Max Lucado Daily: HE WILL LEAD YOU HOME - December 6, 2024
After worshipping Christ the child, the wise men “departed for their own country another way” (Matthew 2:12 NKJV). Matthew uses the word “way” in other places to suggest a direction of life. He may be telling us that the wise men went home as different men. Called by a sign, instructed by Scripture, and directed home by God. It’s as if all the forces of heaven cooperated to guide the wise men.
God uses every possible means to communicate with you. The wonders of nature call to you. The promises and the prophecies of Scripture speak to you. God wants to help you find your way home.
And when God sends signs, be faithful. Let them lead you to Scripture. As Scripture directs, be humble. Let it lead you to worship. And as you worship the Son, be grateful. Because he will lead you home.
Christmas Stories: Heartwarming Classics of Angels, a Manger, and the Birth of Hope
Revelation 13
The Beast from the Sea
1–2 13 And the Dragon stood on the shore of the sea. I saw a Beast rising from the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads—on each horn a crown, and each head inscribed with a blasphemous name. The Beast I saw looked like a leopard with bear paws and a lion’s mouth. The Dragon turned over its power to it, its throne and great authority.
3–4 One of the Beast’s heads looked as if it had been struck a deathblow, and then healed. The whole earth was agog, gaping at the Beast. They worshiped the Dragon who gave the Beast authority, and they worshiped the Beast, exclaiming, “There’s never been anything like the Beast! No one would dare go to war with the Beast!”
5–8 The Beast had a loud mouth, boastful and blasphemous. It could do anything it wanted for forty-two months. It yelled blasphemies against God, blasphemed his Name, blasphemed his Church, especially those already dwelling with God in Heaven. It was permitted to make war on God’s holy people and conquer them. It held absolute sway over all tribes and peoples, tongues and races. Everyone on earth whose name was not written from the world’s foundation in the slaughtered Lamb’s Book of Life will worship the Beast.
9–10 Are you listening to this? They’ve made their bed; now they must lie in it. Anyone marked for prison goes straight to prison; anyone pulling a sword goes down by the sword. Meanwhile, God’s holy people passionately and faithfully stand their ground.
The Beast from Under the Ground
11–12 I saw another Beast rising out of the ground. It had two horns like a lamb but sounded like a dragon when it spoke. It was a puppet of the first Beast, made earth and everyone in it worship the first Beast, which had been healed of its deathblow.
13–17 This second Beast worked magical signs, dazzling people by making fire come down from Heaven. It used the magic it got from the Beast to dupe earth dwellers, getting them to make an image of the Beast that received the deathblow and lived. It was able to animate the image of the Beast so that it talked, and then arrange that anyone not worshiping the Beast would be killed. It forced all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to have a mark on the right hand or forehead. Without the mark of the name of the Beast or the number of its name, it was impossible to buy or sell anything.
18 Solve a riddle: Put your heads together and figure out the meaning of the number of the Beast. It’s a human number: 666.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, December 06, 2024
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Matthew 25:34-40
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
37–40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’
Today's Insights
Matthew’s gospel was written to a primarily Jewish Christian audience to present Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah of Israel, a king descended from the line of David. Matthew (Levi) frequently uses messianic language (such as “Son of David”) and Old Testament references to point to Christ as the Messiah.
Matthew 25:1-46 contains three parables detailing what it means to be ready for Jesus’ second coming: the parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the bags of gold, and the parable of the sheep and goats. Some commentators believe that although the story of the sheep and goats contains elements resembling a parable, it’s better viewed as a symbolic representation of the final judgment. Its message is that one day Christ will return to judge the nations (all people). Until then, we’re to serve Him by caring for others.
The Spirit of Christmas by Lisa M. Samra
Whatever you did for one of the least of these . . . you did for me. Matthew 25:40
At a Christmas dinner held at our church to celebrate the cultures of the international guests, I joyfully clapped along to the sound of the darbuka (a type of drum) and the oud (a guitar-like instrument) as a band played the traditional Middle Eastern carol, “Laylat Al-Milad.” The band’s singer explained the title means “Nativity Night.” The lyrics remind hearers that the spirit of Christmas is found in serving others, in ways like offering a thirsty person water or comforting someone weeping.
This carol likely draws from a parable where Jesus commends His followers for deeds they’d done for Him: providing food when He was hungry, drink when He was thirsty, and companionship and care when He was sick and alone (Matthew 25:34-36). Instead of simply accepting Jesus’ commendation, the people in the parable are surprised—thinking they hadn’t actually done these things for Christ. He responded, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (v. 40).
During the holiday season, the encouragement to get in the Christmas spirit is often a nudge toward expressing a festive attitude. “Laylat Al-Milad” reminds us that we can put into practice the true Christmas spirit by caring for others. And amazingly, when we do, we not only serve others but Jesus too.
