Max Lucado Daily: GOOD TO GO - August 27, 2024
Five hundred years ago sailors feared the horizon. Sail too far and risk falling off the edge. The Spaniards held dominion over both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar. At its narrowest margin, where Africa can see Europe, they erected the Pillar of Hercules, a huge marker that bore in its stone “No More Beyond.”
But then came Columbus and the voyage of 1492. The discovery of the new world swung open the western doors of Spain. They took the Latin phrase “No More Beyond,” removed the first word, and impressed this slogan onto their coins: “More Beyond.”
You were made for “More Beyond.” You were made to explore what happens next. It’s all about hope. It’s all about him. So let’s make sure that we are good to go.
What Happens Next
Ezekiel 20
Get Rid of All the Things You’ve Become Addicted To
1 20 In the seventh year, the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, some of the leaders of Israel came to ask for guidance from God. They sat down before me.
2–3 Then God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, talk with the leaders of Israel. Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says, “Have you come to ask me questions? As sure as I am the living God, I’ll not put up with questions from you. Decree of God, the Master.” ’
4–5 “Son of man, why don’t you do it? Yes, go ahead. Hold them accountable. Confront them with the outrageous obscenities of their parents. Tell them that God, the Master, says:
5–6 “ ‘On the day I chose Israel, I revealed myself to them in the country of Egypt, raising my hand in a solemn oath to the people of Jacob, in which I said, “I am God, your personal God.” On the same day that I raised my hand in the solemn oath, I promised them that I would take them out of the country of Egypt and bring them into a country that I had searched out just for them, a country flowing with milk and honey, a jewel of a country.
7 “ ‘At that time I told them, “Get rid of all the vile things that you’ve become addicted to. Don’t make yourselves filthy with the Egyptian no-god idols. I alone am God, your God.”
8–10 “ ‘But they rebelled against me, wouldn’t listen to a word I said. None got rid of the vile things they were addicted to. They held on to the no-gods of Egypt as if for dear life. I seriously considered inflicting my anger on them in force right there in Egypt. Then I thought better of it. I acted out of who I was, not by how I felt. And I acted in a way that would evoke honor, not blasphemy, from the nations around them, nations who had seen me reveal myself by promising to lead my people out of Egypt. And then I did it: I led them out of Egypt into the desert.
11–12 “ ‘I gave them laws for living, showed them how to live well and obediently before me. I also gave them my weekly holy rest days, my “Sabbaths,” a kind of signpost erected between me and them to show them that I, God, am in the business of making them holy.
13–17 “ ‘But Israel rebelled against me in the desert. They didn’t follow my statutes. They despised my laws for living well and obediently in the ways I had set out. And they totally desecrated my holy Sabbaths. I seriously considered unleashing my anger on them right there in the desert. But I thought better of it and acted out of who I was, not by what I felt, so that I might be honored and not blasphemed by the nations who had seen me bring them out. But I did lift my hand in a solemn oath there in the desert and promise them that I would not bring them into the country flowing with milk and honey that I had chosen for them, that jewel among all lands. I canceled my promise because they despised my laws for living obediently, wouldn’t follow my statutes, and went ahead and desecrated my holy Sabbaths. They preferred living by their no-god idols. But I didn’t go all the way: I didn’t wipe them out, didn’t finish them off in the desert.
18–20 “ ‘Then I addressed myself to their children in the desert: “Don’t do what your parents did. Don’t take up their practices. Don’t make yourselves filthy with their no-god idols. I myself am God, your God: Keep my statutes and live by my laws. Keep my Sabbaths as holy rest days, signposts between me and you, signaling that I am God, your God.”
21–22 “ ‘But the children also rebelled against me. They neither followed my statutes nor kept my laws for living upright and well. And they desecrated my Sabbaths. I seriously considered dumping my anger on them, right there in the desert. But I thought better of it and acted out of who I was, not by what I felt, so that I might be honored and not blasphemed by the nations who had seen me bring them out.
23–26 “ ‘But I did lift my hand in solemn oath there in the desert, and swore that I would scatter them all over the world, disperse them every which way because they didn’t keep my laws nor live by my statutes. They desecrated my Sabbaths and remained addicted to the no-god idols of their parents. Since they were determined to live bad lives, I myself gave them statutes that could not produce goodness and laws that did not produce life. I abandoned them. Filthy in the gutter, they perversely sacrificed their firstborn children in the fire. The very horror should have shocked them into recognizing that I am God.’
27–29 “Therefore, speak to Israel, son of man. Tell them that God says, ‘As if that wasn’t enough, your parents further insulted me by betraying me. When I brought them into that land that I had solemnly promised with my upraised hand to give them, every time they saw a hill with a sex-and-religion shrine on it or a grove of trees where the sacred whores practiced, they were there, buying into the whole pagan system. I said to them, “What hill do you go to?” ’ (It’s still called “Whore Hills.”)
