Max Lucado Daily: THOUGHTS OF HEAVEN - June 20, 2024
It’s been a long time, but there was a time when my daughters celebrated my daily arrival. Jenna was five at the time, Andrea three. Denalyn would alert them, and they’d scamper to the window, pressing noses and hands against the tall pane that paralleled the front door. As I pulled in, I would see them. Jenna, a head taller than her sister Andrea, squeezed into the frame. Seeing me, they’d squeal. My, how they jumped and clapped. You’d think someone had switched their M&M’s for coffee beans. No returning Caesar ever felt more welcomed. Their father was home!
You know, it’s been too long since I searched for God that way. Let’s do better! Colossians 3:2 (TLB) says, “Let heaven fill your thoughts!” Every day carries us closer to the day our Father will come. Let’s keep a look out for him.
Titus 3
He Put Our Lives Together
1–2 3 Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God’s people should be bighearted and courteous.
3–8 It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.
8–11 I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It’s obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.
12–13 As soon as I send either Artemas or Tychicus to you, come immediately and meet me in Nicopolis. I’ve decided to spend the winter there. Give Zenas the lawyer and Apollos a hearty send-off. Take good care of them.
14 Our people have to learn to be diligent in their work so that all necessities are met (especially among the needy) and they don’t end up with nothing to show for their lives.
15 All here want to be remembered to you. Say hello to our friends in the faith. Grace to all of you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Today's Scripture
Lamentations 3:19-26
It’s a Good Thing to Hope for Help from God
19–21 I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there’s one other thing I remember,
and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:
22–24 God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He’s all I’ve got left.
25–27 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.
Insight
Lamentations is one of the darkest books in the Bible; it’s Jeremiah’s heart cry for his violated nation. But here, at the center point of his poem, we find real hope. “The Lord’s . . . compassions never fail” (3:22). The book also concludes in hope, yet we still sense Jeremiah’s doubt. He proclaims, “You, Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation” (5:19). That’s how we might expect the book to end—in ultimate triumph. The prophet, however, asks God a pair of haunting questions: “Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long?” (v. 20). Although he asks God to “restore us to yourself” (v. 21), he doesn’t do so with unwavering confidence. Rather, he adds this caveat: “unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure” (v. 22). Jeremiah is a prophet who struggled mightily with the tragedy he saw. By: Tim Gustafson
New and Certain
His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Lamentations 3:22-23
For three years, apart from household necessities, Susan didn’t buy anything for herself. The Covid-19 pandemic affected my friend’s income, and she embraced a simple lifestyle. “One day, while cleaning my apartment, I noticed how shabby and faded my things looked,” she shared. “That’s when I started to miss having new things—the sense of freshness and excitement. My surroundings seemed tired and stale. I felt as if there was nothing to look forward to.”
Susan found encouragement in an unlikely book in the Bible. Written by Jeremiah after Jerusalem fell to Babylon, Lamentations describes the open wound of grief suffered by the prophet and the people. In the midst of grief’s despair, however, lies sure ground for hope-God’s love. "His compassions never fail,” Jeremiah wrote. “They are new every morning” (3:22-23).
Susan was reminded that God’s deep love relentlessly breaks through anew each day. When circumstances make us feel there’s no longer anything to look forward to, we can call to mind His faithfulness and look forward to how He’ll provide for us. We can confidently hope in God, knowing our hoping is never in vain (vv. 24-25) because it’s secured in His steadfast love and compassion.
“God’s love is my ‘something new’ each day,” Susan says. “I can look ahead with hope.” By: Karen Huang
Reflect & Pray
When have you felt unable to see any hope in your situation? How does the promise of God’s love as “new every morning” give you hope?
Thank You, dear God, because each day brings with it Your certain, steadfast love.
Deal head-on with pain and pressure in this study.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Have You Come to “After” Yet?
After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. — Job 42:10
A self-centered, pleading prayer—the kind of prayer in which I vow to “get right” with God if only he’ll help me—is never found in the New Testament. Am I telling God that I’ll purify my heart if he’ll hear my plea? That I’ll make myself good and righteous if he’ll extend his grace to me? I have to realize I can’t make myself right with God; I can’t make my life perfect, no matter how I plead. The only way I can be right with God is by accepting the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ as an absolute gift.
