6/25/2012 Max, Forward Day TO Day, & Chambers Daily Devotionals:

[SoCalAngel]

Monday, June 25, 2012

But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ... If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.

Matthew 5:44,46-47 New Living Translation [NLT] (Read all of Matthew 5)

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. ... If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?

Matthew 5:44,46-47 New International Version [NIV] (Read all of Matthew 5)

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; ... For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

Matthew 5:44,46-47 King James Version [KJV] (Read all of Matthew 5)

Max Lucado Daily Devotional

Make The Right Choice

June 25

“Everyone must die once and [then] be judged.”

Hebrews 9:27

Eternity is to be taken seriously. A judgement is coming.
Our task on earth is singular—to choose our eternal home. You can afford many wrong choices in life. You can choose the wrong career and survive, the wrong city and survive, the wrong house and survive. You can even choose the wrong mate and survive. But there is one choice that must be made correctly and that is your eternal destiny.

Meditation For MONDAY, June 25

". …to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." Luke 1:57-80

It’s exhausting looking for peace. To try to find something to swallow up the despair which trails us—it’s like living in Ecclesiastes: “I tried it all, but it was vanity, chasing the wind.” The reason the peace of God which passes all understanding is so elusive is that we have gone into the import business, tried to pull into the pain of our life second homes, stress management, seafood platters, the day spa, running away from anything which does not make us feel peaceful.

Notice how Paul begins his letters: “Grace and Peace from Jesus Christ…” Over and over he hammers it in. Peace follows grace; peace arrives as a consequence of something other than itself.

It is all in collapsing into Jesus’ arms; it is all in coming exhausted, tired of our own righteousness, but trusting in the righteousness of Christ. It is coming unmasked and ugly and desperate. Grace is the love which seeks us out when we have nothing to give in return, being loved when we are unlovable. It is found in Jesus Christ alone; and he will guide our feet into the way of peace—today.

= = = = = = = = = = = = =

Psalm 85 [NIV]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

You, Lord, showed favor to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people
and covered all their sins.
You set aside all your wrath
and turned from your fierce anger.

Restore us again, God our Savior,
and put away your displeasure toward us.
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger through all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your unfailing love, Lord,
and grant us your salvation.

I will listen to what God the Lord says;
he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—
but let them not turn to folly.
Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.

Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.
Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.

Please continue your reading of the following throughout the day:

Psalm 85:7-13; Isaiah 40:1-11; Acts 13:14b-26

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado

“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”

June 25

An Uncommon Call

The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.

1 Corinthians 12:7 (CEV)

You have one. A divine spark. An uncommon call to an uncommon life.

“The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.” So much for the excuse “I don’t have anything to offer.” Did the apostle Paul say, “The Spirit has given some of us…”? Or, “The Spirit has given a few of us…”? No. “The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.” Enough of this self-deprecating “I can’t do anything.”

And enough of its arrogant opposite: “I have to do everything.” No, you don’t! You’re not God’s solution to society, but a solution in society. Imitate Paul, who said, “Our goal is to stay within the boundaries of God’s plan for us” (2 Cor. 10:13 NLT). Clarify your contribution.

Don’t worry about skills you don’t have. Don’t covet strengths others do have. Just extract your uniqueness.

From: Cure for the Common Life
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 2005)
Max Lucado

Today's My Utmost For His Highest
Oswald Chambers

June 25

Receiving Yourself in the Fires of Sorrow

. . . what shall I say? ’Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ’Father, glorify Your name’

John 12:27-28

As a saint of God, my attitude toward sorrow and difficulty should not be to ask that they be prevented, but to ask that God protect me so that I may remain what He created me to be, in spite of all my fires of sorrow. Our Lord received Himself, accepting His position and realizing His purpose, in the midst of the fire of sorrow. He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour.
We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires. If we try to evade sorrow, refusing to deal with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life, and there is no use in saying it should not be. Sin, sorrow, and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them.
Sorrow removes a great deal of a person’s shallowness, but it does not always make that person better. Suffering either gives me to myself or it destroys me. You cannot find or receive yourself through success, because you lose your head over pride. And you cannot receive yourself through the monotony of your daily life, because you give in to complaining. The only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be this way is immaterial. The fact is that it is true in the Scriptures and in human experience. You can always recognize who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself, and you know that you can go to him in your moment of trouble and find that he has plenty of time for you. But if a person has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous, having no respect or time for you, only turning you away. If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people.