Max Lucado Daily: GO TO HIM - November 11, 2024
Several years ago, I joined thousands who ran through the streets of San Antonio, raising money for breast cancer research. Most of us ran out of kindness, happy to log three miles and donate a few dollars to the cause. A few ran in memory of a loved one, others in honor of a cancer survivor. We ran for different reasons.
But no runner was more passionate than one I spotted. A bandanna covered her bald head, dark circles shadowed her eyes. She had cancer. While we ran out of kindness, she ran out of conviction. She knows how cancer victims feel. She’s been there.
So has Jesus. Whatever you’re facing, he knows how you feel. So go to him! He is able.
Nextdoor Savior: Near Enough to Touch, Strong Enough to Trust
Psalm 77
An Asaph Psalm
1 77 I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might,
I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens.
2–6 I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord;
my life was an open wound that wouldn’t heal.
When friends said, “Everything will turn out all right,”
I didn’t believe a word they said.
I remember God—and shake my head.
I bow my head—then wring my hands.
I’m awake all night—not a wink of sleep;
I can’t even say what’s bothering me.
I go over the days one by one,
I ponder the years gone by.
I strum my lute all through the night,
wondering how to get my life together.
7–10 Will the Lord walk off and leave us for good?
Will he never smile again?
Is his love worn threadbare?
Has his salvation promise burned out?
Has God forgotten his manners?
Has he angrily stalked off and left us?
“Just my luck,” I said. “The High God goes out of business
just the moment I need him.”
11–12 Once again I’ll go over what God has done,
lay out on the table the ancient wonders;
I’ll ponder all the things you’ve accomplished,
and give a long, loving look at your acts.
13–15 O God! Your way is holy!
No god is great like God!
You’re the God who makes things happen;
you showed everyone what you can do—
You pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble,
rescued the children of Jacob and Joseph.
16–19 Ocean saw you in action, God,
saw you and trembled with fear;
Deep Ocean was scared to death.
Clouds belched buckets of rain,
Sky exploded with thunder,
your arrows flashing this way and that.
From Whirlwind came your thundering voice,
Lightning exposed the world,
Earth reeled and rocked.
You strode right through Ocean,
walked straight through roaring Ocean,
but nobody saw you come or go.
20 Hidden in the hands of Moses and Aaron,
You led your people like a flock of sheep.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, November 11, 2024
Today's Scripture
Luke 22:63-65; 23:32-38
The men in charge of Jesus began poking fun at him, slapping him around. They put a blindfold on him and taunted, “Who hit you that time?” They were having a grand time with him.
Two others, both criminals, were taken along with him for execution.
33 When they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left.
34–35 Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing.”
Dividing up his clothes, they threw dice for them. The people stood there staring at Jesus, and the ringleaders made faces, taunting, “He saved others. Let’s see him save himself! The Messiah of God—ha! The Chosen—ha!”
36–37 The soldiers also came up and poked fun at him, making a game of it. They toasted him with sour wine: “So you’re King of the Jews! Save yourself!”
38 Printed over him was a sign: this is the king of the jews.
Insight
By word and example, Jesus teaches us not to lose sight of what’s ultimately important when we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations. Just as Christ wouldn’t be diverted on the front end of His earthly ministry by the temptations of Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4; Luke 4), He passed the integrity test and was faithful to His mission when He was mocked and mistreated (Luke 22:63). The one who said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you” (Matthew 5:11), didn’t get sidetracked. His prayer “Father, forgive them . . .” (Luke 23:34) was consistent with His teaching: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (6:27-28). By His Spirit, all who claim to believe in Him can be empowered to do what He taught and modeled. By: Arthur Jackson
Loving Our Enemy
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:44
During World War II, US Navy medical corpsman Lynne Weston went ashore with the marines as they stormed enemy-held islands. Inevitably, there were gruesome casualties. He did his best to patch up wounded combatants for evacuation. On one occasion, his unit encountered an enemy soldier with a bad abdominal wound. Due to the nature of the injury, the man couldn’t be given water. To keep him alive, Petty Officer Weston administered intravenous plasma.
“Save that plasma for our fellas, Swabby!” bellowed one of the marines. Petty Officer Weston ignored him. He knew what Jesus would do: “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44).
Jesus did far more than speak those challenging words; He lived them. When a hostile mob seized Him and took Him to the high priest, “the men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him” (Luke 22:63). The abuse continued all the way through His sham trials and execution. Jesus didn’t merely endure it. When Roman soldiers crucified Him, He prayed for their forgiveness (23:34).
We may not encounter a literal enemy who’s trying to kill us. But everyone knows what it’s like to endure ridicule and scorn. Our natural reaction is to respond in anger. Jesus raised the bar: “pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
Today, let’s walk in that kind of love, showing kindness as Jesus did—even to our enemies. By: Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
How do you respond to those who despise or misunderstand you? How does God want you to respond?