Am I humble enough to accept the gift Jesus bought for me on the cross? I have to stop every effort I’m making and leave myself entirely alone in God’s hands. If I find myself constantly trying to get right with him, it’s a sign that I’m rebelling against the atonement. Many prayers are made in total disbelief of the atonement. We beg Jesus to save us, forgetting he already has. Asking him to do it again is an insult.
“After Job had prayed for his friends . . .” If your fortunes haven’t been restored, if you aren’t getting insight into God’s word, stop praying in a self-centered way and start praying for others. Intercessory prayer is the real business of your life as a saved soul. Wherever God places you, no matter the circumstances, pray immediately for those around you. Pray that the atonement will be realized for others as it has for you. Pray for your friends; pray for your acquaintances; pray for all whose lives have been brought into contact with your own.
Esther 1-2; Acts 5:1-21
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
To live a life alone with God does not mean that we live it apart from everyone else. The connection between godly men and women and those associated with them is continually revealed in the Bible, e.g., 1 Timothy 4:10.
Not Knowing Whither, 867 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Trusting Jesus With What You Treasure - #9769
Dino and Nanette are dear Navajo friends of ours and they became Mr. and Mrs.! Oh, we wanted to be at their wedding because they are two very special friends, very special Native American Christian leaders. Now this was years ago but we couldn't be there, but our son attended, and that afternoon he described the wedding to us, as well as any man can describe a wedding. I choked up when I heard about their wedding vows. Dino made his vows to Nanette on bended knee. Nanette made her vows to Dino and then handed him a beautiful Navajo blanket. But this wasn't just any blanket. It had belonged to her father who died several years ago and it represented a relationship and memories that she really treasures. That blanket was Nanette's father's love gift to her. And in this moment of commitment, she was handing her new husband this most precious treasure from her most precious person. I guess in a sense, she was handing him her heart.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Trusting Jesus With What You Treasure."
In a tangible, deeply moving way, a young bride was saying with that gift, "I totally trust you, my husband. I'm giving you my heart. I'm giving you my life." She understood the deepest meaning of commitment. And commitment is the key to life's most important relationship; your personal relationship with the Man who died for you - Jesus Christ.
Now, our word for today from the Word of God beginning in Luke 7:37 - "A woman in that town who had lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them." Like that Navajo bride, this woman understood the commitment of a heart to Jesus. She brought what may have been the most valuable possession she had and lavished it on Jesus. She worshiped Him with abandonment, not caring what anyone thought. She was pouring out more than expensive perfume; just like that bride was handing over more than a blanket. This lady was pouring out her life to Jesus.
Later, when the religious leader Jesus was dining with objected to what she had done, Jesus said, "You did not put oil even on my head, but she has poured perfume on My feet Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven as her great love has shown. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.' Then Jesus said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.'" Jesus seems to be saying, "This lady just came to me with all her heart because she knows her need. You don't know your need and you come to Me with all your head."
Could it be that total commitment is "the" issue between you and Jesus right now? I mean, we're talking about the kind that releases to Him the things that matter most to you. Maybe you're clutching whatever is your "blanket," your security blanket. It's a relationship that really matters to you, or a dream you insist on hanging onto, or a possession, a position, your business, your ministry, something from your past. And you're at a crossroads now. You can't go any deeper, can't go any further in Christ until you release that precious treasure to Him. And the nagging, unspoken question really is, "Can I trust Jesus with this?"
Marty struggled with that question at a youth conference where I spoke some years ago. He told me he just couldn't give everything to Jesus because he couldn't surrender basketball, the most important thing in his life. Put your own treasure in there. But at the conclusion of the conference he said, "Ron, I've surrendered everything to Jesus, even basketball." I asked him why. He told me about his walk on the beach the night before where he finally settled the deciding issue. He said, "Anyone who loved me enough to die for me would never do me wrong."
You know, that's why you can trust Jesus with your life, your treasure, your eternity, your soul. He loved you enough to die for you. Isn't it time you gave Him your life. Do you want to begin that relationship with Him finally? Tell Him that. Go to our website to be sure you have - it's ANewStory.com.
Jesus can be trusted. Let this be the day you cross over into a relationship with Him, the day you put the treasure you've clutched in your hands into His hands. "Jesus, here. I trust You. I'm handing You my heart."