30–31 “Therefore, say to Israel, ‘The Message of God, the Master: You’re making your lives filthy by copying the ways of your parents. In repeating their vile practices, you’ve become whores yourselves. In burning your children as sacrifices, you’ve become as filthy as your no-god idols—as recently as today!
“ ‘Am I going to put up with questions from people like you, Israel? As sure as I am the living God, I, God, the Master, refuse to be called into question by you!
32 “ ‘What you’re secretly thinking is never going to happen. You’re thinking, “We’re going to be like everybody else, just like the other nations. We’re going to worship gods we can make and control.”
33–35 “ ‘As sure as I am the living God, says God, the Master, think again! With a mighty show of strength and a terrifying rush of anger, I will be King over you! I’ll bring you back from the nations, collect you out of the countries to which you’ve been scattered, with a mighty show of strength and a terrifying rush of anger. I’ll bring you to the desert of nations and haul you into court, where you’ll be face-to-face with judgment.
36–38 “ ‘As I faced your parents with judgment in the desert of Egypt, so I’ll face you with judgment. I’ll scrutinize and search every person as you arrive, and I’ll bring you under the bond of the covenant. I’ll cull out the rebels and traitors. I’ll lead them out of their exile, but I won’t bring them back to Israel.
“ ‘Then you’ll realize that I am God.
39–43 “ ‘But you, people of Israel, this is the Message of God, the Master, to you: Go ahead, serve your no-god idols! But later, you’ll think better of it and quit throwing filth and mud on me with your pagan offerings and no-god idols. For on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, I, God, the Master, tell you that the entire people of Israel will worship me. I’ll receive them there with open arms. I’ll demand your best gifts and offerings, all your holy sacrifices. What’s more, I’ll receive you as the best kind of offerings when I bring you back from all the lands and countries in which you’ve been scattered. I’ll demonstrate in the eyes of the world that I am The Holy. When I return you to the land of Israel, the land that I solemnly promised with upraised arm to give to your parents, you’ll realize that I am God. Then and there you’ll remember all that you’ve done, the way you’ve lived that has made you so filthy—and you’ll loathe yourselves.
44 “ ‘But, dear Israel, you’ll also realize that I am God when I respond to you out of who I am, not by what I feel about the evil lives you’ve lived, the corrupt history you’ve compiled. Decree of God, the Master.’ ”
Nobody Will Put Out the Fire
45–46 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, face south. Let the Message roll out against the south. Prophesy against the wilderness forest of the south.
47–48 “Tell the forest of the south, ‘Listen to the Message of God! God, the Master, says, I’ll set a fire in you that will burn up every tree, dead trees and live trees alike. Nobody will put out the fire. The whole country from south to north will be blackened by it. Everyone is going to see that I, God, started the fire and that it’s not going to be put out.’ ”
49 And I said, “O God, everyone is saying of me, ‘He just makes up stories.’ ”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Today's Scripture
John 17:6-17
I spelled out your character in detail
To the men and women you gave me.
They were yours in the first place;
Then you gave them to me,
And they have now done what you said.
They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
That everything you gave me is firsthand from you,
For the message you gave me, I gave them;
And they took it, and were convinced
That I came from you.
They believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I’m not praying for the God-rejecting world
But for those you gave me,
For they are yours by right.
Everything mine is yours, and yours mine,
And my life is on display in them.
For I’m no longer going to be visible in the world;
They’ll continue in the world
While I return to you.
Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life
That you conferred as a gift through me,
So they can be one heart and mind
As we are one heart and mind.
As long as I was with them, I guarded them
In the pursuit of the life you gave through me;
I even posted a night watch.
And not one of them got away,
Except for the rebel bent on destruction
(the exception that proved the rule of Scripture).
13–19 Now I’m returning to you.
I’m saying these things in the world’s hearing
So my people can experience
My joy completed in them.
I gave them your word;
The godless world hated them because of it,
Because they didn’t join the world’s ways,
Just as I didn’t join the world’s ways.
I’m not asking that you take them out of the world
But that you guard them from the Evil One.
They are no more defined by the world
Than I am defined by the world.
Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth;
Your word is consecrating truth.
Insight
The Scriptures don’t often record what Jesus prayed because He often prayed alone (Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 9:18). On some occasions, however, He wanted us to hear His prayers for our benefit (see Matthew 6:9-13; John 11:42). John 17, known as “Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer,” is one such prayer. It reveals His deepest concern for us. It’s the longest of Christ’s recorded prayers and can be summarized this way: Jesus prays for His glory (vv. 1-5), His disciples’ security (vv. 6-12), His disciples’ sanctity (vv. 13-19), and the church’s unity (vv. 20-26). By: K. T. Sim
Look More like Jesus
They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. John 17:16
God designed the great gray owl as a master of camouflage. Its silver-gray feathers have a collective pattern of coloring which allows it to blend into the bark when perched in trees. When the owls want to remain unseen, they hide in plain sight, blending into their environment with the help of their feathery camouflage.