Heavenly Father, please help me love others the way You love me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 11, 2024
The Supreme Climb
Take your son . . . — Genesis 22:2
When God commanded Abraham to take his son Isaac to the mountain and “sacrifice him there as a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:2), he meant that Abraham should take Isaac now. God’s commands to us are always meant for right now. Climbing to the height God shows us can never be done later.
It’s extraordinary how we debate and procrastinate. We know that what God wants us to do is right, but we find excuses for not doing it. Where we should be resolved, we have a failure of will. The sacrifice must be made in our will before we do it in actuality.
“Early the next morning Abraham got up and . . . set out for the place God had told him about” (v. 3). The wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, Abraham didn’t debate or “consult any human being” (Galatians 1:16). Beware if, when God tells you to do something, you find yourself consulting another person—especially if that person is yourself. Your own sympathies and insight will compete with your obedience to God, as will anything that isn’t based in your personal relationship with him.
Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; if he has made it bitter, drink it in communion with him. When the providential order of God for you is a time of hardship, go through it. But never choose the scene of your martyrdom. Abraham didn’t choose the sacrifice he would make; God chose for him. And Abraham did not protest. He simply went through it.
If you aren’t living in touch with God, it’s easy to pass a rash verdict on him. You must go through the crucible before you have any right to issue a verdict, because in the crucible you learn to know God better. Once you do know God, you recognize that he is working toward his highest ends and will continue to do so until his purpose and humanity’s purpose become one.
Jeremiah 50; Hebrews 8
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
An intellectual conception of God may be found in a bad vicious character. The knowledge and vision of God is dependent entirely on a pure heart. Character determines the revelation of God to the individual. The pure in heart see God.
Biblical Ethics, 125 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, November 11, 2024
The Audit Of a Lifetime - #9871
Oh, when the auditor leaves from our annual audit, man, our administrative team is high-fivin'. Partly because, well, we've been blessed to get a clean audit year after year, and partly it's just because it's over! They work pretty hard to be ready for all the things the auditor wants to check out.
In the business world, and sometimes even in the Christian world, audits aren't always happy. Auditors can find things that get you in trouble with your boss, with the government, even with the law. Audits uncover hidden secrets.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Audit Of A Lifetime."
Now, I have a meeting scheduled with the auditor in the future. Except, I don't know when it is, because the appointment is with The Auditor, and only He knows when my audit of a lifetime is going to be. Fact is we're all facing the audit of our lives. Our word for today from the word of God in Romans 14:12 says "...each of us will give an account of himself to God."
There will be no exceptions, "...each of us." There will be no excuses, "...will give account of himself to God." No blaming your spouse, your parents, your kids, your friends, your coworkers, your environment. I will answer for me and me alone. Also, there will be no secrets. Romans 2:16 says, "God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ." The Auditor knows every website we've ever visited, every e-mail or conversation we've been involved with, every sin we thought we got away with.
Many times I've seen a road sign with these stark words: "Prepare to meet your God" (Amos 4:12). Since heaven's all-knowing Auditor will expose everything about my life, it actually makes sense to work on what I'll face in His presence. The Auditor has let us know what He'll be auditing. I'd like to know that now.
Now, I know He'll be auditing the words I speak. Jesus said so; "Men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless (or worthless that means) word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:36-37). All our words, including the gossip, the angry stuff, the putdowns, the dirty stuff, will be there to meet us on the day of judgment and there will be no denying my own words.
The Auditor's also going to examine why I do what I do. The Bible says, "Wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts" (1 Corinthians 4:5). I'm not too excited about those new full body scans that they're installing at airports; they reveal what no one else can see. But that's nothing compared to God's full heart scan at the judgment seat. No matter how good what I've done may be, it will burn if my real motive was me, not Him. God cares a lot more about why we do than what we do. If it wasn't for His glory, if it wasn't because of pure love, it will never survive the audit.
Then Jesus said, "Give an account of your management" (Luke 16:2). The audit is going to be about what I've done with what He's given to me: my money, my influence, my home, my abilities, my opportunities. I'm suspecting that a lot of us are going to be feeling the shame and sadness of what might have been, of how much we could have done and should have done.
And then this warning. "When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not...speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood" (Ezekiel 3:18). Whew! God will confront me with all the people I didn't tell about Jesus, whose eternity depended on hearing about Him.
And here is the hardest-hitting exposure of all, the audit of a lifetime, "...the books were opened. Another book was opened which is the Book of Life...If anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:12, 15). What an unspeakably awful moment.
Jesus checks the Book of Life to see if a person's name is there. If it's not, it's too late. It's entered there when you pin all your hopes on the Christ who died on the cross so you would never have to have that moment. You could have your name put in His book today by giving your life to Him.
The audit is coming, be ready for the audit. Prepare to meet your God.