Reflect & Pray
How have you understood the Christmas spirit? How might you serve others this season?
Dear Jesus, please help me reflect the spirit of Christmas You modeled by coming to earth not to be served but to serve.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, December 06, 2024
The Bow in the Cloud
I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. — Genesis 9:13
God’s will is that human beings should enter into a moral relationship with him. All his covenants are for this purpose. “Why doesn’t God save me?” you ask. He has saved you, but you haven’t entered into a moral relationship with him. “Why hasn’t God answered my prayer?” He has answered it, but this isn’t the point. The question you must answer is, Will I step into a moral relationship with him? All of God’s great blessings are finished and complete, but they aren’t mine until I enter into a relationship based on his covenant.
Entering into a moral relationship with God requires exertion on my part. Just as God went beyond himself in his relationship with humanity, becoming flesh for our sake, so I must go beyond myself in my covenant with him. I can’t just sit back and wait. Waiting for God is like unbelief; it means that I lack faith in him, that I’m waiting for a specific thing to happen so that then I can have faith in that. God will never do the thing I’m waiting for, because that isn’t the basis of his relationship with humanity.
Faith in God is the rarest thing. Most of us have faith only in our feelings. We don’t believe God unless he places something in our hand, something we can point to and say, “Now I believe.” There’s no faith in that. God says, “Turn to me and be saved” (Isaiah 45:22), not “Turn to what I’ve given you.”
When I truly enter into a covenant relationship with God, letting go of everything else, I have no sense of having achieved something by my own merit. There’s no human ingredient in it at all, just an overwhelming feeling of being brought into union with him, the whole thing transfigured with peace and joy.
Daniel 3-4; 1 John 5
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him.… We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be.
My Utmost for His Highest, January 6, 736 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, December 06, 2024
Not Good Enough for Heaven - #9890
I grew up around Lake Michigan. And when I was little, I used to go in it. Now I mostly just look at it when I'm in Chicago or in the Great Lakes area. Part of that is because of what happened to me when I was ten years old. My memories of that lake are memories of a struggle I will never forget. I was out with my friends. I didn't know how to swim and I was too proud to tell them. Well, I started to go under. No one took me seriously. I mean, I'm yelling. I'm trying to get some help. I'm drinking the lake! I'm in a panic, flailing around, and my friends are going, "Oh, Ron, you know him. He's such a clown!" Great! Finally, just in the nick of time, someone came. They grabbed me and they literally saved my life.
Let me tell you what I contributed to my rescue. That's right, absolutely nothing.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Not Good Enough for Heaven."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians 2:8-9. "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Okay, fasten your seat belt, because these statements out of God's Word are so radical they basically challenge every religious system in the world, whether it's Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, you name it. Because every system says, "Here are some good things you can do that will commend you to God, and He'll forgive the bad based on the good you do."
But this says, "No good you can do will pay off the bad." "Not by works." Could it be any plainer? Those are radical words! Nothing you can do to contribute to your rescue. No amount of religion. No amount of being a good boy or girl. This word "saved" here indicates that there's a rescue needed. We're dying spiritually because we have broken God's laws. We're away from God. We're powerless to get back to Him. It's like me in Lake Michigan that day. You can't rescue yourself.
Maybe you've been depending somehow on your own goodness to get you to heaven, or your family connections, or the money you give, or the fact that you agree with all the Jesus stuff. You've got Christ in your head but maybe not in your heart. It is, the Bible says, "the gift of God" paid for. Not by you, but by Jesus Christ. You don't pay for your gifts. Gifts are paid for by someone else. Your gift of eternal life was paid for by Jesus because you and I couldn't pay for it. He took your hell and mine. He took your payment for your sin dying on the cross.
How do you get it? It says, "through faith." Faith is what happened that day I grabbed that lifeguard. I just pinned all my hopes on him. For us to be saved - to be rescued - through faith, it means that we recognize that we are drowning spiritually, powerless to rescue ourselves. Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to surrender your self-efforts in order to finally get the peace of really knowing God personally?
You quit depending on your religion. It's not Jesus plus anything else. It's just Jesus. So you grab heaven's lifeguard like a drowning person would grab the person coming to rescue them. When did you do this? Have you ever had that moment with Jesus? You say, "I don't know I have." Well, then, you probably haven't. Maybe God is coming to you through this conversation today because He's courting you. He's after you. He's reaching out His hand to save you. This is life-or-death stuff - forever life or death.
If you haven't pinned all your hopes on Jesus, do it now. If you're not sure you belong to Jesus, let me invite you to go to our website. It's there so I can help you nail down your own relationship with Jesus and know for sure that you belong to Him. Not just believe in Him, but that you belong to Him. Let's get together at ANewStory.com.
Jesus plunged into your world to rescue you from sin. You can't rescue yourself from it. Today, as He comes to you, grab hold of your Rescuer.