God’s people are often too much like the great gray owl. We can easily blend into the world and remain unrecognized as believers in Christ, intentionally or unintentionally. Jesus prayed for His disciples—those the Father gave Him “out of the world” who “obeyed” His Word (John 17:6). God the Son asked God the Father to protect and empower them to live in holiness and persevering joy after He left them (vv. 7-13). He said, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (v. 15). Jesus knew His disciples needed to be made holy and set apart so they could live out the purpose He’d sent them to fulfill (vv. 16-19).
The Holy Spirit can help us turn from the temptation to become masters of camouflage that blend into the world. When we submit to Him daily, we can look more like Jesus. As we live in unity and love, He’ll draw others to Christ in all His glory. By: Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
In what area of your life can you ask God to make you more like Jesus? How has God used others to draw you closer because of the way they lived and loved like Jesus?
Holy Spirit, please make me look so much like Jesus that others will be drawn to seek the one true God.
For further study, read Remade in the Image of Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Theology Alive
Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. — John 12:35
Beware of not acting on what God shows you when you are up on the mountaintop with him. You have to obey the light you receive on high after you come back down into the valley. If you don’t, the light will turn to darkness. “If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23). The instant you brush aside an insight from God, you will begin to get dry rot in your spiritual life. Continually bring the truth out into your daily life. Work it out in everything you do. When you don’t, the light you’ve been given will prove a curse.
The most difficult kind of person to deal with is the one who has the smug satisfaction of recalling some past mountaintop experience, but who isn’t working out that experience in day-to-day life. If you say that you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it’s evident in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent. No matter how beautiful it sounds, it comes from the devil.
Theology has to work itself out in the most practical ways. “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees . . . you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). You must be more moral than the most moral being you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you putting it to work in the practical issues of life? Every aspect of your life—physical, moral, and spiritual—is to be judged by the standard of the atonement of our Lord.
Psalms 120-122; 1 Corinthians 9
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves.
The Place of Help
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
FORGIVEN MEANS IT'S GONE - #9817
If you've always been skinny, you can just give it up because you're not going to understand what I'm about to say. But if you're like me and you've battled over that scale your whole life, if you've ever been overweight, you'll probably understand this. Once you've battled that, you always tend to think of yourself as overweight even if you're not any more. Now, I've managed to lose some of it. Others may say you're okay, and the scale might even say you're okay. But there's this voice that keeps whispering, "Overweight!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Forgiven Means It's Gone."
Our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. "Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?" Okay, that's the bad news. "Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, or idolaters, or adulterers, nor men who have sex with men, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, or slanderers, or swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." Most of us are in there somewhere, right?
Now the good news, "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." Now, I'll tell you one of the belittling lies of sin, "You're still dirty. You're still away from God. You're still unworthy. There's no use. It's hopeless." And God's Word screams to those who've been forgiven by Christ, "No! That is a lie! What God says you are is what you are. And God says that is what you were, it's not what you are any more."
The verb tense makes all the difference in the world. Your guilt has been erased. He uses the word "washed." You've been given a spiritual shower if you've been to Jesus' cross; if you've dropped that sin, however dirty, however ugly, however many times repeated, or however willful. If you've dropped it at that cross and you've trusted Him to forgive it, you are clean. You are washed by God.
Then He says, "You were sanctified." That means you've been made special again. And then He says, "You have been justified." That means you've been made right with God. Of course, the Devil is going to say, "Hey, you're still spiritually overweight, you know. You're still carrying the weight of the past around." That voice is about what you were. It's like the voice that wrongly says, "You're still overweight" even when the weight is really gone.
The Devil wants you to give up. He wants you to go back to the old you. But Leviticus 26:13 is a wonderful promise I think applies to even us today. God says, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves of the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high."
You are new! Why don't you live new? Don't live in that old junk believing that it still has to be you. Don't buy the lie. Because of the power of the blood of Jesus, you are forgiven, He shed that blood on the cross for those very sins, you are not carrying that weight - that burden - any more.
This could be your day to experience that forgiveness for yourself. Whatever you wish you hadn't done, all the sins, all the mistakes, all the hurts you've inflicted, all the pain of the past can be brought to the cross of Jesus, and He will take that burden as He did on the cross when He died for you and say, "It is now mine. You are forgiven. You are clean. You are new."
It happens when you say, "Jesus, I'm yours and I'm putting all my trust in what You did on the cross when You died for me." Consider making this your day to do that. Go to our website. I think we can help you know you've begun that relationship and know you're forgiven. It's ANewStory.com.
Remember, if Jesus has forgiven you, walk and talk confidently, because whatever your enemy may say to lie to you, that old weight, that old burden, that sin is gone!