Max Lucado Daily Devotional

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I’m reading from Acts 4:13 (NKJV). “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”

What set Peter and John apart was the fact that they had been with Jesus. Could you use some high-octane boldness? Could you use some courage? Are you being criticized, mocked, persecuted? If so, imitate the disciples. Linger long and often in the presence of Christ. Meditate on his grace. Ponder his love. Memorize his words. Gaze into his face. Talk to him. Courage comes as we live with Jesus.

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Bzuneh Tulema lives in Ethiopia. Just a few years ago he and his wife were so consumed with alcohol that they farmed out their kids to neighbors and resigned themselves to a drunken demise. But then someone saw them. A member of an area church shared Jesus with them. Then Meskerem Trango, a World Vision worker, arranged a loan through the World Vision microfinance department. Within a year Bzuneh had repaid the loan, built his house, and reclaimed his kids.

Could this be God’s strategy for human hurt? Kind eyes meet desperate ones, strong hands help weak ones, then the miracle of God. We do our small part, he does the big part, and life begins again.

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He sat near a gate called Beautiful. The man, however, was anything but. He couldn’t walk but had to drag himself about on his knees. “Peter and John looked straight at him and said, ‘Look at us!’” (Acts 3:4 NCV). The thick, meaty hand of the fisherman reached for the frail, thin one of the beggar. Peter lifted the man toward himself. The cripple stood and began to shout, and passersby began to stop. Peter explained that faith in Christ leads to a clean slate with God.

What Jesus did for the legs of the cripple, he does for our souls. Brand new! An honest look led to a helping hand that led to a conversation about eternity. Works done in God’s name long outlive our earthly lives. Let’s be the people who stop at the gate. Let’s look at the face until we see the person.

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“Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay” (1 Peter 4:9 NLT).

The Greek word for hospitality compounds two terms: love and stranger. The word literally means to love a stranger. All of us can welcome a guest we know and love, but can we welcome a stranger? Every morning in America more than 39 million people wake up in poverty. When we provide food stamps, we stave off hunger. But when we invite the hungry to our tables, we address the deeper issues of value and self-worth. God’s secret weapons in the war on poverty include your kitchen table and mine.

We encounter people. We detect an urge to open our doors to them. In these moments let’s heed the inner voice. We never know whom we may be hosting for dinner.

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Hospitality and hospital come from the same Latin word, for they both lead to the same result: healing. When you open your door to someone, you’re sending this message: “You matter to me and to God.” Do you know people who need this message? Your hospitality can be their hospital. All you need are a few basic practices.

Issue a genuine invitation. Let your guests know you want them to come. Make a big deal of their arrival. One of God’s children is coming to your house! Address the needs of your guests. Modern-day hospitality includes the sharing of food and drink and time to talk and listen. Send them out with a blessing. Make it clear you are glad your guests came. Offer a prayer for their safety and a word of encouragement for their travel.

Open your table. Even more, open your circle.

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Our society is set up for isolation. We communicate via e-mail and text messages. Our mantra: “I leave you alone. You leave me alone.” Yet God wants his people to be an exception—people of hospitality. “Every day in the Temple and in people’s homes they continued teaching the people and telling the Good News—that Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 5:42 NCV).

Even a casual reading of the New Testament unveils the house as the primary tool of the church. The first generation of Christians was a tinderbox of contrasting cultures and backgrounds, united through the clearest of messages (the Cross) and the simplest of tools (the home). So do you have a front door? Do you have bread and meat for sandwiches? You just qualified to serve in the most ancient of ministries: hospitality.

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What if the missing ingredient for changing the world is teamwork? “When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action” (Matthew 18:19 MSG). This is an astounding promise. The Jerusalem church found a way to work together. They found common ground in the death, the burial, and resurrection of Christ. Because they did, lives were changed.

And as you and I do, the same will happen. The congregation is a microcosm of God’s plan. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. And when we do, “God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them” (Acts 4:33–34 NLT). You see, those who suffer belong to all of us. And if all of us respond, there is hope.

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None of us can do what all of us can do. Remember Jesus’ commission to the disciples? “You”—speaking to all of you collectively—”will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8 NIV). Jesus didn’t issue individual assignments. He works in community. “Jesus is the head of the body, which is the church” (Colossians 1:18 NCV). I am not his body; you are not his body. We—together—are his body.

But this body has been known to misbehave. The brain discounts the heart – academics discount worshippers. The hands criticize the knees – people of action criticize people of prayer. It is a clear case of mutiny on the body. We cannot say, “I have no need of you.” Cooperation is more than a good idea; it is a command. Unity matters to God. May it matter to us.

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Acts 2:38 records the sermon of the apostle Peter. In it, he says, “Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven.”

We cherish pardon, don’t we? And God offers it. He does not give us what we deserve. He has drenched this world in grace. It has no end. It knows no limits. It empowers this life and enables us to live the next. God offers second chances, like a soup kitchen offers meals to everyone who asks. And that includes you. Make sure you receive his pardon. And once you do, pass it on. We all need it.

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