to sit down and rest.”
12–14 So watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as it’s still God’s Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul.
These words keep ringing in our ears:
Today, please listen;
don’t turn a deaf ear as in the bitter uprising.
15–19 For who were the people who turned a deaf ear? Weren’t they the very ones Moses led out of Egypt? And who was God provoked with for forty years? Wasn’t it those who turned a deaf ear and ended up corpses in the wilderness? And when he swore that they’d never get where they were going, wasn’t he talking to the ones who turned a deaf ear? They never got there because they never listened, never believed.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Today's Scripture
Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23
Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories.
3–8 “What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.
The Meaning of the Harvest Story
18–19 “Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn’t take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person’s heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road.
20–21 “The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.
22 “The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it.
23 “The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.”
Insight
Matthew 13 contains eight parables: the parables of the sower (vv. 1-23), the seeds (vv. 24-30, 36-43), the mustard seed (vv. 31-32), the yeast (vv. 33-35), the hidden treasure (v. 44), the pearls (vv. 45-46), the net (vv. 47-50), and the house owner (vv. 51-52). They’re known as “kingdom” parables because they usually begin with the characteristic phrase, “The kingdom of heaven is like . . . ” (vv. 24, 31, 33, 44, 45, 47, 52). Though the first parable is called the parable of the sower, its focus isn’t on the sower but on the soil upon which the seed falls.
Unlock more wisdom from the parables of Jesus. By: K. T. Sim
Pull the Weeds of Worry
[They hear] the word, but the worries of this life . . . choke the word. Matthew 13:22
After burying a few seeds in a planter in my backyard, I waited to see the results. Reading that the seeds would sprout within ten to fourteen days, I checked often as I watered the soil. Soon I saw a few green leaves pushing their way out of the soil. But my bubble burst quickly when my husband told me those were weeds. He encouraged me to pull them quickly so that they wouldn’t choke the plants I was trying to grow.
Jesus also told of the importance of dealing with intruders that can impede our spiritual growth. He explained a portion of His parable this way: when a sower cast his seeds, some “fell among thorns . . . and choked the plants” (Matthew 13:7). Thorns, or weeds, will do just that to plants—stop their growth (v. 22). And worry will surely stunt our spiritual growth. Reading Scripture and praying are great ways to grow our faith, but I’ve found I need to watch out for the thorns of worry. They’ll “choke” the good word that has been planted in me, making me focus on what could go wrong.
The fruit of the Spirit, found in Scripture, includes such things as love, joy, peace (Galatians 5:22). But in order for us to bear that fruit, in God’s strength we need to pull any weeds of doubt or worry that may distract us and cause us to focus on anything other than Him. By: Katara Patton
Reflect & Pray
How is God helping you grow the seeds He’s planted within you? How can you pull the weeds of worry?
Dear heavenly Father, please remind me to pull weeds often, discarding worry and deceitful thoughts so I may grow and bear fruit in You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, April 27, 2024
What Do You Want?
Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. — Jeremiah 45:5
Are you seeking great things for yourself? Not seeking to become a great man or woman, but seeking great gifts from God? God wants your relationship with him to be closer than a relationship based on receiving his gifts. He wants you to get to know him. Nothing is easier than getting into a right relationship with God, except when you’re only looking for what you can get out of it.
If, in your walk in faith, you’ve only come as far as asking God for blessings, you haven’t begun to approach full abandonment to him. You’ve become a Christian, but you’ve become one on your own terms rather than his. “I asked God for the Holy Spirit,” you say, “but he did not give me the peace I expected.” God puts his finger on the reason at once: you aren’t seeking him at all; you’re seeking things for yourself.
Jesus says, “Ask and it will be given to you” (Luke 11:9). You cannot ask if you are not asking for a right thing. Are you asking God for the great gift of the Holy Spirit? If he has not given it, it is because you are not abandoned enough: there is still something you will not do. Are you prepared to ask yourself what you want from God and why you want it? “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8). Then why ask? So that you may get to know him. When you draw near to God, you will stop asking for anything other than him.
God ignores present perfection for ultimate perfection. He isn’t concerned about making you blessed and happy right now. He is working out his ultimate perfection: “That they may be one as we are one” (John 17:11).
1 Kings 1-2; Luke 19:28-48